“I’m sorry about last night.” He sheepishly stared at the ground. “There’s so much I want to say, but I can’t.”
“I’ve already told you that until you tell me why you disappeared on me, I’m not interested.” I deserved to know.
“Look, I’d tell you if I could.” He nibbled his bottom lip and blew out a breath. “You need to stay away from those witches.”
“So that’s why you’re here.” I should’ve known he didn’t just want to see me. “Well, guess what, it’s not happening.”
“Witches can’t be trusted.” He stepped toward me and reached for my hand before stopping himself.
“Neither can you.” I had trusted him at one point, and look where that had gotten me.
He winced, the words hitting him hard. “That’s … fair.”
“All right, it was great talking to you.” I’d turned to head back to the dorm when he grabbed my hand.
The buzzing sprang between us, and the connection began closing in.
No, I couldn’t let the bond remove every sense of logic. I jerked my hand out of his grasp and frowned. “What, Aidan? What do you want to say? I won’t stop being friends with them because you don’t trust them. That’s a bullshit reason, and you know it.”
“There’s more at stake than you realize.” His golden eyes blazed.
“Then share.” I lifted my arms. “I’m all ears.”
“It’s not that easy.” His voice turned hard, and his hands clenched into fists. “I wish I could tell you everything. It’s so damn hard.”
“Nobody is stopping you.” I pointed to the surrounding area. We were the only two out here.
“I’d betray my family.” His body sagged, and he didn’t seem so strong at that moment.
It pissed me off even more. He wanted me to feel sorry for him. He wanted to play the victim. “Then I’ll save us both the heartache.”
I spun around again, but he stepped in front of me, cutting off the way to the dorm. “Can’t you just stay away from them for me?”
The wind picked up, and the scent of musk hit me hard. Jacob was here.
Aidan
That asshole would show up right when I’d been about to say “fuck it” and tell her everything. Maybe this was fate’s way of telling me to keep my damn mouth shut. But if I did, her death could be imminent.
Emma
“Get the hell away from her,” he said in a low growl and hurried over, stepping between me and Aidan.
“I’m here to talk to her.” Aidan stood straight, emphasizing how much more muscular and taller he was than Jacob.
“She isn’t interested.” He sneered, and his brown eyes glowed slightly.
Great, they were here having a pissing match.
“How did you pick up on that?” Aidan chuckled. “You seem clueless with how uninterested she is in you.”
“You’re just jealous. We’ve been together for over two years.” Jacob’s jaw tensed. “Which is more than you can say.”
“Guys, stop it.” This was ridiculous, and their wolves were coming forward. If they weren’t careful, they would shift right here. The last thing we needed was a human witnessing the whole thing go down.
“I’m not intimidated by that,” Aidan said and shoved Jacob in the chest.
Jacob stumbled back a few steps and stopped. Then, he shoved Aidan back.
It was as if they hadn’t heard me. “You two quit it.”
They were so caught up with each other it was as if I didn’t exist.
Jacob’s nose flared. “You need to get a clue and leave my girl alone.”
“She isn’t yours,” Aidan growled, and his eyes glowed like a flashlight.
“I don’t belong to either of you,” I said louder than I meant to.
They stopped and stepped away from each other.
“What the hell does that mean?” Jacob took a ragged breath. “I came to this school to be with you.”
“And I didn’t ask you to.” In fact, I hadn’t told him until the last minute where I was going.
“I stayed back at community college so we could be together your senior year.” Jacob took a deep breath and pointed at Aidan. “He’s causing this. Isn’t he?”
“Didn’t you hear me say she isn’t yours?” Aidan smirked as if he had won the lottery or something.
“And I said I’m neither of yours.” I couldn’t get over how stupid they were acting.
“We didn’t have a problem until he”—Jacob leered at Aidan—“showed up.”
“Maybe that should tell you something. She was mine before she was yours.” Aidan bared his teeth at him. “If my being around is causing her to look away from you, she wasn’t yours, to begin with.”
“Like hell, she wasn’t, and don’t even try lying. She was never yours.” Jacob’s breathing quickened, and he wrinkled his nose. “You’ve been stalking her. How sick is that?”
Then it sank in. They weren’t paying attention to me. I spun on my heel and headed straight into the dorm. They could stay out there and fight each other. They didn’t need me around. Neither one of them was my problem anymore.
Chapter Eleven
I woke up the next morning, tempted to not go to class. Aidan and Jacob had both been texting me nonstop yesterday. I’d never responded to either of them, so you’d think they’d get the point, but no. I’d shut down Jacob’s and my mental link so he couldn’t contact me that way. I checked my phone, only to find another twenty missed texts, mostly from Jacob, but Aidan had sent two.
Beth threw on her shirt and glanced at my phone. “Damn, I’m glad you put that on silent last night.”
“Yeah, me too.” I would’ve gotten no sleep otherwise. I centered myself and began putting concealer under my eyes. I had gotten some sleep last night, which was better than the night before.
“We need super-sized coffees today.” Beth put on her black shirt over her black skirt.
“No kidding.” I wanted to be a coward today and hide in my dorm. “It wouldn’t be a big deal to skip class, would it?”
“Yes.” She sat on her bed and put on her black commandos. “It would be a huge deal. You can’t let those two idiots derail you.”
“I mean, I’m tired.”
“Girl, no.” She stood and grabbed my arm, turning me in her direction. “You’re stronger than this. Don’t take the easy way out. It’s not like it’d make it better anyway. It’s inevitable that you’re going to see both of them, and the longer you drag it out, the worse it’ll be.”
“Why do you have to make sense?” I did appreciate her honesty, but damn, I’d been hoping she’d coddle me.
“Because that’s what good friends are for.” She took the concealer from my hands and started applying it for me. “Besides, I’ll be there with you during first period.”