But he didn’t give me time to finish the question. He grabbed me and jumped into the portal before I could process what was happening.
The journey was worse than the first time. So much worse. I was weaker now with the bond breaking and my body already exhausted from the heat and the attack. The spinning and tumbling felt endless as we were pulled through dimensions. My stomach revolted against the sensation. Everything hurt in ways I didn’t have words for.
When we finally crashed onto solid ground, I barely registered the familiar feeling of wooden floorboards beneath me. Just rolled onto my hands and knees and puked my guts out.
Then everything went black.
***
I woke up in my bed.
My actual bed in my apartment above the bookstore. The mattress that was too soft. The quilt my grandmother had made. The ceiling with the water stain in the corner that I kept meaning to get fixed.
What? Where was I? Was it all a bad dream?
Had I ever actually found a werewolf in my bookstore? Had any of it been real?
Then Aurion stepped into my line of sight and reality came crashing down.
Oh. Yes. I’d met werewolves. And they’d fucking ripped me to pieces.
My stomach heaved again. Aurion helped me to the bathroom and stayed while I puked up what little remained in my system. He held my hair back and didn’t say anything while I sobbed between heaves.
When I finally stopped and could breathe without immediately wanting to throw up again, I sat back against the bathtub and looked at him.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” My voice was hoarse. Raw from crying and vomiting.
“I’m your babysitter,” he said. His tone was matter-of-fact. “Here to take care of you.”
I laughed. It came out bitter and broken. “Why? He just rejected me and tore me to pieces in front of everyone. Why would he send you to babysit me?”
“You’d have to be very dumb to believe even a single word that came from his mouth in that throne room.”
I stopped. Stared at him. “What?”
“My brother is many things. An idiot isn’t one of them. Neither is he a good liar when it comes to you.” Aurion crossed his arms. “Did you feel anything through the bond during that rejection? Anything at all?”
I thought back and tried to remember past the pain and the shock. The bond had been there one moment, pulsing between us, and then suddenly it was just closed. Completely shut down like a door slamming in my face. I hadn’t felt anything from Mal during the rejection. No emotions bleeding through. No connection at all.
Nothing.
“It was closed,” I said slowly. “The bond was closed.”
“Exactly. Because if it’d been open, you would’ve felt what he was actually feeling. And that would’ve ruined the entire performance.”
Performance. He was saying it was all an act.
But I didn’t know if I believed that. Didn’t know if I could believe that. The man in that throne room had been cold and cruel and had looked at me with such contempt. That wasn’t the Mal I knew. That wasn’t the man I’d fallen in love with.
Or was it? How well did I actually know him? We’d been together for weeks. That was nothing. Maybe the kind version had been the act. Maybe this was who he really was.
I didn’t know. Didn’t know anything anymore.
“I don’t want to talk about this,” I said. My voice was flat. Emotionless. “I just want to be alone.”
“Wen-”
“Get out. Please. Just get out.”
