Free Hyacinth by Abigail Owen Page B

not.”
    Everyone nodded,
agreeing with her idea.
    “But what if it is me?” Selene fretted. “What if I attack one of you ?”
    “We’ll do this
in pairs.” Dexter stood and offered his hand to Charlotte. “There’s safety in
numbers.” He nodded to Selene. “You taught us that.”
    Selene shook her
head. “But to put yourselves in danger for me… I can’t ask you to do that.”
    “I can make sure
that I’m with you,” Ellie offered. “If I touch you, I can control your powers.”
    Selene continued
to shake her head. “I can still turn you off…. I could do it permanently, if I
concentrated hard enough. It’s that powerful. You saw.”
    Nate pulled his
tall, lanky form off the floor and stood beside Ramsey. “Are you sure? You
didn’t turn them off when we were fighting your pack.”
    “Gideon rarely
had me do it. It took all of my concentration in one place for too long to be
strategically worth it.”
    “Well, after
what you just showed us and the risks you took to save my future wife, there’s
no way we would let you deal with this alone.” Alex smiled at Selene and
glanced around the room. Everyone else nodded their agreement.
    Selene was
touched by this show of support, but frowned. “If it’s not me,” she began, “then
it’s likely someone from my pack. Either way, I can’t go back to them with this
yet. Not until I know more. So I guess we do what we can together. Thank you.”
    She stole a
quick glance over her shoulder, hoping to catch sight of Griffin. No such luck.
Selene briefly closed her eyes and said a silent wish, praying with all her
heart that the decision would prove to be a good one… and that maybe, just
maybe, Griffin would learn to trust her someday.
    Or at least not
hate her as much as he did now.

Chapter
15
     
    Selene sat on
her usual bench and studied for finals, while Alex and Ellie kept watch beside
her. It was mid-December now, and there was snow on the ground. But Svatura and Vyusher weren’t quite as affected by the elements, and Selene liked being
outdoors.
    Someone had been
with Ellie twenty-four hours a day for the last several weeks. Everyone except
Griffin. No one had seen him since the night he’d walked out of Hugh and Lucy’s
house.
    Ellie had tried
to reassure her that it was okay… that Griffin was just figuring a few things
out and needed some space. But Selene caught the worried look on her face. Even
Alex seemed concerned.
    During the time
she’d been under surveillance, there hadn’t been any more attacks and she
hadn’t had the nightmares. But she wasn’t sure if this was good or bad. There
were just too many questions about this entire situation. And while Selene was
happy that no one else had been hurt, she almost hoped something would happen
just to give them a chance to figure it all out.
    Ellie
straightened in her seat, drawing Alex’s and Selene’s watchful gazes.
“Something wrong, baby?” Alex asked, placing a hand on Ellie’s shoulder.
    Ellie paused
then shook her head. “No, nothing’s wrong. I—…I think I need a Coke. Come with
me?”
    Alex frowned.
“What about Selene?”
    “We’ll only be
gone a minute or two, and we’re not going very far.” Ellie took Alex’s hand and
pulled him to his feet.
    Alex shrugged.
“Sure…whatever. Be right back, Selene.”
    Selene nodded
and watched them walk away, momentarily curious at their odd interaction. Then
she returned her attention back to her books.
    “I thought it
would be a good idea if we had a talk,” a deep voice sounded behind her.
    Selene froze. So that was why Ellie had rushed off with Alex . Selene didn’t know
if she wanted to hug her new friend… or strangle her. For once, she hadn’t
noticed Griffin approach. He must not’ve been using his power.
    “About what?” she
asked, her serene voice masking her inner turmoil.
    Griffin approached
the bench and sat down beside her. “I thought we should talk about
forgiveness.”
    Selene met his
gaze.