Page 51 of Forever Touched

Spirits save us all, he wasfurious. I could feel it in my chest like an angry swarm of hornets.

Instead of arguing with him, Mistress turned her attention to me. “Remember your promises, Star. You can’t run away from this life.”

Swallowing, I nodded, knowing she was right. But I wasn’t running. I was literally being carried out of here whether I wanted to or not. Surely, she understood that. Shehadto.

With one last pointed look, she stepped aside and said, “Let them through.”

“What?” Heath hissed, gaping at her like she’d lost her mind. “You can’t do that. She’s halfmine.”

A growl rumbled in Everett’s chest, vibrating my insides.

“Heath, we’ll talk about this later,” Mistress firmly said, staring him down. “Star isn’t a blood slave, and if the prince wants to take her, he has every right.”

Heath’s lips pulled back in a silent snarl, but after a tense moment, he stepped aside and motioned for the bouncers to do the same.

The second they did, Everett resumed his course. Even when Heath openly glared at him, he didn’t falter. He had no reason to. Even this outnumbered, he was one of the most powerful vampires in existence. Going up against him was certain death.

Benjamin Osborne and Councilman Torres could attest to that.

When the elevator doors finally closed, I didn’t say a word. I couldn’t. I could barelybreathe. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. No one hadevertried to rescue me from this life. I’d never asked them to, convinced that no one could. I still wasn’t convinced, but it felt nice,reallynice to have someone take me away from it—if only for a moment.

There would be hell to pay when I returned, though.

Still, with each second that passed, the tension in my body eased. This was happening. This wasreallyhappening. It wasn’t a dream. The vampire I should hate was carrying me away from my nightmares. What’s more, I could feel his tension ease too.

When we finally left Dreamscape behind, relief hit me so hard that I knew the feeling wasn’t solely mine. He carried me all the way to his car, then gently placed me in the passenger seat. At how attentive he was being, my throat closed. It had beenyearssince I’d felt such tender touches. Since I’d been treated with such care.

Overwhelmed, I lapsed into silence as he drove. My exhausted mind was spinning, trying to sort through all that had happened. But eventually, there was only one thing I could truly focus on.

“I felt you,” I said, pulling my robe shut as the admission left me feeling more than a little exposed.

“I felt you too,” he quietly replied.

My heart skipped several beats.

“So what does that mean?” I asked. Deep down, I already knew the answer. I could feel the truth of it settling into my bones, leaving an undeniable mark that couldn’t be erased.

But I needed to hear him say the words anyway. Needed to know that he had come to the same conclusion.

And he did. He slowly released a breath and said with finality, “It means that we’re soulmates.”

17

ADALYN

I tried to walk on my own, but he wouldn’t let me.

The drive had only taken half an hour, but each mile had sucked more and more of my energy away. By the time we pulled up to a secluded house in the woods, I could barely keep my eyes open. I needed the comfort of my familiar, but I didn’t dare mention her. No one knew she existed but me, and it needed to stay that way.

As Everett scooped me into his arms and made for the house, I felt a presence in the darkness, right before a voice said, “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know,” Everett responded.

“Is she in shock?”

“Maybe. Probably.”

“What happened?”

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