Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Oh, please!” Kate snorted, her eyes cruel and merciless. “I knew he had you wrapped around his little finger. But this? It’s ridiculous.”
“Kate, talk to someone who cares about your bullshit.” I opened the door, determined to leave but Kate grabbed my upper arm, her nails digging into my skin. The scent of her flowery perfume flooded my nose.
A dozen self-defense images fluttered through my head, but I pushed them back. A fight with Kate would lead to nothing. I was above her games. “Let me go.”
“You’ll listen to what I have to say and you’ll listen well,” she hissed, having completely disposed of her pleasant mask, her face an angry grimace. “Whatever’s going on between Alec and you, it’s doomed. Because no matter what you think, you don’t know the first thing about him.”
I tried to shake her off but her fingers tightened on my arm. She slammed the door shut, and my hair whipped into my face from the force of it. I blinked at the smooth white surface of the door, forcing myself to breathe calmly. We were alone in the room once again. A quiver went through my body. Nothing she was going to say would break my trust in Alec. Nothing, I swore to myself.
But her softly spoken words wormed their way into my head. “He’s been lying to you all these years. Alec’s a Dual Variant and he never told you and he never will.”
My legs felt weak. If Alec was a Dual Variant, that would mean he had a second Variation—one he’d hidden from me all along. I stepped away from her, my back bumping against the hard wood of the door, and she let go.
“He’s not. You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I protested.
Alec wouldn’t have kept a Variation from me… would he?
Kate shook her head with a sneer. “Still eager to defend him. But let me tell you something. Alec isn’t only strong; he’s an Empath. He can control emotions. Think about it. When you’re with him, are you sure you’ve felt what you felt?”
“You’re lying,” I whispered, but it felt like something was stuck in my throat.
“Whenever you feel something around Alec, he knows. And if he doesn’t like your emotions, he has the ability to change them. He can make you feel exactly what he wants you to feel. He can manipulate you, and believe me, Tessa, he has done so in the past. Are you sure your emotions are your own?”
I felt like I’d been ambushed. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Go,” I croaked.
“Wake up, Tessa. It was time that someone told you the truth. Believe me, Alec and Major would have kept you in the dark forever.” Something flickered on her face, maybe worry or regret, like she realized that she shouldn’t have told me as much as she did.
Beyond whatever Alec wanted, Major would probably throw a fit if he found out. Without another word, Kate walked out of the room. I pressed my face against the cool wood and sank to my knees as the door slid shut.
I tried to convince myself that she’d lied, that her words had been the result of jealousy, her way of revenge, but the seed of doubt had been sowed, and now it was festering. A couple of months ago when Alec and Major first accompanied me on the Livingston mission, I’d felt like someone was trying to manipulate my emotions. But I’d put it off as nerves.
What if Alec had used his Variation to calm me back then? And that wasn’t the only time I’d felt magically calmed in Alec’s presence. Was it nothing more than a trick? Had he been using his Variation on me? And what else had he done without me noticing? How could I be sure if anything I felt around Alec was the truth? Every memory, every kiss, every smile… everything felt tainted now.
I closed my eyes, trying to get the whirlwind of emotions and thoughts in my body in order. I clenched my fists and staggered to my feet. I didn’t want to believe it. But deep down, I knew that something had always been off about my feelings when I was around Alec. I started trembling and sickness washed over me. If I couldn’t trust the one person I thought I could love completely, what was left? Holly. I had to talk to Holly.
I opened the door and peeked into the hallway to make sure Kate was gone. I didn’t want her to see how much her words had rattled me. The corridor was empty. I slipped out and hurried down the stairs toward the swimming pool. Kate’s perfume still clung to my clothes—just like her words clung to my mind. A woman from the cleaning staff disappeared into the laundry room and I waited until she’d closed the door before I slipped past and entered the swimming hall.