Page 13 of Entangled in the Woods
“Like I said, there wasn’t time. I was speeding to get here before the wards closed.”
“We can’t have a…girl here. This place is full of…us,” Kostas said. His hands curled into tight fists.
“You’re getting angry with the wrong person, Kostas.” Everett kicked the couch Wilder had draped himself over. Myjoyof a date last night grunted before crossing his arms across his chest closing his eyes. “Wilder brought her home last night when he knew he had to be here early this morning. He should’ve taken her back last night like a decent philanderer.” Everett kicked the couch again, and Wilder opened one eye before quickly closing it again.
“You should’ve left her where you found her. She doesn’t belong here,” Kostas said.
Everett grumbled, turning his glare onto me. I sucked in a quick breath and held it. “Believe me, I tried. She’s a runner. Even in those shoes.” Everyone turned to look at my feet.
A small woman with strawberry blonde hair pushed her way around Kostas’s large frame. “Kostas! Everett! You’re scaring the poor girl. Everett couldn’t just leave her at that junkyard.”
Moving around Kostas, the woman put her arm around my back and guided me away from the two menacing men. “Everett, let me take care of her this weekend. I’ll handle the…introductions.” She gave me a closed-lip smile. Her expression was warm. “We could use some more feminine energy in the tent.”
Everett nodded at her suggestion. “Fine. She’s your problem for the weekend.”
The woman brought me to one of the smaller couches and sat down next to me. Taking my hands in hers, she looked at my face, which I was sure looked terrified. “Hi, I’m Kleio. That brute that drove you here is Everett, and the other hulk is Kostas.”
Gesturing to the table in the middle of the room, Kleio also introduced me to Jack and Gavrill. The two men got up from the table and walked over to where we were sitting. Although smaller than the other males in the room, Jack was covered in lean muscle. His blond hair stuck out in sharp contrast to his tan skin. Gavrill stood a little behind Jack. He had black hair and a closely trimmed beard. When he got close enough to the others, I could see why he had made Jack look small. I was glad I was sitting down, or I was sure my knees would have given out.
“Back up, you guys,” Kleio urged. “You forget how big you are around humans.”
My mind started racing. Humans? Weren’t we all…humans here? These guys might’ve seemed more like Greek gods than humans, but they sure looked to be the same species as me.
With a huff, Jack planted a kiss on Kleio’s lips and dipped his head to her shoulders to nuzzle her neck. I was sitting close enough, my hands still clasped in Kleio’s, that I could hear a low growl coming from Jack as he pulled away. Then he walked to the table in the middle of the tent, Kleio’s eyes following him with a hungry stare. Kostas and Gavrill also made their way to the table, shaking their heads in amusement at the couple.
Everett stayed behind for a moment, looking at me. His yellow eyes connected with mine. I involuntarily squeezed Kleio’s hands.
“Everett! Get back over here—we need to strategize,” Kostas said.
He blinked quickly three or four times, shaking his head before turning around and heading to the table where Jack,Kostas, and Gavrill stood over large pieces of paper that looked like maps.
Kleio pulled her hands from mine, shaking me from my stupor, and I sent her an apologetic smile. Delicate strawberry blonde eyebrows arched over blue eyes. Her features were soft, and she had tiny orange freckles that dusted her nose. When she smiled back at me, her pink lips slowly opened to reveal white teeth framed by two large, pointed canines. Those were not human teeth.
Seeing that I’d noticed, she said, “You’re safe here. No one’s going to hurt you.” Then she added, “Are you from around here?”
I quickly shook my head, my hands still covering my mouth.
“I didn’t think so. Most girls around here know to stay away from that one.” She nodded her head toward Wilder, who was still slouched on the couch but had shifted his head so he was staring at us. “But don’t worry about that. We all make mistakes. What’s your name?” Her hands reached up, and she slowly pulled my hands away from my face so I could answer her.
“Elise.”
“Well, Elise, we’re stuck here for the weekend. Might as well get to know one another,” she said. “Let’s go for a walk and let the insensitive men debate over their maps.”
A scoff from Jack was the acknowledgment we got as Kleio pulled me up from the couch and brought me through the tent flaps. We walked down the makeshift street lined with similar tents. People bustled around, chatting with one another. The overall mood was cheerful, and it seemed like everyone buzzed with a level of excitement. Kleio nodded, greeting people who gave us curious looks as we walked by.
“You didn’t catch feelings for Wilder, did you?” she asked bluntly as we walked by two men playing some sort of lawn game with wooden blocks.
I didn’t know how much I should divulge to Kleio. Wilder hadn’t been pleasant to me this morning, but he was the only person I kind of knew here. I decided I should just be honest. “No, he was just a guy I met last night at the bar.”
“Oh, good. I couldn’t tell. You both seemed familiar at the bar last night.” She raised her eyebrows at me.
I could feel the red embarrassment travel up my neck and onto my cheeks. “You were there?” Of course this would happen on the one night I let loose. I couldn’t have an anonymous one-night stand. That would have been too easy.
Kleio laughed. “Oh, I wasrightthere. I’m surprised your tongue didn’t accidentally make its way downmythroat.”
I was sure I looked like a tomato as I groaned, covering my face with my hands. If a sinkhole could just open in the ground, I would gladly fall into it.
She grabbed my hands, pulling them away from my face for the second time today. “Don’t feel embarrassed! We’ve all been there. Well, I haven’t been there for a while, but I have definitely been there. I remember when Jack and I got together, there were more than a couple of nights that I humiliated myself at the bar. I don’t think they ever fully fixed the sink in the girl’s bathroom.” She tilted her head, reminiscing. “It’s possible that it became detached from the wall at some point.” I almost laughed out loud.
