believe I hadn’t put that together— or that I’d believed the nasty rumors that were circulating. I knew people made up shit about the royal family and the people that were involved with them.
Finlay’s relationship with Emma bothered me more than I wanted to admit.
I heard a snicker, and a light beside me flashed. Stefan had been filming me freaking out the entire time. I went to snatch the phone away, but he sent off the video before I could delete it.
“And... sent to Emma,” he sang. “Your mate’s gonna get a kick out of this.”
“I hate you.” My mood had soured worse than before. I’d never live this one down, I was sure.
“Why don’t you go and talk to her?” Kiara offered. “I’m sure she’ll find your concern charming.”
“Right, now that I’ve made a jackass out of myself.” But Kiara’s idea was a good one, and I figured I might as well try to explain things... before everyone got back to school tonight and I humiliated myself even further.
I went to the pharmacy to grab a few things, then took a carriage to the university. I knocked on Emma’s dorm room door.
She opened it, and I nearly considered turning back around once I met her glaring expression. By the gods, she was pissed.
“Really, Ethan? Really?”
I held up the bag, sheepish. “Can I come in?”
She rolled her eyes and moved aside. I stepped into the dorm, and set the bag down on her desk. Tygrys was resting on a leaf, but he purred and flew to me. He sat on my shoulder, and I busied myself by petting him with one finger as Emma plopped down on her bed. She’d changed out of her dress and taken off her flower crown, slipping into sweatpants and a baggy sweater.
“I take it you’ve heard the new rumors?” I asked weakly.
Emma turned her phone around to me as an answer. I suppressed a groan. Stefan had indeed sent the embarrassing video of me. I continued to rant about her fake pregnancy onscreen, until she shut the video off.
“For your information, I’ve never slept with Finlay, nor anyone else,” Emma snapped.
“He said something of a similar nature,” I said regrettably.
“You asked him?” Emma rubbed her face. “Gods, Ethan. Can’t you mind your own business?”
“Excuse me for being concerned,” I shot back.
Emma fumed. “By the way, I’m on birth control. So if I just so happen to get pregnant, it’s by some immaculate conception, not because I’ve been sleeping around.”
“I didn’t say you were sleeping around,” I grumbled. “I was panicking. It was nothing against you.”
She gave a moan. “Well... you were being kind of cute.”
“I’m glad you think my worry is adorable.”
She smirked. “It was entertaining, to say the least. What’s in the bag?”
I began placing things on the desk. “I brought you pads, tampons, a heating pad, some pain reliever, chocolate, and a few snacks, in case you needed anything.”
Emma’s eyes widened as she observed the horde, and Tygrys purred in approval. “Ethan, that’s so sweet. But weren’t you embarrassed to buy that stuff? Other guys would be.”
“I’m not like other guys. Why would I be embarrassed? I’m taking care of my mate.”
Emma got up. She took two pills, grabbed some chocolate and the heating pad before she plugged it in and laid on the bed. She set the heating pad on her lower stomach, and started in on the chocolate.
Tygrys fluttered upward and landed on the corner of the four-poster bed. I went to sit down in the office chair, but Emma shook her head and patted the bed beside her. Our status as exes popped into my mind.
“This is hardly appropriate,” I complained, but I laid down next to her anyway, because I wanted to. I so wanted to, and nothing could stop me from doing it.
“I don’t know what we are anymore,” Emma said tiredly. “Not like it matters.”
I couldn’t agree more. Things were complicated between us. They always had been.
“How could you think I would sleep with Finlay without telling you? That’s bullshit.” She took a bite of the chocolate, and handed it to me. I bit off a piece, chewed and swallowed.
“I thought we were done,” I said honestly. “We’re not together.”
“We are done. But we aren’t.” Emma sighed. “We’re still connected. I wouldn’t have sex with someone else until… if… when I break our bond.”