Page 78 of The Barbaric Fae's Soul

I pulled out of the hug, and blinked at her. “What?”

“Naomi told Blue and Presley that Vevol gave her some sort of assignment when she was done with her spirit journey.” Summer shrugged. “No one’s seen Teris since she slipped away, so we assume he followed her.”

I blinked again.

And again.

“Like Remmo followed you?” I finally asked her.

She laughed. “If they were fated, he probablywouldn’thave gone after her. You know Teris doesn’t care about fate. He just wants love.”

She had a point with that.

I sighed. “How am I supposed to warn him, then?”

“Girl, he knows the bond is temporary. He doesn’t need a warning that you’re going to bang your king; we all know that’s coming.” She winked at me, and my face heated. The blush spread over my neck, and chest, and down my arms, and she grinned at me.

I couldn’t help but grin back, though mine was a little sheepish. “Alright, fine. Thank you.”

“Any time.” She gave me one last hug, before Remmo told her they needed to do something, and towed her away from me.

Leaving me with Aev.

He was having a conversation with an agitated-looking Oren, and a few others too. I noticed Korrik talking to Presley off to the side of them—and saw her roll her eyes at him. He fought a grin, and she bit her lip to hide a smile.

The unseelie girls were interacting. They were opening up. And the unseelie guys were, too.

I caught the end of Oren’s and Aev’s conversation as I stepped up to my sabertooth. “Just give it a chance, brother.” He smacked Oren lightly on the shoulder. “If you know you want her, you’re already in a much different position than I was in before.”

His face was a little red, but he nodded.

Aev’s arm wrapped around my waist, and he dragged me to his chest, holding me tightly. I flashed him a smile, and he brushed a kiss to my nose. “Did you find Teris?”

“Apparently, Naomi left on some sort of errand for Vevol, and he followed her.” I bit my lip. While I didn’t think that would bother him, I also didn’t think he’d faced the idea of her with another man yet.

He lifted an eyebrow. “That should be interesting.”

And that was the end of his response.

A smile blossomed on my face. “Ready to go home?”

“You have no idea.” His hand slid into my hair, and he dragged my mouth to his. He didn’t hesitate—his tongue slid between my lips, and he devoured me.

My bond with Teris fizzled out in an instant, and I felt a strong, solid connection to Aev fall into place.

The unseelies around us and in the trees whooped and cheered. When Aev pulled away long enough to throw me over his shoulder, I caught a glimpse of Oren, and saw that even he was smiling a bit.

Aev shifted forms and took off into the forest again, this time, taking me home.

Twenty-One

He closedand locked the door behind us, carrying me with him as he checked every level of our place until every single door was locked.

Instead of taking me straight to the bed when he knew we were locked up tight, he carried me down to the bathroom. My ass met the countertop before he stepped over to the shower, turning the water on. Our gazes met as he turned back to me, and his eyes were hot, but his lips were curved upward in a grin.

“You mind if we shower first? I’m filthy.” He gestured to his hair, and I smiled. I used my fire to clean myself up when I started feeling gritty, but he didn’t have that advantage.

“Sounds like fun.”

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