Rafe chuckled. “I just had to be sure.”
“Well, now you’re sure. What the hells am I going to do to fix it?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never heard of a vampire mating bond falling into place from just a bite. I’ll have to do some digging and see if I can find anything to help you. You need to prepare yourself for the fact that there may not be anything you can do. Mating bonds aren’t normally something you can just undo.”
Scowling at the floor, I forced my voice to remain even. “I know that, Rafe, but there shouldn’t be a bond at all to begin with.”
“Listen, I need to get going, but I will look into this. I’ll text you if I find anything. In the meantime, just do your best to suppress any instincts from the bond.” Rafe paused long enough that I checked to see if the call was still connected. “Maybe… maybe consider getting to know your mate as well. If I can’t find a solution, or the answers aren’t what you want to hear, she may be the only one you get.”
No matter what he’d said, I was going to find a way to break the bond. I couldn’t be mated to Bechora Knight. For my sake and for Dina’s.
Chapter Nineteen
Bechora
I didn't need to know anything about real vampires to know taunting one was stupid. Taunting one who'd just attacked me? I'd lost my damned mind. It was sheer luck that Gabriel hadn’t turned around and finished what he started when I yelled after him. Instead, he fled the scene, leaving me feeling as if my heart would burst free of my chest at any moment, and my body wracked with shivers from the lingering adrenaline. I allowed myself to collapse against the wall behind me, the rough, cold stone grounding me. My fingers prodded at my neck where he’d bitten me, and I jerked them back in shock when I felt two raised marks where puncture wounds should have been. My jaw dropped at the absence of blood on my hands.
Panic threatened to choke me as everything I’d read in the library about the Dreadgraves whirled through my mind. Gabriel’s family was powerful. His father had been part of the King’s inner circle for centuries, long enough to be noted in the textbooks stored in Blackthorne Academy’s library. Even if the Academy believed me about the attack, they wouldn’t do anything because of who Gabriel was. My back slid down the rough stone wall of the library, the contrast no longer working to pull me from my mounting panic.
Geordie said I’d be safe here, and like a fool, I believed him. My closest friend had lied to me about who he really was for six years, and yet I’d stupidly accepted his word on this. Gabriel’s attack made it crystal clear that I wasn’t safe at the Academy. Whatever magic I supposedly held was broken. Without it, Icouldn’t defend myself. More than that, I was a nobody from the human realm. Gabriel could crush me like a bug without lifting a finger. The rules were different here, but one thing remained the same. People in positions of power shaped the world to suit themselves while the rest of us fought for scraps to survive.
Blood roared in my ears, and my heart threatened to burst free of my chest as the realization settled. My eyes darted around the narrow pathway, and I realized how exposed I was. Anyone could stumble upon me and decide to hurt me in a bid to increase their standing. My sweaty palms pressed me off the ground as I scanned my surroundings for signs of danger. The moment I was upright, I ran for the only sanctuary I had. My feet pounded against the cobblestone, sending jolts of panic ripping through me as I raced toward my dorm. By the time I reached my door, I was in a near frenzy. Blowing into the space I shared with Shadrie, I stopped long enough to slam the door behind me and lock it before gulping down air.
“Bechora?” Shadrie’s voice was muffled by the sound of my heartbeat.
My eyes flitted to where she stood in the open doorway to her room as my hands clutched at my chest in an attempt to catch my breath.
“Bechora, what’s wrong?”
“I-I can’t be here,” I rushed out, my feet moving once again, this time toward my bedroom. “It’s not safe. I have to leave. I need to get away from here.”
I stormed to my closet and grabbed my duffle bag from the bottom before leaving it open on the bed. I barely registered the confusion and alarm on Shadrie’s face as I tore clothing from hangers and tossed them into the bag.
“I can’t protect myself. Geordie lied. I’m not safe if I stay here. I have to go back to the human realm. It’s the only way I can be safe.”
“Bechora, what happened? Talk to me,” Shadrie said, moving to stand between me and my bed.
The words spilled from my lips, my voice reaching decibels I didn’t know I was capable of with each one. I began to pace the floor as I told Shadrie what Gabriel had done and what it meant for me. I barely registered her calls for me to calm down and think rationally. It wasn’t until her palm cracked across my cheek that my panic released me, anger burning it away.
“Did you just fucking slap me?” I roared, halting my pacing and taking a threatening step in her direction.
“Come at me and I’ll freeze your ass in place, B,” she replied coldly.
My eyes flitted to her hands, catching the puffs of cold air coming from her fingertips. “You better have a damned good reason for putting your hands on me, Shadrie.”
Shadrie heaved out a breath, her shoulders drooping slightly. “You were panicking, and nothing I said was pulling you out of it. I did the only thing I could think of to get you back to reality. Clearly, it worked. You’re not raving like a lunatic and trying to pack your bag anymore.”
My head jerked back as if she’d slapped me again as my mouth opened and closed. I took a moment to glance around my room and realized that I’d turned it completely upside down. It looked like someone had ransacked the place. I sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly before moving to collapse onto my bed next to my duffle bag.
“Tell me what happened, B,” Shadrie said quietly, moving to grab my desk chair and sit in front of me. “You were rambling so fast, I only caught bits and pieces.”
Shame washed over me, and I stared down at my fidgeting hands in my lap. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just not safe here. I feel like a complete idiot for ever believing I was.”
“What happened with Gabriel? I did catch his name, but couldn’t make sense of how he’s involved.”
“He attacked me outside the library,” I replied, raising my head to look her in the eyes.
“That bastard!” Shadrie hissed, standing from her chair. “He’s not going to get away with that, B. I’ll go with you, but youneed to report him.”
