Page 70 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

I was a little surprised at how easy it was, but maybe he was just exhausted, too. I headed for the kitchens, wondering how I was going to get out of this. Whatever Seb wanted to talk to me about, I didn’t want to hear it. Not when my nerves were already wrung out and this aching anger kept growing hot in my chest.

I hated them all. And even though I hated them, I still kept thinking about how it felt to have Seb lying over me, the hardness of his body pressed to mine. The feel of Jasper’s arms around me, tight, pulling me to safety. Even the way Gareth’s eyes had locked on me during his examination.

A hand caught my arm. I gasped as I whirled to find Gareth staring intently at me. He shoved me against the wall, one hand cupping the back of my head. Images of his mouth on mine made me freeze as heat bloomed through me.

His free hand pressed into the wall next to me. “Your wolf form was peculiar.”

“Huh?” I said eloquently.

“It didn’t look quite right. Before Jasper interrupted, you looked like you were … flickering. Any idea why?”

Chapter 31 - Azriel

Because I’m the shape-thief you came here to kill. I tried my hardest to keep my thoughts from my face. He suspected. He had to know that shape-thieves gave themselves away by not being steady. But he couldn’t be certain; otherwise, I’d be dead already.

“I have a hard time holding my beast form,” I said. I didn’t bother to hide the exhaustion in my voice. “You saw how quickly I lost it. I’m surprised I passed at all, it’s so weak.”

Gareth narrowed his eyes at me.

His face was so close to mine that I could kiss him. I let my eyes drop to his lips, considering it. It was again a different pull than I felt to Jasper and Seb, but it was very much there. The desire to stroke my fingers over his cheek, to see if the subtle shadowing was as bristly as I thought it was. To touch his lips to see how soft they were.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

My gaze was still on his lips. I was just too tired to care. If my body was responding to the stress by wanting sex, so what? I’d rather be rolling around in the hay right now than thinking about whether Gareth was going to start to strangle me. I didn’t want to get murdered over something I had no control over.

His hand was still tucked behind my head, cushioning it from the stone wall. Did he even realize what he was doing?

“I asked you what you’re doing?” Gareth growled.

I sighed. “What are you doing? You’re the one that pushed me against the wall and you’re the one pinning me in place and touching me so gently.”

“I’m not being gentle.”

“No?”

Gareth let out a small, shaky breath. “Azriel, you might cast have some strange spell over Seb and Jasper, but it’s not going to work on me.”

“They’re the ones casting spells, not me.” Finally, I shook my head. “Can I go now? My friends are waiting for me.”

Gareth leaned in closer. His fingers tightened in my hair, and I closed my eyes and lifted my face, accepting my fate. When his breath wafted over my face, I shivered and moved closer to him. No, this wasn’t just accepting my fate—I wanted it.

“Why?” Gareth murmured.

I opened my eyes again. “Why, what?”

His green eyes seemed to pierce straight through me. His head tilted slightly, like he was listening to something only he could hear, and he pulled away. I actually flinched at his sudden departure. My mouth dropped open in protest, but I managed to hold it in at the last moment. He stalked away, not looking back.

That was a good thing. Right? He walked away before I could make a mistake. So why did I feel so…

What did I feel?

***

The second trials continued, but I didn’t pay attention to their marks. While attendance was once more mandatory, I found ways to slip away without drawing notice to myself—except for Seb. Every time I tried to get away, he was there, following me. Jasper and Gareth completely ignored me, but Seb acted obsessed.

I did my best to stay away from him. I hadn’t talked to him since that day I told him I’d meet him at Lotmas’s pavilion, but I didn’t want to talk to him. This place was confusing enough without my hormones getting in the way. At least with Jasper and Gareth, they kept their distance.

In the end, I had to risk skimming forms to continue to evade him. That helped a little, but he always managed to follow me to wherever I was going. During the fifth-year trials, he once more found me when I was sneaking away. This time, I’d touched the cremated remains of Freta’s cat again, and was currently a feline walking across a high wall.