Hot tears stung my eyes as she spoke, because the heartbreak was painted on her face.
“My mate and I lived on the shores of Moonfolk Ocean, and it was perfect.” She wiped her eyes. “But my mate passed away from a disease he contracted from sharing a drink with a sick imp we were friends with. Different diseases affect different supernaturals in different ways. It’s terrible, I know… I had expected us to die together, like most supernatural mates do.”
A tear fell as I blinked, and Lachlan’s thumb wiped it away.
Professor Cunningham blinked, clearing her throat again before nodding to a student behind us. “Yes?”
“Intermating with different species is rare, isn’t it?” Grayson asked, and my spine clicked into a rod.
She nodded. “When you consider Kalista as a whole, yes. Lower ranked supernaturals tend to inter-mate. Higher ranked supernaturals almost always mate within their own kind. For instance, dragons and drakes sometimes don’t find their mates because their population is so small.”
“I don’t see how inter-mating benefits anyone,” Grayson remarked.
“I think it’s beautiful that you lived with other supernaturals in The Bizarre,” Nora spoke up. “We only hear awful stories about it.”
She winced, placing the tablet back on her desk. “Yes. The Bizarre isn’t as terrible as rumors make you believe. It’s a lot like Fate Hollow, minus high ranking supernaturals.”
For the rest of the class, we discussed hierarchy bullying on campus and how it wasn’t tolerated. The majority of the class was mid-rank, so we didn’t have any of the top three ranks in the class.
Lachlan ushered me out of the room as soon as Professor Cunningham dismissed us to avoid any run-ins with Grayson, and once we were down the corridor, the pain of the bond subsided.
“Thank you,” I said as he opened the door for me to walk through. The autumn air breezed through my hair, and he fell into step with me.
“Can I show you something?”
“What do you want to show me?”
“You’ll see.” He laced his fingers through mine and tugged me along the stone path through the sea of other students going to and from class.
We jumped over the bushes lining the path and started toward the green field with a geometric circle magically etched into the grass.
He stopped just before the more vibrant layer of grass and gave me a cheeky smile. “Thisis the faeball field. You probably already know, but I play faeball. It’s something I’ve been playing all my life. Lilly actually was the one who played with me as kids.”
His eyes were glossy from the mention of his sister but the smile on his face showed how much he must’ve treasured their time together.
“How do you play?”
He let go of my hand before jogging onto the field to grab a random medium-sized ball lying in the grass. “Use any of your powers to get the ball to the other goal. Not to brag, but I’m pretty good at it. Want to play a game with me?”
His brown eyes narrowed in challenge, and I played with the edge of my skirt. “I’m wearing a skirt.”
“We’re the only ones here right now, and I won’t look.” He pushed his bottom lip out.
“You were staring at my chest in the forest.”
His cheeks went red and he scratched the nape of his neck. “I’ll try not to look…”
“You have an extra power with your earth affinity. I only have my shifter speed, hearing, and sight,” I mentioned. “You’d win in a couple of seconds.”
“I promise to only use my werewolf powers.” He held out his pinky and wiggled his brows.
I let out a sigh before I slung off my bag and put it next to the field. He looked too cute to resist. Stepping onto the grass, I started walking toward Lachlan who gave me a boyish smile.
“Really?” he asked with excitement in his tone.
“Really.” I linked my pinky with his, and a tingle of excitement shot through my veins. “But go slow. It’s my first time playing.”
“You got it!” He let go of my pinky and offered the black ball to me. “Your goal is the one to the right. Mine’s the left.”
