I hear him suck in a breath. "I'm calling the police right now—"
"No. Dad, no. You can't."
"The hell I can't! They kidnapped you! Fated mates or not, they don't have the right to—"
"The genetic testing confirmed it." I cut him off. "All three of them. 99.97% compatibility. A triad bond."
Silence. Then, so quiet I almost miss it: "I'd hoped it wasn't true."
"What?"
"Nothing." His voice hardens, shifts. "That doesn't give them the right to take you—"
"I know. I know it doesn't. But Dad..." I have to force the words out. "The rejection is killing me. Not metaphorically. Actually killing me. My organs are starting to fail. I'm dying, Dad."
"Then you need a hospital—"
"A hospital can't fix this. The only thing that can fix fated mate rejection is—" I can't finish the sentence.
But he understands. "No. Absolutely not. There has to be another way."
"There isn't. The mortality rate for rejected fated bonds is over 60% and that's for single bonds. For a triad?" My voice breaks. "I'm living on borrowed time."
"So what, you're just going to let them keep you prisoner? Let them—"
"I don't know what I'm going to do." And that's the truth. "But I know that if you call the police, if you try to take me away fromhere, I'll die. Maybe not today, maybe not this week, but soon. My body needs them, Dad. As fucked up as that is, my biology is bonded to theirs and breaking that bond is killing me."
I can hear him crying now. Trying to muffle it but I can hear it anyway.
"I love you, Dad."
"I love you too, baby. So much." His voice breaks again. "You call me every day. Morning and night. I don't care if it's just a text. I need to know you're alive."
"I will. I promise."
"And if they hurt you—"
"I'll call. I swear."
We hang up and I let myself fall apart. Crying so hard I can't breathe. My body shaking with sobs that hurt my ribs, my throat, everything.
My phone buzzes. Ben.
Ben:Oh thank god. THANK GOD. I've been losing my mind. We all have. Your dad, Marcus, everyone. Are you okay? Where are you? What happened?
Me:Long story. Family emergency. I'm safe but I can't come back to the program.
Ben:Is it the rejection sickness? Did you have to go to the hospital?
Me:Something like that. Getting treatment. Can't really explain more than that.
Ben:I'm just so relieved you're alive. I kept thinking about that last night, about how sick you were, and I should have insisted on the hospital and I'm so sorry I didn't
Me:None of this is your fault, Ben. You were nothing but good to me. The best part of the whole program.
Ben:I meant what I said on the roof. Every word.
My heart squeezes.
