Page 31 of Tide Touched

Someone tackles me before I can do anything, and I land on my stomach, the wind knocked out of me. My chin hits the ground and I’m glad my tongue isn’t sliced apart by my teeth.

I squirm, turning around to see, shocker, Suit Guy. I try to kick him. Try to summon my fire. Nothing but sparks shoot from my fingertips.

This whole escape thing is not working out so well.

In a last-ditch effort, I smack my head forward, my forehead slamming into his. Ow. He cries out and cracks a hand across my face. I hiss out at the pain.

Carter hauls the guy off me. ‘Hey,’ he snaps. ‘She is my mate. You don’t strike her.’

The guy glowers but slightly inclines his head. He straightens his suit as Carter hauls me up off the ground. His disapproving scowl turns to me. Without warning, he leans forward, pressing his lips to mine. My wolf stirs, wanting a moment ago to be free, now, to melt into his touch.

Carter breaks away from me. ‘Will you calm down?’ he says softly. His gaze lingers on my cheek where Suit Guy’s hand has likely left a mark. ‘Come on.’ To my surprise, he takes my hand and leads me toward my room. ‘I promise I’ll take you outside tomorrow if you behave tonight.’

‘Carter!’ Courtney growls.

As we pass her—my hand still in his—he brushes a lock of perfect blonde hair behind her ear. ‘Thank you for your patience, Court.’ He leans in, pecks her on the cheek.

‘Wait.’ Courtney raises a hand. ‘I—’ She looks between us. ‘I can’t say I like this, but…’ She worries at her bottom lip. ‘I guess I’m going to have to get used it. Baby, do you mind if I talk to Katherine for a moment? Girl talk.’ She turns to me. ‘I actually would like some fresh air.’ She loops her arm with mine—I’m too stunned to object—then tosses a charming smile to Carter. ‘You can’t keep the poor girl in a stuffy room.’

Carter raises his brow. ‘Okay,’ he says dubiously. ‘I’ll meet you in your room, Katherine.’

I nod, totally speechless. Whatever Courtney’s up to, at least I’ll finally get some fresh air.

As the girlfriend of the alpha’s nephew, I realise Courtney is the highest ranking female in the Water Pack. I decide to let her play her game, to see what she wants. There might be a way to get something out of this.

I desperately want to unlink our arms, but I grit my teeth as she leads me through the front doors. The guards part for her without a word. Stepping outside, I take a deep lungful of fresh, night air. It’s just not the same having a window.

‘I know it’s only been a few days, but it must suck being kept up in a room like that,’ Courtney says with what I can only assume is mock sympathy.

‘He doesn’t even like me. It’s you he wants.’

Courtney still doesn’t unlink our arms. She leads us around the side of the building until we’re in a small garden with high shrub-walls, neatly trimmed. ‘Of course he wants me. We’ve been together for years. We are real fated mates.’ Her grip on my arm tightens. ‘I am sick of him disappearing every night to fuck you.’ She turns, finally releasing me. ‘I’m going to free him of you.’

A fist hurtles toward my face before I can move. My nose crunches, something wet splattering down my face. A shot to my stomach and my breath is gone. I raise my hands to fight back, but she’s clearly planned this attack; she’s ready for me. Courtney dodges my swing, and she’s more than just a cold, pretty face. She’s Kick Ass Barbie.

I try to open my eyes even as I struggle to breathe, but she has one hand around my throat, slamming me down. The hard ground greets the back of my head, and my vision doubles, black spots swimming before me. Pain lances through me.

‘Help!’ I scream. Blood dribbles from my nose into my mouth.

Courtney’s grip on my throat tightens. I desperately try to conjure up some fire. Spitting sparks dance over my hands. I reach up, my small flames licking up her hair. The Water woman shrieks, and delivers several swift kicks to my ribs, cracking and crunching.

I yelp, trying to cry out for help.

‘No one will come save you,’ Courtney hisses. ‘Carter. Is. Mine.’ She punctuates each word with another vicious blow.

I realise I’m sobbing, heaving breaths through my cracked and aching body. Even Levi never went this far. Distantly, I miss those days. At least then I had Moira. I had the beach. I close my eyes as tears stream down my face. At some point, the blows stop, and I pass out.

Chapter Eighteen

Katie

Something thick and sticky swirls in my throat. I wake, turning on my side, hacking it up. Blood spills from my mouth, splattering the ground. My head pounds. I groan, fresh tears spilling down my cheeks. I muffle a sob as I blink up into the darkness, at the stars and the moon overhead. I can barely breathe, but I inhale enough to scream, ‘Fuck you!’ at the world, the witches who insisted the bond between Carter and I would bridge the distances between the packs. At Carter for having such a bat shit crazy girlfriend. At the bitch herself. I hope I burned her hair.

Footfalls sound close by. Shit. Courtney’s realised I’m not dead. Not quite. I roll, trying to remember how to stand. I try to sit up and yelp at the movement. ‘Fuck’s sake,’ I grouse. I miss my Home, Crap, Home where I was barely fed, let alone looked after. Where I could come and go as I liked, and I had my friend.

‘Shit,’ comes a voice.

I resort to crawling along the ground to get away, half-delirious from pain, the rough pavement biting my forearms.

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