teeth, "Understood."
Nox scoffs. “You’re pretty agreeable to him. Looks like you’ll get to bond after all, brother.”
My eyes snap back over to him. “I’m not touching any of you. If you try to lay so much as a finger on me, then you’ll be committing a crime, and I’ll happily stand in front of the Council and tell them exactly how much I don’t want any of you.”
Gabriel stands abruptly and walks out, the door slamming shut behind him. I’m too fucking furious to feel bad about it, my attention is entirely on Nox and his shitty attitude.
Me not wanting them touching me, it goes beyond just the emotional stuff. I mean, I don’t want guys who hate me trying to drag me into bed just so their abilities strengthen, but if my abilities heightened?
Fuck. No.
Absolutely not.
“I’ll be back tomorrow morning to take you to your dorm room. The file Noakes gave you has everything you need to know about your life now. Read it, learn it, and live by it. There’s no other path for you now, Fallows.”
Then he stands and the other two stand with him, walking out the door and locking it firmly behind them.
I’m trapped in this fucking room all over again.
And still, no one has fed me.
I barely sleep.
The bed is horrendously uncomfortable, springs sticking into my back and the thin blanket doing nothing to keep me warm.
A different woman comes in the morning to take me to the bathroom, the clothes she hands me much better than the sweatpants and sweatshirt nightmare from yesterday. There’s clean underwear, a dress, and ankle boots. My stomach is aching with hunger, the dry crackers from last night were nowhere near enough food to keep me going, and after a night in the braid, my hair is looking like a mess.
This woman is a little nicer though. She helps me with my hair and even slips me a little bag with makeup in it.
I smile at her. “Thank you. I’m sorry you got babysitting duty.”
She smiles back, shaking her head a little. “I don’t mind it so much. I’m sure Olivia made it a nightmare for you yesterday.”
Olivia, so that’s the bitch’s name. “Yeah, she wasn’t very happy with me. I’m not sure why she hates me so much.”
The woman grimaces. “She’s… in love with one of your Bonds.”
Oh.
Oh, fuck.
“Sorry. I know it must be hard to hear that. I’m not sure if Gryphon ever… reciprocated.”
Gryphon. My silent, scarred, biker-boot-wearing Bond who looked at me like I was nothing to him. Like he didn’t care if I came back or not.
I have to ignore my weeping bond again and, fuck, I hope this isn’t going to be a regular thing now. Am I always going to have to deal with it fucking keening in my chest for men I can’t have? I think I’d rather die. I shove it down in my chest, further and further, until I can breathe again.
“Thanks for letting me know. I just thought everyone in our community hates me for running. I know it’s not… something that happens a lot.”
The woman, fuck, I should ask her name, she shakes her head. “It doesn’t happen a lot but… ultimately, it’s your decision if you don’t want to complete a bond.”
I give her a smirk. “They have me chipped like a stray dog, it’s not my decision anymore.”
She ducks her head, obviously uncomfortable with what her superiors have done but not quite enough to help me, and I let it go. She was nice enough to me and the makeup means I’ll be heading into college today without looking like a complete mess.
I’ll take what I can get for now.
She walks me back to the interview room where we find North waiting for me, another immaculate and freshly pressed suit on and his phone in his hand.
“Thank you, Carrie. She looks much better today.”
He speaks without looking at me once, but the smile he gives Carrie is warm and kind. So there is a soul somewhere there under the suit and tie.
His eyes are much less kind when they finally touch me. “We have a meeting with the dean of Draven University, then I’ll take you to your dorm.”
I give him a sharp nod, it’s not like I can say no to him anyway, and then I follow him out of the building. He waves and smiles at most of the people we pass, all of them looking at me like I’m some sort of