*Jiselle*
The good thing about being a werewolf was that we healed freakishly fast.
So, by the time I woke up the next morning, my head had stopped pounding, and my ankle only had an annoying ache.
But the bad thing about being mated and choosing to avoid the bond? Waking up tangled up in each other. It was not only awkward–it was tempting. Tempting enought to make me lose every logical thought and tear down every wall I had built over the past two weeks.
The cave was still dark, but the first slivers of morning light filtered through the small opening.
The dim golden glow stretched across the damp stone, highlighting the rugged edges of the cave walls and the dust motes floating in the air. But it wasn’t the morning light or the rough chill of the cave floor that had my breath catching in my throat.
It was him.
Nathaniel Morningstar lay beside me, his body curved around mine, his arm heavy over my waist. His warmth seeped into me, pressing against chest, against every place where our bodies touched.
I had fallen asleep with space between us even though he had draped his arm around me. I was sure of it–but now? Now, he was wrapped around me like he belonged there. We’d somehow managed to switch positions sometime last night, and now we were
face–to–face.
And his face was too close.
The soft glow of daylight made every sharp, sculpted feature of his look more breathtaking than it had any right to be.
His dark lashes were long, fanned against his cheekbones, his jaw shadowed with a stubble. The crease between his brows had softened, his usual tension nowhere to be
found. He was at peace.
He was beautiful. Perfect.
I should have moved. I should have untangled myself. But I didn’t. I just lay there, watching him, memorizing him, allowing myself to soak in every detail.
Because at that moment, he wasn’t the boy who had abandoned me. He wasn’t the wolf who kept pushing me away.
He was just Nate.
And for an instant, I let myself have this.
“I can feel you staring.” His voice was groggy with sleep, which was also undeniably
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Chapter 15
sexy
and quickened something in my stomach that had been dead for two years.
My entire body froze.
I held my breath as his lashes fluttered slightly, and then slowly–far too slowly–his eyes opened.
He blinked once. Twice. Then, his gaze found mine.
I expected him to flinch, to pull away, to snap at me for still being so close.
Instead, his lips curved slightly.
“You’re not going to push me away?” I asked quietly.
His blue eyes lingered, roaming over my face, the corner of his mouth twitching.
“Soon,” he murmured. “But I want to enjoy this a little longer first.”
My stomach flipped violently.
A lump formed in my throat, but I forced myself to swallow it. No. No, I wasn’t doing this.
I rolled my eyes and untangled myself from him, shoving his arm off me.
“I can’t do this, Nate,” I mumbled, putting as much space between us as possible to prevent myself from doing something stupid like going back.
His brows furrowed slightly. “Do what?”
“This.” I gestured between us. “You can’t want me now and then not want me later. I won’t let you play with my heart. Not again. You broke it once, twice, all of three times already. Not another time.”
His expression shuttered instantly.
He didn’t respond. Didn’t even argue. Just sat up and started gathering his things. The moment was over. And maybe it was for the best.
I looked down at the remaining half of my roasted rabbit from last night, now covered in ants. Great.
I sighed and stood, deciding to wait until we got back to the academy before eating. Bearing hunger for an hour or two wouldn’t kill me. Not like this situation might.
The only thing Nate said before we left the cave was, “Stay close.”
I frowned but didn’t argue, falling in step beside him as we started our journey back. “Why?” I asked after a few moments of silence.
He barely glanced at me. “The activity is over, but first–years will still try to take a claw from those who have one. No one wants to go back empty–handed.”
“Why first–years?”
He
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gave me a pointed look. “Because first–years don’t know that they’ll know.”
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I opened my mouth to ask him how ‘they‘ knew, but then closed it. I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer. It just gave me chills.
We didn’t encounter anyone on our way back, but I heard the fights. The angry shouts, the crashes, the sounds of wolves clashing, of desperation and determination and fear.
One voice stood out. “We passed, you didn’t. Face the consequences!”
A shiver ran down my spine. Consequences.
I didn’t know what they were. But I had a feeling Instructor Bastian wouldn’t make it
easy.
My stomach twisted with worry for Eva. And Ethan. And… Max. What if someone managed to take their claw? Even if the academy ‘knew‘, they could still get hurt, or worse, killed.
I tried not to entertain the thought. They would be okay. They were strong.
We were close now. I could see the clearing ahead, where Instructor Bastian stood waiting alongside a few other instructors. Wolves were trickling in, some limping, some bloody, some looking like they had barely survived the night.
Then, Nate stopped.
I turned to face him, only to find his expression hard again–his entire demeanor shifting back to the version of him I had grown to hate. The cold. The detached.
I made sure to put my mask back on, too.
He exhaled, looking at the ground before meeting my gaze.
“I’m sorry.”
I faltered. Wait. Was he actually apologizing? Did he see how stupid he had been and was finally-
“I shouldn’t have tried to kiss you.”
Okay ouch.
I should’ve known better. It was stupid of me to think otherwise.
“I just… I thought you were in trouble. My wolf was crazed with worry, and he kinda just took over my senses. It was the relief that you were alive. The worry that you had gotten hurt. It was… it was my wolf,” he finished.
I stared at him. The nerve of this asshole.
So first, he blamed Ethan. Now, he was blaming his wolf?
I wasn’t denying that his wolf had a pull in his emotions. But was it really all his wolf? Was he so determined to never admit he wanted me?
Or maybe… maybe he just didn’t.
Maybe he never had.
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Chapter 15
Mates rejected each other all the time. Not often, but it happened. Some wolves simply couldn’t tolerate each other, and they moved on.
Was that what this was?
Did Nathaniel Morningstar simply not want me?
Something inside me snapped.
I scoffed, turned on my heel, and walked away from him, ignoring the ache in my chest.
Instructor Bastian barely looked up as I approached. “The claw?”
Without looking back, I waved vaguely in Nate’s direction. “He has it.”
Then, I kept walking. Away from the insufferable prick.
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Chapter 16
