Page 55 of The Forbidden Wolf

Without waiting for so much as a nod, I skirted around him and bolted for the door. A cold blast of wind stung my wet eyes, blurring the faces of the three hooded figures standing in front of the empty curb where the Rolls Royce should have been.

Chapter Twenty-One

“Elyse?” Charlie’s voice cut through the roar of adrenaline just in time. I shoved my rising wolf back into her cage and threw my arms around my stunned friend’s neck. She wrapped in the warmest, tightest hug I’d ever felt, whispering, “I thought I’d never see you again.”

My stomach twisted into a knot remembering my promise to run away with her tonight. She had to have been so worried… and I had just forgotten.

“Me too,” I admitted, burying my face in her damp shoulder. “Me too, Charlie.”

Rain pelted 125th Street, turning the asphalt into a shimmering black river I wanted to float away on with my friends. I started to pull away from Charlie to greet Evan and Jayla, whose dumbstruck energy I could feel crackling on either side of me, but one of the doors creaked open, and Charlie’s right arm tightened, drawing me to her side so that we both faced Sebastian.

I burst out laughing. He was wearing his gold wire-framed glasses.

“Hello,” he said politely, nodding at my friends. “I am Sebastian.”

Evan and Jayla exchanged competitive glances and then lurched forward with their hands extended, introductions overlapping each other. Sebastian shook Evan’s hand first, prompting him to shoot Jayla a triumphant look, but then Sebastian grasped Jayla’s as if he meant to kiss it. He didn’t, but from the haughty look she shot back at Evan, he might as well have.

“He’s mine,” I announced with a weary mixture of pride and resignation. Fated or not, there was no point in pretending Sebastian and I weren’t in it for life, so I figured I might as well milk his beautiful face and god-like physique for all the cool points those things were worth among normal human beings.

Charlie sucked in a sharp breath while Evan and Jayla turned to me with admiration and astonishment radiating from their faces. They pointed at my mate as if he were a barely sentient zoo exhibit, and I nodded. Evan placed one hand on his chest and stage-whispered, “I feel like we just walked in on Janet with Rocky Horror.”

“Evan!” I bugged my eyes at him.

“What?” He lifted his palms. “What? Am I wrong?” He looked between Jayla and Charlie. “I’m not wrong!”

Charlie turned her face to my ear and muttered, “This is not a stamp of approval, but that is one fine ass forty-five-year-old.”

“Different guy,” I muttered back. “He’s only twenty-four.”

“Well, that’s one fine ass plot twist then,” Charlie hissed. “What is going on here?”

“Long story. Tell you later?” I flashed her a pleading smile and then said loudly, “But, um, good news: I live in the city now!”

Charlie’s eyes and nostrils flared with alarm—much like Sebastian’s—but Evan and Jayla screamed with joy and flung themselves at me, taking turns asking, “Are you for real?” over and over as they jumped up and down, each of them clinging to one of my hands. When they were finally convinced that I was, in fact, for real, Evan caught me around the waist and lifted my bare feet from the wet pavement.

Sebastian growled.

Evan froze without putting me down and gave Sebastian a searingly judgmental look. “Oh, honey, I thought I made myself clear.”

Sebastian growled again, his eyes darkening.

I rolled my eyes and patted Evan’s shoulders. “Just put me down. He’s fresh from the lab. Not fully trained.” I glared at Sebastian as Evan eased me down. “We’re still working on manners.”

“He’d better work harder,” Charlie said coldly.

“Mmm-hmm.” Jayla folded her arms. “Maybe someone ought to teach him about calendars so he knows what year it is.”

Sebastian bowed his head. “My apologies. Cultural differences can be difficult to navigate on short notice. I will do better next time we meet.”

Next time?

He caught my gaze as he lifted his head, and I felt the fluttering of rekindled sparks in my heart. He had actually meant it when he said I wouldn’t have to give anything up to be with him. Not even my real family.

“Cultural differences?” Evan perked up. “Does this mean we finally get to know what sort of weird cult you’re mixed up in?”

Jayla smacked his arm. “You can’t ask people that!”

“Which is why I’ve held my tongue for the past four years!” Evan said. “But now she shows up in this dress? With this big slab of backwards beefcake? At this condemned theater that’s suddenly been renamed The Elysian? Um, yeah. I think the time has come to ask.” He poked my arm. “Spill the tea, babe.”

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