“You have such a big heart, and I’m scared it’s going to get you hurt.”
“Alice raised me, Rhett. It’s normal for me to be worried about her. She’s the only family I have left.”
From what I’d been told, Alice did the bare minimum for Wren. She’d fed her, clothed her, let her live and work with her. But that was it. She’d never stood up for Wren or tried to fight for her.
Glancing at the shards of my coffee cup on my desk, I sighed. “How did you get into Alice’s care?”
“When my parents were killed, I ran to the Arctic Wolf Village in search of my uncle. Alice was actually mated to my mother’s brother.” She paused, swallowing hard. “I found him first and told him what happened. He promised me I would be taken care of, but that was the last I saw him. Uncle Greg had been killed for defying Alpha Haven the day after my parents were killed.”
“What for?”
She shrugged. “Alpha Haven’s a tyrant. I don’t know, but I think… I think it had to do with me.”
Oh, fuck it.
I moved forward and wrapped her in my arms. Her body stiffened before she relaxed into my chest and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Don’t blame yourself, Wren. I’ll look into the village myself and see what I can find out about Alice.”
A tremor racked her body, and I held her tighter. “Rowan said Grayson was expelled, but that he was tortured mentally. I just hope he didn’t take any of that out on her.”
“Oh, baby… I’m so fucking sorry.”
I wondered if she’d brought this up to anyone else lately. I knew she was struggling with what happened last term, but Alice had been forgotten by most of us—including me. I didn’t know how to maintain communication in a relationship. My past didn’t do me any favors there, but with Wren, it was so much more.
She would soon be my mate, and I had to protect her. To do that properly, I had to get out of my head.
THREE
Wren
Rhettinsistedonwalkingme to class, and relief swept through me like a tidal wave.
I shouldn’t have been afraid to walk from Rhett’s office to Alister’s classroom. It was in the same building—but it didn’t ease the fear. I had three powerful matebonds in place. My mates could sense what I felt, and while that made me feel safe, whenever I was alone… fear splintered my heart.
I enjoyed my own company my entire life, but after the incident with the human experiment, that small joy was ripped from me.
“Listen, you can stay in my office, if you want,” Rhett said as we walked down the hallway.
I glanced at him with a soft smile. His messy black hair was pushed back, and his violet eyes shimmered with concern. He’d changed a bit since the first time I met him. He still tried to close himself off from me, but I could tell he was trying to open himself up right now, even if he had been avoiding me lately. “I appreciate the offer, but I need to see Alister.”
My soul ached from not being near all of my mates, potential or not. I yearned for all of them. I hadn’t seen Alister in a couple of days, and it was killing me.
Flicking his eyes ahead of us again, he nodded. The halls were mostly empty save for a few students, and each one we passed looked at us with curiosity. ”Is your desire to be close to your potential mates as strong as the ones you’ve already bonded with?”
“Yes.” I adjusted the strap of my bag from digging into my shoulder. “In a different way, but the desire to be near you is the same.”
He hummed as we came to a stop in front of room sixteen. “That’s… comforting to know.”
The door to Alister’s class was ajar, and a female voice hit my ears that caused anger to burn hot in my chest.
“Come on, Alister,” Fallon purred. “We’re both vampires. The fox doesn’t have to know.”
My skin flushed as rage swelled inside of me. Did she lack comprehension skills? Alister had told her to leave him alone many times before.
Rhett’s lip curled back in disgust as he took a step closer, his hand clenching at his side.
“Get out,” Alister snarled.
“But you haven’t even given this a chance yet.”
