Page 29 of Tethered to the World
Her eyes widened in alarm, then she quickly focused on Logan again, hoping he didn’t notice her distraction. He then glanced behind her. When she turned, she saw Mason darting toward them. Instead of lumbering as she expected, he appeared to almost blend into the background. He was more of a blurred shape, there one second and gone the next, and she could easily see why people would mistake him for the legendary bigfoot.
Then he was standing before her, his chest heaving, his lavender eyes bright, his hair a snarled mess standing up around his head. His forehead was bigger, his face broader, his row of horns seemed to be more pronounced, sticking up higher than before. His upper and lower fangs were thick and long, their tips poking out of his mouth.
The fabric of his shirt strained across his torso, his pants so tight they could’ve been painted on him. He was all wild and primitive. Instead of being afraid, her pulse slowed, and she smiled up at him. “I don’t suppose you can show me the way back to the house?”
Logan trotted to her side, standing slightly in front of her, as if worried about how Mason would react. Only, Annora wasn’t afraid.
Mason cocked his head as he studied her, then his features seemed to melt down, until he resembled the man she first met. “You weren’t running?”
He seemed baffled, almost hurt, and she softened toward him. “Of course not. I don’t need to run from you. If I wanted to leave, I would just walk out the front door.”
She glanced around the trees, the shadows making her uneasy, the beauty dark and twisted. She crossed her arms, suddenly chilled. “I’ve never been around so many trees before, never been so far away from civilization. It’s not what I expected.”
She thought she’d feel free, not panicked and vulnerable.
Mason shoved his hands into his pockets. “I could show you around if you want. Teach you how to survive.”
Annora glanced around the trees suspiciously, her smile a little tight. She didn’t have the luxury of being afraid. “I’d like that.”
Mason straightened, his chest expanding with pride, his lavender eyes darkening, as if he was already going over what he needed to teach her. “We’ll begin after training tomorrow.”
She fell into step next to him, noting Logan racing ahead of them back to the house. She listened to Mason while he described different trees and plants, what was harmful from poison ivy to itchweed, and the flowers and berries that could be eaten. His low voice was soothing, and she unconsciously inched closer, his presence making the forest seem almost peaceful.
He slowed as they neared the house, and she matched his pace, waiting for him to speak what was on his mind. “What’s wrong?”
He paced away from her, rubbing the back of his neck. He whirled, then pinned her with his gaze. “If you need to leave, don’t just vanish. Even if you don’t tell the others, will you at least let me know?”
Everything inside her rebelled at the thought of him keeping tabs on her, her every second watched and monitored. But she also remembered his vow to be her friend.
It was something a friend would do.
“I promise I won’t try to keep you here. Think of it as more of a failsafe. If you vanish without a word, I’ll know you’re in trouble and I’ll come for you.” He spoke earnestly, the hard set of his jaw saying he wouldn’t accept any answer but the one he wanted.
She hesitated, expecting a trap of some sort, but what he said made sense. While she didn’t want the guys anywhere near her uncle, she didn’t doubt they would come after her if she was in trouble…if for no other reason than Rufus told them to protect her.
“I’ll tell you,” she whispered, suddenly anxious to be anywhere else.
The tension went out of his shoulders, and he gave her a slight nod. Before he could say anything else, the sliding door to the house opened and Logan strode out, wearing jeans and a button-down shirt. His hair was styled and slicked back, and she edged away from the sharp look in this eyes as his gaze settled on her.
He was different from the rest of the group. The others were rough around the edges, taking their assignment to police the paranormals seriously, training from sunup to sundown. Logan was more polished, his clothes classier, he rarely joined the others during discussions, didn’t participate in the group beyond the bare minimum. He was biding his time, acting the way someone born to money would behave, taking his place on the team and accepting it as his due. He lit up a cigarette, leaning back against the railing, his smirk getting on her nerves…like he knew something she didn’t.
The cocky bastard.
She didn’t trust this side of him.
It wasn’t that he demanded to be treated better, it was the way he looked down at a person. The way his eyes were hard and calculating despite the way he laughed and joked with everyone.
Oh, he cooked for them, pretended to belong, smiled and flirted, but she knew it was all an act. When he was telling her about the pack grá, his emotions had been stripped bare. He was dead inside, every ounce of hope sucked from his soul…if he’d ever had any. She knew that look, recognized it from the mirror every morning.
Xander stepped out after him but held to the shadows, everything about him so subdued compared to Logan, he almost disappeared into the background…until she looked into his eyes, the intensity there purely predatory.
She couldn’t help wonder if he ever relaxed.
Instead of off-putting, she liked his vigilance, feeling protected for the first time in forever. Nothing would ever get passed him.
“There’s a party tonight off campus.” Camden emerged from the house last, his phone in his hand. “We’ll split up, go in two teams and see what we can learn.”
When his eyes landed on her, she tensed at the calculating look.
