Broken Bonds (The Bonds that Tie #1) - J. Bree Page 0,9

or socialization will take place outside of these hours. You will attend all of your classes, hand in all of your assignments, and you will pass every class. I was unaware of the holes in your education when I signed you up, but I'm sure you'll be able to catch up."

My cheeks burn again and I swallow back the rage that builds in my gut at the sheer fucking nerve of him. "And if I don't stick to these little rules of yours?"

He turns on his heel to face me finally, running a hand down the line of buttons on his perfectly tailored jacket. “Having you here where I can keep an eye on you is a means of freedom for you. The alternative is to chain you by the throat to the floor in my cellar. I won't be pleased to do that but make no mistake, Fallows, I will keep you here."

The air leaks out of my lungs in a wheeze.

My Bond is a fucking psychopath.

He steps forward to the door again, his hand around the door handle as he casts me one last look. "You cannot possibly grasp the damage you've wrought by leaving us. I intend on ensuring that will never happen again. You'd do well to learn your lesson here and submit."

Then he's gone and I'm left staring blankly at the empty doorway.

Sub-fucking-mit.

I think I'd rather die.

Chapter Three

I had once dreamt of being able to attend Draven University. Out of all of the colleges in the country that cater to the Gifted, Draven is well known for being the best. It offers all of the usual classes that the human schools do, but with classes specifically structured for us too, like History of the Gifted and Impulse Control 101.

I had given up any sort of hopes for a higher education when I was forced to give up school to go on the run so, while I am angry and frustrated at being forced here, I guess I'm also pretty thankful that I have the opportunity to be here and learn at such a distinguished college... for as long as this lasts. It doesn't mean that I'm not trying to find a way to escape, as long as the Resistance is after me, I will never truly be comfortable staying in one spot, but I'm going to soak in as much information and knowledge as I can.

I wake up early on my first day, my stomach a riot of nerves, and I take extra care with my appearance. My bags were already in my room when North had dropped me off, I hadn’t even known the Tactical Team had grabbed them when they found me.

I don't have designer clothes like most of the other girls in my dorms but I can look clean and well put together, which is what really matters. I hope I don't stand out too much, I just want to blend the hell in until I can get out.

By the time I'm braiding my hair, my phone buzzes with a text from North. My stomach drops when I see his name, but the text itself isn't too bad.

Gabe will pick you up from your dorm to escort you to your classes this morning.

So I get my own guard to walk me into the building. Great. Out of all of my Bonds, I guess Gabe is the one I'd choose to walk me in though. He looked as miserable as I felt last night, so hopefully that means he won't try to talk to me or anything. We can just get into the building together in total silence. Yay.

Once I'm ready, I sit on my bed and stare around my sparse room while I wait for him to arrive. I can do this, I can totally catch up to everyone around me. It's not a big deal, I've spent so much time in libraries reading and using the internet there, I'm going to be okay. I keep telling myself this, over and over again, and freaking pray it's true.

The knock at my door startles me out of my daze.

I stand and sling my bag over my shoulder, fussing with the hem of my shirt for a second to delay opening the door for a second longer. I take a deep breath and throw it open, plastering a fake-ass smirk on my face.

My heart stutters at the perfection that is my Bond, and then I remember he hates me and I need to get