Page 206 of Owned

“Maybe she wanted it,” Bastian said. “Wanted all of this.” He gestured at the garden. “Told you not to trust her.”

“Don’t be stupid,” I snarled. “She wants us. She doesn’t know what Lucian is capable of—or what he’s planning. We have to tell her.”

Bastian snorted. “You tell her.”

“I will.”

Lucian’s laughter rang in my ears.

So pleased. So smug as he spoke with the Elder who had performed the ceremony that had tied Avril’s life to his.

Her soul.

Avril wasn’t with him. She stood at the edge of the banquet tables and watched the dancers that swirled by.

I could admit now, away from the ballroom and the wedding, that her dark beauty stole my breath away—the black lace gown fitted her so perfectly it could have been painted on her sweet curves. The jet black beads and crystals glittered in the lantern light as she shifted her weight and tilted her head to look up at the stars that peeped through the clouds.

I couldn’t wait any longer.

“Hey— Where are you going?” Bastian called after me.

I didn’t turn.

I didn’t have to explain myself to them.

“Bring back some whiskey—” Bastian shouted.

All I could see was Avril.

I didn’t break stride as I ducked under the silken lanterns that lit the wedding terrace where the head table sat and where the makeshift dance floor had been set up between the dark flowers.

Avril turned and saw me stomping toward her.

Her expression gave me a flicker of hope—

But then she started to back away, and my jaw clenched.

No fucking way.

She wasn’t going to run from me. Not now.

My power was still muted, but I was running on pure adrenaline and rage as I closed the distance between us.

Her eyes widened as I approached, but I moved too quickly for her to get away. She glanced toward Lucian.

Was she afraid of him—or of me?

“What are you doing?” she hissed.

I grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the darkened edge of the path.

“Titus, I—”

“You what?” I demanded. My grip tightened. My pulse quickened as I stared into her eyes.

Something was different about them.

They seemed darker, more intense.

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