There are two cafes open close to the campus that aren’t owned by Gryphon’s sister and when I ask Atlas to stop by them both so I can hand in my resume, Gabe insists on coming in with me. Parking is a bitch so even though I know Atlas wants to be with me, watching my every move and supporting me through every little moment of my life, he has to drop us off and drive around the block.
I try to argue with Gabe about coming in, I’ll only be a couple of minutes, but I get shot down by them both.
“Do I have to remind you both of what I can do? The very tip of the iceberg is destroying people’s brains, I think I can walk into a cafe by myself,” I snark at them both, but it’s no use, they only really stop arguing with each other when it comes down to my safety and overall well-being.
Gabe ignores me and grabs my door, flipping off the car behind us when they blast their horn at us for stopping. This entire campus is stupid, I’m hating it more and more as the days go on.
We weave through the cars and crowd together, the paths are busy this time in the morning, and I try to ignore the way that people scatter away from me as though I’m here to kill them all and drink their blood for breakfast.
“Gloria owns this place, I can talk to her if you want,” Gabe says as he pushes the door open, holding it and waving me through first.
I try not to get flustered and shy about him acting chivalrous again. “No, I want to do this myself. I need to.”
He nods and steps into line behind me, looking at the muffin selection as though he’ll actually eat one. He’s so unpredictable about food that maybe he will, but I also won’t be surprised if he orders a salad to go.
My stomach explodes with butterflies when it’s finally my turn and I ask the girl to speak to the manager about any openings. She looks me up and down, huffing before she calls out for Gloria. I step to the side and let her serve Gabe, forcing my face to stay neutral when she starts flirting with my eight-pack hottie.
Yup, I said it. He’s mine, my bond is very attached, and even though I can’t do a thing with him, I don’t want some hot cafe girl giggling and batting her eyelashes at him.
He’s polite but firm as he turns her down and orders coffee for us all, plus some of the muffins. When he orders the triple choc one, I start to plan out how I’m going to force a bite of it out of him without using my gift to scramble his brain. I need that sugar rush.
My bond is messing with my head so bad right now, I feel like I’m permanently PMS-ing.
I’m still fantasizing about that muffin when the kitchen door swings open and a curvy older woman walks out, her apron covered in flour and powdered sugar. She smells like cake in the best possible way.
“You’re looking for a job? Have you got a resume?”
Straight to the point, she just raises an eyebrow at me and holds out a hand for me to pass her the newly-updated resume Atlas had printed out for me this morning. He’d officially moved into the Draven manor, giving up the lease for his apartment and moving into the room next to Gabe’s. He’d fought with North over being closer to me, but there’s only three rooms on the third level and North wouldn’t budge on it.
Atlas had enjoyed pointing out that it doesn’t matter anyway, he’s the one sleeping in my bed every night.
“Oleander Fallows… you’ve moved around a lot, are you planning on staying here, or am I going to lose you in a month’s time?”
Oh God. “No ma’am, I’m attending college here at Draven. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”
She nods but her face is still pretty stern-looking, like she’s not impressed with me at all. I try not to take it personally or get disheartened. There’s other options out there.
“I run a tight ship, it’s a busy shop. If you’re hoping for an easy ride, you’ll need to go down the road to Fleur’s place.”
I clear my throat and choose my words carefully, “I’m a hard worker, I’m not looking for a handout. If you take me on, I’ll make sure you don’t regret it.”
She just stares at me for a second with her eyebrow raised and I start to sweat a little. I definitely want to prove myself to her, prove that I’m not a flake or just some lazy college student looking to take advantage of her.
“I have some time this afternoon to train you, be here at two, ready to impress me,” she says finally, turning around and heading back out to the kitchens without another word.
I blow out a breath and head back over to Gabe who is drinking his coffee and wincing when it burns his tongue. He smiles tightly to the girl behind the counter when she calls out a goodbye to him and then he ushers me out of there quickly.
I murmur to him, “That woman is terrifying.”
“Kitty? She’s a nightmare, keeps trying to touch me like I don’t know what power she has. Someday she’s going to go down for assault.”
We stop at the bus stop and wait for Atlas to make his way back down the street to us. “I meant Gloria, she didn’t really want to employ me. Wait, what can Kitty do? Is she the cashier?”
He grimaces and hands me my coffee. “Yeah, she’s a Neuro. Not really strong though, she has to be touching you, but I’ve seen her making out with guys at parties in front of their girlfriends just to get back at them for other shit. The guys had no idea what she was doing or what had happened until their girlfriends told them.”
I look back at the cafe as though I could take her out from here just for attempting to touch him. I mean… I could. Maybe that’s the truth I’ll give him in exchange for knowing all about what his gift is.
“She kept trying to touch my hand, she’s been after my number for a while. I’ve never given it to her or her friends, obviously.”
I clear my throat and glance down at our feet. “I’m going to say something and it’s absolutely not my bond talking, Gabe. She touches you, manipulates you like that, I’ll kill her. My gift would do it without my control for sure, but even once I have a handle on it again, I’ll have her bleeding out of her ears in a fucking heartbeat.”
He turns to stare at me, still unsure of me. “I’ve bragged about girls before and you’ve watched a dozen girls come to dinner with Nox. I didn’t take you for the jealous type.”
I shrug and wave at Atlas as he gets closer to us to make sure he sees us in the crowd. “I am. I just don’t have a leg to stand on, half the time. Am I allowed to tell you guys that if I see someone smile at you I want to gouge their eyes out? That sitting at that stupid council dinner with North wasn’t so bad until I realized he’d fucked the lady next to me? I’m a hypocrite, I can’t bond—”
The car pulls up but Gabe grabs my arm to stop me from climbing in. “Oli, the Bonding is the least of my issues here. I thought you didn’t want us… I thought you didn’t want me.”
I open my mouth but then the car behind Atlas honks their horn and we have to get in. Everyone on this damned campus is impatient as hell. Gabe gets my door for me even though it’ll take longer because he doesn’t give a shit about making them wait. When Atlas pulls back out and drives extra slow just to piss them off a little more, I roll my eyes at him, gulping down my coffee. Gabe hands Atlas one and then hands me the bag of muffins.
I stare at it for a second and he scoffs at me. “Like I didn’t know you’d want the chocolate ‘heart attack in the making’ muffins, Bond. I’m sure the sugar high will get you through class today without gouging any eyes out.”
They just might.
WHEN I PULL on the apron that Gloria hands me, she taps her foot, impatient even though I’m moving quickly and confidently. I’ve worked at a dozen different cafes over the last five years, this is going to be a breeze for me. I’m hoping it’s as busy as she says it’s going to be, because there’s nothing I love more than a challenge and being so busy that five hours pass like they’re nothing.
The moment I told them both about my trial shift, I had forbidden Atlas and Gabe from being here and it had taken the entire day to get them to agree. Surprisingly, Atlas gave in first, mostly because I once again pointed out to them both that I could kill anyone who looked sideways at me and I would. I absolutely would. Gabe literally just watched me ruin a hundred Resistance to save our asses, like I wouldn’t do it to someone who was stupid enough to attack me at the cafe.
So I get to work without the protective shield that the two of them have become, but also without the pressures of them watching. It’s easy to slip into being Oli-the-worker again, the girl who scrimped and saved and made her own way in the world, even when it was so fucking hard that I slept in my car on the streets sometimes because I couldn’t make rent in any of the share houses I could find.
After only an hour, I get a handle on the way this place runs and confidently start serving customers, running the counter and taking the food and drinks out to the tables without any trouble. A little after four, a group of professors from Draven walk in together and grab a booth. I sigh with relief that Nox isn’t with them just a little too soon.
He arrives a minute later, sneering at the very sight of me.
Kitty takes their orders, grinning and flirting away, but they all seem to know her game and avoid her touch. It’s gross to me that they know what she does and yet she’s still out here in the community being a danger to everyone.
Something to snap at North and the useless council about later.
When their orders are up, I don’t want to serve them, but I also really want this job, so I paste a smile on my face and bring them their coffees, the picture of professionalism even when Nox’s lip continues to curl in my direction.
I hate him.
His co-workers don’t comment on it or treat me badly. I don’t have any of them as professors but I’ve seen them around campus enough to be sure that they definitely teach there.
I get back into the afternoon rush and almost forget they’re even there. Well, except for whenever I accidentally glance that way and catch Nox seething in my direction, then I certainly remember he’s there and hating every second of me being here.
I almost got through my entire shift without incident, almost. Half an hour before closing, a group of footballers and frat boys come in and order enough triple shots to kill a man. Kitty is in heaven with all of the testosterone in the room but I do my best to skirt around it. They all notice me working there and I hear a few comments, but I block it all out like a pro.
When I head over to clean one of the newly vacant tables, one of the frat boys stands up and moves into my path, so quickly that I almost smack into him but, again, this isn’t my first rodeo and I spin around him without missing a beat.
“Where are you heading off to? I’m trying to ask you out. We haven’t seen you at any of the parties on campus yet, does being a part of the Monster Bond mean you’re too good for us ‘lower tiers’?”
I put the tray on the service counter and meet Gloria’s eye through the window. I keep the smile on my face because I’ve sat through bond dinners with Nox and North tearing strips off of me before… does this guy really think I’m afraid of the word monster?
I know exactly what I am.
“I’m not the partying type, but thanks for asking. I’m sure Kitty would love an invite, I’ll pass the invite on to her,” I say brightly, moving around him to clear up the next empty table, but his hand shoots out to grip my arm.
Oh, so he wants to die? Perfect, my gift is hungry.
Nope, I need to stop that. I can’t even joke about it right now because I’m too raw at the moment and my gift is just looking for a reason to lash out.
I try to tug my arm away but he doesn’t let go. “You really should let me go—”
He leans into me, his bond reaching out to mine like he’s testing me and, goddamn, does my bond hate the feel of it. “Why, what are you going to do to me, monster?”
There’s a gasp behind us but I can’t look away from the frat boy because I don’t know his gift, he could have something physical.
I really don’t want to get punched or bitten right now, thanks.
Then I see the black smoke curl round his arm, sliding up towards his neck before it coils around him until he lets me go, clutching at it as though he could possibly stop Nox’s gift from cutting off his airway.
When he drops down to his knees, I take a step back and find myself pressed against my Bond.
This is bad.
The entire room is silent, only the quiet music over the speakers to be heard, and then Nox steps around me to crouch down over the frat boy, his eyes black voids, so like my own.
He uses his professor voice on him, that calm and professional tone that screams disciplinarian. “Branson, let this be a lesson to you that you should never provoke monsters. Miss Fallows is just trying to work. There’s no reason for you to be harassing her, and if I find out you’ve been in here again, I’ll do a lot more than choke you.”
Branson nods, a small jerk of his head as his cheeks turn purple, and then the smoke fades away to nothing and Nox’s eyes shift back to their usual dark blue hue.
I step away from them both, setting my tray down on the cluttered table and beginning to clear it up. I’ll fake it until I make it, forcing myself to act as though this is nothing and hope that the rest of the cafe does the same.
As I begin to wipe the table down, I hear the bell ring over the door as Branson leaves and then, slowly, people get back to their coffees, murmuring to each other about Nox Draven and his Bond.
I take a deep breath before I head back into the kitchens, fully prepared for Gloria to fire me on the spot for bringing this drama into her business.
Nox is already in there getting the talking to of his life, I’m sure.
“— and of all the ways to defuse the situation, you chose to use your gift? Really, that was your only option? I’ve seen you throw a punch, you should’ve just knocked the little asshole out.”
Okay, Gloria knows what’s up. I like her a little more.
I place the tray down by the sink, starting to load the industrial dishwasher up and rinsing off the plates as I go. She turns to me and says, “You handled that well. You’re doing a great job, keep your head down and everyone will forget who you are around here soon enough.”
I swallow and nod, ducking my head and getting back into the task in front of me. “Thank you, I’ll do that.”
I finish up the closing shift, scrubbing down every single surface I come across and getting the floor to shine. I feel really good when I walk out of there, my apron and all of the employment paperwork in my hands, because the job is mine.
It’s late enough that the sun is setting, the colors of the sunset beautiful and haunting across the sky, and I’m distracted for a second taking a photo on my phone, so I miss Nox stepping out in front of me until it’s too late and I crash right into him.
“Oof, Jesus, sorry— oh. What are you doing here?” I ramble, bending down to grab my phone from where I’ve dropped it.
He sneers at me and flicks an arm out at the mostly-empty street. “Making sure you don’t get jumped and lose control over yourself all over again, obviously.”
I glance down the street but there’s no sign of the Hellcat or Gabe’s bike to be seen, so I guess I’m not about to be saved here. Might as well do the right thing so it doesn’t get thrown in my face later, though the high road sucks ass. “Thanks for helping me out. You didn’t have to but I appreciate that you did.”
He huffs out a cruel laugh. “I wasn’t helping you, I was stopping North from shutting the campus down over the riot you would’ve caused when you lost control, Poison.”
Poison, monster, I really am collecting a whole bunch of new names since I came to Draven.
I roll my eyes at him. “Like your nightmare creatures aren’t going to start a riot, don’t pin this on me.”
He leans into me to murmur, “Everyone here knows exactly what I can do. There wasn’t a man, woman, or child in that cafe who didn’t know exactly who I was. You’re the mystery, the anomaly, the rumor of madness incarnate. If you had confirmed all of their fears, then it would’ve taken more than a TacTeam to clean the mess up.”
I really don’t want to stand here and listen to this bullshit. With his bond reaching out to mine, it all feels as though he’s fishing for information, trying to get me to slip up and tell him something vital.
The worst part is… I want to. I want to tell him about every person I’ve ever used my power against, just to prove myself to him, to prove that I did the right thing when I went on the run and stayed the hell away from this place.
“I’ve never met someone whose eyes turn black, not outside of our family anyway. It was our curse. I wonder who’s curse you’re holding, Poison?”
Curse? That seems a little too mystical and magical for me. It doesn’t matter that I can literally manipulate souls inside of living beings, I don’t believe in curses.
That’s childish bullshit that people play make believe with to ostracize and villainize people with.
“Well… thanks for stepping in and saving me, even if it was just for North. I need the job and it would have sucked to lose it before I even got the chance to work.”
He ignores me, stalking over to the Bentley at the curb and opening the driver door. “Get in. I already told Ardern that we’re on our way home.”
Jesus, that’s going to go down well. We might not even have a manor to return to if Atlas has caught wind of this, but I slide into the car with him and seal my lips shut, even as his bond slides over my skin like a pointed caress.
I give him nothing.
My phone pings and I check to find a message from Atlas waiting for me.
He touches you, he dies.
I blow out a breath and let my head fall back against the seat with a thump. There’s movement in the air around my hands and I look down to see a little creature of smoke sitting on my lap. It should not look as cute as it does but I’ve always had a soft spot for Dobermans and the puppy curling up there is freaking adorable.
Is it bad that I think it’s adorable?
“Is this thing about to bite me or consume me or something?”
He ignores me and then drawls at me, “Tell Bassinger that he can drop the savior act. You didn’t say no and you didn’t use your gift to break me. There’s no way he can say a fucking thing about it anymore because you weren’t some little giftless Bond, were you, Poison?”
Oh God, I would rather open the car door and throw myself into oncoming traffic than sit here and have this conversation with him.
Wait.
“Your little creatures are spies? Wow. Get off me then, you little cretin!” I attempt to flick the smoke creature off of my lap but my finger just passes through it, the smoke splitting and then coming back together as if nothing happened.
Nox ignores me but when he changes gears, the creature glides across the car and then tucks under his ear until it’s obscured by his hair. It’s just a bit too freaking adorable for me to get my head around. The man who loathes me and tortures me at every turn has a little smoke friend hiding in his hair.
I want to giggle.
I can’t, he’ll spit more fire at me and ruin my whole goddamn day.
When we pull up to the manor and the garage door opens, we find the rest of my Bonds standing there in a very heated argument that only stops as they all turn as one to look at the car.
