Page 56 of K'Vella

"I don't think it'll work, Phial," Essa says, her voice soft, a melody that soothes and charms even as the fear continues to flow through me. "He should be calm now, but he's still fighting you." She licks at one of her elongated fangs, grabbing someof the thick, clear liquid from the tips and collecting it on her tongue. "It might make him disoriented, but he won't be docile."

"That'll be easier to deal with than this," Phial groans as I hit him in the chest.

"Let him go," Alik barks at them while they're trying to decide if they're going to drug me or not. "We can't stop this. It's already been put into motion. We can only be here to help with the fallout."

"He's going to hurt my friend," Essa snarls, her eyes snapping up to look at Alik, who flinches away from her gaze.

"He's your friend," Jovi says, covering his eyes with one palm and doing the same for Alik. "We need to be there for both of them, and friends don't drug other friends unless said friend asks to be drugged."

"Stupid rule," Essa spits. She forces herself off the ground away from me and keeps her eyes turned away from the rest of us. "I need to calm down."

"Go back to the ship," Alik says.

Essa doesn't even argue with him. She mutters something about wasting how hot she looks tonight before kicking at the dirt path and stomping back toward the ship. Phial gives me a sad look as he slowly extracts himself from me.

"We all really liked K'Vella," Phial says, his talons twitching at his sides like he wants to say more.

Too bad I don't care about much other than finding the female who my soul is calling me to be with. My mind might hate how I'm responding to her, but it doesn't stop my body from moving.

"Please let her understand," I murmur under my breath. I make it to the doors of the great hall and work to straighten the fur on my shoulders and smooth down the flyaway hairs from my braid.

I suck in another deep breath and my brows furrow. I sniff at the air again. Soft, sweet florals of my mate definitely lead intothe great hall, but there's another trail of them, a stronger one. She came back out at some point and moved deeper into the tribe. Maybe she was going home?

I sniff the air, following the scent as I jog through the clan. Plenty of females are dragging their conquests toward their homes or toward the temporary housing.

A few of them look at me, and I don't miss the way a few of their eyes darken in rage and their lips pull back. K'Vella was a part of the clan even if she didn't realize it, and I'm doing the worst thing a male can do: making promises he could never keep.

I growl when I step onto the porch, where the scent leads me. I bang on the door, looking around, trying to figure out in my scent-crazed mind why this house looks familiar. I snarl at myself and wipe my hands on my pants.

I adjust the fur on my back, and it reminds me of K'Vella. I rip it off my shoulders and fold it quickly, lying it on the porch next to the door, hoping the female on the other side doesn't ask about it, hoping she doesn't ask me to wrap her in one of my furs.

"What the fuck do you want?" Helna swings the door open with the broom in her hand. She wields it like a weapon, reminding me she's definitely our mother's daughter.

"Where is she?" I choke out, trying to figure out which of Helna's friends I've scent matched. "You got your wish. Where is she?"

"What fucking wish, you stupid fucking asshole?" Helna pushes at my chest, but I push past her into the house, sniffing loudly.

"Where's your friend?" I ask. "You wanted me to scent match one of your friends. Congratulations."

"Fuck you!"

Helna swings the broomstick at my face and catches me in the jaw. My eyes snap down to her, and I pull my lips back ina growl. I step back when my eyes settle on her face, and I see the bruises forming. I forgot about her fighting the three females who ripped my blocker from my nose.

"I'm sorry," I say through clenched teeth. "Where's your friend? I need to figure out how to make this work."

"Make what work?" Helna asks, tapping her foot on the ground and looking at her nails as though she has no interest in helping me.

"Being with K'Vella and finding a way to break this scent match," I snap at my sister, who seems taken aback by my words.

I don't wait for her response before looking through the house to find the female. It's not like there's anywhere to hide here. There are only three rooms, and she won't be in my mother's.

I'm surprised my mother isn't out here with a second broomstick. I only know of us owning one broom, but I'm sure she could conjure one up.

The smell is strongest in Helna's room, but when I open the door, Sloane's sitting on the bed, her face in her hands as she cries. She looks up at me, her bloodshot eyes narrowing on me.

"I'm sorry," I tell her, sucking in a deep breath to make sure it's not somehow her. That would be even worse than it being a Rytharian. I never responded to Sloane's scent before, and thankfully, I'm not responding to it now. "I promise no one's more upset about this than me."

"I can think of someone more upset," Sloane says, her cries making the harshness in her words not as strong.

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