Chapter 84

Anila’s POV

“So, what’s it like being bonded with two guys at once?” Becca asked, staring at me from across the library table with large and curious eyes.

I looked up from my history book, frowning. We made it a whole 10 minutes of studying before she decided to ask me that question.

“I thought we were here to study for our history test tomorrow?” I asked, slightly teasing.

She shrugged.

“I can’t concentrate,” she admitted. “Come on, I need a little bit of information.”

I could see the hopefulness in her eyes, and it made a smile tug at my lips. Out of all the girls in my little friend group, Becca was the only other wolf. Even if I was part wolf, I still had a connection with her because of that. My other friends were an assortment of different animals, which was cool. But I’m not sure if the mate bond was the same for them as it is for wolves and bears.

I bit my lower lips, chewing on them nervously before I decided to answer her question.

“It’s weird,” I admitted. “Like I can feel them equally. Their emotions and stuff.”

“Do you get them confused?” She asked.

I shook my head.

“That’s the weirder part. I don’t get them confused at all. I just know who’s who I guess,” I said, shrugging. “It’s a bit bizarre. I just found out that the mate bond is only 50% active right now. Apparently, I have to bite them too.”

Her mouth fell open in shock.

“You mean you haven’t?” She gasped.

I shook my head, feeling my cheeks flush.

“I didn’t know I had to. Xaden never told me,” I admitted. “Harley was the one who told me.”

“What are you going to do? Are you going to bite them? Did you already bite Harley after he told you?”

I shook my head again, suddenly feeling uneasy.

“No, of course not. I think I need to discuss it with Xaden first,” I told her. “It just feels like a huge step, and I don’t want to make any drastic decisions.”

“Like Xaden did when he marked you?” Becca asked, her brows raised. “Wasn’t that pretty drastic?”

I nodded, not meeting her eyes. I stared at the pages of my book with a timid frown.

“Yeah, I guess it was,” I admitted. “I just don’t want to make any decisions that’ll hurt anybody, you know? When Xaden made his decision, all he really cared about was me and him. Same with Harley when he marked me. He doesn’t have to worry about the feelings of the others. But I do. I worry about all of their feelings all of the time. I can’t really explain it, but my wolf and bear already have a claim on them all, and because of that…”

“You feel for them all,” Becca finished for me.

It was nice talking about this stuff with someone other than Penny.

I nodded, feeling a bit of that weight being lifted off my shoulders. But only slightly because I was still unsure of what I should do. It was true my wolf and bear already claimed them in their hearts, but was I supposed to actually bite them and claim each of them? Is that what the Moon Queen had done?

“Did the Moon Queen claim them all?” I decided to ask out loud.

“I mean, they were her mates,” Becca answered, she was now focused on her textbook since I zoned out and got lost in my own thoughts.

“I meant, did she bite them and fully bond with them?” I asked. “And if so, did it work?”

Becca thought about it for a moment.

“I don’t think it was really said in any of the books I’ve read,” Becca answered honestly. “It just said she wore the mark of all her mates. But I don’t think it was ever mentioned if they each wore her mark as well.”

“I wish I could just ask her,” I said, sighing as I leaned back in my seat. I suddenly wasn’t in the mood to study.

“I think that would solve a lot of problems,” Becca said in agreement. “Then again, what fun would it be if someone handed you all the answers?”

“This isn’t my idea of fun,” I told her.

She raised her brows.

“Is it not?” She asked, genuinely sounding confused. “You’ve come from a life of being controlled by your stepmother. They basically kept you as a prisoner for years. They made you feel like you were anything but special. They made you feel unlovable. And now look at you. You have more love and freedom than you know what to do with. You have all these choices to make and yeah people might get hurt, but these are your choices. Nobody can take that away from you so why would you want the Moon Queen to take the choice away from you and tell you what to do?”

She had a point, and I honestly felt foolish for putting myself back into the position of not having a choice. I smiled at my friend, thankful for her input.

“Thank you. You’re right. This is my choice and mine alone. Nobody can and should take that from me,” I agreed.

She smiled brightly.

“Good. Now, can we focus on studying? We really do have a test tomorrow and I’m kind of freaking out about it.”

I chuckled and nodded as I focused on my textbook.

For the next several hours we held ourselves up in the library and studied like our entire lives depended on it.

…..

By the time I got back to my dorm room, I was utterly exhausted. I stopped at the shared kitchen to grab a sandwich and a can of soda before retreating to my dorm. Penny walked out of the bathroom as I walked into the room. She wore a towel around her body, and another wrapped up in her hair. She smiled brightly when she saw me.

“I thought you’d never get back. I was thinking of putting on a movie and popping some popcorn,” Penny said as she walked toward her room. “I’m just going to change and dry my hair.”

“I’m actually exhausted. I spent all night studying. I kind of just want to sleep if that’s okay,” I told her, pointing to my bedroom.

She pouted.

“I hardly saw you all week,” she murmured, folding her arms across her chest. “We hadn’t truly hung out since your birthday. You’ve been so busy lately.”

“I’m sorry, Penny. We can hang out this weekend. It’s just been one hell of a week,” I admitted.

She sighed and dropped her arms to her side.

“Fine,” she said, clearly disappointed as she started back toward her room. “I guess we will just hang out this weekend.”

“I’m sorry,” I said to her retreating back. She gave me a wave without turning around.

I sighed and went toward my own room. It felt good to just be alone for a little while. I felt like it’s been one thing after another all day today. I paused when I saw the dragon’s cage still on my nightstand and my stomach tightened. I hadn’t really spent any time in this room since I had the baby dragon and now, I was feeling lonelier than ever with her gone.

I was even reminded of the fact that she disappeared completely I wasn’t able to go out and look for her. There was a part of me that hoped that maybe she would be here waiting for me, but clearly, that wasn’t the case.

I felt a heaviness in my chest and I grabbed the cage, thankful that nobody had been in there and then I shoved it into the furthest corner of my closet. I didn’t want there to be any evidence of a dragon ever being here. At some point, maybe when Zach returns, I’ll have him help hide the cage better. Or dispose of it altogether.

I grabbed my phone out of my bag and glanced at the screen, only smiling when I saw a message appear from Harley.

Harley: Just checking in and making sure you got back to your dorm okay.

Me: I just got back. I’m exhausted.

Harley: I’m sure. Did you eat anything?

Me: I grabbed a sandwich from the kitchen. I’m about to eat and I crash.

Harley: Can I see you tomorrow?

I smiled at the message and my heart swelled.

Me: Of course.

Harley: I want to take you somewhere for breakfast. Can I swing by at 8?

Me: Told Becca we could study some more tomorrow morning. But I’d rather see you.

Harley: See you in the morning, sweet girl.

I smiled and fell backward onto my bed. I sighed contently as I thought of Harley, but then my mind went right back to Xaden and that knot grew even more.

I was starting to have a feeling that something was seriously wrong.

Where could they be?