Page 15 of Tangled Hearts

“Don’t patronize me, Ryder,” she snapped.

“I’m not,” he frowned. “I’m just telling you how it is and what I need to do.”

“How is no one worried about Gray?!” she yelled, stomping her foot.

I couldn’t help the smile that surfaced and that made her even more upset.

“Do you guys not care about your twin or your friend?'' She looked like she was on the verge of having an anxiety attack. “My mate is out there and you are acting like nothing is wrong.”

“Blondie—”

“Don’t, Blondie me, Soren,” she snapped walking around the guys. “I just can't be with you guys.”

She opened the door, walking out, when Ryder and I jumped up to follow her.

“Maybe let me cool her down,” Maxton said, standing in front of us. “I don’t think you will solve anything since she is upset with you guys.”

Ryder scowled at the idea, but I shrugged.

“I’ll just keep an eye on her,” he said, leaving the room too.

Ryder and I looked at each other, the silence was uncomfortable.

“He’s fine, right?” I asked, letting my nerves show.

It was one thing to keep a positive attitude with Oria, but inside I was a mess. She didn’t need my added stress.

“The bond is still intact so I’m hoping he just got held up with Katarina and her men,” he said, nodding like he was trying to convince himself that was it. “He’s also the worst at keeping his phone charged.”

I nodded. “Ok, let's go with that,” I said. “He might barely be getting to the safe house and we should see him in the next day or two.”

My chest ached with fear, and I didn’t know if it was mine or my mates.

“It will be fine, we’ve had one of us get away from the group before,” he said, grabbing everyone's trash. “It took me a couple of days to get back to you guys and he’s probably being extra cautious coming back to her.”

“Or he could have been caught,” I said, expressing my worst fear.

“Caught by whom? The Belladonnas?” He scoffed.

“We don’t know what happened to Katarina and her men; for all we know, they captured her or killed her,” I said, finally letting it settle in that something might be wrong with Gray.

Ryder clenched his jaw. “Let’s not go there. It would have taken him at least a day to get to the cabin and we might have just missed him. He’s on his way here.”

“I think we should get that locator spell just in case,” I said. “We have to ease our minds and hers too.”

“I think we should do it too,” he said, walking to the door. “I’ll make some phone calls and see who I can trust out here. I might have to head to the coast. Really wish we had one of the portal potions so I could just get my ass back to Addie.”

“Maybe we can have her make us some.. Oria is great at making things,” I said, getting up too. “It would be easier to get all the things she needed so she could just make it. We definitely need more for our ‘just in case’ situation or if we get separated.”

“She probably needs a place to work at, but it's not like someone is going to let us use their workshop.” Ryder rubbed his jaw. “I’ll be back to see what I can find.”

“OK we?—”

The door opened abruptly, Oria walked in with a stoic expression, with Max in her arms as a grumpy cat. She set him down before walking to the bathroom, the water turned on shortly after she closed the door.

Max changed into his human form looking wrecked.

“We better find her mate,” he said, grabbing a pair of pants from his bag. “The stress of everything is weighing heavily on her shoulders and it's causing her to crack under the pressure. She’s not used to this and it’s hurting her being away from Gray.”

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