Madly and Wolfhardt Read Online Free PDF

the rest of my life bound to one man while mourning another.
    I tried to resist the magnetism of Jackson, of the supernatural tie that bound me to him in both visceral and spiritual ways, but it was no use.  I couldn’t not feel it.  I was drowning in it, like I could drown in neither water nor air.  It took my breath and stole the world from around me, leaving only him and me and what was between us. 
    Steeling myself against the overpowering desire, I didn’t turn toward Jackson, didn’t go to him like I wanted to.  Instead, I waited, waited for him—to move, to speak, to turn and go, to do something.  I waited.  But he did none of those things.
    Jackson simply continued to stare at the side of my face, the heat of his gaze penetrating my human skin and searing the nerves beneath.  I wondered if he felt it too, and if that’s why he hated me so.
    Finally, unable to stand the torture any longer, I opened my eyes and turned my head.  A large, dark form was standing down the beach at the water’s edge, facing me.  As I’d known, it was Jackson.  He was dressed in solid black and too far away for me to see his eyes clearly, but I knew that he watched me.  I knew it as deeply and as certainly as I knew there was sand between my toes and wind caressing my face. 
    “Madly, you’re being summoned,” Kellina called from behind me. 
    I turned toward her voice.  She was standing at the periphery of the party and, beside her, Aidan was waving me toward them. 
    As I looked at Aidan’s smiling face, I wished with all my heart that the tie had materialized between us, like it was supposed to.  It would’ve been perfect in so many ways.  But it hadn’t.  Instead, we’d both tied to forbidden love and now our future was complicated and incomplete.  Broken.  I knew that Aidan would eventually come to that conclusion, too.  When he took the time to examine his feelings for Kellina, he would feel as betrayed by them as I felt by my feelings for Jackson.
    I waved to him and turned quickly back toward Jackson.  He was no longer there.  I scanned both the sand and the water, but there was no sign of him.  He’d melted away like a figment of my imagination.  And maybe he had been.  Maybe I’d willed him there, willed him out of the truest, deepest desires of my heart.   Maybe his presence was not meant to be, just as our tie was not meant to be.  Maybe it would fade away, just as he’d faded away.  Maybe…
     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    My inner turmoil and close proximity to the sea had stirred up a tempest, a tempest so turbulent it curtailed our party with threats of a violent rainstorm.  I was likely the only one glad to see the ocean-side gathering come to an end.  For me, the entire night had been an exercise in frustration and secret heartache.
    It came as no surprise to me when Aidan offered to walk Kellina home, reasoning that I had Jersey to keep me company and Kellina had no one.
    “That way, all the beautiful women will make it home safely,” he said, winking at Kellina.
    She blushed becomingly and I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to roll my eyes or vomit.  To my credit, I did neither.
    “That’s fine,” I chirped as cheerfully as I could manage.  “I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
    “Thank you so much for inviting me, Madly.  I really appreciate it.  I had a great time.”
    Genuine gratitude was written all over Kellina’s face.  She was clearly having the best night of her life, and why not?  She’d met a guy she liked and was fortunate in that the feeling was mutual.  Very mutual.  She had every reason to be aglow, which she was.
    “No problem.  I’m glad you could come.” 
    And I was.  I wouldn’t begrudge anyone happiness, and it was clear that she was as smitten with Aidan as he was with her.  He was a great guy and she’d be lucky to have him.
    As I watched them walk away, I examined their body language.  They were so close their arms brushed as they