Gwen frowns. “In a bakery? I don't eat sweet stuff. I have a…” she gulps and hesitates.
“You have a what, Gwen?” I probe.
Gwen shakes her head slowly. “I have an allergy to sugar. I don't ever go to the bakery.”
I sigh again. “Look, Gwen, I know that having your magic repressed is affecting you. I know what it feels like. But I canhelp you use it again, you're just gonna have to be honest with me.”
“You think I'm lying?” Gwen scoffs, for the first time sounding like she's beginning to get irritated.
“I don't know what to think, because you're not giving me much to work with here.”
“No, I get it!” Gwen suddenly snaps, her eyes narrowing at me as if she's about to lose her temper. “You think you're better than me, just because you're part wolf! I have gone my whole life being labeled crazy, and this is no different! But one thing I'mnotis a liar!”
For the first time ever, Gwen raises her voice, and I decide to take things slowly again, not wanting to rouse her like this. I won't get anything out of her if she doesn't trust me, and it'll only cause more resistance.
“I'm sorry, Gwen. I didn't mean it like th—”
“Delilah?! What are you doing in here?!” Hunter's shocked voice snaps my attention toward the door where he's coming in.
“I—” I stop myself with a grimace, remembering the promise I made to him about not questioning Gwen alone.
Frowning when I notice him wearing the suit I arranged for him to wear for the party, I realize he's dressed for it, despite not showing up, and my irritation mounts again. There's only a flicker of awareness that comes through my irritation, and it's mostly because of how dapper he looks in the black suit that matches his black hair and eyes, contrasting against the gold tan of his skin.
“You weren't at the party,” I remark snidely, and he stops as he's about to approach us.
“I did go there,” he frowns. “I noticed it already started,andI noticed that you weren't there.”
“You were late.”
“No, I wasn't,” he continues, frowning as he proceeds to come forward. “I was five minutes early, actually, considering your mother told me the party starts at eight.”
I groan, rolling my eyes as realization sets in. “It started at seven.”
“Let me guess…the prince was on time,” Hunter sneers, his irritation evident in the way he scowls. I nod hesitantly.
He comes closer, his arm brushing my shoulder for a brief second that ignites a fire deep within my being.
With a shocked gasp, I turn slowly, feeling heat rising on my face like it had when Hunter kissed me yesterday. Though the kiss was brief and modest, it aroused my soul in ways that I've been denying all this time.
The brief brush of his arm on my shoulder does the same thing and forces me to face the effect of the mate bond that keeps cropping up. I can hardly tear my gaze from his face as he stares intently at the witch through narrowed eyes.
That's when I notice the moment Gwen accidentally touches Hunter's knuckles where he has his fingers curled around the metal bar, and she gasps too, quickly snatching her hand back and clutching it to her chest as if she's been stung by something.
Hunter jerks back as if he felt the sting too, glaring at Gwen with the same accusation. He snaps his head in my direction, directing that accusing glare at me.
“Leave the witch alone, Delilah!” he warns, his voice low and threatening as he grates through gritted teeth. “She's bad news. You have to leave her alone!”
With a rumbling growl directed at Gwen, Hunter storms off out of the dungeon, shutting the door behind him with a powerful thud.
I turn to Gwen with a frown. “What was that?” I ask. “What just happened?”
Gwen, who still appears stunned, her face paling, shakes her head slowly. “I saw the darkness within him,” she murmurs, frightened. “I felt it. I saw it. He's carrying all of it on his shoulders.”
“What did you see?”
Gwen gulps. “His past.”
The past I know nothing about….
