MADE

Control

Rose had opened the door before I could stop her and I was forced to wipe the panic off my face.

The word mate made my skin crawl, the thought of the city colors changing made my stomach somersault, and even entertaining the idea that if I screwed up everyone on this godforsaken island will know exactly what I am. I needed to talk to Alaric, again.

Elijah was already in the room, hand wrapping around my wrist and pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Mare?" he questioned.

I shook my head quickly and blinked my eyes before looking up at him - up at those green eyes. "Sorry, zone out," I muttered. Would he look different to me in two days? Would Alaric...?

"Alright," Elijah said obviously not believing me. "Shall we?" he asked moving his hand from my wrist to my hip. His thumb traced small circles there, pressing into me through my clothes.

We were quiet until we were sure we were out of ear range of Rose and then farther yet. "You look," he paused, "exquisite." He pulled me to a stop before him, his eyes searching every part of me.

"Thanks," I said quietly feeling heat rush to my face. "I could say the same about you," I whispered back. He wore grey dress pants and a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal his tanned arms.

He chuckled at me and grabbed my hand to bring it over my head. "Turn for me," he said smiling, and I blushed once more as I turned under his hand. He spun me twice and pulled me into his chest using his other hand that was planted firmly on the bare skin of my back. His eyes burned into my temple as I watched him twist his hand with mine.

I looked up at his face to see a different kind of expression. One I did not see often. One that made something inside me quiver.

Pure, animalistic hunger.

His hand released mine and wound its way around my waist, both hands pressing me into him. I was crushed against him, unsure if I was having trouble breathing from the force of his grasp or just his nearness. I pressed up and further into him, tilting my chin, so our faces were barely apart.

Footsteps sounded down the hall.

In an instant, Elijah released me, stepping away and out of my grasp. I was cold suddenly, shaking without knowing it.

Was he embarrassed for others to see us together?

His jaw clenched hard enough that I thought he might break his teeth. He wasn't looking at me, or in the direction of the footsteps. His eyes trained on the floor with a look that should have frightened me taking over. He was concentrating. Using those abilities for whatever he used them for.

I still wasn't familiar with the inhuman abilities of the guards. They weren't simple things like the sectors they guarded, but something else entirely. The only guard I knew even remotely about was Sebastian, and he was dead. He could change his form into anything he pleased. He had tricked me into thinking Elijah had returned to the lake house.

I had seen other guards around the island in the time I had been here, and while everyone treated them with casual respect, the way they interacted with Elijah and Alaric was utterly different. It seemed there were exceptions to the rules when it came to the two eldest guards in Olympus.

A man rounded the corner, covered head to toe in sleek black clothing. Black pants, black t-shirt, and a black gun like thing tucked into the waistband. I could tell he was a guard just by the way he walked. He had dark brown hair and deep blue eyes that reminded me of something. It wasn't a pleasant thought.

I stood my ground.

"Ranger," Elijah said from beside me, "I didn't know you were back." His tone was clipped, annoyed.