Page 24 of Summoned

“And what?” I chuckle. “You’re going to manipulate me with it?”

Jeremiah shrugs, smirking. “Nah.” He shakes his head. “I’m just going to keep reminding you of it.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Jer,” I tell him, lying to his damn face. The truth is, it will never stop mattering to me. But I can’t let it stop me either. “What’s done is done.”

“But it’snotdone,” he growls, his face suddenly an angry shade of red. His hands shake at his sides, but he’s not scared. No—he’s pissed. “You and I aren’t done.”

I frown. “But you ran away?—”

“Can you really blame me?” he asks through gritted teeth. “You fucking scared me, Kaelin!”

“What the fuck?” Noah asks quietly, “What’s happening right now?”

“I said be quiet,” I snarl, the temperature in the room decreasing by ten degrees. Jeremiah’s teeth chatter violently, and Noah whimpers. “I’m not going to tell you again, Noah Skyes.”

He nods, lying down and putting the soiled covers over his head. When I look back at Jeremiah, he has his eyes narrowed on me. Clearly still angry, even though he can’t help the way his body trembles from the cold. I let up, warming up the room to a comfortable temperature once more.

Jeremiah’s eyes trace up and down my body, but he doesn’t look scared, just intrigued. “Kae?—”

A knock at the door startles Jeremiah, making him jump, and I growl. His eyes turn toward me once more, and this time he shakes a little from fear, but I don’t want to scare him. So I take a step back away from him and raise my hands in defeat. He seems appeased by this, instantly relaxing. But I can’t relax, not when I know Sam is on the other side of that door.

“Who’s at the door, Kaelin?” Jeremiah asks as the knocking becomes more desperate, his fists now pounding on the door.

“Sam,” I reply softly, looking between Jeremiah and Noah. The latter is shaking on the bed, sobbing violently. “I wouldn’t—” I trail off as Jeremiah gets closer to the door, clearly about to open it. His hand wraps around the knob, and I growl again. “If you leave this room,” I say through gritted teeth, “You’re dead to me, Jeremiah.”

“I’m not leaving,” Jeremiah sighs, looking at me over his shoulder. “I’m opening the door.”

“Don’t you fucking dare?—”

“If I don’t, he’ll wake up the whole damn floor,” Jer replies with exasperation. “If he hasn’t already.”

I nod. “Fine.”

Jeremiah opens the door for Sam, letting him in and shutting it quietly behind him—locking it for good measure. Samuel doesn’t see me at first, instead turning toward Jeremiah and going on a rant about how he was possessed. Jer watches him impassively, as if he’s completely uninterested in what he’s saying. Which piques my curiosity. Does he not care about Samuel? Does he care more about me?

“Shut up, Sam,” Jeremiah snaps, getting closer to him until he grabs Sam by his shirt, getting in his face. “I know all about it—now shut up and sit down over there.”

Sam blanches, bolting toward the door. But Jeremiah doesn’t let him, grabbing his arm and hauling him toward the chair. I hold Sam in place once he’s seated, not letting him move or speak. His eyes widen as he looks at me, clearly terrified. When I come to his side, he looks like he’s about to pass out. The knife in the nightstand drawer is in my hand now, and I press it to Sam’s throat, ready to cut him open?—

Jeremiah cries out, shaking his head. I cock my head to the side, looking between Sam and my little human, waiting for him to speak.

“Don’t you dare fucking kill him,” he whispers, trembling with anger. I can taste it on my tongue, and I raise an eyebrow at him. He doesn’t even look scared of me. “He’s ours.”

“Ours?” I smirk. “What the fuck does that even mean, Jeremiah?”

Jeremiah swallows hard. “Spare them and I’ll bind myself to you forever.” My eyebrows raise, and he takes a tentative step toward me. “I’ll be with you. But we need him. You have to—” He looks toward Sam, who is now fighting my hold, bucking in his chair. “You have to keep him.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because you’re mine,” he growls. “And I‘m asking you to keep a human so we can be together.”

“And why him?”

Jeremiah shrugs. “I guess I like how he looks.”

“Just a bit shallow, don’t you think?” I chuckle, though I can’t deny it’s a tempting offer.

“Hey, you’re the one who made me fall in love with him.” He shrugs, and now I’m angry.

---