Entangled (Guardian Academy Book 2) Read Free

have minds of their own. I take no responsibility for where they try to wander.”
    “I think I’m okay just hanging onto the bat.” Don’t smile. It’ll only encourage him . “And FYI, I’m not helpless. I know how to beat the shit out of someone when I need to.” I nod my chin in the direction of Thad. “I was about two seconds away from kicking his ass.”
    “Thad’s a little clumsy. I bet you could kick his ass.” Dash offers Thad a somewhat apologetic look before his gaze lands back on me. “He’s part ogre, though, so it’s not his fault.”
    My head whips in Thad’s direction, and I instinctively shuffle back. From what I was taught, ogres are supposed to be large creatures with pointy ears and fangs who like to snack on humans. While Thad is on the tall and broad side, I don’t see any fangs, pointy ears, or gleaming hunger in his eyes.
    I loosen my grip on the bat. “You don’t look like an ogre.”
    “That’s because he’s only half-ogre.” Dash moves up behind me and positions an elbow on my shoulder. “If you look close enough, you can see some of the resemblance. He won’t hurt you, though.”
    Thad stares down at his feet with his shoulders hunched.
    Feeling bad for the way I first reacted, I step toward him with the bat lowered at my side and extend my hand. “I’m Alana Avery. Sorry for acting all weird. I was just a little surprised. I’ve never met an ogre before.”
    “It’s okay.” He takes my hand and gives it a hard shake, nearly jolting me off my feet. “I get that a lot. Most people won’t come within a hundred feet of me.”
    “People can be such assholes,” I say as he releases my hand from his death grip.
    A tiny drop of a smile touches his lips. “Sorry about your door. Sometimes, I don’t know my own strength.”
    “That’s okay.” I flex my fingers, which are cramped from how tightly he gripped my hand. “I’m sure it can be fixed.”
    Thad notes the unmade bed. “Will your roommate be mad when she finds out?”
    I prop the bat against the metal footboard of my bed. “My roommate doesn’t come into our room that often, so I doubt she’ll find out if I get it fixed quickly enough.”
    Thad rakes his fingers through his cropped brown hair, frowning at the broken door knob busted to pieces on the floor. “I’ll fix it first thing tomorrow morning so you won’t get in trouble.”
    I smile warmly. “Thanks. That’d be awesome.”
    “You should stand in front of the door, at least until Jax gets here, and make sure no one gets in,” Dash tells Thad, removing his elbow from my shoulder.
    Nodding, Thad slumps his weight against the door, securing it shut with his body. “No one’ll get through. I promise.”
    Dash starts wandering around the limited space of my bedroom, looking at the scuffed floor, the bland walls, and the tile ceiling. When he passes the lamp on my nightstand, he tugs on the cord, and soft light filters through the room.
    The first thing I notice is Dash and Thad are both dressed in black jeans and zipped up hoodies. Mud cakes the bottom of their black boots, fingerless leather gloves cover their hands, and Dash has a couple of leaves and twigs stuck in his dark brown hair.
    I find their appearance odd. Just where the heck were they before they came here? In the forest? That’s weird since I just saw Vivianne, the Empress, and maybe a werewolf duck into the trees.
    Dash stuffs his hands into the pockets of his hood and leans forward to examine a photo of my grandpa and me taped to the wall above the nightstand. “That’s where you get your violet eyes from, huh?”
    I nod, stepping up beside him. “My mother’s eyes are the same color, too.”
    He glances at me from the corner of his eye. “When I first met you, I thought maybe it was because you were a pixie, but then I realized you were too nice to be a pixie.”
    “I’m not that nice,” I argue. “I can be mean when I need to.”
    He smirks at me. “It’s cute you