Chapter 83

Anila’s POV

“It’s not funny, Harley!” I said, folding my arms across my chest as I sat across from him at a table in the student lounge.

We met up after I left the clinic; Damien agreed to help me with my flying lessons and prepare me for the challenges, but we weren’t going to start until tomorrow night. I’ve had enough flying for one day. Hell, I’ve had enough flying for a lifetime, but it didn’t seem like I was going to get out of it that easily.

I just finished telling Harley everything that happened, and he had the nerve to laugh!

“I could have died,” I said, scowling at him. But I also couldn’t really stay upset with him; this stupid bond between us made it difficult to do that. He was so damn cute when he laughed, and his laugh was contagious. I found my lips twitching upward into a smile, but I tried desperately to keep it from showing on my face.

“But you didn’t,” Harley chuckled. “Besides, it’s not like Damien would have ever let that happen.”

I shook my head.

“He might have,” I told him, but even I knew that was a lie.

“He’s supposed to be your mate too, right?” Harley asked. “Trust me, he wouldn’t have.”

“I don’t know how the mate thing works between witches and wizards,” I admitted. “I don’t know if it’s the same thing as animal spirits.”

“I’m sure it’s roughly the same,” Harley assured me. “The only difference is, he can’t shift into an animal.”

“I guess so,” I murmured.

“I could tell something was up with you earlier. I could kind of feel your anxiety, but it was hazy. That might be because our bond isn’t 100% sealed yet,” he shocked me by saying.

I snapped him a look, my brows furrowed together.

“What do you mean not 100%?” I asked, very confused. “I can feel you way more than I had before. Like your emotions and stuff. You had already bitten me. How could it not be 100%?”

He raised his brows as he studied me, trying to figure out if I was serious or not. When I didn’t smile or say anything more, his eyes widened.

“You really don’t know how it works, huh?” He asked. “I thought it was just because you were uncertain, but now I’m realizing you just didn’t know.”

“Uncertain about how?” I asked, a bit louder than I meant to. “Didn’t know what?”

“The bond isn’t fully sealed until you bite me too.”

My mouth fell open in shock.

“What?” I gasped.

“Xaden never explained it to you?”

I shook my head, still in disbelief.

“Clearly not,” I said, kind of breathlessly.

Harley sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

“I guess I can explain it since we are kind of bonded too,” he said, looking disheveled all of a sudden. “Maybe he didn’t want you to make that choice just yet because he knew you still had decisions to make. Or maybe he just didn’t want to overwhelm you so soon.”

“Just explain it to me, Harley,” I ordered.

He nodded, running his fingers through his hair again.

“So our mate bond is half sealed right now. It’s stronger than it was before. We can feel one another’s emotions, and though it’s not very clear at the moment, we can still feel them. I know when you are close by and my bear is that much more content knowing that we have a claim on you. You carry our scents. You have both mine and Xaden’s scent on you. It also makes me trust you and your decisions more. Not that I didn’t trust you before, but now it’s kind of like second nature. Like I can’t help but trust you. I don’t mind as much when you are off with other men because I can feel your feelings towards them. It’s hard to explain honestly. But I don’t fear I’m going to lose you. I feel content and this is good enough for me for right now. I’m sure Xaden feels the same way and that’s why he didn’t take things further.”

I thought about it for a moment and then I nodded, biting my lower lip as I got lost in thoughts.

Everything he was describing; I was feeling too. I felt that towards both. Not that I ever had a reason to be jealous of them; I don’t think they ever really talk to other women. At least not in a way that raises alarm bells. Nothing like Zach and all those women I’ve seen him with in the past.

I recalled how I walked by Harley’s classroom, and I could feel him in there. I can also feel his emotions, but he’s right, it was a bit hazy. I had trouble figuring out if he was excited or nervous. Only when the emotions are obvious is when it is clear.

“What happens if I bite you?” I asked, my voice dropped to a whisper.

Harley’s cheeks turned a strange shade of red; I had never seen this from him before and immediately knew what he was about to say, made him almost uncomfortable.

But why?

“It’d be like we were one entity,” he explained. “Your emotions would be as real to me as if they were my own and vice versa. I’d be able to know where you are and what you were doing regardless of how far away we were from one another. Some say they have the ability to speak in one another’s minds even in human form, but I’m not sure if that’s true or not. It’s an intense connection unlike any other. It’s everything we feel but doubled. If you were ever in trouble, I’d know it immediately and I wouldn’t have to ask where you were located. I would just know; as would you.”

I nodded, thinking deeply about that.

After a beat of silence, I met his eyes and asked, “Would I be able to bite you both? Would that work? Could I have a connection like that with more than one mate?”

Harley shrugged.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “But that’s probably why Xaden held back. He probably didn’t want you to make that decision, even if he had jumped the gun and marked you without talking to any of us about it first.”

A smile tipped the corner of my lips.

“As if you didn’t do the same,” I teased.

He looked surprised by my boldness but then he shrugged.

“I was more bear than human,” he confessed. “He needed to mark you to calm himself. He thought he was losing you and drove him crazy.”

I gave him a soft smile as I reached across the table and touched his arm gently. Goosebumps formed on his flesh, and I smiled at the effect I had on him.

“You aren’t going to lose me, Harley,” I assured him. “I hope you know that now.”

He nodded, returning my smile.

“I know,” he said gently. Then, his face grew serious. “Have you heard from Xaden or Zach? I tried calling Xaden earlier, but it went straight to voicemail.”

A tight knot formed in the pit of my stomach, and I shook my head. I reached into my bag that I left on the floor beside my seat and grabbed my phone. I glanced at the screen.

I had left Xaden several text messages since last night and he hadn’t answered a single one of them. My chest was filled with anxiety.

“If something happened, Principal Rapport would have told us, right?” I asked, my voice coming out shakily.

I didn’t like the uncertainty on Harley’s face.

“I’m not sure,” he confessed. “I’m not sure if he would know right away. But you might. You have his mark, so you can still feel him, can’t you?”

I nodded.

“But it’s not 100%,” I told him. “Even you said—”

“But it’s still there,” Harley interrupted. “As long as it’s there, we have to hope that he’s okay.”

“And Zach?” I asked, biting my lower lip. I knew Zach and I didn’t always get along, but that didn’t mean I wanted anything to happen to him either. He was still my mate; bonded or not. My wolf had decided that he was ours even if that thought terrified me.

“We just have to hope that he’s okay too,” Harley said, taking a gentle hold of my hand and giving me a reassuring smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

I knew he was worried about them.

“There you are, Anila. I’ve been looking for you,” Becca said as she ran toward our table, startling me.

She paused when she saw Harley and she gave him an awkward wave before looking back at me.

“We have an exam in Werewolf History tomorrow and I need a study buddy. Come to the library with me, please?” She practically begged.

My heart fell into my stomach.

“An exam?” I asked.

Her eyes widened.

“Don’t tell me you forgot,” she said, shaking her head at me. “It’s the first exam of the year. We have to get good grades. Now we must get to the library more now than ever.”

I nodded and started to clean up my things; she was right; I needed to spend the rest of the evening studying if I wanted to pass this exam.

Becca offered an apologetic smile to Harley.

“Sorry, I’m stealing her away for the night,” she said, looping her arm through mine once I got all my things together.

“Understood,” Harley said, slightly bemused as he watched Becca whisk me away.