Iris fire the gun again. I was positive that if this gorgeous stranger hadn’t been here, if I had been all alone, I would have been dead by now.
I owed everything to him. This time, he hadn’t just saved me from a marriage I didn’t want to be in.
No, this time, he had completely saved my life.
Chapter 17
During the weeks after Iris had visited the Darken house, I made a point of avoiding her on campus. I didn’t want her to get the wrong impression after the favor I had done for her. Even though I had been nice enough to give a message to Milos for her, the last thing I wanted was for her to think that I had forgiven her when I hadn’t.
In between classes and schoolwork, I hung out with Vince and Maddie whenever I was able to find the chance. Vince had slow phased Iris out of his life. I was sure that she probably suspected that the reason had to do with me, but she wasn’t about to lash out after me when I had helped her. When it came down to it, I had the one thing that she wished she had but never would have: a direct mental connection to Milos.
I often worried about when Milos would appear in my life again in some sort of way. The fact that he hadn’t yet was pretty baffling.
The only thing I could seem to think of was that he was planning… well, something. Probably the impending war.
By the time December rolled around, I was anxious to get our midterm exams over with already. It was probably due to all the stress this semester, but I was struggling to get through my classes. I was putting in more hours studying than I ever had before, and I was so over studying. What I needed more than anything was a break.
I had just slammed my book shut when my phone began to vibrate. I glanced down at the number that lit up my phone.
It was him.
My heart pounded against my chest as a wave of panic rushed through me. I didn’t want to talk to him.
I couldn’t talk to him.
Any time I thought of talking to him, this crippling fear just took over. I knew I was probably being irrational. Eventually, we were going to have to talk. But I just wasn’t ready for that yet.
Swallowing hard, I hit the ignore button, sending his call straight to voicemail.
My phone alerted me that I had one new voicemail.
Shit.
Usually when I ignored his calls, he didn’t actually leave a voicemail. He would just try calling a few days later.
Honestly? I was terrified to hear what he had to say.
With shaky hands, I pressed the play button and pressed the phone to my ear to listen.
“Hey, Raven. I really need to talk to you, but for some reason, you keep ignoring my calls. That isn’t how you should treat your mate, now is it? Remember, I am your last mate… meaning I should hold the dearest spot in your heart. Anyway, give me a call back as soon as you listen to this.”
He paused for a long moment, but I could still hear his breathing on the voicemail. Finally, he spoke again.
“Oh, and in case you hadn’t already figured it out, it’s me… Kane.”
It all came back to me then, the memories from this past summer spiraling through my mind like a tornado.
Once we finally reached an alley, the guy set me down on the black pavement.
“Reveale,” he said, using the word for “reveal” in the witch language.
I watched as both of our bodies came into view.
Once he was fully visible, my eyes scanned his body up and down.
He was the guy from my memories. He looked the same but different now.
His short dark brown hair was no longer cut short; now, it fell into his eyes, and he had golden, sun-kissed skin. It looked like he had spent a lot of time working outdoors.
Just like in my memory of him, he looked strong—like a warrior, with some of the most muscular arms I had ever seen in my entire life. And, considering I went to school with a bunch of werewolf guys, that was saying a lot.
As my eyes locked on his own emerald green eyes, my breath hitched in my throat.
That was when I felt it: the way my body was reacting to him. It wasn’t a way that I ever normally reacted to guys, outside of