Page 106 of Vicious Kings
She's intent on belonging to a pack. Finding alphas to give her the pampered, protected life she deserves.
And considering I'm a huge part of the reason she's become one of Isabella's favorite targets, I know I don't have any right to interfere in that, but I still can't help but worry.
Fuck, I'm getting attached. That's the last thing I need.
I should study. Should use this rare moment of privacy to actually focus on my coursework instead of worrying about my roommate who definitely doesn't want to be rescued from a night with her potential pack.
Instead, I pull out the iron key as I walk back to the room.
It's become a habit, this nightly examination. Turning it over in my fingers, memorizing every spot of rust. Waiting for Caelyx to give me some sign, some indication of when we're meeting again.
Maybe he changed his mind. Decided I'm more trouble than I'm worth. Or this was all some elaborate game to him, and he's already grown bored.
The thought shouldn't bother me, but it does.
I'm fucking exhausted. The suppressants drain me more each day, make every step feel like trudging through water. My body wants to sleep for a week, but my brain won't shut off.
Fuck it. I change into sleep clothes—an oversized Men's T-shirt I may or may not have technically shoplifted from the store since I knew the shopkeeper wouldn't sell it to me—and collapse into bed.
The mattress is too soft, the pillows too plush, everything designed for maximum omega comfort.
I hate how good it feels.
Sleep comes faster than expected. I don't even dream, which is a relief considering how often my brain has been conjuring memories of Corvinus's tongue lately.
Then, something wakes me.
I don't hear anything, and my internal clock tells me it's way too early for Olivia to be back, but I feel it. A weird prickling sensation that insists I'm being watched.
I crack one eye open, disoriented. The room is dark except for the faint glow of Olivia's fairy lights on her side. Her bed is empty, so she's definitely still at the pack meeting.
Then I see it.
A shadow by my bed. Darker than the surrounding darkness. Too tall and broad to be Olivia, too still to be a trick of the light.
My hand slides toward the nightstand, searching for something, anything I can use as a weapon. But before I can move, the shadow leans down and a hand clamps over my mouth.
"Don't scream."
The voice is familiar. My body recognizes it before my brain does, and that's the only reason I don't immediately try to bite off his fingers.
Caelyx.
I glare up at him, and even in the darkness, I see that infuriating smirk on his face.
"There's my little cobra," he murmurs, his voice barely above a whisper. "Miss me?"
Before I can respond, his eyes glow red, becoming brighter than the lights across the room, and my entire body freezes.
It's similar to the effect Tallon's bark had, but there's a heaviness to it that spreads through my body, making everything limp and fuzzy.
In a matter of seconds, I can't even struggle. All I can do is stare up at those bloody red eyes with a sense of betrayal far greater than I want to admit.
My last thought before I sink into the darkness is the lesson I thought I'd learned long ago.
Never trust the Fae.
To Be Continued…
