Consume (The Devoured Series) by Shelly Crane Read Free Book Online Page A

she is." He looked at me over Eli's shoulder, but Eli grabbed him by the collar.
     
    "Don't even look at her if you're going to call her that."
     
    Everybody else was looking at me though. They were looking at all of us and the spectacle we were making, though no one seemed too worried about Tate. I pulled gently on the back of Eli's shirt to let him in on it. He understood and eased his hands away from Finn's neck. "Let's take it outside-"
     
    "That's what I wanted in the first place!" Finn yelled.
     
    "-but I'm not leaving Clara."
     
    Finn pushed away from Eli and huffed. "Whatever, Elijah."
     
    "Don't call me that," Eli muttered and grabbed my bag from the table in one hand and my hand in the other. Finn was way ahead of us as he scooted down the hall, pausing a fraction of a second before leaving through the school front doors.
     
    I was afraid to ask what was going on. He said Finn had been a friend of sorts, but that little encounter just now looked anything but friendly. We were almost to the doors when I saw it. That was what Finn had paused for; he felt their lust, passion, whatever.
     
    Because outside of my math classroom, Patrick and Ariel were kissing in the most tender, sweet way I'd ever seen anyone kiss. She was leaning against the wall, he was leaning into her with a hand on her jaw as he kissed her. They didn't look up or even notice us as we followed Finn out the door. My joy for them was short lived as my own fear spiked when I saw Finn and Enoch leaning against the tree in the quad.
     
    Finn took a deep breath to acknowledge my fear, but Enoch, being who he was, licked his lips and grinned. It made me even more scared that he looked so happy about what they had to tell us and I knew it was nothing good.
     
    Eli picked up my fear then, which meant it was pretty intense. He sucked in a breath and leaned into my ear. "Don't be scared. I'm right here."
     
    I nodded, but agreeing didn't make my fear go away.
     
    Eli got right down to business. "What?
     
    Enoch answered first. "The jig's up. The Horde is coming back and this time, they won't be pussy footing around."
     
    "We've been hearing some things at the Consumed Clubs," Finn said.
     
    "So, you two are buddies now, huh?" Eli asked and cocked his pierced brow.
     
    "I went and found him," Enoch said. "I thought Finn could convince you to get rid of this…this…" he eyed our wrists with distain, "bond before anyone else could. That you'd listen to him and know that all this is going to do, brother, is cause problems for you and her. Don't you see that?"
     
    "Touching," Eli rebutted. "Since when do you care?"
     
    "Since she was attached to my bloody wrist!"
     
    Eli looked down at me and then back at them. "You wasted a trip. We'll deal with the Horde."
     
    "Eli, come on, man," Finn reasoned. "You can't win this."
     
    "So your suggestion is what? Kill her?" Eli yelled.
     
    "Hey!" I defended.
     
    "Take her to The Wall and get it reversed!" Finn yelled back.
     
    "No! Even if there was a way to reverse it, which there isn't, I wouldn't! You and Enoch don't get it. She didn't trap me into this. I…" He looked back at me and I knew what he had been going to say. "I'm…happy right where I am," he said instead.
     
    "As someone who was trapped by a succubus would say," Finn spouted sarcastically.
     
    "Enough! I'm not having this conversation." Eli started to pull me away from them, but Finn stopped him.
     
    "The Horde is planning retribution for you."
     
    Eli stopped, but didn't turn. "Well…they'll have to catch me first."
     
    "You have to leave," Enoch spouted gruffly. "And yes, this is the bond talking. Even if I'm not here, it's constantly on my mind that you're here and she's possibly in danger. That's why I went to Finn; to talk some sense into you!"
     
    "We'll leave," Eli conceded. "We've been prepared for this to happen." He turned to look at him. "So I'm to believe you both just came here to talk sense into me?"
     
    "I've