I wake up in a white room.
White walls, white floor, white sheets on the white bed. Jesus, it’s like a nightmare I’ve woken up in and I have to tell myself that being knocked out means I must be in the medical bay area of the training center.
Then the white door opens and it’s definitely a freaking nightmare.
North walks through, a sour look on his face as he stares down at me with disapproval. “If you’re planning on hurting yourself to get my attention regularly, I should warn you that I’ll be happy to throw you in a padded cell until you grow out of the compulsion.”
It takes me a second to realize that he’s angry at me, that he’s not here out of some sort of concern for me and that he thinks that I was assaulted on the freaking course as a way to act out against him.
“I know you’re not here to ream me out right now over some bitch taking a cheap swing at me. I know you wouldn’t be here for that because if you are, I’m going to lose my fucking mind.”
His eyes narrow at me as he watches me struggle to sit up, one of my hands clutching at my pounding head and sure enough, there’s a lump where the girl’s fist connected with my skull.
My head is spinning and I can feel my stomach churning, bile creeping up the back of my throat as he takes a second to look me over properly. It’s clear he doesn’t believe me and that he’s not at all impressed with this supposed charade.
I could freaking scream.
“Why would I wait until the last quarter mile to pull a stunt like that? Why would I wade through the river, crawl on my belly over rocks and dirt, and climb that stupid, stinking frame if I was planning on… wait, what exactly do you think I did to knock myself out? Jesus fucking Christ.” I fling my arm at him in frustration and instantly regret it when my head starts screaming again. I gag a little and have to swallow quickly to stop myself from puking all over his shoes.
North is hard to read with his cold eyes and expressionless face but for a second, I think I see him doubt himself, but it’s such a fleeting thing that it’s gone before I’m sure I’ve seen it. “I’m not so easy to fool, you’re desperate for attention and with two of your Bonds present, you couldn’t help yourself.”
If there was ever a time I needed my gift, it’s right the fuck now. I no longer care about his shoes, if chewing him out means I’m puking on them then so be it. “How was I getting attention from either of them if Gabe ran off ahead of me and Gryphon didn’t even acknowledge my existence?”
The look on his face says there’s a nerve there I’ve hit, but hell if I know what it is. “You should be thanking him. Gryphon had you run the easy course.”
The easy course? Fuck this, I’m not going back to that freaking class and I’m not sitting around for this utter bullshit interrogation he’s conducting. I grit my teeth again and pull back the sheet that’s covering my legs, wincing at the mud and grass stains all over them. I look like a mess and it takes me two tries to get my legs steady beneath me, but the second I’m sure my legs won’t collapse, I high-tail it out of the room.
North barely has to adjust his stride to keep up with me, his hand wrapping around my elbow to tug me in the right direction when I was about to make a wrong turn.
“You can’t just storm out whenever you’re called out for toxic behavior.”
Icy rage trickles down my spine and when I rip my arm out of his grasp, there’s too much force in it because my gift slips the tight hold I have on it just a little. North frowns at his hand like he’s questioning if he really felt the extra kick of power, and I freak out a little.
Distraction.
I need to get his mind off of it right the hell now.
“You’d know a lot about toxic, did it ever occur to you that maybe you shouldn’t threaten your own damn Bond? That maybe telling me you’ll chain me to your basement probably isn’t the way to go about this whole… mess?”
I say it loud enough that some of the other students loitering around hear me and start murmuring amongst themselves and not only does North notice them as well, but for the first time, I think I might see him look embarrassed.
Not at his actions, but that people are talking about him.
His lip curls and when he grabs my arm again, I feel his gift thrumming through his fingers, pulsing like a warning of the power he hides underneath his polished suits and perfectly sedate smiles.
He’s careful with the way he drags me out of the building, making sure no one can actually tell that he’s physically dragging me through the building and out to his waiting car. “I think that if you hadn’t run away like a selfish, manipulative, childish little girl, we would’ve given you the world. There wasn’t a thing on this Earth you could’ve asked for that we would’ve refused you, but now you’re facing the consequences of your actions for what I’m sure is the first time in your life. It is very clear to me that you’ve been nothing but spoiled your whole life and can’t think of anyone but yourself. Clearly your parents—”
I barely hold myself in check. “Don’t you fucking dare speak about my parents. I will dig the tracker out with my bare hands and be gone, don’t push me.”
The driver hears all of this as he opens the door in time for North to shove me in without comment, shutting it firmly behind me as his asshole boss steps away and then they stand together, ignoring me completely as they have a nice chat about the weather or some other useless bullshit.
I’m raging mad.
That’s a really freaking bad idea, I know it is because my gift starts stirring in my gut, my skin is tingling, and my vision slowly starts whiting out.
I turn into a freaking glow bug and there’s no freaking way I can light up in this goddamn car today with one of my Bonds standing right the hell there. I screw my eyes shut and slow down my breathing, counting and humming under my breath so I have something else to focus on, but I’ve been fighting against my gift for too long for it to quieten down easily.
The panic that soaks through my skin will only make things worse but I can’t stop it from happening. I can feel the sweat starting to bead on my forehead and my breathing starts to stutter and shake so badly that there’s no hiding the spiral I’m in. I might pass out.
There’s a buzzing sound that breaks my concentration.
I blink rapidly, trying to clear the glow from my eyes but even though I can only just see the bag sitting at my feet, I recognize it as my own immediately.
It’s my cell phone buzzing.
I dig around in there with shaking hands until I find it, a text from Atlas there for me and even though my stomach is still a mess of rage and anxiety, the corners of my mouth lift up at the sight of the little blue dot next to his name.
How does he always know when I need something to pull me out of a spiral?
I know the Dravens are filthy rich but what are the rest of the Bonds doing for cash? I’m one more shitty Econ class away from dropping out and mooching off of them. Tell me one of them is decent and loaded, I need to figure out which one to befriend.
I snort at him, mostly because thanks to our constant messaging I know he’s joking and would never accept anything from any of them, and send a text back.
I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than take anything from any of them but if you’re fine selling your ass to them for an easy life, then who am I to judge? Who knows, you might actually get along with them.
I’m still grinning down at my phone, the three dots popping up as he starts to type out his reply, when the passenger door opens and North slides into the backseat with me. My vision is back to normal, so I think I must have my gift back under control, but it doesn’t matter anyway because North doesn’t look at me, not so much as a glance.
I should feel relief but honestly it just pisses me off how quickly he can dismiss me, just block me out like I’m freaking nothing to him, while I’m still struggling with all of the bullshit he’s thrown my way. I huff under my breath, sounding exactly like the petulant child he thinks I am, but he ignores me for his phone.
Two can play at that game.
I chat with Atlas, more flirting than anything else, and focus entirely on my screen. At first I’m only doing it to fuck with North, but Atlas is too good as a distraction and when I tell him that I’m messing with the other Bonds because they’re being assholes, he’s more than happy to keep me busy.
I’m not sure he’s ever going to get past them sticking that tracker under my skin.
When the car finally comes to a halt and the engine stops, I glance up and startle at my surroundings because we are definitely not at the dorms. Hell, we’re not even on campus anymore! The house we’ve stopped in front of isn’t a house at all, it’s a freaking mansion, and it only takes a quick glance around to see we’re clearly in a gated community of mega-mansions.
North has brought me back to his house.
I glance over to find him staring back at me, his eyes like a cold void as the contempt he has for me oozes out at me.
Fuck him. I cross my arms and slump back in my seat. “I am not getting out of this car.”
The driver immediately gets out of the front seat and steps around to open my car door, like he’s hoping I’ll cave to his boss just because of this one little act of consideration.
Joke’s on him, I don’t give a fuck.
“I don’t know why you enjoy being threatened, Fallows, but rest assured that I will do whatever it takes to get you out of this car. We’re here to eat dinner with the rest of your Bonds, put the phone away and get moving.”
I get out of the car but only because I can’t argue with North once he gets out unless I follow him. The driver shuts the door behind me and locks it, as though he’s afraid I’m going to try to climb back in it at any moment if spooked.
Irritation creeps up my spine but before I have the chance to snap and snarl at them both, North dismisses him with a polite nod of his head and says, “I’m sure you can eat here tonight without being a complete brat about it if you try hard enough, Fallows. No self-mutilation required.”
He turns to walk up the path that leads to the front door without a glance back at me while my brain fusses over his words. Self-mutilation? What the hell does he mean by that?
Then it hits me.
I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than take anything from any of them. That’s what I’d just said to Atlas and North wasn’t close enough to have read the message over my shoulder. Motherfucker.
A hot flush starts over my cheeks and works its way down my body. “You fucking asshole! You have my phone tapped?”
He straightens his tie and stalks off toward the house, his long stride meaning I have to jog to catch up to him, but I’m not letting him just walk away from me. “That’s a gross invasion of privacy—”
“No, it’s the consequences of your actions. That’s my phone. I provided you with access to it so that I can contact you, not so you could whine to Bassinger about the privileges that I’ve already afforded you. You attend school thanks to me. You have a bed to sleep in, food to eat, access to your Bonds and that phone thanks to me. And what do I receive in return? A brat for a Bond who wants to sit around complaining about the people she betrayed.”
He opens the front door by pressing his finger against a scanner, because of course he’d live in a pompous, avant-garde house in an exclusive gated community, and then he stalks in without so much as glancing my way to make sure I’m following him.
I could run.
The chip doesn’t even matter to me anymore, death doesn’t sound so bad when the alternative is staying here with this fucking asshole of a man who thinks he owns me just because we share a bond. Who does he think he is? Being a councilman doesn’t make him a god, for fuck’s sake!
I’m either about to bolt or tear North a new asshole when I spot the driver, who is now holding the front door open for me with his eyes averted away from the spectacle we’re making, like this is all such a shameful thing.
My cheeks heat.
Would he run after me and stop me, tackle me to the ground, and berate me for being the villain to all of these upstanding men in our society? Now I’m imagining an entire TacTeam appearing out of nowhere and taking me the hell out. God, my bones still ache from when they found me and dragged me here, I don’t want to go through that again.
I step into the mansion and try not to gape at the sight of it. Marble floors, plush rugs, art on the walls, everything looks so goddamn expensive that I’m afraid to breathe on something and break it.
“This way, Fallows.”
I startle at North’s savage tone and scurry after him, trying not to look as freaked out as I am. There’s paintings of a lot of old, rich-looking guys on the walls, probably generations of Draven men, and I feel too freaking intimidated to function.
The hallway is long and wider than my room back at the dorms, with doors leading off to other giant, ornate rooms. By the time we both arrive at the dining room, I can definitively say that I couldn’t make my way out of here if you paid me, and that just might be North’s angle here.
I freeze in the doorway at the sight of the huge table, easily big enough for thirty people, and North takes the opportunity to hook his fingers around my elbow and tug me over to one end, depositing me into a seat next to Gabe, who is already piling a plate full of roast meats.
He barely glances at me but grunts out a greeting to North, who takes a seat at the head of the table to my right. No one speaks and I sit there sullenly, fuming over the phone tapping and the fact that this is my life now. North fills a plate with a little of everything and then slides it over to me without a word.
Controlling asshole.
I don’t want to eat it just on principle, but the moment the amazing smell hits my nostrils, my stomach growls and I give in, tucking into the food.
The table is silent, only the soft sounds of our cutlery gently scraping our plates can be heard. The food is amazing but I can’t enjoy it with all of the tension in the room. I kind of want to just inhale it down and then ask to go back to the empty shell of a room I now call home, but with everything that’s happened today, I’m not sure that’s an option.
‘How are your classes, Fallows?’
I glance up at North but he’s still not looking at me. I push my carrots around the plate as I wonder why the fuck he even bothers pretending to care. ‘They’re fine. I’ve already caught up. I’ve made a few friends.’
His eyes narrow at Gabe. ‘Who?’
My mouth drops open. Well, I guess I should be happy my suspicions have been confirmed. He’s been hanging around me to spy for North. Freaking perfect.
‘Sage Benson. She’s a Flame, she seems nice enough. Hasn’t encouraged any adventures,’ Gabe mumbles, looking miserable even as he eats enough food to feed me for an entire week.
North’s head tilts as he frowns at him. ‘Benson? Maria’s Bonded daughter? Isn’t she one of Riley’s Bonds?’
Gabe nods again, sighing as he looks over at me. ‘Yeah, her and Giovanna. She fucking hates Giovanna as well, so she’s trying to focus on her studies. Oleander and Sage have been pulling extra hours in the library.’
I put my knife and fork down. There’s no way I’m going to sit here and listen to the freaking debrief.
North notices straight away. ‘Not to your liking, Fallows? I’ll let the chef know for next week.’
“Next week? I’m not coming back again.”
Gabe stiffens, his movements getting jerkier, but he doesn’t stop eating. I’m not sure anything would stop him at this point.
North watches him and then turns to me with a sharp glare. “You’ll be here every Friday for the foreseeable future. It’s taken a few weeks for me to nail down a day that works for us all but now that I have, this is going to be a regular occurrence.”
I scoff. “I can see everyone seems to be taking it seriously. Can I leave now? My curfew starts in ten minutes and I don’t want to be late.’
Gabe winces and takes a big gulp of his beer. Of course he gets alcohol and I get freaking water. What I wouldn’t give for a vodka soda or a beer or something right now. Anything to take the edge off because I can feel the bullshit in the air, like things are only going to get worse.
‘Your curfew isn’t an issue during our dinners. My chef put a lot of work into cooking us all dinner, Fallows. The least you could do is eat it.’
My lip curls and I’m about to rip him a new asshole when the door opens and in walks Gryphon. He ignores me entirely and takes a seat further down the table where he won’t have to look at me.
I roll my eyes— can any of them at least pretend to be civil— and then Nox stumbles through the door with one of his many little groupies tucked under his arm, giggling like a child.
My idiot, traitorous bond keens in my chest.
I don’t fucking care what the asshole does but apparently my bond does.
‘Oh, if it isn’t my little poisonous Bond. Are you here to ruin dinner for us all? How about you do what you do best and run off and leave us all to our meal in peace.’
Two minutes ago I desperately wanted to leave this table, and now I’m going to eat every last thing on my plate, even if I freaking choke on it.
Fuck Nox Draven.
The groupie giggles as she slides into her chair. North ignores her presence entirely but says to his brother, ‘You’re late. If you’re not going to be able to make it to dinner, please tell me beforehand. I can reschedule.’
Nox shrugs and the little giggling bitch slumps into the chair next to Gryphon, leaning into his body to grab a plate.
My bond doesn’t like that.
Not one little bit.
Gryphon glances up to meet my eyes and I hold his gaze for a second, completely transfixed by the rage in my chest, before he glances away and breaks the moment.
He doesn’t push her away.
I grip my knife so hard my fist shakes. I think about everything I want to say right now, all of the home truths I could give these arrogant, ungrateful, asshole bonds, and then I swallow them back down.
The high road is definitely not for me and walking it just might kill me.
