Page 127 of Tortured Soul
His move was so fast that I didn’t have the time to jump away when he caught my wrist, turning sharply toward me and backing us against Kai’s closed door.
“I didn’t think anything, but I heard quite enough.”
My throat bobbed as he glanced around the empty corridor, his jaw twitching and mouth set in a thin line.
Next thing I knew, we were surrounded in angry dark smoke, my limbs turning numb for a second before we were standing in his living room, the black particles dissipating and revealing Carter sitting in one of the armchairs, his jaw nearly dislocating as he stared at us wide-eyed.
“What the—” Carter started.
“Care to explain?” Arc asked me, his face thunderous.
“Explainwhat?”
The last thing I wanted was to reveal too much. Carter remained silent as he closed the book he was reading and placed it on the table.
“Where do I start?” Arc’s chuckle was dry, empty of any kindness or amusement. “Are you sleeping with Kai?”
My eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Trying to pull my arm away was only making him hold me tighter.
“What?” I snapped. Carter stood up from his spot, anger and confusion replacing the surprise at our sudden arrival. “I’m not! Are you insane?”
“Am I? Why are you avoiding Ann and why is she so sad about it? Why was Kai holding your damn hand in his office?” He pulled me closer, sneering in my face. “Why were you talking about you fucking his friends? Who’s that? Is itMarcus?”
My hands landed on his chest and pushed him away roughly, hard enough that he stumbled back and let go of my wrist.
“No! You said you heard enough but you didn’t hear anything at all!”
“Then fuckingtell me, because I’m one second away from turning both of them to ashes.”
My jaw dropped as I took a step back.
“Do you need me to bring them here?” Carter drawled, now placing himself next to Arc, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Oh hell no!” I screeched. “Marcus and I are friends, and I don’t know why Kai was holding my hand, but it’s not—I can’t believe that you would think something like that!”
Arc scoffed and my fist tightened at my sides. “Can you blame me? You’ve been avoiding us and spending your evening with Marcus for two days.”
“And you’re a damn Succu—”
The sharp sound of my hand crashing against Carter’s face echoed in the room. His head was now snapped to the side toward Arc as my handprint became redder and redder on his skin. I lunged at him, grabbing him by the neck of his shirt.
“Come on, Carter. Insult me again, I fuckingdare you.”
He rotated his jaw, probably still surprised by the force of my slap. He didn’t even deserve to be punched properly.
Arc’s arm came between us and pulled me back. “Go Carter, I’ll—”
“No. I’m her mate too, aren’t I? If she’s fucking other people behind our back, I—”
“Youwhat?” I yelled, trying to fight against Arc’s hold, only to get plastered more firmly against his front. “I didn’t do anything and you’re just too fucking happy to throw accusations at my face!”
I turned around and pushed Arc away again, leaving me standing between them, each about five feet away from me.
“You want to know what was going on in Kai’s office?” I asked Arc. “I went to give him back the Hell’s stone after I’ve been avoiding him since I arrived. Do you know why I’ve been avoiding him? Because when I didn’t know I was your mate and everyone else obviously did, he asked me to get closer to you thinking I could help you balance your two sides. Because he suggested, in what now appears to have been some poorly thought joke, that I fuck you to reach that goal.”
The room fell silent. So much that my heavy breathing and the rain starting to fall outside were almost deafening.
Arc looked at me with narrowed mismatched eyes, his lips set in a hard line, arms crossed over his chest.
