Kyran
We must take after her, do not let her disappear! Valdr insists, extremely agitated and trying to force me to shift.
I stand paralyzed in the center of the pathway, unable to breathe or blink, as if I have turned to stone. I am left glaring into the eyes of one seriously pissed off witch. Only when she vanishes on a gust of wind am I returned to normal with my skin crawling as I suppress the intense urge to shift. Balling my fists and gritting my teeth, her threatening words echo in my mind, ‘If I find you anywhere around her, if she so much as speaks of seeing you again, may you wish we’d never met. If I find you at my home once more, I will hunt you down and savor your slow, miserable death as I hand you over to my mother. Let this be your only warning’.
A tumultuous swarm of emotions drown me with a mix of rage, fear, confusion, disbelief, and—unbelievably—blinding white euphoria. My entire being is vibrating as I shove everything down deep, barely able to maintain control until I focus solely on that one impossible feeling of pure joy. Even Valdr pauses at the heat and tension blooming in my chest.
“What the actual fuck was that!” Trey shrieks, swinging his arms wildly and whipping around to face me. He’s breathing heavily and sweating, no doubt fighting the urge to shift as well. Glancing around at the humans in the park, he takes a shaky breath and exhales slowly. “Kyran, I need help understanding. I was just standing here, fascinated by Asteria and she’s suddenly spitting venom at you and turning us into statues!” he hisses in a harsh whisper.
We must find her. Whatever the cost, we have to get to her, Valdr insists again.
“What was she cursing at you? It was hard to hear over the screaming in my head,” Trey mutters when I don’t respond.
Take to the woods, we can run faster than the vehicle. We will cut them off.
“Hello? Are you lis—”
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“Enough!” I growl through my teeth, directing it inwardly as well. “Just…give me a moment.”
Trey scrunches his brow in thought, “What would a witch be doing with a human?” he asks, speaking lowly as we turn to step off the path and sit on the log facing the woods with our backs to the park.
“She isn’t a human,” I mutter.
“Well, she certainly isn’t a vampire seeing how it’s daylight. Was her scent masked? Perhaps the witch keeps her as a pet,” he jests, trying to lighten the air.
Selene’s intoxicating jasmine aroma wafts from my hand, pulling me back to her touch. My face still burns wonderfully from her fingertips and my palm is still lightly pulsing. Definitely not masked. I can’t believe I didn’t see this before, I wonder in disbelief.
“Wait, she isn’t also a witch, is she? Dude, you’re trying to get with a witch? Are you insane?” Trey leans forward incredulously.
Glaring at my brother—teetering on the precipice of losing all control—I only shake my head in response. Treyvar, sensing my turmoil, remains silent. Breathing raggedly, I manage to inform him, “Selene is not a witch, but she resides with Asteria and her mother, in the forbidden woods.”
Trey’s eyes bulge and he nearly chokes on air. “You can’t be serious,” he gasps.
“I need to speak with the elders, immediately,” I grit out, roughly pushing to my feet and breaking into a run to my truck with Trey close behind.
“I told you earlier, they didn’t have much to say, nobody has seen or heard anything within the last 17 years. Why do you need to speak with them?” he asks incredulously as his voice bounces with his quick steps.
Yanking the door open, I look into my brother's eyes, and he is confused as well as slightly frightened by what he must see on my face. He crosses in front of the truck and sits in the passenger seat, looking at me expectantly. I get in and my truck roars to life as I say the one thing I never thought would leave my lips.
“I believe—no, I know,” I growl through clenched teeth, “Selene is my mate.”