Chapter 61

Anila’s POV

I looked in the mirror and gasped when I saw the bite mark on my neck; the bite mark that Xaden had left on me. I couldn’t believe he marked me; Xaden had claimed me as his. I should have been horrified by the idea of being claimed, but I wasn’t.

It was like I had all these new emotions rushing through me that weren’t mine. I felt more connected to Xaden than I ever did and when I touched the mark with my fingertips, I felt its warmth expanding across my body.

It was a bubbly feeling in my chest, but it only lasted a few moments. Once the thought of my other mates popped into my head, my entire heart fell deep into my stomach.

How was I going to explain this?

Maybe I don’t have to explain this; it’s not like it’s any of their business. Xaden is my boyfriend. I’m expected to mate and bond with him because he was the one that I chose. It’s not like Harley wants anything to do with me, Zach only wants to get me into bed, and Damien only thinks of me as a friend.

I should be okay without announcing the fact that I’m now bonded with Xaden.

I had been in the bathroom for a little over 30 minutes; I was freshly showered, and I changed my clothes. But I couldn’t bring myself to actually leave the bathroom. My entire body was trembling as I touched the mark again and then dropped my hand to my side.

I had to face the real world.

The full moon was tomorrow night and I had to do more training today before my body went through the change. I felt like I was ready, but I was still nervous.

There was a knock on the door, startling me.

“Anila, are you okay in there?” Xaden asked from the other side of the door.

I cleared my throat and finally broke my gaze away from the mark. I decided to let my hair down, hoping that it would hide the mark from wandering eyes today. I opened the door and smiled up at a very worried Xaden.

“Yes, sorry,” I told him. “I was just finishing up. I’m starving. Ready to go?” I asked him, trying to ignore the worried look he was giving me.

His eyes studied my face for a moment and then they drifted down to the mark on my neck or the mark that he’d be able to see on my neck if I wasn’t covering it with my hair. I saw his eyes darken slightly and then a slightly disappointed look on his face as he realized my intention.

He didn’t say anything though; his eyes snapped back to me and I stood on my toes to kiss him and distract him.

“Seriously, I’m hungry. Let’s go,” I said softly.

He nodded and took my hand.

We walked back to the campus; I was still in a daze from the night of lovemaking and the fact that I was newly marked. I was also dazed by the incredible party my friends had thrown for me and the fact that I was very drunk during that party. It was all a bit of a blur to me, but I knew I had a great time and I had to make a mental note to thank my friends once I saw them.

When we got to the dining hall, I thought everything would just be normal. I thought we’d be able to get our breakfast, eat, and then move on with the day. But that’s not at all what happened. As soon as we stepped into the room, it felt like the entire room was watching me.

Some even had their mouths hanging open.

I wasn’t sure why everybody was staring at me like that; my cheeks flushed from the attention. I wanted to tell them to turn away and stop looking at me; part of me wanted to hide behind Xaden. But instead, I squared my shoulders and continued to walk towards the kitchen where I knew the food was.

I wasn’t going to let people bring me down; I was done with that bullshit.

It wasn’t until my eyes found Harley’s that my entire body froze in place. He was looking at me like I had just stabbed him in the chest. The hurt, the anger, and the resentment, it was all there, and I wasn’t sure why. My heart ached when I saw the look on his face; it was like I had just betrayed him in the worst way possible.

I couldn’t seem to take my eyes away from him, but he helped with that because he grabbed his food off his table and stood. I watched as he turned his back on me and stormed out of the room, leaving me staring after him with my mouth hanging open in confusion.

Looking at Xaden, he had also noticed it, and I saw the hurt on his face as well as he watched his best friend leave the dining hall.

“I’m going to go talk to him,” Xaden said before landing a kiss on my lips. I nodded, wishing that I could go with him and find out what was wrong, but I knew it was probably better if I stayed away.

I watched as my boyfriend ran from the dining hall to find his best friend.

I turned around and almost ran directly into Damien. He was looking at me differently too; I could see a little hurt on his face, but there was also confusion. It was mainly confusion I decided, like he wasn’t sure how to feel.

There was whispering going on around me before people started to resume their normal conversations. I furrowed my brows in confusion as I looked up at him, still not sure what was going on and why everyone was staring at me like that.

“Don’t listen to them,” Damien said, waving off everyone. “Are we still on for later?”

I wanted to ask him what everyone was saying, but I couldn’t form the words. I opened my mouth to speak, but only air came out.

“Training,” he reminded me, taking my silence as me forgetting our plans for this evening.

I shook my head, shaking away the thoughts of the strangeness.

“Yeah,” I said breathlessly. “We are still on for tonight.”

He smiled, but it almost seemed forced. His eyes traveled to my neckline and instinctively covered it with my hand. Did he see my mark? I thought it was hidden pretty well.

He gave me another smile and a head nod before taking off toward his table in the back of the dining hall. I stood in place, still very confused, but the rumbling of my stomach brought me back to the present moment.

Squaring my shoulders, I walked into the kitchen to grab some food. I got some strange looks in there as well, but most were too focused on getting food than paying attention to me. The dining hall workers were kind as they always were and offered me gentle smiles as they piled food onto my tray.

I thanked them and then I went back into the dining hall to find my friends. It didn’t take me long to find them, but like everyone else, they were staring at me strangely and whispering amongst themselves.

I was about to snap if someone didn’t tell me what the hell was going on around here. I knew I was red in the face, and I could feel my anger getting the best of me, but I didn’t care. I needed answers and I needed them now.

I placed my tray on the table and put my hands on my hips as I stared at my friends, or at least those I thought were my friends.

“Does someone want to tell me what is going on around here? Why is everyone staring at me like I’m a freak?” I asked, my voice coming out harsher than I meant.

Penny raised her brows as she stared at me.

“You don’t know?” She asked, surprising me.

“Obvious not,” I murmured. “Or else I wouldn’t be asking. Did something happen at my party last night?”

“You tell us,” Sage said, her brows pinched together as she too studied me. “Did something happen at your party last night?”

Becca nudged Sage who only shrugged at her.

“I only remember taking shots with you guys and dancing with Xaden. Then, we left. What happened?” I asked.

“You Goddess, I forgot you are so new at this,” Penny said, covering her face and I could see the embarrassment on her flushed cheeks.

“Fill me in,” I said, much calmer now.

“You should probably sit.”

My heart felt heavy, and I thought it was going to beat right out of my chest, but I did as she asked. Nobody in the lunchroom was paying attention to me anymore thankfully; they all resumed their normal conversations and were eating their food. I was back to being invisible, which at this moment, I liked.

I lowered myself into my seat across from Penny. The girls all looked at me curiously, like they were waiting for me to explode.

“Tell me what’s going on,” I demanded, my voice nothing more than a whisper.

Penny sighed and she leaned forward.

“We can all smell it,” she whispered, making my frown deepen. “It’s a shifter thing.”

“Smell what?” I asked, even more confused now.

Her eyes shifted to my neck and to my utter shock, Sage next to me moved my hair to the side to reveal my mark.

I gasped loudly!

“What the hell!” I hissed, swatting her away.

Penny sighed again and met my eyes.

“I can’t believe he didn’t explain this to you,” Penny groaned, shaking her head and I somehow knew she meant Xaden. I felt the blood drain from my face, and I was completely frozen in my seat.

“Every shifter in the room can smell it,” Becca said gently.

“They can smell it?” I asked, still confused and unsure, I wanted to know what they were talking about.

Becca nodded and leaned closer to me.

“Hiding it won’t help,” she explained. “We can all smell the fact that you’ve been marked, Anila. Xaden Claimed you and now everyone knows it.”