She’s the one who chose me, after all. So why do I often think she wants me to fail?
By the time I reach the upper terrace, I’m practically seething. Anassa lies at the back where the rock wall of the mountain shields her from the cold, whipping wind.
“What is your problem?” I demand, both aloud and through our bond. “How am I supposed to access your power if you keep shutting me out?”
Anassa doesn’t move, but I hear her voice in my head, rich and thunderous as before.
And thick with disdain.
“What right do you have to access my power?”she growls.“You place your own walls between us and then dare to demand that I lay myself bare to you?”
The accusation catches me off guard. What the hell is she talking about?
Then I remember—last night. Killian.
“You’re mad because I won’t let you observe intimate moments?” I say.“Seriously?”
At last, Anassa lifts her head, turning to pin me with furious yellow eyes.“You ignorant child. You still do not understand what this bond means, do you?”
“Fuck the bond!” I snarl. “I deserve to have a little privacy now and then—especially when all you want to do is judge me!”
Anassa’s mental voice grows icy and dangerous.“My ability to sense your emotions at all times, and for you to sense mine, is what keeps us both safe.”
“What exactly are you keeping me safe from, huh? You shut me out for weeks after you chose me,” I scoff. “My own pack members—my friends—would tear me apart if they sense their direwolves demand it. As far as I can tell, Killian is theonlyperson in this whole fucking castle that I can trust not to kill me, including you.”
Anassa’s eyes narrow, her voice sharp with warning.“If I were trying to kill you, you’d already be dead.”
I turn away from her in boiling frustration, pacing along the edge of the terrace. Cold wind tosses my hair into my eyes, but I don’t care.
“Fine, you’re not trying to kill me. But you’re not exactly trying to keep me alive, either, are you?” I demand, turning back to her. “And now you’re shutting me out because I’m having sexwithout you peeping?Seriously?Is it because he’s not one of the Bonded? You don’t want me hooking up with him because it won’t help you find your mate?”
At once, my head is filled with booming, derisive laughter.
“Why the fuck is that funny?”I practically scream. “That’s why all the Rawbonds fuck each other’s brains out every night, isn’t it? So everyone can find their direwolves’ mates?”
Anassa’s rich voice is thick with condescension.“The constant coupling amongst the Rawbonds is little more than entertainment—for your benefit more than ours. We let you humans have your fun simply because it is the part of the training you most enjoy.”
“Right,” I grate. “I’m supposed to believe you don’t care about finding your mate?”
“Stupid girl,”the wolf growls with razor-sharp amusement.“Do you truly think I need your help to find my mate? I have known him for years.”
The words hit me like a sucker punch and send me reeling. I freeze, my shock reverberating along our bond. If Anassa knows who her mate is, that means…
“Who?” I hear myself rasp. “Who is it?”
It could be someone at the castle, or an older direwolf down at the front. It could beanyone, from any pack, one of the thousands of direwolves out there…
Her condescension hits me again, colored with Anassa’s amusement—and an unmistakable challenge.
“I will tell you who he is when you can prove to me that you are worthy of the knowledge.”
My head knocks back in affront. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Her cold stare and a wave of icy disdain are the only answers I get.
I stand there for a long moment, grappling with anger and a growing sense of inevitability.This is my life now, I remind myself. There’s no escape. I made peace with that already.
And there’s no use fighting with Anassa, as much as I hate to admit it.
