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Back Charm Save as PDF
Chapters (155)
  1. Copyright
  2. Dedication
  3. 1 Nearly Gutless Grace—Grace—
  4. 2 Head Space, Talk Space, Give Me Some Space—Grace—
  5. 3 I Do Like a Good Cup of Hurl Grey—Grace—
  6. 4 Every Little Thing He Does Is Not Magic—Grace—
  7. 5 Hot and Not So Heavy—Hudson—
  8. 6 In One Head and Out the Other—Grace—
  9. 7 Burning Down the Louse—Hudson—
  10. 8 Eat, Drink, and Be Wary—Grace—
  11. 9 From One Blink to the Necks—Grace—
  12. 10 Burning Your Britches—Hudson—
  13. 11 Sleep Like the Undead—Grace—
  14. 12 Grace on a Platter—Grace—
  15. 13 My Life Is an Open Phone—Grace—
  16. 14 Diary of a Vampire Kid—Grace—
  17. 15 The Best Defense Is More Defense—Hudson—
  18. 16 No Vamp Is an Island—Grace—
  19. 17 This Is How My Cookie Crumbles—Grace—
  20. 18 Trying to Lair Low—Hudson—
  21. 19 Put a String on It—Hudson—
  22. 20 All the Sizzle, None of the Heart—Hudson—
  23. 21 I’m Not RSVPing for This Pity Party—Grace—
  24. 22 All Cry, No Punishment—Grace—
  25. 23 Welcome to My Jungle—Hudson—
  26. 24 Dividing the Room in Styles—Grace—
  27. 25 I Mo, You Mo, We All Emo—Grace—
  28. 26 Re-Tweeting—Grace—
  29. 27 De-Briefing—Hudson—
  30. 28 It Dunks to Be Me—Grace—
  31. 29 How Do You Say Good-Pie?—Hudson—
  32. 30 Uneasy as Pie—Hudson—
  33. 31 Stalks and Bonds—Grace—
  34. 32 Some Bonds Can’t Be Unbroken—Grace—
  35. 33 Fake It or You Don’t Make It—Grace—
  36. 34 I Read You All Wrong—Grace—
  37. 35 Running Down a Nightmare—Grace—
  38. 36 Please Don’t Start the Fire—Grace—
  39. 37 You’re Dragon Me Down—Grace—
  40. 38 Waking Dawn—Hudson—
  41. 39 Keep Calm and Don’t Carry On—Hudson—
  42. 40 Don’t Farm It In—Grace—
  43. 41 Crop Till You Drop—Grace—
  44. 42 She’s Giving Me the Smokey Eye—Grace—
  45. 43 One Direction Is Not Just a Band—Hudson—
  46. 44 I Can Dish It Out If You Can Make It—Hudson—
  47. 45 Don’t Let the Bedvamps Bite—Hudson—
  48. 46 I Like to Sleep Tight, But Not This Tight—Grace—
  49. 47 You Really Stuck My Landing—Grace—
  50. 48 No Farm, No Foul—Grace—
  51. 49 Re-Veg Is Sweet—Hudson—
  52. 50 I’m Oh So Swan-Yay—Grace—
  53. 51 A Not So Savage Garden—Grace—
  54. 52 There Has to Be an Udder Way—Grace—
  55. 53 Suck It Up, Buttercup—Grace—
  56. 54 He’s Got Hangry Eyes—Hudson—
  57. 55 Afraid of My Own Shadow Queen—Hudson—
  58. 56 Baby Got Piggyback—Grace—
  59. 57 Cliffs Notes Got Nothing on Me—Hudson—
  60. 58 I Cave It My All—Grace—
  61. 59 I Know a Prick When I Smell One—Grace—
  62. 60 Tastes Like Teen Spirit—Hudson—
  63. 61 Carpe Drink-Em—Grace—
  64. 62 Dimples and Curls—Grace—
  65. 63 Tic-Tac-Toe and No Chill—Grace—
  66. 64 If I Could F(lie)—Hudson—
  67. 65 Live and Let’s Run—Grace—
  68. 66 Good Will Hugging—Grace—
  69. 67 The First Rule of Fright Club—Hudson—
  70. 68 I Have Friends in High Places—Grace—
  71. 69 Color Me Purple—Hudson—
  72. 70 Way Too Hidden Talents—Hudson—
  73. 71 Inn-stant Gratification—Grace—
  74. 72 Gone Wishin’—Grace—
  75. 73 My Lady in Red—Hudson—
  76. 74 1D-reams Come True—Grace—
  77. 75 Café Lotta Say—Hudson—
  78. 76 The Choux on the Wrong Foot—Grace—
  79. 77 Ah-Choux—Hudson—
  80. 78 All LinkedOut—Grace—
  81. 79 Getting the Red Ribbon Treatment—Hudson—
  82. 80 Starfalling for You—Hudson—
  83. 81 All’s Fair in Love and Ring Tosses—Grace—
  84. 82 Star Light, Star Bright—Grace—
  85. 83 On Top of the (Other)World—Grace—
  86. 84 It’s a Knock-Down, Dragon Fight—Hudson—
  87. 85 Dragon Me Over the Coals—Grace—
  88. 86 Go Stone or Go Home—Hudson—
  89. 87 Let Me Change into Something a Little More Stony—Grace—
  90. 88 Feather or Not, Here I Come!—Grace—
  91. 89 No One Wants to Catch These Cookies—Grace—
  92. 90 Sucker Brunch Me—Hudson—
  93. 91 I Know How to Hold My Drink—Hudson—
  94. 92 Drinks Are On Me—Grace—
  95. 93 I’m Spooning Over You—Grace—
  96. 94 Talk Dirty to Me—Hudson—
  97. 95 We Roll with the Brunches—Grace—
  98. 96 No Such Thing as a Free Brunch—Grace—
  99. 97 Time After Time Dragon—Grace—
  100. 98 Let’s Talk About the Time Dragon in the Room—Hudson—
  101. 99 Distrust but Verify—Hudson—
  102. 100 Whine and Dine—Grace—
  103. 101 Covering None of the Bases—Grace—
  104. 102 Between a Rock and a Hard Grace—Grace—
  105. 103 Passing the Pouspous—Grace—
  106. 104 How to Rock and Not Roll—Grace—
  107. 105 A Whole New Meaning to Stone-Faced—Grace—
  108. 106 Always Look a Gift Mayor in the Mouth—Grace—
  109. 107 Good Girl Gone Mad as Hell—Hudson—
  110. 108 I Want You to Want Me—Grace—
  111. 109 50 Shades of Fangs—Grace—
  112. 110 Need You Tonight—Grace—
  113. 111 Amateur Astronomer—Hudson—
  114. 112 Waiting for the Other Dragon to Drop—Grace—
  115. 113 One Surprise Deserves Another—Hudson—
  116. 114 Sending Out Smokey Signals—Grace—
  117. 115 The Tail End of the Deal—Grace—
  118. 116 Ripping the Scales—Hudson—
  119. 117 From Smokey with Love—Hudson—
  120. 118 It’s a Hack Job but Someone’s Got to Do It—Grace—
  121. 119 Big Disco Ball Energy—Grace—
  122. 120 Death on the Dance Floor—Grace—
  123. 121 This Is How You Skew It—Hudson—
  124. 122 Love Is a Red-Ribboned Thing—Grace—
  125. 123 Grin and Grace It—Hudson—
  126. 124 Now You’re Inn for It—Hudson—
  127. 125 Kiss My Asset—Grace—
  128. 126 A Not-So-Tastee Freeze—Grace—
  129. 127 Statue of Limitations—Grace—
  130. 128 Here’s Your Horns, What’s Your Hurry?—Grace—
  131. 129 Gargoyle Girl Gang—Grace—
  132. 130 A Shot in the Dark—Hudson—
  133. 131 The Story of Tonight—Grace—
  134. 132 You Bite It, You Buy It—Hudson—
  135. 133 Cross My Heart and Promise Not to Fry—Grace—
  136. 134 The Wheel of Misfortune—Grace—
  137. 135 BDSM: Bondage, Dragons, Stone, and Magic—Grace—
  138. 136 It’s Darkest Before the Dawn—Hudson—
  139. 137 Where the Wild Things Really Are—Grace—
  140. 138 Buggin’ the F*ck Out—Grace—
  141. 139 Don’t Trust Her as Far as I Can Throw Her—Hudson—
  142. 140 It’s Not Even My Third Rodeo—Hudson—
  143. 141 Is This a Bad Time?—Grace—
  144. 142 Full of Light,Full of Grace—Hudson—
  145. 143 What Grace Around Comes Around—Grace—
  146. 144 Out of the Shadows, Into the Light—Grace—
  147. 145 It’s All Coming Back to Me Now—Grace—
  148. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  149. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  150. Sneak Peek: Last of the Talons, by Sophie Kim
  151. Stealing Infinity, by Alyson Noël
  152. The Valkyrie’s Daughter, by Tiana Warner
  153. The Liar’s Crown, by Abigail Owen
  154. The Gravity of Missing Things, by Marisa Urgo
  155. Ember of Night, by Molly E. Lee

32 Some Bonds Can’t Be Unbroken—Grace—

32

Some Bonds Can’t
Be Unbroken
—Grace—

“I’ve got you,” he tells me.

And he does, despite the fight we just had.

He helps me gently to my feet, then says, “Look at me, Grace. Don’t worry about anything else. Just look at me and breathe. In and out. In and out.”

It’s easier said than done, considering the dragon keeps ramming against the wall right behind us. The bricks are screaming in protest and mortar dust is falling to the ground at our feet.

It’s not only the dragon that’s got me freaking out, though. I’ve managed to keep the panic attacks at bay since our first day here by telling myself that everything was going to be okay. By promising myself that we’d find a way out of here and that I’d find a way back to Jaxon. That no matter how long my brain keeps us locked up here, eventually I’d find my way back to my mate—and the new life I had just started to build—again.

Now, if Hudson is right, all that is gone. Just like my parents. Just like my life in San Diego. Even Katmere Academy is over. We’ve been here for more than a year, which means I should have graduated six months ago. I should be at college or at least figuring out what I want to do with my life instead of trapped with Hudson while some rabid dragon tries to kill us both.

Is it any wonder I’m having a panic attack? The more reasonable question is, why the hell isn’t Hudson?

But somehow, he’s not. As he talks to me, his face is totally calm. His eyes are steady, his voice is soothing, and the hands he still has wrapped around my upper arms are as gentle as they are supportive.

But I still can’t breathe. I still can’t get past the terror blanking out the edges of my mind.

The dragon roars right before he crashes into the wall again, and I let out a scream of my own.

“You’ve got this, Grace,” Hudson tells me, and his voice is firmer than it was a couple of minutes ago.

I shake my head even as I try to take a deep breath. Normally I’d agree with him—I can handle these panic attacks and whatever else comes my way—but this feels different. This feels like everything I’ve worked so hard to gain back since my parents died is crumbling beneath my feet. And I don’t think I’ve got the strength to do it all over again.

“What’s the alternative?” Hudson asks. “Give up?”

I look at him, confused. “Wait. Did I say that out loud?”

“You didn’t have to. I’m in your head, remember?”