Page 43 of Realm of Wind and Vines
The Unseelie King, who looks like he was just about to straighten after being thrown aside, doesn’t have time to react before Draven has yanked him back up by his collar and locked furious eyes on him.
“If you ever touch her like that again, I will cut off your fucking hands,” Draven growls in his face.
A truly villainous smile spreads across Orion’s mouth. But before he can say anything, Draven shoves him back and insteadwhirls towards me. My breath gets stuck in my lungs as his blazing eyes lock on me.
“You,” he grinds out. “With me. Now.”
Not waiting for me to reply, he simply takes my arm in an iron grip and hauls me with him out the door. Still standing in the middle of the dance floor, Orion flashes me a satisfied smirk and winks.
Warm air smelling of rich soil and sweet flowers fills my lungs as we exit the building and step out into the forest outside. Since the sun has almost set now, and the thick canopy above blocks out most of the light, the shifters from the Purple Clan have lit torches all across the forest. Secured to poles that have been sunk into the ground, they fill the woods with warm orange light at regular intervals.
Draven pulls me with him as he stalks around the back of the building to a place with no windows and no other people around. Then he practically throws me up against the wall and gets right in my face. Both of his hands are braced against the dark wooden wall on either side of me, caging me in.
“What the fuck was that?” he growls, his golden eyes burning with anger and hatred and… something else.
I let a mask of innocence descend on my features. “What was what?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Me dancing with Orion.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“And what?”
A note of challenge creeps into my voice, and I tilt my chin up in an arrogant expression as I hold his stare. “And why is that a problem?”
“Because…” he grinds out, but then trails off. Opening his mouth, he tries again. But only a frustrated growl escapes his lips.
“Because it made you jealous,” I finish for him.
“No,” he snaps. “I did not feel jealous.”
“Possessive, then?” Arching an eyebrow, I lift a hand and draw teasing fingers along his jaw. “I’m yours, aren’t I?”
With his hands still planted on the wall on either side of me, he clenches his jaw and curls his fingers into fists as if he has to physically stop himself from touching me. “No. You’re a menace. That’s what you are.”
“Oh, I know. It’s part of why you love me.”
His eyes flash. “I don’t love you.”
“Yes, you do.”
“You need to stop spewing delusional nonsense and start obeying my fucking orders.”
An unapologetic smirk spreads across my lips. “Is that right?”
“Yes.” He draws in a frustrated breath through his nose. “I very specifically told you not to use your magic during the fight. But you did it anyway.”
“Because they tried to hurt you. Anyone who hurts youdies.” That final word rips from my lungs like a snarl.
Draven draws back a little in surprise.
And the mate bond vibrates in my chest again. It’s only for a fraction of a second. But it’s there.
Panic pulses across Draven’s handsome face.
