Warrior Fae Trapped (Warrior Fae #1)(60)

Devon looked away. “Tonight was a mess,” he admitted. Yasmine crossed the room and disappeared down the hall. “I had to take him out in the middle of the classroom. Had I been thinking, I would’ve gotten Charity out of there before I did it. I’m faster now. More experienced. Taking one of them out, even without shifting, is no problem.”

“Number one, that’s pretty sweet, bro! No one your age can do that. That’s why you made alpha so young, see? Number two, you can’t beat yourself up for what happened. Sometimes you gotta react. That vamp needed to be taken down, and I hate to say it, but Charity probably needed that lesson. Especially with an elder sniffing around.”

They sat in silence for a moment, reflecting.

“You don’t seem like you’re in the mood for…shenanigans,” Andy said quietly, picking up his slice of pizza.

Devon glanced in the direction Yasmine had gone. “I thought I’d give in to her so she’d stop affecting me. I made those plans before all the crap went down with the vamp.”

“Ah. Sex it away.” Andy shook his head. “I don’t think that works with girls as hot as Yasmine. She’s still going to be hot in the morning.”

Devon shrugged. “It never lasts. I always lose interest by the morning.”

“How is that possible?” Andy asked.

Devon shrugged again. “Don’t know. I think a girl is so hot I can barely keep my eyes off her, and then we bang and… I don’t know. The magic wears off, I guess. The question has been answered—I’ve seen behind the curtain and the thrill is gone. The messed-up thing is that it happens the same way even if I’ve spent weeks dating the girl. Even if I think I really like her. I’m probably going to end up like the Fonz from Happy Days.”

“You mean an old guy in a leather jacket hanging out with younger kids? That’s weird, yo. You need to stay off late night reruns.”

“I mean alone with nothing but constant one-or two-night stands.”

“Oh. Well, at least you can get laid, I guess. Silver lining.”

Devon snorted, closing his eyes. He stayed quiet as Andy finished his pizza.

“All right, bro,” Andy said. Was that disapproval in his voice, or was Devon imagining it? “I’m going to head.”

“All right, man. Good work.”

Devon watched Andy leave the room with a sense of foreboding. A moment later, he heard, “Ready?”

Yasmine turned the corner, her plump lips curved upward in a seductive smile. Once near, she bent to run a hand along his shoulder.

Not able to hide a sigh, he stood and motioned her toward the hall. The sway of her hips held no interest for him. Instead, his thoughts strayed to Charity.

She was probably curled up in her bed, terrified of the darkness caressing her windows. Reliving the night’s horror in vivid detail. What might’ve happened would be constantly jabbing at her. Agonizing her.

He’d been there once. So had Andy. Many shifters had.

Guilt ate away at him. He hadn’t been fair to her. She would have no idea that his anger had stemmed from fear rather than judgment or contempt.

Slowing, allowing Yasmine to slip by him, he stood outside of Charity’s room, his gaze rooted to the light under her door.

He really should go in to her. He should give her the comfort she needed. New pack members got a year or two to get used to this life. To train and hone their body and mind. Charity had been at it for less than a week. She’d been chased, seduced, propositioned, and attacked. And the things she’d seen… It wasn’t fair to make her go through this alone.

“Coming?”

Yasmine was already sprawled out on his bed, completely nude and perfect in every way. She trailed a hand down between her breasts, over her stomach, and then over a parted thigh.

Guilt burned through him.

He felt like his life was coming apart. A week ago, he’d been the master of his own universe, in total control. Only a matter of days, really, yet things had gotten completely messed up. He barely knew what end was up anymore. He certainly had no idea why.

He dropped his head. He felt lost.





Chapter Twenty-Seven





Charity hiccupped out a sob from under her covers. She hadn’t cried this hard since her mother had left. And if she were honest with herself, she wasn’t crying for Donnie. Not for Sam, either, whom she could no longer fool herself about. She was crying because she was afraid. She was crying because, for the first time in a very long time, she didn’t feel like she had any control. She’d completely lost it in that lecture hall. Her brain had completely shut off. If Devon hadn’t rushed to her aid, she would’ve let that creature take her. Let it claim her body and then her life.

The thought scared the ever-loving shit out of her.

When you cared about someone, or needed someone, and they walked away, they left an unfillable void in their wake. She’d experienced that with her mother and John; she couldn’t bear for it to happen again. But right now, in this screwed-up new life she didn’t understand, she needed Devon. She needed his experience and his know-how. Hell, she needed his support. That thought alone terrified her to the core.

A motor revved and then pulled away from the house. Probably Andy. A moment later, a feminine voice drifted through her door.