Page 67 of Forever Touched

“What do you mean she’s being thralled?” As the words left me in a deadly hiss, Adalyn visibly winced.

Kade threw her an apologetic look before saying, “I remember how Isla acted when she was being controlled by the sire bond and allure. Adalyn’s acting the same way. She’s not telling you because shecan’ttell you.”

The heat turned to blinding rage. I focused on Adalyn again, but she was already scrambling out of the car.

“Adalyn.”

I jumped out after her, prepared to chase her if she ran. She didn’t, though. She simply marched down the road at a fast walk as if she intended to reach Faircroft Manor on foot. I surged after her, only for Loch to block me.

“Get the hell out of my way, Lochlan,” I snarled inches from his face, baring my fangs at him.

He didn’t even blink. “Calm down, or I’m not letting you anywhere near her. She doesn’t deserve your wrath.”

“Ofcourseshe doesn’t,” I barked, trembling as the heat threatened to explode from me. “But whoever did this to her is going to suffer. I won’t rest until I know who that someone is.”

He stared me in the eye, realizing all too quickly what I intended to do. “Don’t, Everett. You’ve already claimed her against her wishes. Abusing your soulmate bond will only lead to heartbreak and misery.”

I stubbornly clenched my jaw. “I need to know, Loch. It’skillingme. I need to know who did this to her.”

Surprise flickered in his gaze. “You truly care about her.”

“OfcourseI care about her,” I said without thought. Without hesitation. There was no use denying how I felt about her.

Seeing the truth of it in my eyes, he slowly relaxed his stance. “You might care about her, Everett, but you could end up destroying the soulmate bond if you push her too hard. For both your sakes, tread carefully.”

Recalling how I’d almost destroyed our brotherly bond, I reached out and gripped his shoulder. “I’m trying, Loch. I’m really trying.”

“I know you are,” he said, then pulled me into a tight embrace. “But she needsspace, Ev. Trust me. The choice has to be hers.”

Leaning into his support, I blew out a pent-up sigh before confessing, “I don’t know if I can do this. I did everything wrong with her.”

“I made my own fair share of mistakes with McKenna.”

“Not like I have. I treated Adalyn like a whore. Like she was nothing more than an object for my selfish pleasure. I’ve screwed up so badly.”

He pulled back to look me in the eye again. “Maybe you have, but you can still make things right. You forget how far you’ve come, Everett. You spent the better part of a century being cold and cruel to anyone outside our family. You barely even tolerated Kade, despite the fact that you chose him to be my drothen. But you’ve started to let others in again, first McKenna, now Adalyn. If you truly care about your soulmate, let your heart guide your actions.”

I nodded, allowing the last of my rage to fade. “Thank you, brother. I will.”

He let me go then. Let me hurry to catch up with the female who’d entirely taken over my world. Kade had been following her from a distance, but he easily stepped aside at the sound of my approach.

“Thanks,” I told him, actually meaning it. I didn’t often give him the credit he deserved. He’d been nothing but steadfast and loyal to my family for over a century, and I could already sense his desire toinclude Adalyn in that circle.

He turned to stare at me as if startled that I’d acknowledge him. “No problem, man.”

“And thanks for being there for my brother when I couldn’t,” I added before I lost the nerve. “You’ve been a good drothen to him.”

His mouth fell open as I swept past. Still, I heard him mutter under his breath, “I like this new Everett.”

A smirk crept onto my lips. Pretty sure I agreed with him. A newfound purpose had filled me since meeting Adalyn, and I had every intention of holding onto it. But Loch was right. I needed to tread carefully where Adalyn was concerned. She might come across as confident and fearless, but she felt lost right now. Lost and terrified.

“Adalyn,” I finally called, my long strides quickly eating up the ground between us.

She visibly stiffened before calling back, “Glassport isn’t too far away from here. I’ll just walk back. I need time to think anyway.”

“About what?”

She threw her hands in the air. “Abouteverything. Things are really screwed up right now.”

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