I am summoned to Dr. Sarah's office almost immediately.
The space is filled with other important personnel and I fight the urge to shuffle under their openly scheming gazes.
Dr. Sarah approaches me. She beams at me but I sense a falseness about it. "Gweneth. Everyone has been buzzing about the recent news. But we'd like to hear it from the horse's mouth. Is it true?"
She makes it sound like I'd just announced an engagement. To her question, I nod. "Yes. I... I'm his mate." Saying it out loud sounds surreal. Impossible.
Shifter-human pairings are rare. So rare there hasn't been any recorded cases of it actually happening. But to be fair, we only just found out shifters exist a few decades ago, so I'll give it time.
If possible Dr. Sarah's smile widens. She claps like an excited schoolgirl and my discomfort grows. "This is good news!" She turns her attention to the team behind, and in a voice breathy with excitement, she announces, "It appears we've just made a breakthrough."
White smiles pass around the group and I'm left in the dark, a foreboding chill starting to make its way through me.
Dr. Sarah turns back to me. "As of today, you're to resign your job as a scientist."
My breath stops. "Why--"
"Because you're going to be assigned another job, of course."
"What job?"
"Take care of the Alpha. Ensure he's well-fed. You're to spend a great deal of time with him so that the bond between the two of you can strengthen. He would never relax if there were cameras around or security guards patrolling the area, so we've decided to cut those short. We're relying on you to keep him...in check."
I search her eyes, growing uneasy. "Why?" And why would they trust me with such responsibility? Are they so certain I wouldn't betray them, or do they have something on me that'll ensure I won't?
A dark look passes over her face. "That way he can do whatever we ask of him once he thinks you're in danger," she replies.
I suddenly find it hard to swallow. "I don't want any part in this."
Her eyes snap to mine like she didn't expect I'd not be on board with her plan. "What?"
"This." My arm does a wild sweep in the air. "I don't want any part in any of this. This is where I draw the line."
The people around all stiffen, glaring daggers at me like I am vile. Like I am damning humanity by refusing to partake in their plan.
Dr. Sarah steps closer to me. Her voice lowers. "You could be forced."
So they do have something on me? I stiffen and draw up to my full height. "Is that what happens when you become a Hunter, have your free will taken away from you? I thought the very thing we fought for was freedom."
She doesn't waver. "Your report states a next of kin in Las Vegas. A sister. A drunk and a drug addict who cannot be trusted with taking care of her own son. But despite this, you love her. Wouldn't like to see her washed up dead in some lake, would you? And her son..."
My breath rattles out of me and I don't care if my terror is stark on my face.
The woman pats the side of my face gently before drawing away. "Now just do as we say and no one gets hurt."
When I go home later, I stare blankly ahead as I heat some mashed potatoes, giving halfhearted answers to Rylan's excited rambling.
When night falls I sneak into his bed, wrapping my arms around his little body. He soon stirs awake and blinks up at me blearily. "Mum? What are you doing here? You know I can sleep alone now, right?"
"Shh," I hush gently, feeling my voice crack. "Mummy just wants to hold you, okay?"
Perhaps sensing my mood, he just nods and snuggles deeper into me, falling asleep almost immediately.
The next morning I retrieve my car from the mechanic, driving it up the barren acreage of land surrounding Mount Pyre. Stopping at the front post, I slide my ID card against the slot and the huge gate budges, drawing up. I drive in.
The Hunters around cast me sidelong looks as I make my way through the Halls. A few of them stare at me with open animosity, no doubt having heard about my refusal to go on board with Dr. Sarah's proposal. Although you could hardly call it that.
Her office is wide open by the time I get there. She looks up when I come in, then a smile stretches the side of her lips. "Knew you'd make the right choice."
My jaw clenches. She waves towards the opposite table. I turn and see a trolley. It's packed with food.
"Werewolves have quite the appetite. Although this one doesn't seem to want to eat anything we give him."
"Can't imagine why."
She doesn't address the dry statement, instead motioning to the trolley again. "Take it up to him. There's every chance he's going to eat what's in it now you're the one offering the food."
I roll the trolley away. The elevator ride up is slow and, unfortunately, I have enough time to dwell on my situation.
I am going to meet Malcolm. Dread tightens my chest. The image of him from yesterday flashes through my mind and I blanch. His eerie blue eyes, the canines lengthening past his lips, the horrific sharpening of his face. The sharp black claws.
One swipe of those lethal contraptions and you'll be rent to shreds.
The doors slide open and I push through. Taking out my card, I slide the chip in and the metal door whirs open.
He's awake.
Steel grey eyes watch me narrowly as I enter the room. On instinct, my eyes fly to the emergency button. His gaze follows mine and they harden.
"Good morning," I say, stomach in knots.
Like yesterday, his eyes do a bold sweep down my body. Once they land on the card pinned to my shirt pocket his eyes glow a fierce blue that has me backing up sharply. "You're one of them," he growls.
I realize it's the first time I've heard him speak. His voice is deep and gravelly, a combination that has heat slinking down my insides despite myself. Once what he says settles, I state, "You could say that."
"Then you are no mate of mine."
The rejection cut deep. The feeling is accompanied by a twinge of anger. "Do you think I want any part in this!?" I blurt. "Look. My life is in danger and--" I cut myself off, sucking in a breath.
He watches me closely. Pinpricks of gooseflesh break out of my skin. Out of my depth, I look away.
"Then set me free," he says.
My eyes meet his. "I can't. It's not... it's not that easy." I start to unpack the trolley. A plate of pancakes is dropped down on the space beside him. "You have to eat."
He's still looking at me in that disconcerting way. "Why do you say your life is in danger?"
I scoff, the bitter sound directed at myself. "It's nothing I shouldn't have seen coming. I got myself into this and by god, I'm getting myself out." Eyeing his bonds, I fork a helping of pancakes and hold it out to him. "Please eat."
His slate grey eyes are unmoving on my face and I feel a flush start to creep up my neck.
There's a calculation in his gaze that should've bothered anyone, but I'm too busy reeling from the all-consuming way he looks at me to care. Finally, his mouth budges open. That little action of surrender should've been the first thing to alert me something wasn't right. I'll learn eventually that Malcolm never yields.
But I'm so relieved at finally getting to him that I inch closer. Oddly enough, I don't feel afraid of him.
Reverse that.
When the fork goes in his mouth, his lips close over it deliberately, eyes locked on mine with a dark intensity. At once, something raw and hot crackles to life between us.
When a smoldering blue glow simmers in the depths of his eyes, I suddenly feel like a prey.
Which is ironic, because he's the one in chains.
But a part of me, an instinctual part, knows I shouldn't count on that fact to keep me safe from him.
RYLANShe takes wild jabs at me, stabbing the air each time I leap away. Now I land behind her and she spins around, face red from exertion and just the littlest bit of irritation. Falling into stance again, we start a slow dance around each other. My lips twitch."You won't be laughing for much longer," she says. She lunges, focused ruthlessly on my shoulder. Last minute, I block, knocking her wrist with the heel of my palm. The dagger falls to the ground and when she makes a dash for it, I grab her, pinning her to me with just the slightest pressure on her neck.I lean down. "Always," I say against her ear, breathing hard, "have your full attention on your opponent, not on only where you aim to attack."Her elbows come down on my arms and she wrenches out of my grasp. I grin. "Impressive."She picks her blade off the ground, coming at me again. This time I attack, feinting a right just to place the tip of my dagger against the smooth line of her throat.Time suspends.When my eyes s
RYLANWhen the sound of crushed leaves sound, I look down from my high vantage point. Emmaline.Through the darkness, I watch her advance forward. Her head snaps around, looking for sign of me. Unnoticed, I use the time to look at her. She's dressed in all black, but had forgotten to hide the most important thing. Her blonde beacon of a hair. I stifle an eye roll. She really did choose the right colour.When I jump down. I hear her gasp. But she turns around and releases a loaded breath on realizing it's just me."You sacred me," she breathes."I'm sorry."I notice there are bags under her eyes and there's an air of sadness around her that I can't explain. "Are you okay?" I find myself asking."Yes. Of course."I shrug. Fine then."Come on."We walk for what seems like an eternity. The pen is located at a really remote part of the school. The gatekeeper really took his privacy serious.We walk by moss covered plants, the scent of fresh water and evergreens strong in the air. I look ba
Once I enter the dinning hall the next morning, I wish I didn't.Sophie is sitting with a group of girls. Among them is Sharlene.I grip the strap of my bag on reflex and start to walk past them, hoping I looked indifferent. But soon that is all I become consumed with. How do I make them realize that I don't give a f*ck? Do I wave at her? Act like I don't see her?Am I waking too straight?My anxiety vanishes. It's replaced with something acidic, and painful. I see Rylan.He's with Sabrina.The wall I'd erected around myself threatens to crack. When I slide into an empty table, I feel irritation at myself well. Why did I think anything between us had changed?He's only helping me out of some misguided responsibility and not because, heaven forbid, he likes me. A hysterical laugh bubbles to the surface but it morphs into a lump and lodges at the back of my throat when Sophie's table breaks out in laughter.What are they talking about?Is it me?My stomach clenches. Did she tell them wh
Without wasting any more time, I turn on my heels and rush in. The empty room stops me short. Reaching up, I absently start to untangle my hair, drawing out stubborn leaves. My hand freezes mid air when the murmur of a crowd down below becomes audible.I rake my fingers through my hair frantically, desperately hoping I've managed to remove any evidence of being in the woods. Throwing the door open, I rush down the cold halls. The stairwell is suddenly too long, every step I take sending a rush of dread snaking through me.Finally I get to the common room. Following the voices, I make my way to the dinning hall.Up to a hundred pairs of eyes turn to laser on me. I fight the urge to shrink away.The girls wear varying looks of irritation, still in their night wear. Veloria's matron is the last to notice me. The dread in her eyes gives way to shock and then concern before her eyes turn cold. I notice someone shoot up. "Emmaline!"Sophie.She pushes away from her crowded table, heading in
EMMAShit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.Shit!We leap across another tree, legs pounding down on hard gravel. Rylan still hasn't left my hand, his strong grip steering me relentlessly."Don't let them get away!" A guard yells.When I stumble over the uneven ground, Rylan catches me, wrapping a large hand around my bicep. He hauls me to my feet easily, pushing me in front of him. My breaths tear out of me and the wind whips my face punishingly, sending hair and the scent of evergreens into my nose. Gnarled branches lie low, preventing our desperate escape."Wha--" My gasp is torn when Rylan nudges me in a different direction. The sound of water slapping against boulders become evident.When we get to the raging stream, he shrugs off his bag, throwing it into the river. The practice dummy follows soon after. He spins on me, motioning for my bag. My eyes widen. "My pho--"His voice is unyielding. "Emma. Now."A stab of frustration. When figs crack in the distance, I thrust the bag into his w
RYLANUsing my boot, I kick off excess gravel and sit. "Our professor says the first step to welding is getting pretty f*cking pissed."She blinks. "Pissed, as in drunk? Or, like, angry?""Furious. Foaming at the mouth."She lifts a brow. "Well, since I don't have rabies, do I still qualify?""Tough, but we'll see."I cross my legs, putting my palms face down on either of my knee in what is known as a thinking pose. Trees sway to the chilly night air, the sound of crickets and crinkling leaves breaking the silence from time to time. Emma mirrors my actions. "So what now?""Take a deep breath."Wrong idea. When she inhales, her breasts jut forward and I feel my mouth dry. "I didn't say suck in all the air," I snap.She trains a glare on me. "I was just following your instructions.""Well, follow them without trying to be a vacuum. Watch."She watches snidely as I inhale. "There," I say quietly. "One small breath in, another one out."She copies my actions for a few minutes then just sto