Page 14 of Ensnared
“Do you want to go round to Skye’s later?”
I don’t know what’ll happen with her now that her secret is out and ours isn’t, but I need to see for myself that she’s okay. She hasn’t been by to see me, that much I can tell—my room doesn’t bear her scent at all.
But Ty is staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“Are you crazy?” he growls. “She’s a witch. She nearly killed you.”
The force of his anger crashes against me, and I step back, surprised by his vehemence. “Whoa. Do you really think she did it on purpose?”
“I don’t care,” he retorts. “If she can’t control herself, she has no business taking off those fucking cuffs. And we don’t need her. She was going to leave anyway.”
“But—” I try to object, but he rolls right over me.
“Don’t bother going there. I saw her suitcases were packed this morning. She and that damned dog can go to hell for all I care.”
“But Aiden said she was staying,” I object. “And I want her to. I won’t just…” I motion with my plate. “It’s not her fault she’s a rookie. We had to learn to control our shifts, too.”
It took us years before we could be trusted to go out among the humans. It’s why we stay in this village so far from any human towns—because our younglings are always in danger of sprouting tails and scales. If it was just adults, we could stay human-shaped most of the time and only transform out in the open waters. Since that’s not a possibility, the entire clan lives here. It might sound like confinement, but we like it.
Ty doesn’t seem any happier after my reminder.
“I stayed with you for two days,” he yells, and his voice breaks, “afraid that if I fell asleep, I’d wake up to find you dead next to me.”
I carefully put my plate on the low bench by the door. Then I turn to face him. “Ty, I’m fine. I’m sorry you were worried.”
I reach for him. I want to wrap him in my arms and tell him I’m okay. I have no idea what he went through over the past three days, and the thought of him being unconscious for that long has my gut clenching tight. But I’m alive and I want him and Skye together. I want us to continue what we started because I’ve never been happier.
He moves out of my reach.
I let my hands fall to my sides, disappointed.
“I can’t,” he chokes out. “And if you go to her…” He clamps his lips together.
“What?” I ask. “If I go to her, we can’t be friends anymore? Are we in third grade again?”
He doesn’t meet my gaze. “I can’t be there for you if you knowingly risk your life with her.”
With that, he strides away, his long legs carrying him up the stairs two at a time.
I know the source of Ty’s anger, the deep fear that’s hurting him now. After what happened with his family… It’s a miracle he ever trusted anyone again. How the fuck do I fix this for him? Maybe it won’t even be possible.
I’m no longer hungry. The thought of food has me feeling sick. Or maybe it’s the fact that my best friend who’s become my lover has given me an impossible ultimatum.
I don’t want to choose Skye over him. I’ve known him my entire life, and the thought of losing him rips me apart. But the idea of him dictating who I should or shouldn’t sleep with makes me want to hit something.
I collapse on the bench on the covered porch and stare out toward the ocean. Rain washes down in gray curtains, obscuring my view as I sit and wonder whether I’ve lost one of the most important relationships in my life.
Five
Skye
For hours,a storm has raged around my cabin. At eight in the evening, the world outside is pitch-black. In my bed, I huddle down, covered with the spare blanket, and the fire in my little stove is blazing, but wind whips outside the cabin, chilling and wild. I don’t know if there’s a draft that’s cooling down the room, but if I’m meant to winter in here, I’ll need to ask Aiden for additional heating or better insulation. To be fair, I don’t think they ever had guests stay here during the winter months: from what the guys have told me, they only accept tourists for a month or two during the summer.
Princess Penny is snoozing in her doggy bed, and I’m trying to work on Aiden’s list of requirements. It’s long, and it’ll take me several months at least to finish. That means I’ll be here until spring, and I might get my wish of seeing the beauty of the Alaskan wilderness in full bloom.
The thought would have filled me with joy just days before, but now, while Jack is still out and Ty hates my guts, it no longer seems so appealing. Already, the nights grow longer, and I know I’ll be very lonely over the winter if I don’t make up with the men. It’s not even about the crazy hot sex, though I’ll miss that, too. I just want their company.
Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to make more friends in the village. If they want to be friends with me, that is. Maya probably wants to kill me by now. I don’t actually know whether Aiden and Ty have told anyone about me yet. It was lucky that I’d picked a secluded cove for my full moon ritual, away from the prying eyes of the villagers. I don’t think anyone but Aiden saw the flames from a distance. No one has come to challenge me, anyway.
