My poor chompy sleeps the whole day away and wakes up in the middle of the night,starvingfor food.Xander puts all the food we have on a tray and brings it to her in bed, and she downs every piece of meat and vegetable, then asks for pasta.
When she gets up to pee, we find a dark spot underneath her. Scythe almost leaps over me to sniff it, but we quickly realise she’s not hurt, but just on her period again. She sighs dramatically, and we all go into the bathroom together. I bring the pads because I’m the pad monitor. Scythe gets his box of painkillers, and Xander is on wheat bag duty.
Once we’ve got her set up, she tears her T-shirt off and sleeps on my chest with only her knickers on, which is just brilliant for me. We all sleep until morning after that, except Xander, who has been patrolling every night with Beak and the new guards we’ve brought in. Mace has been creepily quiet, and it’s put everyone on guard.
Somewhere in the night, my regina whispers, “I love you.”
I don’t know who she’s talking to, but I’ll take every gift she gives me. “I’ve always loved you, regina. From the first day I met you in Halfeather’s dungeon.”
“I’m scared,” she whispers. “And tired. I think I’ve had enough, Savage.”
Her cheek is so soft beneath my thumb, and I look down at her face, pointed downwards. She’s taken too much on her shoulders. “It’s not fair, regina,” I whisper. “But we’re gonna fix it if that’s the last thing we do.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
Chapter 82
Aurelia
Iwake up the only way I want to, cocooned between three mates. Xander is in the shower, steam coiling through the open door, the sound of the water like a pleasant drum in my ears. Scythe and Savage are on either side of me, and Lyle is hugging my legs in his sleep, a discarded jar of Tiger Balm off to the side. The dull pain in my stomach has returned, and I need to use the bathroom.
Carefully, I extract myself from between my mates, but it only takes seconds for everyone to be awake and on alert. Is this our life now? Looking over our shoulder at every turn?
Once I’ve taken care of hygiene and eating, Lyle takes my empty plate, and Scythe sits down next to me at the dining table. “We have a lot to talk about, regina,” he says, ice-blue eyes glittering in awareness and observation of me.
“I agree.” I put my hand over his. “Can I see my friends first, please? I need to catch up with them.”
His lips twitch, and he caresses my cheek with the back of his fingers. “You don’t need permission from me for anything, you know that.”
Tiredly, I smile back. Xander and Savage offer to accompany me down to the school. It’s mid-morning by now, and we follow Minnie’s scent, something like sweet incense and cardamom, through the vacant corridors to a row of rooms I’ve never been in before.
In the lead, I peek through a square glass window cut into the door, and I see that it’s not a classroom but a counselling room. Sabrina, Minnie, Stacey, Beak, and a group of students I only know by sight sit in a circle of chairs. There are three boxes of tissues on the table.
Savage points to an A4 printed sign next to the door. “M-O-T-F,” he spells out proudly. “I don’t know that word, regina.” But all the breath has emptied from my lungs and I find I can’t get any in. My vision blurs again, and I clutch at my stomach to try to prevent from throwing up my breakfast. “We can come back later,” Savage says in alarm.
Xander has gone stiff next to me, and I frown, trying to blink my tears away. “No, I think I should go in. Meet me back here later.”
“I want to come in too,” Savage says quietly.
“Mates of the Fallen,” Xander mutters. “That’s what it stands for, Savage.”
“But you haven’t lost a mate,” Savage protests.
It feels like I have. Xander steps away from me, and the corridor suddenly feels cold. “Let her go, Savage. It might help.”
“You go,” Savage’s voice is suddenly irate. “I’ll wait for my regina here.”
“Very well.” Then Xander is gone.
I push open the door, feeling like my head is stuffed with wool. Like something is trying to drag me through the earth and trap me there. My friends all look up as I come in. Minnie stands and comes over to take my hand.
Roland, one of our class counsellors, waves at me. “Aurelia! Good to see you. This is our Mates of the Fallen meeting group. Are you joining us?”
I tuck a hand around my waist. “Am I allowed to?”
“It’s not just for beasts who have mates that have passed away,” Beak says quickly. “There are many types of loss.”
“That’s right,” Roland confirms. “There are other reasons why members of a pack cannot be together.”
