“Uh huh.” Micah’s arms are still around her waist, but his grip has loosened. “That’s why you didn’t move when he walked over here?”
“I was surprised!”
“You were leaning in,” I point out, doing an impression of her face with her lips all pouty and flushed.
“I was not!”
She was. I saw it. She was going to let him kiss her.
The realization sits weird in my gut. Not jealousy, exactly. Not with the bond telling me she loves us, that she’s ours and we’re hers. But something has definitely changed between her and Villeneuve.
Should’ve stuck with fuckin’ Monopoly.
Chapter
Fourteen
REGINA
The walk to Briar Hall feelsmuchlonger than usual.
Maybe because I spent half the night lying awake, replaying that moment in my head.
Villeneuve moving toward me after the bottle spun.
And how Ileaned in.
Fuck.
My wolves are probably still dissecting every second of what happened, and honestly, I don’t blame them. I’d have questions too.
The morning air is frosty and crisp, which I usually find enjoyable as a bona fide autumnophile, but I’ve hardly slept since Killian got bitten, so everything feels like sensory overload right now.
I pull my jacket tighter and focus on the concrete steps leading up to Briar Hall’s entrance. One thing at a time.
First, I talk to Villeneuve. Then I figure out how to explain the mate bond to Killian and the others without anyone getting murdered.
Simple.
Theoretically.
The third-floor corridor is empty this early. Most students won’t show up for another hour, and the other professors in this wing keep their doors firmly closed until office hours. Especially since the wolves were going around trying to find faculty sponsors. Even if Villeneuve took one for the team, the harried academics of Stormvale are still shaken from that near miss.
This morning, it’s just me and the display cases full of artifacts that may or may not be haunted, same as always. I breathe in the smell of old books and what I’m pretty sure is carpet glue.
It’s a whole ambiance, regardless.
It hits me all of a sudden that I’m living the life I left on the table when I chose Kyle. Like someone transported me back in time to that fork in the road, and instead of going left, I swerved.
Despite having not one but four mates, I’m actually working toward my dreams. But I guess that’s the difference between having mates who see you as a person and having a glorified handler.
The feeling lasts only as long as it takes for the guilt to kick in. Guilt for enjoying anything when Killian’s time is running out.
The fact that I know he wouldn’t want me to feel that way makes me feel even worse.
Villeneuve’s door is cracked open.
That’s unusual. He’s meticulous about privacy. The kind of person who locks everything, wards everything. An open door feels wrong.
