Unraveled

Regret hit her first, then the sickness Riley had promised, strong, consuming, raking every inch of her. Bile rose, burning her throat. Any second now, she would—Eyes wide, she rushed to the bathroom, hunched over and vomited into the toilet. Over and over again.

When her stomach was finally empty, she brushed her teeth, once, twice, then swished mouthwash for several minutes, until every part of her mouth tingled from the alcohol. All the while, her shaking increased.

No. No, no, no.

“Better?” he asked when she entered the room. “Fine.”

“Could be nerves.”

“Yeah.” But she knew, deep down, she knew, and so did he. They might not want to face it, might want to deny it with every fiber of their beings, but they couldn’t. Not any longer. She was different now. She had changed.

She was a Drainer.

Almost in a trance, she walked back to the bed and reclaimed her spot at his side. She would have to leave him. If she didn’t, she would one day hurt him. Was this the last time she would ever be with him like this?

“I’m sure it’s nerves. A self-fulfilling prophecy,” he said, voice devoid of emotion now. “I told you that you would be sick, therefore you were.”

He’d always been the realist, she the dreamer. Now it seemed their roles had reversed.

“Riley,” she said softly.

“Nope,” he interrupted, as if he suspected where she was headed. “We’ve covered that topic of conversation. Now we can move on.” He pressed another kiss into her cheek. “I want you to know that when I said we were maybe dating yesterday, I was still in shock. I didn’t mean it, and I want to kick my own ass. We are dating, so don’t you dare think about seeing someone else. You’re mine, and I don’t share.”

Sweeter words had never been spoken, and she should have been flying through the clouds, lost to happiness. Except, she found herself saying, “Riley…I just don’t know. I mean—”

“Oh, no. Hell, no.” He rolled over, pinning her to the bed, his weight smashing into her. He was heavy, but it wasn’t unpleasant. She liked it, liked having him there. “Are you trying to break up with me?”

No. “Yes.” Oh, God, she couldn’t believe she’d just said that. He was her everything, and yet, she was dangerous to him. She wasn’t going to risk his life, even to keep him, which she wanted to do more than anything else in the world.

“Things are more complicated, yes, but that doesn’t mean we’re over.”

Tears burned her eyes, springing up, spilling over. “Yeah, it does.” Stop it. Stop talking. Don’t do this. “We’re…over.” If there were any other way…and maybe there was. She would find it, if so, as planned. Research, experimentation. Whatever.

But until then, no Riley. No feeding her addiction to him. No enjoying him, relying on him, expecting and needing him.

His eyes narrowed. “If that’s the case, then you won’t mind taking your self-defense lessons from me.”

And have his hands all over her? How would she resist him? “That kinda defeats the point of what I’m trying to do.” Protect you for once.

“And what are you trying—”

“Mary Ann,” her dad called from downstairs, his voice echoing from the walls and interrupting. “You up?”

“Yeah,” she called back.

“Breakfast will be ready in twenty.”

“Thanks.”

“Welcome.”

She squirmed free of Riley and stood, keeping her back to him. “You should probably go. I have to get ready.”

He sat up. “I’ll leave, but I’ll return and walk you to school. Unless you want to skip and head into town to find another witch. The more bargaining power we have, the better off we’ll be.”

He was asking for her help now, rather than trying to leave her behind to keep her safe. Powerful stuff. He had to know how much that affected her. “Can’t. I’ve got a Chem test, and I can’t miss.” Not that a perfect grade point average mattered in the afterlife, but part of her wanted to pretend this was a normal week.

“All right, I’ll—”

Victoria suddenly appeared in the center of the room, and Mary Ann yelped, hand fluttering over her heart. The vampire princess was paler than usual, her features tight with concern.

“You have to come with me,” she said to Mary Ann. “Aden’s trapped inside Shannon’s body and can’t get out.”

Mary Ann had seen Aden possess a body before—Riley’s wolf form, actually—and the sight had shocked her to her soul. Now he’d possessed Shannon? “I’ll dress and meet you at the ranch.”

“No. That will take too long. I’ll teleport you.”

She stifled a groan. “All right. I have to get past my dad, though, and convince him I’m headed to school.” No Chem test, after all. “I’ll meet you at the gate to my neighborhood.”

“I’m going with,” Riley said, standing.

Victoria shook her head, adamant. “You can’t. You prevent Mary Ann from using her muting ability. You have to stay behind.”

Stubborn, he said, “I’ll walk her to the gate, then, and you can leave me there.”

After a harried nod, Victoria vanished.

Mary Ann was silent as she tugged a sweater and jeans from her closet; she was silent as she dressed in the bathroom. When she finished, she gathered her books and backpack. Still silent. Riley had already removed his jeans—where had he stored them?—and transformed into a wolf.

Together, they raced down the stairs and into the kitchen. The scent of eggs and bacon wafted through the air. Her mouth didn’t water, but her stomach didn’t threaten to revolt again, either. An improvement.

“Dad,” she said in greeting.

He turned, spied Riley and froze, his expression both disgusted and terrified. There were lines of tension around his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept after he’d left her room. “Dear Lord. I didn’t realize how big that thing really was.”

“Sorry, Dad, but I don’t have time for breakfast. I forgot I wanted to get to school early and study for my Chem test.”

He frowned. “You’ve barely even picked at your food lately. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. At least take a piece of bacon with you. It’s brain food.”

She didn’t want to argue, so she claimed the piece he held out for her. “Thanks.”

“Want a ride?”

“Nah.” Too casual? “Oxygen to the brain, and all that.”

“Good luck, honey.”

“Thanks. Love you.” With that, she was out the door and running for the gate, Riley keeping pace at her side.

Funny thing. On the way there, she could have sworn she spotted Tucker, running with them, but Riley didn’t seem to notice him, and Riley noticed everything, so she convinced herself she was seeing things.

Besides, even if Tucker was here, even if he was following her, she didn’t have time to stop and question him. Aden needed her. She just prayed she could help him—rather than hurt him further.

SEVENTEEN

TWO VOICES CALLED TO ADEN. Both female. Both alarmed.

“Try something else.”

“Like what? I’ve tried everything! Screaming at him, shaking him, slapping him.”

“He’s inside that body. Get. Him. Out!”

“What do you want me to do? Reach inside his chest?”

“Yes!”

“You are such a pain! How does Aden stand you? But fine, I’ll do it. I’ll try.”

One second Aden was inside Shannon’s body, drifting through his friend’s mind and memories, reliving a past as painful and lonely as his own, and the next he was standing beside Mary Ann, his hand resting in hers.

She was panting, sheened with perspiration, gaze glazed with shock and fatigue. “Did you see that?” she gasped out. “Did you? I can’t believe I just did that. Tell me you saw that!”

“What happened?” he croaked. God, he ached. Every inch of him ached as if he’d been in a hit-and-run—hit with a baseball bat and run over by a truck.

Victoria moved to his other side, her mouth hanging open with an equal measure of shock. “You’re okay. You’re going to be okay now.”

Was she trying to convince him? Or herself? “What happened?” he asked again.

“She—she reached inside. Jerked you out. You were like a ghost at first, not truly solid, then you were here. I’ve—I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Any collateral damage? Aden took stock. His knee hurt the most, and he was shaking, but he wasn’t puking and wasn’t paralyzed. The poison had passed through him. Thank God. He almost collapsed in relief.

Elijah, Caleb and Julian were no longer moaning, babbling and incoherent. They were quiet. There, Aden could tell, but quiet, as if they were exhausted from their ordeal and needed rest.

Despite Mary Ann’s nearness, Mr. Thomas was also present. A mere outline of himself, but Aden could still see him. He sat at the desk, arms folded over his middle, expression mulish. He couldn’t hide the interest in his eyes, though. He was watching and cataloging every detail.

Odd. Riley wasn’t here. Mary Ann should have muted all of Aden’s abilities completely. Why hadn’t she?

“Uh, A-Aden.” Shannon slowly sat up and looked around the bedroom. He scrubbed his face with trembling fingers. “W-what just happened? I was standing in f-front of you. Wasn’t I? How’d I g-get on the bed?”

He didn’t know that Aden had been inside his mind, then. Thank God for that, too. “You passed out.” It was the only thing his fogged brain could come up with so spur of the moment.

“P-passed out? Why?” Shannon looked at the clock and shook his head, rubbed his eyes. “It’s n-nine-fifteen. How is it nine-fifteen? I tried to wake you up at six-thirty. I should be at school. C-crap! I’m late. D-Dan’s gonna freak. He—”