Page 23 of Undeniable

Without overthinking it or second guessing myself, I slide my arms around Oberon’s waist, feeling his hard muscles contract slightly beneath my hands in surprise. He soon relaxes and we fall into a natural embrace.

“You said Uri saw us together, didn’t you?” I ask, closing my eyes and allowing all my senses to drink Oberon in. His skin smells of sandalwood and vanilla. Both scents mix well with his leather tunic and linen shirt.

“Yes. He said you would be the love of my life.” He begins to rub circles in the middle of my back with one hand.

“Are Uri’s visions ever wrong?”

“Do you want him to be in this instance?”

For the first time, I hear doubt in Oberon’s voice. Without moving, I give him my answer.

“No. I don’t. I hope he’s right.”

He lets out a pent-up breath after hearing my answer. His hand moves up my back and cradles my face, gently prodding me to look at him. When I do, his blue eyes hold a promise of forever, protected by his strength. He will be my shield against the world and give all of himself only to me.

“I want you,” he murmurs, searching my face for understanding. “I want all of you.”

My lips part and the words “take me” are on the tip of my tongue.

A loud guttural growl, like that of an animal, accompanies an explosive shattering of glass in the kitchen.

Oberon quickly lets me go and runs toward the danger. I follow his lead to see what made the noise, but what I discover standing in my kitchen shocks me more than scares me.

With his wolf head held high, I see Harold. He made a mess of the glass door leading out into my backyard, but he doesn’t seem apologetic about it at all.

“What are you doing here?” Oberon demands to know, looking ready to fight the almost seven-foot-tall mutant.

Harold’s beseeching eyes try to tell me something his wolf features prevent him from saying. All he can do is make a soft whimper, but it’s all I need to understand why he’s here.

“You realize he can’t actually talk, right?” I ask Oberon, taking a step toward Harold.

Oberon holds out an arm to stop me. “He’s dangerous, Emily. Be careful.”

“If he wanted to hurt either one of us, he would have attacked us already.” I look back at Harold. “I saw you watch us leave your village earlier,” I say. “I got the feeling you wanted to ask me to help you. Am I right?”

Harold nods and points to his head with his human hand.

“I can’t make any promises,” I warn him. “The machine we’ve been working on hasn’t been tested yet. We think it will work, but there’s no way of knowing if it will or not until we put someone inside it. For all we know, it might kill the first person we test or make the condition worse. Or, it might make you completely human. Do you understand the risks?”

Harold hesitates, but then nods.

“I can’t say I blame the poor bastard,” Oberon says. “I would accept the risks too, no matter how slim my chances were.”

“Then let’s go,” I say, stepping up to Harold and holding out my hand to him. He hesitates, but then accepts the offer of my friendship. “We’ll need to be quick. If my father knows you’re here in town, he’ll have you killed. We’ll need to hide your head so no one sees it until we reach our destination.”

“How exactly are you going to do that?” Oberon asks.

“I have an idea.” I tug on Harold’s hand as I lead him to my bedroom. “Let’s just hope it works.”

Chapter 6

“This is never going to work,” Oberon says as he examines Harold’s disguise. Harold growls like he agrees with Oberon’s assessment.

I throw my hands up in exasperation. “My cloak is the best I can do on short notice.”

“The hood isn’t nearly big enough.” Oberon stands in front of Harold and points at his head. “You can clearly see his snout. How far do we have to walk?”

“Not far. It’ll only take us a few minutes to reach the institute. The problem is that the streets will be full of people either going to the ball or watching the festivities.”

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