Unbondable Read online

  Bran seemed to understand at once what was going on—I must have looked really panicked and guilty. That or else my pulse, which he was still taking, had suddenly gone into overdrive.

  “It’s yours?” he asked me in a low voice.

  I gave a quick, jerky nod, unable to speak.

  “All right,” Mr. Barron snarled, slapping down his cup of coffee so hard that the bitter brown liquid slopped over the side and splattered his newspaper. “I said whose is it?”

  “Which pocket?” Bran asked me softly.

  I frowned at him, what was he planning to do?

  “Number seventeen,” I whispered back.

  He nodded and then looked at the shoe rack, concentrating so hard it almost seemed like he was trying to burn a hole in the plastic pocket which held my phone with his eyes. I thought I saw him whispering something to himself but none of the words I heard made sense to me. They sounded like they were in some other language—one I’d never heard before.

  Suddenly my phone cut off in mid-ring. I threw an amazed glance at Bran. Did he do that or was it just a coincidence?

  Whichever it is I wasn’t out of hot water yet. Mr. Barron was stalking over to the phone holder, a scowl still on his face. He looked like he was dying to suspend someone.

  “Whose was that?” he demanded, glaring at the class. “I don’t care that it stopped ringing, whoever owns that phone had better come up here and turn it off now so it doesn’t ring again. If you get up here quick I might only give you detention for a month.”

  Detention for a month? That would spell the end of my after-school job and then I wasn’t sure how Mom and I would make ends meet. She earned enough as a medical transcriptionist to pay the rent on our crappy little apartment and keep the electric on but my salary from the I Scream was what mostly bought the groceries and paid the water bill.

  Still, detention was better than suspension. Maybe my boss, Joey down at the I Scream would let me take a leave of absence or maybe just come in an hour later. I doubted it—he wasn’t exactly the most understanding manager—but I had nothing else to hope for.

  Slowly, I began to raise my hand.

  Only to hear Bran say, “Excuse me, Mr. Barron—I’m afraid that was my phone. It sounded like my ring-tone, anyway.”

  “All right then get up here and turn it off, O’Connor,” Mr. Barron snarled. “And you can count yourself lucky all you get is detention.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  As I stared incredulously, Bran made his way to the front of the room, fished my phone out of pocket seventeen, and turned it off. Thank goodness I didn’t have an overly-girly phone case like Morganna’s. My plain green case really did look like it could belong to Bran or any other guy in the class for that matter.

  “All right, good,” Mr. Barron grumbled as Bran let the phone slide back into its pocket. “And it had better not happen again, O’ Connor.”

  “No Sir, it won’t,” he promised and came back to slide in beside me at our lab table.

  I waited until everyone had gone back to their lab, including Morganna Starchild who was staring with sharp interest at the two of us. But when she finally turned around and focused her attention on flirting with Elian Darkwing again, I felt free to talk.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” I murmured to Bran. “I mean thank you—it was amazing—but you really didn’t have to do it.”

  “I know.” He gave me a smile that was surprisingly attractive on his homely face. “But chivalry isn’t dead—at least where I come from. I couldn’t leave a lady in distress.”

  “Where did you come from?” I asked curiously as we resumed doing the lab. “I mean, I know you’re not from this armpit of a town but where did you transfer in from?”

  “Someplace very far away,” was all he said but there was a distant and almost melancholy look in his no-color eyes that touched me somehow. Wherever he came from, it seemed like he missed it and wished he was back there instead of here in Frostproof at Nocturne Academy.

  Not that I blame him—Frostproof isn’t exactly the most exciting place on the planet. It’s just this tiny little town in the belly button of Florida, right in the middle of a bunch of orange groves. The town’s website likes to point out that it’s a short distance from Legoland (if you call an hour and a half drive through the middle of nowhere short.) But really, the orange groves are all it has going for it. In the spring when the orange blossoms bloom, the whole place smells amazing.

  And that’s it. That’s the nicest thing I can say about my hometown.

  God, I wanted to get out of here so badly sometimes I could taste it.

  We finished taking each other’s pulses, making small talk as we did, and I was surprised to find that Bran had a quick, witty sense of humor. Several times he made me laugh and I found myself really enjoying his company. There was just something about him…I didn’t know what it was but it was definitely there, like a gem buried just under a thin layer of dirt.

  Which may not seem like a very nice description of a person, but it was the best I could think up.

  As class was about to end, Bran reminded me that I’d better take his cell phone on the way out the door and he would take mine.

  “I’ll walk with you to your next class and we can switch there,” I told him.

  “Works for me,” he said, giving me that smile again that had no business being so attractive.

  I was a little dazed about the fact that I’d just offered to walk with him even knowing that Morganna Starchild was going to make jokes about us. But suddenly I didn’t care so much what she said.

  Yes, she might make my life here at Nocturne Academy hell, but I wouldn’t be here forever. Someday soon I was going to get far away from this crappy little town and never look back.

  Of course, at that moment I had no idea then how soon my exit from Frostproof was going to be or how far I would go.

  But I was about to find out…

  Want more? Of course you do!

  Sign up to be notified when Stone and Secret is available at

  www.evangelineanderson.com/young-adult-newsletter.

  Hugs, Evangeline

  Give a Hot Kindred Warrior to a Friend!

  Do you love the Kindred? Do you want to talk about wishing you could go live on the Mother Ship without your friends thinking you're crazy? Well, now it's super easy to get them into the Kindred universe.

  Just share this link, https://bookhip.com/HLNPTP, with them to download Claimed, the first book in my Brides of the Kindred series for FREE.

  No strings attached—I don't even want to collect their email for my newsletter. I just want you to be able to share the Kindred world with your besties and have fun doing it.

  Hugs and Happy Reading!

  Evangeline

  Sign up for my newsletter and you'll be the first to know when a new book comes out or I have some cool stuff to give away. Don't worry—I won't share your email with anyone else, I'll never spam you (way too busy writing books) and you can unsubscribe at any time.

  As a thank-you gift you'll get a free copy of BONDING WITH THE BEAST delivered to your inbox right away. In the next days I'll also send you free copies of CLAIMED, book 1 in the Brides of Kindred series, and ABDUCTED, the first book in my Alien Mate Index series.

  You've read the book, now listen to the audiobook.

  My Kindred series is coming to audio one book at a time. Sign up for my audiobook newsletter. Besides notifications about new audio releases you may also get an email if I'm running a contest with an audio-book prize. Otherwise I will leave you alone. : ).

  Also by Evangeline Anderson

  Below you'll find a list of available and upcoming titles. But depending on when you read this list, new books will have come out by then that are not listed here. Make sure to check my website for the latest releases and better yet, sign up for my newsletter to never miss a new book again.

  Brides of the Kindred series

  (Sci-Fi / Action-Adventure R
omance)

  CLAIMED (Also Available in Audio)

  HUNTED (Also Available in Audio)

  SOUGHT (Also Available in Audio)

  FOUND (Also Available in Audio)

  REVEALED (Also Available in Audio)

  PURSUED (Also Available in Audio)

  EXILED (Also Available in Audio)

  SHADOWED (Also Available in Audio)

  CHAINED (Also Available in Audio)

  DIVIDED (Also Available in Audio)

  DEVOURED (Also Available in Audio)

  ENHANCED (Also Available in Audio)

  CURSED (Also Available in Audio)

  ENSLAVED (Also Available in Audio)

  TARGETED (Also Available in Audio)

  FORGOTTEN (Coming Soon in Audio)

  SWITCHED

  UNCHARTED

  UNBOUND

  SURRENDERED

  VANISHED

  IMPRISONED

  TWISTED

  DECEIVED

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME ONE

  Contains Claimed, Hunted, Sought and Found

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME TWO

  Contains Revealed, Pursued and Exiled

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME THREE

  Contains Shadowed, Chained and Divided

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME FOUR

  Contains Devoured, Enhanced and Cursed

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME FIVE

  Contains Enslaved, Targeted and Forgotten

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME SIX

  Contains Switched, Uncharted and Unbound

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME SEVEN

  Contains Surrendered, Vanished, and Imprisoned

  All Kindred novels are now available in PRINT.

  * * *

  Also, all Kindred novels are on their way to Audio, join my Audiobook Newsletter to be notified when they come out.

  Kindred Tales

  The Kindred Tales are side stories in the Brides of the Kindred series which stand alone outside the main story arc.

  These can be read as STAND ALONE novels.

  MASTERING THE MISTRESS (Also Available in Audio)

  BONDING WITH THE BEAST (Also Available in Audio)

  SEEING WITH THE HEART (Also Available in Audio)

  FREEING THE PRISONER (Also Available in Audio)

  HEALING THE BROKEN (a Kindred Christmas novel) (Also Available in Audio)

  TAMING THE GIANT (Also Available in Audio)

  BRIDGING THE DISTANCE (Also Available in Audio)

  LOVING A STRANGER (Also Available in Audio)

  FINDING THE JEWEL (Also Available in Audio)

  BONDED BY ACCIDENT (Also Available in Audio)

  RELEASING THE DRAGON (Also Available in Audio)

  SHARING A MATE (Also Available in Audio)

  INSTRUCTING THE NOVICE (Also Available in Audio)

  AWAKENED BY THE GIANT (Also Available in Audio)

  HITTING THE TARGET (Also Available in Audio)

  HANDLING THE HYBRID

  TRAPPED IN TIME

  TIME TO HEAL

  PAIRING WITH THE PROTECTOR

  FALLING FOR KINDRED CLAUS

  GUARDING THE GODDESS

  STEALING HER HEART

  TAMING TWO WARRIORS

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 1

  Contains Mastering the Mistress, Bonding with the Beast and Seeing with the Heart

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 2

  Contains Freeing the Prisoner, Healing the Broken and Taming the Giant

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 3

  Contains Bridging the Distance, Loving a Stranger and Finding the Jewel

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 4

  Contains Bonded by Accident, Releasing the Dragon, and Sharing a Mate

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 5

  Contains Instructing the Novice, Awakened by the Giant, and Hitting the Target

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 6

  Contains Handling the Hybrid, Trapped in Time, and Time to Heal

  Born to Darkness series

  (Paranormal / Action-Adventure Romance)

  CRIMSON DEBT (Also Available in Audio)

  SCARLET HEAT (Also Available in Audio)

  RUBY SHADOWS (Also Available in Audio)

  CARDINAL SINS (coming soon)

  DESSERT (short novella following Scarlet Heat)

  (Also Available in Audio)

  BORN TO DARKNESS BOX SET

  Contains Crimson Debt, Scarlet Heat, and Ruby Shadows all in one volume

  Alien Mate Index series

  (Sci-Fi / Action-Adventure Romance)

  ABDUCTED (Also Available in Audio)

  PROTECTED (Also Available in Audio)

  DESCENDED (Also Available in Audio)

  SEVERED (Also Available in Audio)

  ALIEN MATE INDEX VOLUME ONE

  Contains Abducted, Protected, Descended and Severed all in one volume

  * * *

  All Alien Mate novels are now available in PRINT.

  The Cougarville series

  (Paranormal / Action-Adventure Romance)

  (Older Woman / Younger Man

  BUCK NAKED (Also Available in Audio)

  COUGAR BAIT (Also Available in Audio)

  STONE COLD FOX (Also Available in Audio)

  BIG BAD WOLF (coming soon)

  The CyBRG Files with Mina Carter

  (Sci-Fi / Action-Adventure Romance)

  UNIT 77: BROKEN (Also Available in Audio)

  UNIT 78: RESCUED (Also Available in Audio)

  The Institute series

  (Daddy-Dom / Age Play Romance)

  THE INSTITUTE: DADDY ISSUES

  (Also Available in Audio)

  THE INSTITUTE: MISHKA’S SPANKING

  The Swann Sister Chronicles

  (Contemporary Fairy / Funny / Fantasy Romance)

  WISHFUL THINKING (Also Available in Audio)

  BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR (Also available in Audio)

  Nocturne Academy

  (Young Adult Paranormal/Action-Adventure/Romance)

  LOCK AND KEY

  FANG AND CLAW

  STONE AND SECRET (Coming Soon)

  Detectives Valenti and O’Brian

  (1980s M/M Romance)

  THE ASSIGNMENT

  I’LL BE HOT FOR CHRISTMAS

  FIREWORKS

  THE ASSIGNMENT: HEART AND SOUL

  Compendiums and Box Sets

  ALIEN MATE INDEX VOLUME ONE

  Contains Abducted, Protected, Descended and Severed all in one volume

  BORN TO DARKNESS BOX SET

  Contains Crimson Debt, Scarlet Heat, and Ruby Shadows all in one volume

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME ONE

  Contains Claimed, Hunted, Sought and Found

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME TWO

  Contains Revealed, Pursued and Exiled

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME THREE

  Contains Shadowed, Chained and Divided

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME FOUR

  Contains Devoured, Enhanced and Cursed

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME FIVE

  Contains Enslaved, Targeted and Forgotten

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME SIX

  Contains Switched, Uncharted and Unbound

  HAVE YOURSELF A SEXY LITTLE CHRISTMAS

  Contains Kidnapped for Christmas, Cougar Christmas and Season’s Spankings

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 1

  Contains Mastering the Mistress, Bonding with the Beast and Seeing with the Heart

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 2

  Contains Freeing the Prisoner, Healing the Broken and Taming the Giant

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 3

  Contains Bridging the Distance, Loving a Stranger and Finding the Jewel

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 4

  Contains Bonded by Accident, Releasing the Dragon, and Sharing a Mate

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 5

  Contains Instructing the Novice, Awakened by the Giant, and Hitting the Target

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 6

  Co
ntains Handling the Hybrid, Trapped in Time, and Time to Heal

  NAUGHTY TALES: THE COLLECTION— Volume One

  Contains Putting on a Show, Willing Submission, The Institute: Daddy Issues, The Institute: Mishka's Spanking, Confessions of a Lingerie Model, Sin Eater, Speeding Ticket, Stress Relief and When Mr. Black Comes Home.

  ONE HOT HALLOWEEN

  Contains Red and the Wolf, Gypsy Moon and Taming the Beast

  ONE HOT HALLOWEEN Vol.2

  Contains The Covenant, Secret Thirst, and Kristen’s Addiction + BONUS: Madeline’s Mates

  Stand Alone Titles

  (Sci-Fi OR Paranormal Action-Adventure Romance)

  ANYONE U WANT

  BEST KEPT SECRETS (Step-Brother romance)

  BLIND DATE WITH A VAMPIRE

  BLOOD KISS

  CEREMONY OF THREE

  DEAL WITH THE DEVIL (Also Available in Audio)

  DEFILED

  EYES LIKE A WOLF (Foster Brother romance)

  FOREVER BROKEN (M/M romance)

  GYPSY MOON

  HUNGER MOON RISING

  MADELINE’S MATES

  MARKED

  OUTCAST

  PLANET X (Also Available in Audio)

  PLEASURE PLANET

  PLEDGE SLAVE (M/M romance)

  PURITY (Also Available in Audio)

  RED AND THE WOLF

  SECRET THIRST

  SEX WITH STRANGERS

  SHADOW DREAMS

  SLAVE BOY (M/M romance)

  STRESS RELIEF

  SWEET DREAMS

  TAMING THE BEAST

  TANDEM UNIT

  THE BARGAIN

  THE COVENANT

  THE LAST BITE (M/M romance)

  THE LAST MAN ON EARTH

  THE LOST BOOKS (M/M romance)

  THE PLEASURE PALACE

  THE SACRIFICE (Also Available in Audio)

  Stand Alone Titles

  (Contemporay Romance)

  A SPANKING FOR VALENTINE (BDSM)