Chapter 9
Vedant's POV
I do my best to act normal at the party, but I can’t help but feel a little weird after Alice’s request that I ask her to be my mate. Her crush has been obvious for some time, but I always thought that if I ignored it for long enough, she would give up. I see now that I was wrong.
Simon gives me a questioning look. “Are you okay? You’ve been quiet.”
I give a quick nod, hoping that Alice hadn’t told him about what happened yesterday. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired, I got into an argument with my dad last night.”
Simon nods sympathetically before changing the subject to the training class at school. I do my best to seem interested in what he’s saying, grateful that he didn’t pry further, when Alice walks up with a glass of wine in her hand.
“Come on Vedant, it’s a party. You should have a drink.”
I glance at Simon, “I don’t see anyone shoving alcohol down his throat.”
Alice laughs, “That’s because he got started before anyone even got here.”
Simon shoots me a sheepish grin. I laugh and take the wine. “Well in that case it looks like I have some catching up to do.”
I drink deeply from the glass. Alice is right, it is a party. I should loosen up.
I don’t expect to feel much after only one glass, but after a few minutes I feel my skin flush and I feel slightly off balance. I try to shake it off, thinking I must not have eaten enough that day, but after a few more minutes, I start to feel a completely different kind of hunger.
Alice walks back over and pulls me slightly to the side. “Why don’t you go wait in my bedroom.”
Despite the need coursing through my veins, something about the situation feels wrong. I stumble over my words. “Sorry… I- I need to… um… I need to go to the bathroom.” I shake off Alice and quickly push my way through the crowd until I make it into the small room, pulling the door shut behind me.
As I turn around my nose is flooded with the scent of rose and the need already threatening to overtake me doubles. I see a woman and then everything vanishes except the sensation of my lips on hers.
Chiara's POV
The shock of seeing Vedant standing behind me snaps me back to reality and I realize that I need to push him away. I start to lift my hand to do just that, but before I can finish acting on the thought, he leans down and captures my lips in a wild kiss.
All thoughts of resistance leave me as I go into a trance and all of the sensation in my body narrows the feeling of his mouth on mine.
I’m not sure how much time passes, but when I come too I am surprised by how right my body feels. Any pain or soreness from my time in the punishment room has vanished. I habitually reach my hand up to trace the smooth line of my scar, gasping when I realize it’s no longer there.
I feel so good, that it takes me a minute to notice arms still wrapped around me. Vedant! I push him away the best I can and grab my still stained clothes in an attempt to cover myself.
I hear Alice’s voice, screaming, from outside the bathroom door. “What the hell are you doing in there?”
The sound of Alice’s fists banging on the door seem to snap Vedant out of whatever trance he was in and he quickly drops his arms and steps back. The look on his face is murderous. “What are you doing?’
“I-” before I can answer Vedant opens the door to the bathroom.
Alice glares at me. “Katie said that while Chiara was in the kitchen getting the wine, she looked really upset to see that someone else was in there. She must have been worried about being caught putting something in your drink in order to seduce you. How disgusting!”
Vedant turns back to me. “I shouldn’t be surprised that the same bitch who tricked my brother into following her to his death, would use the same tricks to get me into bed. You are a disgusting, evil woman.”
“I didn’t do any of that. I never lured your brother, and I was only in here trying to wash my clothes.” I gesture to the stains covering my chest.
Vedant drops his eyes. “You need to leave before I do something I will regret.”
I quickly push past him and Alice and make my way out of the party before he can make good on his word. I make the long walk home in my soiled clothes as tears threaten to spill.
All I have ever wanted is to leave this place. Why won’t Vedant just reject me so I can go?
The next morning, I make the long walk to school, dreading whatever might be facing me there. When I arrive, I see that the contents of my locker and desk have been strewn across the school hallways. As I stoop to pick them up, I notice that no one will meet my eyes.
I see Lynn approaching from the opposite direction, and give her a little wave, hoping she will help me gather my things, but when she sees me waving, she stops and turns in the opposite direction.
It takes me a long time to track down the rest of my things on my own and by the time I’ve finished I am already five minutes late for my first class. I swear under my breath and quickly make my way into the classroom.
I expect the teacher to reprimand me in some way, but she only looks in the other direction as I take my seat and take out my notebook. I am used to being an outcast, but this feels entirely different. It feels as if the whole school has shunned me.
The rest of the day continues in the same fashion. Even the people who love to torment me the most don’t have a word to say to me. I would almost be relieved, if I wasn’t so unsettled by the silent treatment.
Just when I’ve started to think that I might have actually turned invisible, I get a text from Lynn.
Lynn: I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring you all day, but I have no choice.
Chiara: What do you mean? What happened?
Lynn: It’s Vedant. He ordered the entire school to ignore you, even the teachers. Even me. I’m sorry.
I think about how I had been ignored all day, and my stomach drops. One day wasn’t so bad, but what if the shunning never ends. I don’t have any family, and without Lynn I am completely isolated within the pack.
I know Vedant well enough to know that he can hold a grudge. I could spend the rest of my life alone, unable to leave because of my mate bond, but in total isolation from the rest of the pack. I begin to cry.
