Free Ollie, Ollie Hex 'n Free by Liz Schulte Page B

course I chose them. They are my friends just as Jessica is yours. Would you have me turn away from them and everything we have worked for?”
    “You mean like you turned away from me…from the coven?”
    His jaw tightened.
    “Yeah, it’s not Selene and Cheney you chose. It was the elves . Cheney had a point today. Selene has always fought for and accepted all of us. You talk a good game, but when everything is on the line, you fold. You choose them and their fear instead of your high ideals.” I shook my head. “I can’t even blame you. You’re one of them. I just didn’t see it before. So, it’s fine. You choose the elves and I’ll choose the humans. Have a good life.”
    “Humans and Sy , apparently,” he muttered, turning toward the door.
    “You don’t get to be jealous,” I yelled as the front door shut hard behind him. I yanked open the refrigerator. Empty. “Gah!” I slammed it.

 
     
    The salty smell of the ocean hit me as I slammed the door behind me. Everyone carefully avoided my eyes, which probably meant they heard everything.
    “I told you to give her some time,” Selene said as Kat shouted at me from the kitchen.
    I narrowed my eyes. I hadn’t asked for her help. Katrina was being unreasonable. A week, even in a human life, wasn’t a great length of time. After that, I didn’t know what would happen. No one did.
    “Her feelings are hurt,” Leslie said with a soft apologetic smile. “She won’t stay mad.”
    I nodded and went to stand on the steps of the porch. Scanning the environment around the house, I pinpointed possible surveillance points. Would Jessica have anticipated that someone would return here? Probably. Which meant, she would have a spy or some other way planned to watch the house. There was something she wanted from the coven or she wouldn’t have come back. We weren’t pursuing her and she had no real cause to come after us or them. She’d attack them here. I had no doubt. We could use it to our advantage. The girls just needed to be as tempting as possible to draw her out, which meant they needed to be here seemingly alone.
    “We can use this,” I told Cheney as quietly as possible. “We can draw her out.”
    He scanned the area much the same way I just had and slowly nodded. “Sy intends to stay with the girls.”
    Over my dead body. “He’ll have to be called away.”
    “It’ll have to be believable that we leave them alone.”
    Katrina came out with a pitcher of water and several glasses, making a point of not looking at me. “It’ll be believable,” I said.
    Cheney followed my gaze to Katrina. “Selene will be mad.”
    “Just make sure she leaves.”
    He barely nodded.
    My eyes were glued to Katrina as I waited for the right, most strategic moment to make a scene. Her laughter bubbled up and she brushed her fingers against Sy’s arm in a way that made everything in me still. Three long steps and I was to her, ignoring how soft her skin was under my hand as I wrapped my fingers around her bicep. “We need to talk.” Dragging her along with me, I headed toward the beach. A few feet from the steps, I let her wrench herself from my grasp.
    Her dark eyes flashed and burned. “What the hell is the matter with you? There’s nothing left to talk about.”
    “I disagree.” I grabbed her shoulders and jammed my lips against hers. She stiffened and shoved me away. I had never seen her so angry as she pulled back her hand and hit me with a resounding slap that I rightfully deserved.
    “I don’t care,” she hissed. “You don’t want me, Sebastian.”
    “That doesn’t mean I want him to have you either,” I said, ignoring the fact that my words hit a little too close to the truth as I stalked toward her. “You don’t belong with us. All you do is hold Selene back.”
    “Hey now,” Sy said, coming up. “I think you need to leave, Sebastian.”
    “Stay out of it,” I said, never taking my eyes off of Katrina as she processed what I said. I