“I told you, he challenged me.”
“Bullshit. He worshiped you,” he snorts.
“He tried to make my mate question me, which is just as much of a challenge.”
“That makes a little more sense.” He shakes his head with a disgusted expression. “You’re also going to be the one to explain this shit to Foley,” Mick instructs, but I expected that.
“Fine, let’s just get this over with.”
Mick blows into his hands after closing the heavy door that separates this part of the institute from the trainee wing. The guards stationed near the entrance reset the wards as we make our way to Foley’s office. I’ve had time to think about how to handle this, and the only thing I care about is getting back to Briar quickly. If that takes me apologizing and saying it won’t happen again, so be it. If it was anyone else besides Jeh or another elite, there wouldn’t need to be an explanation at all. The trainees in the dregs kill each other for sport, but the headmaster made it clear he was counting on us to stand together through the games since we are the strongest.
“I wouldn’t mention that Briar had anything to do with this,” Mick mutters softly when Foley’s door comes into view.
“Why?”
“He doesn’t trust her, no one does. People tend to kill the things they can’t control.” He gives me a look that conveys he’s smarter than I originally gave him credit for. “People have been asking about her, important people,” he warns. “I’m trying to keep her out of trouble. You should do the same.”
Mick knocks on the door, announcing our arrival before I can question him further, and I’m smart enough to know it was on purpose.
A small female aide who carries herself much like Starla opens the door with her eyes already cast down to the floor. “Yes?”
“We need to speak with the headmaster.”
“May I tell him who’s calling and what for?”
“Tutor Mick and Moros, a trainee.”
The female backs away with her head bowed before finally spinning to make a hasty retreat deeper into the unit. I don’t dare breathe a word about what Mick said before reaching the door to the office. I’m sure the entire place is monitored, but I do watch the tutor with new interest. What does he know that he isn’t telling me?
BRIAR
Idrop the heavy wood slat into place behind the door after closing myself in. Sunny bent the metal that holds the bar in place right after this became our room. Prior to that, there wasn’t a lock at all.
I’m still shaking with adrenaline when I let myself fall on the bed. My mind forces me to replay the events of the past hour in my head in a bid to make sense of what just happened. I remember the jolt of jealousy when I saw a female way too close to Sunny for my liking. Something about the way she looked at him told me everything I needed to know, which only validated my feelings of possessiveness.
Instead of talking to him and demanding to know what the hell was going on, I left the arena like a coward at the first chance. I thought hearing Jeh verify my suspicions about the female and Sunny having a history was the worst thing to happen, until I saw Moros’s roommate unconscious at his feet, prompting me to wonder what else the shifter would have said if he wasn’t silenced by my mate.
The arrival of the other elites and Mick further complicated matters, bringing me to now, where I’m alone in the room with no answers about the female or what is going to happen to Sunny for injuring Jeh.
If I would have just stayed and talked to him, this wouldn’t have happened. My gut twists into a knot, and I bend over, fighting the urge to puke. I don’t know what I’m going to do if I lose him too.
In the hours that pass while I’m alone in the room, I practically wear a path in the stone floor with my pacing. When I finally hear a soft knock an eternity later, I throw myself at the wood and take hold of the bar barricading the entrance. It takes a moment for my mouth to work, but eventually, I’m able to ask, “Who’s there?” I don’t even hear his response, just his voice, before I lift the bar and drop it carelessly on the floor behind me.
Before he can even make it into the room, I slam against his chest and curl my fists into the fabric of his shirt around his back. He lets out a surprised, “Oomph,” before he returns my embrace, nuzzling his chin against the top of my head.
I’m barely aware of him walking us into the room and closing the door. I just know he’s here and I’m so fucking grateful. “What happened? What did they do?” I ask.
He removes his arms from my back and makes an effort to lean away so he can cradle my face while looking down at me.
“Are they going to punish you?” I blurt out while searching his face.
“No, Briar. I’m sorry I scared you.” His citrine eyes roam over my face.
“You didn’t scare me. What they would do to you did,” I confess.
He pulls me in again, holding me against his chest. When he speaks, his words are soft. “Foley isn’t happy with me. He said if I want to lighten the roster, then I need to start in the dregs.” He tries to make light of the situation, but the effort is wasted on me.
“Are you sure he isn’t going to send you away?”
