Page 21 of Entangled (Guardian Academy 2)

“She says she doesn’t want to, so get the fuck away from her.” Jax’s firm, demanding voice rises over the music.

Vampire guy jerks his hands off my waist. “And who the fuck are you?”

I turn around just in time to see Jax lean into the guy’s face. “The guy who’s going to beat your ass if you don’t get the hell away from her. Right now.”

Vampire guy stares Jax down momentarily before flipping him the middle finger with both hands. “Whatever, wolf boy. But this isn’t over yet.” He backs away from Jax, purposely bumping his shoulder into mine.

Once he’s out of sight, I smile at Jax. “That was perfect timing. Seriously, I think you might be right about us being great together.”

Instead of agreeing with me, he stares at me with his arms crossed. Figuring he’s pissed off at me for wandering off and tracking down information by myself, I try to smooth things over.

“I know you probably think I just broke the rules,” I say as calmly as I can. “But that was me behaving. Trust me. If I was misbehaving and doing whatever I want, the conversation vamp dude and I just had would’ve gone down way differently.” His unwavering gaze makes me squirm. “Look, I’m sorry I wandered off by myself, but I did get a name, and I do know that at least one of them will be here tonight. So, if we wait around for a bit, we might get lucky.”

He continues to stare at me to the point that I feel like I’m going to burst. I’m just about to ask him what’s wrong with him when he parts his lips.

“Do you always dance like that when you’re supposed to be working undercover?” he asks with an inquiring look on his face.

I shake my head. Jesus, is that what this is about? What a weirdo.

“No. I usually dance way, way better.”

“Prove it, then,” he says, shocking the living daylights out of me. He doesn’t seem like the dancing type.

“Um … what?” I look around the dancefloor then back at him as I lean in. “Is something going on that I don’t know about? Are we being watched?”

“I’m just curious,” he says. Then he winds around me and presses his rock solid chest against mine. When I make no move to get closer, he loops his arm around my waist and forces me closer. “Dance with me?” His diffidence makes it sound more like a question.

Figuring I was correct about us being watched, I lean against him and begin to sway my hips in rhythm. He rocks his hips with mine, his movements unsure at first, like he’s trying to decide whether he wants to back out or not. I know the second he decides he’s all in, though, because that’s when he really starts to move.

He flattens his palms against my waist and urges me closer until our bodies are practically fused together. I rest my head back against his shoulder as he presses his cheek against the side of my head and breathes in deeply. I still don’t know what’s up with all the sniffing, and I make a mental note to find out. All thoughts leave my mind when his free hand also finds my waist, and he traces his fingers along the sliver of flesh peeking out of the hem of my tank top.

I uncontrollably shiver, and he chuckles, his breath dusting through my hair.

“I think you might like that a lot.”

“You think so, huh?” Two can play at this game.

I reach up and play with his hair at the base of his neck, grinning when I feel a shudder ripple through his body.

“I think you might like that a lot, a lot.”

He lets out a soft growl, his grip on my waist tightening as he moves his mouth toward my ear. “You drive me so damn crazy sometimes.”

“The feeling’s mutual.” My eyelids flutter shut as he softly grazes the tip of my ear with his teeth, and I question if we’re putting on a show anymore.

Another graze of his teeth. Another shudder from me … Or maybe it’s from him. It’s hard to tell with how close we are to each other. Regardless of who reacted, I find myself rolling my hips against his.

A throaty groan escapes him, his fingers digging into my flesh. I open my eyes, preparing to turn around and show him how to really dance. But mid-turn, I feel a sensation sweep over me, scorching hot and violently powerful.

The vampire who killed Adaliya is here.

I can’t see her, but every one of my nerve endings magnetically connects to her. Murderous rage flames inside me, a rage I’m not sure belongs to me. But it’s too overpowering to fight, and one single, all-consuming thought burst through my mind.

Find and kill her.

Chapter 16

I react without thinking, my mind no longer belonging to me … but to Adaliya’s revenge. But as I step forward, Jax’s grip on me tightens.

“Where are you going?” he whispers hotly in my ear. “We’re not done yet.”

I only half-hear him as I wrestle to get away from his grasp. “Let me go,” I growl in a voice that sounds chillingly unlike my own.

He loosens his hold on my waist, but he doesn’t release me. Then he whirls me around and looks me dead in the eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s here … that vampire … Nadene …” My breaths come out and go in sharply. I’m about to start hyperventilating. I’ve never felt so out of control in my entire life. “I have to find her … kill her …” I look at him helplessly, begging him to understand something I don’t. Maybe then he will explain to me why I feel so overpowered by the need to kill.

A pucker forms at his brow as he cups my face between his hands. I protest, wiggling to get free from him.

“Let me go,” I seethe, pushing on his chest. “I need to get to her.”

“No.” He keeps a firm grip on my face. “I’m not going to let you go until you calm down.”

“But I can’t calm down,” I cry, noting that some of the people around us have stopped to watch the scene unfold. I know I should stop, but I can’t control the desperate need to kill the vampire I know is here.

“Yes. You. Can.” His gaze never wavers from mine. “Alana, you need to realize what’s happening. Remember what Ollie said about your emotions connecting to the faerie’s. I think that’s what’s happened to you.”

The light above reflects against his eyes. Music vibrates against my chest. His scent dances around me and slowly pulls me back. The longer I stare into his eyes, the calmer I feel until I manage to reclaim control over myself enough that I’m not freaking out. But I can still feel the connection to Adaliya and the desire to kill Nadene.

“Better?” he asks, and I unevenly nod. “Now tell me what’s going on.”

“She’s here, Jax,” I whisper. “She’s here, and all I can think about is wanting to kill her.”

He swallows hard, his fingers trembling against my face. “Tell me where she is.”

“I don’t know … I can only feel that she’s here.” I bite down hard on my lip as the murderous rage threatens to possess me again. “And I want nothing more than to kill her right now.”

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We look at each other, his worry mirroring mine, but mine shifts into a silent plea. Let me do Adaliya justice.

He reluctantly removes his hands from my face and steps back. “Go find her. I’ll follow.”

Nodding, I eagerly turn to walk off the dancefloor and push my way through the crowd blocking the way to the door. Before I get very far, Jax snags my hand and laces his fingers through mine.

I glance over my shoulder at him and then descend my gaze to our interlaced hands. “What’re you doing?”

“Making sure you don’t do anything you’ll regret.” He squeezes my hand. “Now go.”

Like a tiger tracking its prey, I determinedly move through the crowd and past the bar. The vampire I was dancing with earlier shoots me an annoyed look, but I barely register his existence, my attention focused on one thing.

Find and kill.

Find and kill.

Find and kill.

I march to the rhythm of the voice in my head, across the club and to the front door. Shoving the door open, I step outside into the chilly night air and sweep my gaze over the mostly empty parking lot until I find my target.

Her hip rests against the side of a motorcycle as she leans to the side, flirting with a human. Her back is facing me, but I know for a fact that it’s her by how powerful the need to kill becomes. Potent, toxic, blinding—I can hardly think straight. If Jax didn’t have a hold on my hand, I’d probably go all jungle cat on her and attack.

Thankfully, though, Jax senses my uncontrollable desire and clutches my hand securely.

“Is she out here?” he asks, stepping beside me and tracking my gaze.

I bob my head up and down. “The woman in the black dress and heels standing over there, trying to seduced that human guy.” I point at her. “That’s her.”

“Okay.” He sticks his free hand into his pocket. “I’m going to let go of your hand. You get your ass in the car and wait for me there.” He locks his dead serious eyes on me. “Under no circumstances are you to get out of the car. Got it?”

I free a trapped breath. “All right.”

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