Tethered to the World: A Phantom Touched Novel

by Brutger, Stacey

  “We need to find the others,” his tone was grim, but when he tried to walk he staggered, a look of surprise plastered on his face.

  She quickly caught his weight, not liking his sudden pallor. “You must release the shadows.”

  The darkness was eating away at him faster than she expected, and she cursed her own stupidity. She wanted so much to fit in with him and his team that she stupidly risked his life.

  “What do you need me to do?” Xander didn’t panic, just waited patiently for her instructions, as if the life wasn’t literally draining out of him.

  She quickly covered his eyes with her hand. “Blink away the magic like you got dust in them. Demand that it leave.”

  Though the shadows were fading, she was afraid it wasn’t going to be nearly fast enough. She called to the darkness, her fingertips tingling at its nearness, but she resisted the urge to pull. If he didn’t release his hold first, she was terrified she might cause him permanent damage.

  A swirl of particles splashed against her palm, quickly seeping back under her skin, eager to be home. Power zipped along her veins, tasting like the sea…tasting of him. Xander swayed, and she grabbed his arm, haling it around her shoulder, disturbed to see this strong man brought low. “I never should have touched you.”

  He snuggled against her neck, a lazy smile curling his lips, his hands sliding down her body to rest suggestively above her ass. He tucked her closer, peering at her from under his lashes, the heat in his eyes devastating to her ability to think.

  His beast was so close to the surface, she could practically feel his attention focused on her. In spite of the darkness, she heard the rustle of feathers.

  Felt them brush against her skin.

  She suddenly wished she hadn’t respected his privacy and stolen a peek at his beast.

  “Your innocence steals my breath.” He traced a finger down the side of her face. “But the darkness you hide calls to my beast.”

  It took all her strength to keep them moving as they staggered through the crowd, and she nearly sagged in relief when she spotted Logan leaning against a tree surrounded by a bunch of younger groupies. When he spotted her, he gaped and did a double take, his eyes widening. She wasn’t sure if it was because she looked roughed up or because she was practically carrying his friend.

  She huffed under her breath when he remained frozen, then shivered when Xander’s lips trailed up her neck. That seemed to launch Logan into motion, a scowl crossing his face as he simply walked away from his group without a word and came toward her.

  “What the hell happened?” He grabbed Xander’s other arm, taking the bulk of his weight.

  Unfortunately, when she tried to slip away, Xander grumbled and dragged her along with him.

  “Long story.” One she had no intention of sharing. “We need to get him out of here.”

  Her touch usually scared people to death.

  The last thing she expected when she shared the darkness with Xander was for it to strip away all his inhibitions, leaving her with a beast who found her fascinating instead of cowering in fear like every other creature she’d run across.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Logan slipped out his phone and typed a quick message, then shoved it back into his pocket, his face grim as he led them toward the edge of the party. “The others should be here shortly.”

  Xander dragged his arm away from Logan, leaving her staggering under his weight, until he backed her up against a tree, a hungry smile on his face. “I missed you.”

  When he leaned in to steal a kiss, her breath caught in her throat at the intensity on his face. It almost looked like he actually…loved her, and her heart twisted painfully when a pang of yearning pierced her heart.

  She wanted that love, wanted to belong to someone who would cherish her, and her heart ached over a dream that would never come true.

  “Come here, lover boy.” Logan flung his arm around Xander’s neck until he had him in a headlock, dragging the much bigger man away. But when Xander began to struggle, Logan scowled, then met her gaze over the top of Xander’s head. “He can still smell you. I’m not going to be able to hold him for long with you near.”

  Annora took a step back, then another as they began to struggle in earnest, Xander nearly taking down Logan with a nasty blow. As the two friends wrestled, a crowd gathered around them, and she retreated until she could no longer see them.

  Her heart wrenched at knowing she was the cause of their fight.

  She was supposed to draw the team together, but she only seemed to tear them apart.

  “What do we have here?”

  Annora whirled at the snide voice, and came face-to-face with Vicki and the herd of female wolves from the bathroom. A number of them still showed signs of their earlier scuffle.

  “You left before we could finish our discussion.” The leader smiled maliciously, her teeth a little longer than human, her eyes shimmering as her wolf rose to the surface while she and her pack began to circle her. Vicki flicked her nails, the click drawing Annora’s attention to the claws slowly forcing their way out of the tips of her fingers, droplets of blood splattering to the ground.

  Her face was black and blue, her nose still crusted in blood despite her advanced healing. Instead of fear, the darkness gathered under Annora’s skin, crackling painfully with the need to hunt, suddenly hungry for blood.

  “This won’t end the way you expect. You won’t win.” People often underestimated her—especially since she couldn’t die. She rolled her shoulders, almost eager for the slash of pain.

  “What the fuck is wrong with her eyes?” One of the wolves stopped dead, then hesitantly backed away.

  “What is she?” Another girl tipped her head back, nose in the air, as if trying to catch her scent. “I can’t get anything but cold…and death.”

  The girls stopped circling, most of them looking uncertain, which only served to piss Vicki off even more. “Why don’t we take her apart and see?”

  She took a threatening step forward when a guy cut through the crowd, standing between her and the pack. “Knock it off, Vicki. She faced you once and won. Don’t humiliate yourself by trying again. Instead we should be celebrating.”

  The cute guy flashed her a reassuring smile. “I’m Terrance. What do you say we have a drink to celebrate?”

  Vicki gave a nasty laugh. “She didn’t win, she ran.”

  Terrance rolled his eyes so only Annora could see, then heaved a sigh and turned. “Look at you. You’re covered with blood. Bruised. Still bleeding in spots.” He canted his head to the side. “And if I had to guess, you have a broken nose, possibly a broken eye socket.”

  Terrance shrugged then glanced at Annora over his shoulder. “Then we have the new girl. Based on the blood covering your little rag-tag group, she stood up to all of you and doesn’t have a mark on her. Not one scratch or bruise. She’s not fatigued. She’s not even a little bit scared. If anything, the look in her eyes is…eagerness.”

  He smiled at her, not the least bit afraid, then he looked at the group, his smirk wilting as he pinned them under his gaze. “She won. Do you really want to be embarrassed when she beats you again, this time publicly? I’ll make sure everyone knows the outcome, and you can kiss your ranking in the pack goodbye. You’ll never become mated to an alpha if you and your cronies can’t even beat a single girl.”

  He shook his head in pity, most of the girls ducking theirs eyes in submission. Even Vicki eventually dropped her gaze with a little snarl.

  “Everyone grab a drink.” The wolves turned and followed Terrance toward the bar. Cups were passed around, Vicki looking ready to throw the contents at Annora rather than hand it over.

  “To victory.” Terrance raised his cup, then downed half the contents. The rest of the pack dutifully followed. Then he held out a hand, flicking his hair out of his face with a flip of his head and smiled. “Why don’t we leave them to sulk on their own?”

  Annora eyed him suspiciously. He w
as short, only half a head taller than her five-foot frame. He was slim, but not skinny, dressed casually, but the clothes were of fine quality. He had straight sandy-blond hair, and his brown eyes were laughing, his face open and friendly.

  He was the cute boy next door.

  So why did she not want him anywhere near her?

  He dropped his arm, but stepped closer, smiling charmingly, as if her rejection intrigued him instead of putting him off. The other girls began to scatter. The way they obeyed him said he was a shifter of some kind, but she didn’t feel the presence of his beast as she did with some of the more dominant shifters when they got too close.

  So why did they listen to him?

  “Are you enjoying yourself?” He took a sip of his drink, watching her over the rim.

  She raised a brow. “Sure, everyone is so super-friendly.”

  He burst out laughing, then dragged his fingers through his hair as he surveyed the rowdy crowd. “Yeah, they can be a bit much.”

  “Hmmm.” She took a drink to avoid more conversation, peering over his shoulder to where she left the guys, but she couldn’t see them, and wondered if she should be worried about finding her own way back to the house.

  “Since you’re new, a word of warning.” He stared down into his cup, his brows furrowed, a troubled look on his face. “You need to watch your back with that team of yours. The last alpha was killed when they turned on him.”

  “Why tell me?” She rolled her cup between her hands, suddenly uncomfortable about being alone with him and his unsolicited advice.

  He cast a critical look at the other students, disgust curling his lips. “You’re different from them and their never-ending hunger for power. You’re…” His eyes softened when he glanced down at her. “…special. You have no fear, no need to dominate anyone, because you already know you’re better than them. You don’t feel the need to prove it.”

  He glanced away as if embarrassed, downing the rest of his drink as he turned away. “I just don’t want to see someone like you get crushed by the ambitions of others.”

  Uncomfortable with how much he saw of what she wanted to keep hidden, she hid behind her own cup, hastily taking a sip to avoid answering. The alcohol burned down her throat, searing a path to her stomach, leaving a tingling in warmth in its wake. A few other people stopped to talk with Terrance, and she was grateful to have his attention diverted. She sipped the drink again, grimacing at the bitter taste, then unobtrusively dumped the remaining half cup on the ground.

  “Annora, we need to go.” Logan hurried up to her and took hold of her arm, pulling her along with him without waiting for her response.

  Terrance stopped talking to his friends and got right up into Logan’s face. “You need to learn to take better care of her. You don’t leave a girl like her alone at a college party.”

  The air turned crisp, her breath formed a cloud in front of her even as Logan’s hand warmed on her arm. Terrance glanced down at her and smiled. “It has been a pleasure to rescue you. Call me if you ever need anything. I look forward to seeing you again.”

  Logan stepped between them, pulling her close and glaring when Terrance put a finger to his forehead and gave a cocky salute as he backed away, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.

  Logan inhaled deeply, his chest expanding as he struggled to control himself. He tucked her to his side, wrapping an arm firmly around her as he began to push his way through the crowd. “What happened?”

  “Mean girls,” she mumbled, not proud of the way she acted. She was supposed to be keeping a low profile, not making herself the center of attention by getting into fights.

  He grunted, but didn’t press her for more details. They entered the trees, the lights and the music of the party slowly fading as they traveled a path only he could see. She struggled to keep up with him, her feet tripping over themselves as the world swam in and out of focus.

  Her body felt strange, almost too light, and she couldn’t seem to concentrate. “Logan.”

  He stopped abruptly, sensing something wrong, and she swayed precariously.

  “Are you drunk?” he asked incredulously, a small smile of amusement playing about his lips as he grabbed her chin, his fingers biting into her jaw as he studied her.

  She shook her head, then nearly dropped to her knees. “I only had three or four sips.”

  Logan frowned in concern, then bent and scooped her up in his arms. “The others already went home. They left the car for us.”

  But she barely heard him as the trees spun wildly around her. One second she was in his arms, the next she landed hard on the ground with a heavy thump, Logan practically stepping on her as he tripped. She glared up at him. “What the fuck!”

  He opened his mouth, then closed it, a blush heating his face. “I don’t know what happened.”

  When he tried to scoop her up again, she shoved away his arms, and crawled to her feet.

  “Seriously,” he hovered at her side, practically wringing his hands when she swayed again. “You were in my arms one second, then…you weren’t.”

  Shadows began to tear away from the trees, slowly reaching across the forest to get to her. Particles began to dance in the air, so similar to the afterworld that she rubbed her eyes. But when she saw her hands, she stopped abruptly.

  She could see through them.

  “Annora.” Logan reached for her, but his hand passed clear through her fingers. “What the hell is happening?”

  “I—”

  “What drug did you take?” Logan edge closer, an urgency in his voice.

  Her eyes widened at his accusation, then she narrowed her eyes. “Fuck you, asshole.”

  She marched away from him, then shuddered when he reached for her and his hand passed clear through her arm. The sensation wasn’t painful, more like her limb waking up after it had fallen asleep.

  “Son of a bitch.” Logan clutched his hand to his chest, then scrambled after her when she didn’t stop to wait for him. “Annora, wait.”

  It irritated the shit out of her that she couldn’t storm off because she didn’t have any fucking clue where they parked the damn car. Logan finally caught up with her, silently guiding her, watching her with concern.

  She couldn’t offer him any reassurance, not when she didn’t have a clue what was happening. The darkness inside her was scattered, seeping out of her skin, and she didn’t know how to stop it.

  When the vehicle came into view, she reached for the handle—only to have her hand pass through the metal. More needles prickled along her fingers, and she hastily pulled back. She blinked down at herself, baffled by what was happening.

  “Annora?” Logan stopped next to her, his eyes a little wider than normal as he tried to hide just how freaked out he was.

  “You can see me?”

  He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing painfully as he nodded. “What’s happening?”

  She blew out a breath, rubbing the ache gathering between her eyes. Instead of slipping into the afterworld, she was pulling the darkness into the human realm. “The drugs you mentioned? I think I know what they do.” She smiled brightly at him while her insides felt like she’d swallowed glass. She peered up at him, feeling more exposed than if she’d been standing naked in front of him. “The drug enhances our abilities. Makes shifters stronger. Faster. More dominant.”

  Logan reached out carefully, but stopped before he touched her. Then he dropped his arm and straightened. “What can I do?”

  Just like that, he offered his assistance.

  But damned if she knew how anyone could help her now.

  She was worried what would happen if she tried to gather the darkness. While it might clear the drugs from her system, she was afraid her stalker would be waiting for her. She could almost feel his touch ghost along her body, urging her to go to him.

  And it was most definitely a male.

  Instead of claws and pain like she expected, the touch was barely a brush of fingers down her spine, l
eaving a trail of heat in its wake, a shiver of pleasure tingling along her skin. Her legs shook with the need to lean into that touch and demand more.

  “Annora!” Logan latched onto her arms, both of them hissing in pain at the contact, and she fell against the vehicle with a thump. Instead of letting her go, Logan tightened his grip.

  Needles slid deep into her flesh until they hit bone. The pain heated, twisted to pleasure, and she felt more than heard Logan groan. Logan shuffled closer, grunting when he pressed against her, the flash of pain shorter.

  Then all she felt was pleasure.

  Her lips tingled with the need to taste him, her breasts aching to be touched.

  Logan practically quivered, his breaths short and heavy, his blue eyes smoldering with heat, the glow in them promising so much more. He licked his lips, revealing teeth that were sharper than human. “I want to kiss you.”

  But he didn’t move.

  She wasn’t sure if he was grounding her in the real world or if she was pulling him into hers, but the thought scared her badly enough that she shoved him away.

  The instant the contact broke, she fell through the car, landing with a grunt against the cold ground. Her body felt achy and incredibly empty. Logan’s groan sounded like he was being tortured. When he peered down at her, he was panting, hunger burning in his eyes.

  She crawled away from the vehicle, and Logan twisted, stalking her every move, waiting to pounce. She froze, not sure if she would have the willpower to stop him next time.

  “You’re going to have to touch me if we want to get home.” He straightened, then opened the car door and crawled across the passenger seat. He started the engine, then reached over his shoulder, grabbed the back of his shirt, and tore it off over his head. He leaned across the seat then held out his hand toward her. “The connection is stronger when you touch skin.”

  Then he said no more, waiting for her to decide.

  While she wanted to run and hide, it was much too late for that. She couldn’t risk anyone else finding and touching her.

  She got to her feet slowly, then reluctantly reached for his hand.