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“I don’t understand.”

Blaire crossed her arms. “When you get all growly, answering for me, and trying to drive away someone who only showed concern for me, you make it seem like I’m not allowed to do things, or speak to certain people. I’m not just some pet you can call to heel.”

Lukas raked a hand through his hair, the muscle in his jaw twitching. “You’re mine though.”

“You’ve said that. But the thing is, I’m not a possession, Lukas. I’m a person. A person with my own thoughts, desires, and feelings. Feelings you disregard when you go all alphahole on me.”

“Alphahole?” Lukas’s brows drew together.

“Yes. I won’t deny it can be exciting when you get a little jealous or even possessive, claiming me as yours—but not if you truly believe I’m not my own person capable of making my own choices. You take it to extremes. I’ve already lived long enough with one person who thought he owned me”—she rolled her eyes when Lukas growled—“I don’t need it from you. If you can’t accept that, then there’s no future here. Predestined fates or not.”

Lukas slumped back against the wall and sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. I just… this whole thing is new to me. They tell us all about the bond and what to expect, but hearing about it and experiencing it, are two completely different things. I wasn’t prepared for this. Sometimes I feel like I’m losing my mind, and when assholes like Vincent come sniffing around what’s mine—”

Blaire gave him a look.

Lukas rubbed the side of his neck, his expression tense, brows drawn down. “I mean… sniffing around you, and I can see the attraction. It’s difficult not to respond. I see red—I don’t think. It’s not an excuse, just explaining… Something about Vincent in particular rubs me the wrong way. The way he looks at you…” Lukas looked weary, defeated, struggling.

She softened her expression but kept her firm tone. “While I don’t see what you do with Vincent, I can’t say your feelings don’t make sense. Anyone would be bothered if someone flirted with or tried to hook up with their partner, but that’s where you need to trust me. I mean, we’re not fully partners yet… but we’ll never be anything if you can’t respect my choices and trust that just because I talk to someone you don’t ‘approve’ of, it doesn’t mean I want them.”

Lukas clenched his fists. “Yeah… I’m sorry. I’m trying. I really am.” He met her eyes, his sincerity obvious. “I need you to know that.”

Blaire nodded quietly. Lukas had been making an effort. His outbursts had diminished significantly, and he shared more with her. When she heard he reached out to his parents and told them about her being his Korrena, it surprised her. Knowing how estranged he was from his family made it feel even more impactful that he reached out to them. Knowing he cared enough about whatever this was between them to reach out felt important to her.

“I know, Lukas…”

27

CAUGHT IN THE ACT

Blaire lay on her bed, trying to read, but thinking about Lukas’s behavior earlier in the week kept distracting her. She wondered what he had planned to say to her before she was called to the professor’s office. The confrontation after they ran into Vincent still bothered her; she hoped her words reached him.

A cell phone rang on Lukas’s nightstand. He must have forgotten it when he went to his evening advisor’s meeting. She wasn’t going to mess with it, but as soon as it stopped ringing, it immediately started again. She sat up on the bed and put her book down as the ringing stopped again.

If it was important, they could leave voice mail, but repeated callings made her think it was urgent. The third time it started ringing again, she walked closer and saw Riley’s name on the screen.

Blaire picked up the call, keeping her voice low as if someone might hear her in the empty room. “Hello?”

“Hey, Blaire? It’s me, Riley.”

“Yeah, I know… your name was on the screen.” Blaire smirked. “Is everything okay?”

Riley laughed. “Yeah, of course. I was just calling to check on you to make sure you were feeling better. I figured I would have had to make Lukas give you the phone.”

“No, he’s not here right now. He’s in a meeting with his advisor. He said he finally decided on his major. But he forgot his phone.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s he going to do?”

“He said he wanted to study Modern Languages and Cultural Studies with a focus on languages to start with, maybe taking on another degree later. Something about better understanding his family.”

“But is that going to work with your major?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if you bond and get married in the future…”

Blaire wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Marriage wasn’t even on her radar at her age. She was only now trying to come to terms with bonding, which appeared to be a permanent commitment, like marriage, anyway. Her head hurt just thinking about it.

“I don’t know. But he did say the degree opens up a variety of different job paths for him, so who knows?”