Blue Violet - By Abigail Owen Page 0,34

shake her.

Ellie fumed. Forget that he was right. He didn’t know that for sure. And here he was calling her a liar to her face.

Her eye narrowed and her voice grew cold. “And what exactly am I supposed to be lying about?”

Alex’s mouth set in a grim line. “I can’t tell you that.”

Ellie arched an eyebrow. “So let me get this straight…After becoming, well, friends I guess, you suddenly start ignoring me…. We barely say two words to each other in six weeks, and then out of nowhere you kiss me. But based on…” She flung her arms out all akimbo. “…I don’t know what exactly… you come over here to tell me that I’m not who I say I am. That I’m apparently stalking you. And then you call me a liar. But you can’t tell me what you think I’m lying about. Could you be more insulting or more vague?”

“I guess that’s usually your role, isn’t it? Is anything you’ve ever said to me true?”

“Ah!” Frustration engulfed Ellie until she couldn’t speak. She just stood there, her hands on her hips, shaking her head and blinking.

She couldn’t do this, she suddenly realized. She didn’t want to lie to him. She didn’t want to fight with him. But she couldn’t tell him anything. And he was in the same predicament.

And, just like that, her anger with him turned in on herself and the situation. She started shaking. A violent tremble that signaled a loss of control… and the horrifying possibility of what she might become if she didn’t immediately rein it in. Anger and fear for Alex’s safety warred within her as she struggled to keep her human form.

Without another word she turned and headed for the back door, grabbing her keys off the kitchen counter. She had to get away from him and force herself to calm down before something terrible happened.

Alex, having followed her, grabbed her arm, whipping her around. “Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded.

“Away from you.” She jerked out of his grip and opened the door, gasping as the cold slapped her in the face. Snow blew everywhere. But she was too upset to care and pushed out into blinding storm, heading for her car, ignoring her bare feet and robe.

“Not in this weather you’re not.” He grabbed her wrist and started dragging her back toward the house. “You know you suck at driving in the snow.”

“Let… go… of… me…” Ellie gritted through her teeth as she tried to twist her wrist out of his hand. When he ignored her order and refused to let her go, she leaned over and bit his hand. Hard.

“Ow!” he howled, and immediately let go. Ellie took off, running for the car again, only this time she made it. She locked the doors as she got in.

Revving the engine, she put the car in drive and hit the gas, then immediately slammed on her brakes as Alex appeared directly in front of her.

She glared at him and charged the engine again in warning.

“Get out of the car, Ellie!” he yelled above the sound of the storm.

She shook her head no and pressed on the gas again. Alex jumped out of the way just in time. She hadn’t been too concerned that she’d hit him; she would’ve stopped if he hadn’t moved. While her fury at him consumed her at the moment, that didn’t negate the connection she felt with him.

Ellie gasped as realization tore through her. Oh my God, she thought, he is my te’sorthene. How could I be so stupid?!?

Ellie had often tried to imagine what it could be like, finding her te’sorthene. And now she knew. Tears blurred her eyes. Panicked by the gravity of her self-revelation, the need to escape increased. She headed down the long drive way to the road, skidding and slipping as she went. A small part of her felt shocked at her awful behavior. She was acting like a total idiot. But at the same time she had never been so angry, and terrified, and worried, and so many other emotions all at once in all her life. And the shaking was getting worse. She had to leave now.

Between her anger, her tears, and the blizzard raging outside, she didn’t see the tree in her way until it was too late and she plowed the car right into it, slamming her head on the steering wheel in a violent collision. Through a blur of pain and dizziness, Ellie felt the