Page 28 of Tangled Hearts

“I don’t know, I can’t see and don’t turn around,” he said, looking at the mirror at the top of the window. “You need to use your charm or lay down so they don’t see you in the car.”

I didn’t want to waste another charm, so I slid down on the seat until I laid down with my head close to Ryder's thigh. Dammit, maybe I should have just used it and saved me from smelling Ryder's amazing scent that drove me mad. It made me want to straddle his thighs and sink down on his cock that I had gotten a glimpse of while he showered.

“Stop,” Ryder whined. “We don’t need to be in this truck while you're aroused, Oria.”

“I can’t help it,” I whined back.

I knew it was a terrible moment to be aroused, but my goddess, being this close to him was driving me mad. Our bond was practically willing these thoughts so I would touch him, so we could finally mate. All it would take is for me to straddle his lap and then?—

“Stop it, please,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m not strong enough.”

The anguish in his voice was enough to get me out of my fog of lust. Damn him and damn this bond. Addie was wrong, he would not give in, and he would leave us in this limbo of uncertainty until one of us went crazy with it. And it wouldn’t be me.

The car jerked, waking me up. I looked up to see Ryder looking around and the sky was darkening. I groaned about to sit up, when Ryder laid a hand on me. He was scared, immediately making me worried.

“We have to ditch the truck and get to the hotel by foot. I’ll shift and then you can ride on my back,” he said, unbuttoning his shirt as my mouth dried. “We need to use another charm.”

I nodded dumbly. Don’t go there, I scolded myself. Think of something else. Think of Laima or Tay or the gross men that came with him that made my stomach churn.

“Come on, Heaven, we have to get going, I can hear them nearby,” he said, getting out to strip and I prayed my face didn’t get red.

Once he shifted, I scooted out of the car, grabbing our bags and stuffing his clothes in them. Ryder was an enormous wolf, but I didn’t know how this was going to work. I felt too big to get on his back.

I took out my last silencing charm and my second to last invisible charm. We needed to find someplace where I could make more; these had been way more useful than I had imagined. Ryder nudged me to get on, but I hesitated before he pushed me again and I climbed on, not so gracefully, then said my incantation.

He started to trot, getting me used to hanging on, making me almost regret that I brought these damn bags. I shifted my weight, holding on a little tighter when he took off.

Hold on mate, we will keep you safe.

My body tingled with awareness that this wasn’t Ryder who spoke to me. Ryder growled as he picked up the pace, leaning down to keep me from falling off. The grip I had on him was tight, but it must not have bothered him as he kept running fast. It was dark when we finally made it to the hotel. He shifted, instructing me to keep the charm on until we reached the room. He grabbed my hand, even though it looked awkward. I was hoping no one would notice. As soon as I stepped into the building, I felt him.

Gray had found us, tears gathered in my eyes, ready to push Ryder out of the way so I could run to him. The moment he opened the door, I ran in, forgetting that I had the charm, and threw myself onto Gray who was on the bed. He grunted and snarled.

“It’s your mate, calm down,” Ryder said, as I powered off the charm.

“Gray,” I cried out, throwing my arms around him.

“Oh, Sunshine,” he sighed, wrapping his arms around me.

All my worries and anxieties went away when I settled into his embrace, crying from relief.

“Where the hell were you? What took you so long?” I tried to control my crying, not sure if he knew what I was saying.

“I’m sorry. I saw Laima before I left and I knew I had to see what she was doing,” he said, and I stilled hearing my mother’s name.

I knew she was looking for me, but actually hearing about what she was doing was freaking me out. Gray started to explain what he heard and that he paid a visit to Joseph.

“A fucking god war?” Ryder growled, getting up.

Maxton and Soren exchanged a look.

“What does that mean?” I knew I needed to hear the answer, but dread filled my abdomen like lead.

“It means, people like us could be wiped off the face of the earth,” Gray said, holding me tighter. “The last god war was because there was a power imbalance between the gods, and we were used as pawns to fight for them.”

“There was destruction everywhere. It was surprising that anyone survived. The text we used to have at home described it as a cleansing. Very few paranormals survived and from what I read, the gods fought down here, wreaking havoc on this world,” Soren said, coming closer to us.

“They said if another one were to occur, no one would survive it,” Max said, as he paced the room. “This is why the Fae hid and we only went out if we had to.”

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