Chapter 6: The Mate Bond Awakens

Skylar's POV

I woke to fluorescent lights burning my eyes and two familiar figures blocking out the rest of the world.

Ross stood at my left side with his arms crossed over his chest while Myron leaned against the wall at my right. Both watched me like I was prey they had already claimed but had not yet decided how to devour.

My head pounded and every muscle in my body screamed in protest as I tried to sit up.

"Don't move." Ross's command was sharp enough to freeze me in place even though I hated that my body obeyed him without thought.

The school clinic smelled like antiseptic and old leather from the ancient examination table beneath me. My skin felt too tight like something beneath it was trying to claw its way out.

"What happened?" My voice came out hoarse and broken.

Nurse Patterson appeared beside Ross with her clipboard pressed against her chest and concern etched deep into the lines around her mouth. She was a middle-aged woman who had seen everything in her twenty years at Moonfall Academy.

"You collapsed in the bathroom, dear. Several students reported hearing unusual sounds before they passed out." She glanced at the twins before continuing in a lower voice. "Skylar, your body showed signs of partial shifting."

The words hit me like ice water in my veins.

"That's impossible." My hands trembled as I gripped the edge of the table. "I'm wolfless. Everyone knows that."

Nurse Patterson exchanged a look with Ross that made my stomach twist into knots. Something passed between them that I could not read but it terrified me nonetheless.

"Your vitals are totally stable now but I really need to run some blood tests to understand what really happened." She moved toward the counter where several vials and needles waited right in the sterile tray.

Ross stepped between us so fast I barely saw him move.

"That won't be necessary." His voice carried an authority that made even the nurse hesitate despite her years of experience.

"Mr Thorne, this is a medical matter and I have protocols to follow." Nurse Patterson tried to move around him but Myron pushed off the wall to block her other side.

The twins formed a wall of muscle and dominance that filled the small clinic with suffocating tension.

"Our father is Alpha of this pack and we're telling you the tests aren't happening." Myron's tone was casual but the threat underneath was clear as crystal.

I wanted to protest and tell them they had no right to make decisions about my body. But my voice died in my throat when Ross turned to look at me with something dark and possessive burning in his green eyes.

Nurse Patterson's shoulders sagged in defeat and she set down her clipboard with a heavy sigh. "Fine. But if anything else happens, I'm reporting this to Alpha Thorne directly."

She left the room with her white coat swishing behind her and the door clicked shut with a finality that made my pulse race.

I was alone with them.

Ross moved closer until his thigh pressed against the examination table and the heat of his body radiated through the thin hospital gown someone had changed me into. My clothes sat folded on a nearby chair and I felt exposed in ways that had nothing to do with fabric.

"You need to tell us what you felt before you collapsed." His hand moved toward my face but stopped just short of touching my cheek. "Every detail matters."

I tried to stand but my legs buckled like they were made of water instead of bone and muscle. Ross caught me before I hit the floor and his arms wrapped around my waist to pull me against his chest.

Electricity shot through every nerve ending where our skin connected and my body came alive in ways it never had before. I hated the way I wanted to lean into his touch and how my wolf, silent for eighteen years, suddenly stirred beneath my skin.

"Let me go." The words came out breathless instead of forceful.

"Not until you stop trying to fall." Ross's breath was warm against my ear and something about his closeness made thinking impossible.

Myron appeared on my other side and between them, I felt trapped and protected all at once. The contradiction made my head spin worse than the lingering effects of whatever had happened in that bathroom.

"We're taking you home." Myron's hand settled on my lower back and the twin points of contact from both brothers sent heat pooling low in my belly.

"No." I pushed against Ross's chest but he did not budge an inch. "I can't be alone with you two."

"Why not?" Ross's lips curved into a smirk that made my heart stutter despite my best efforts to remain unaffected.

Because my body betrayed me every time they stood too close. Because the mate bond pulled at something deep inside me that I did not understand and could not control. Because I was terrified of what would happen if we were truly alone.

I could not say any of that out loud.

The clinic door opened again and Coach Henderson stormed in with his face red and his jaw clenched so tight I heard his teeth grinding together. He was a massive wolf who commanded respect through decades of training young shifters.

"Jace Whitmore has been arrested for attempted assault." His eyes found mine and softened slightly. "The police are at the school now taking statements."

Relief flooded through me so fast my knees went weak again. Ross's arms tightened around my waist to keep me upright.

"His family is already making calls." Coach Henderson's expression darkened. "The Whitmores have money and influence. They're working to get the charges dropped before he even sees the inside of a cell."

The relief turned to ash in my mouth.

"That's not right." My voice shook with anger instead of fear this time. "He tried to hurt me."

"I know, kid. I'm doing everything I can but the system favours wolves with power." Coach Henderson glanced at the twins. "You two should take her home. This has been traumatic enough without her having to deal with police interviews today."

For once I agreed with them taking me anywhere just to escape this nightmare of a day. But the thought of being in a car with both of them made my pulse race for entirely different reasons.

Nurse Patterson returned with a folder in her hands and her expression troubled. "Skylar, your blood work came back with some unusual markers. I'd like to run more comprehensive tests to figure out what we're dealing with."

Before I could respond, Ross released me long enough to cross the room in three long strides. He snatched the folder from her hands and tore it in half without even looking at the contents.

"What are you doing?" Nurse Patterson's voice rose in pitch. "Those are medical records."

Ross grabbed the blood vials from the counter and crushed them in his fist like they were made of paper instead of glass. Dark red blood mixed with shattered glass fragments fell to the floor.

"Oops." His smile was all teeth and no warmth.

"Mr Thorne, that's destruction of evidence." Coach Henderson stepped forward but Myron moved to intercept him with a casualness that spoke of absolute confidence in his ability to handle the older wolf.

"Evidence of what?" Myron tilted his head like he genuinely did not understand the problem. "My stepsister had a fainting spell. Nothing more."

The tension in the room ratcheted up until it felt like the air itself might shatter under the pressure. I stood frozen between them all while my mind raced to understand why the twins would destroy evidence that might explain what was happening to me.

Ross returned to my side and his hand found the small of my back again. The touch sent sparks racing up my spine and I hated how much I wanted him to keep touching me.

"We're leaving." His tone left no room for argument.

Coach Henderson looked like he wanted to protest but something in Ross's expression made him step aside instead. Nurse Patterson pressed her lips together in a thin line but said nothing as Myron guided me toward the door.

My legs still felt unsteady and I leaned more heavily on them than I wanted to admit. The hallway outside the clinic was empty and our footsteps echoed off the lockers lining both walls.

"Why did you destroy my blood work?" I finally found my voice again as we headed toward the parking lot.

Neither of them answered right away and their silence was more terrifying than any explanation could have been.

We reached Ross's black Mercedes and Myron opened the back door while gesturing for me to get in. I hesitated on the curb with every instinct screaming that getting in that car was a mistake.

"We're not going to hurt you, Skylar." Myron's voice was softer than I had ever heard it and the unexpected gentleness made something crack in my chest.

I slid into the leather seat and immediately regretted it when both twins climbed in on either side of me instead of one taking the driver's seat. The back seat suddenly felt impossibly small with their bodies pressed against mine on both sides.

"What are you doing?" My voice came out higher than I intended.

"Making sure you don't try to run." Ross's hand settled on my thigh and even through my jeans the contact made my skin burn.

Myron leaned close enough that his breath stirred the hair at my temple and every cell in my body became hyperaware of his proximity. The mate bond pulled at something primal inside me and I felt my wolf rising closer to the surface than she ever had before.

"If the pack finds out you're not wolfless, your father will have questions neither of us can answer." Myron's words were barely a whisper but they hit like a physical blow. "And trust me, sweetheart, you don't want him finding out what you really are.”