Page 63 of Forever Touched

Everett suddenly drew me in front of him and slipped an arm around my waist. With his solid presence behind me and his arm acting as a shield, I felt protected.Safe. It gave me the confidence to stand up straight and say, “Hi, everyone.”

No one spoke. It was like the sight of me and Everett together had short-circuited their brains. Even the chatty golden vampire, Kade, was staring at us with his mouth wide open.

Okay, this was all sorts of uncomfortable. Maybe I could convince Everett to let me take breakfast on the go.

Before I could speak, though, a feminine voice exclaimed, “Good goddess, you’regorgeous. Kade failed to mention that part.”

A short and curvy girl with blonde hair dyed pink at the ends suddenly beelined toward me, a huge grin on her pretty heart-shaped face. Everett’s arm tightened around me, but when she swooped in for a hug, he didn’t stop her.

“I’m so happy to finally meet you, Star—”

“Adalyn,” Everett interrupted. “Her name is Adalyn.”

“Adalyn? Oh, that’s such a pretty name!” the female sang, squeezing me tightly. When a few of my bruises protested, Everett growled quietly. She didn’t seem to hear it, though, pulling back to beam at me. “I’m Isla, Kade’s wife. He told me all about your visit to the castle yesterday, and I was so jealous to have missed out. I can’t believe Everett has asoulmate. We were starting to think he would never find someone. He sure didn’t waste any time claiming you, though. Anddeeply. But I can’t blame him. You smell absolutely divine, and your hair is like spun silver. It looks stunning on you, but I’m too pale to get away with that color. And don’t get me started on your skin. It has that ageless look Asian people are so lucky to inherit. Sorry I’m talking so much. I’m just soexcited.”

I stopped listening halfway through, a word she’d said stuck on repeat in my mind.

Her expression abruptly fell. “Oh, no. Did I say something wrong?”

When she glanced up at Everett, I spun and forcefully shovedhim in the chest. “Youclaimedme? Is that why you were so okay with me leaving? Because you knew your scent would deter other males fromtouchingme? You have no idea what kind ofdamageyou’ve just caused.”

Isla gasped, but I was too furious to care that I’d just made the worst possible first impression in history.

“Answerme,” I snapped, shoving Everett again.

He stumbled back a step, but only because he’dletme push him. Knowing this made me even angrier, and I prepared to shove him again. Before I could, he caught both of my wrists.

I fought to break free, shouting, “Letgoof me, you bastard. Ihateyou.”

The second the words were out, I realized my terrible mistake. Terrified that he’d retaliate, I stopped fighting and waited for the inevitable. I’dneverspoken to a vampire like that before. If I had, I’d be long dead.

Casting my eyes to the floor, I braced for the punishment to come. He was more than capable of violence, and it wouldn’t take much effort for him to crush the delicate bones in my wrists to dust.

I waited and waited, but the pain never came.

Unable to bear the silence a moment longer, I blurted, “I’m sorry. I don’t hate you, okay? I was just surprised to hear that you’d claimed me.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he quietly replied. “You have every right to be angry with me. You can even hate me if you wish. But I won’t apologize for claiming you. I had to. I didn’t feel like I had any other choice.”

More angry words sprang to my tongue, but I shoved them back down. He could still punish me when we didn’t have an audience. Still, I wanted toscreamat him for betraying me this way. He’d saidthat he didn’t think of me as a possession, and I’dbelievedhim.

Had everything he’d said to me been a lie? Had it just been a way for him tocontrolme?

My anger abruptly gave way to another emotion. Hurt. I washurt. More hurt than I could ever remember feeling.

“Adalyn,” Everett softly implored. I could hear the remorse in his voice, but I wasn’t ready to acknowledge it. When I didn’t respond, he let go of my wrists with a sigh.

Needing to be anywhere but here, I dredged up the courage to say, “I should leave. Sorry about the scene, everyone.”

But before I could take a single step, I heard Loch say, “Not until you’ve had breakfast.”

Surprised, I turned to face him. He was standing behind the kitchen island with his arms crossed over his chest. I expected to receive a stern look for yelling at his brother, but he wasn’t even looking at me. His eyes were on Everett, and there was more than a little disapproval flashing in their dark depths.

“Yes, Adalyn. Please stay,” a new voice spoke, drawing my attention to the far side of the island. A beautiful brunette with a kind smile on her face stood there. Right away, I felt a little less out of place. This must be Kenna, Loch’s wife, the vampire witch hybrid who’d broken the century-long curse six years ago.

Like me, fate had thrust her into a dangerous world where she didn’t belong. Yet, here she was, happily mated to a vampire prince and the mother of twins. I glanced at her adorable children and wondered if they shared their mother’s special abilities.

Seeing where my attention had strayed, Kenna said, “This is Nico and Zoey. They have a tendency to forget about their Syphon abilities when they’re excited, so be mindful of their skin.”

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