Chapter 47
Viviane
Walking down the halls at school used to fill me with anxiety, now it fills me with confusion. Everyone turns their head to watch as I pass by, whispering to each other and gawking at the future Luna.
Gods, is that really what I am?
I never imagined I would be anyone important – mermaids aren’t allowed to have prominent roles in shifter society, we’re barely even allowed to exist. I don’t think I fully comprehended how being Caspian’s mate would change my life. I knew he would one day be Alpha and I would have to stand by his side, but I thought that would be far in the future.
I had no idea how quickly everything would change. When I stopped wearing my sunglasses people started to notice me, especially the guys. However Caspian had already scent marked me so none of them approached me – but people are approaching me now.
Those who aren’t gossiping and staring at me like I’m some sort of zoo animal seem determined to befriend me. Yesterday Kiera helped buffer all my new would-be friends, fearlessly telling them to skive off when they didn’t take my hints. Unfortunately she’s running late this morning, so I’m braving the crowds alone.
Madison Smithers is walking towards me, and I try to straighten my spine. The last time we spoke she ended up getting harshly dressed down by a very angry Alpha, and she’s done nothing but glare at me since. She also happens to be sleeping with my best friend’s mate, which almost makes me angrier than her bullying.
At first I think she’s simply going to pass by, maybe knock into my shoulder along the way, but then she moves directly in front of me, blocking my path. A big, fake smile stretches across her face, “Hey Viviane, what’s up?”
“What’s up?” I repeat, stunned. I can barely wrap my mind around her strange behavior, and I’m so baffled I blurt out the first thing that pops into my head. “Madison, why are you talking to me?”
She laughs as if I’ve told some delightful joke. “Why wouldn’t I silly?”
“Because you hate me?” I suggest bluntly.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Madison playfully swats my shoulder, “you know all that nonsense with Courtney and Nerissa was just a little hazing, right? Everyone does it – it’s like a right of passage.”
Hazing? Stripping me, locking me half naked in a classroom, calling me a mutant and freak, and trying to expose my identity to the most powerful man in the pack? Some right of passage. “That’s not what it felt like to me.”
“Come on, Viv.” Madison exclaims. “I want us to be friends!”
“Madison we aren’t friends, and we’re not going to be.” I reply coolly, “Let’s be honest, the only reason you’re standing here right now is because you realized you miscalculated when you came after me. You’re trying to do damage control now that I’m somebody important, but it’s not going to work.” I don’t know where these strong words are coming from. It’s almost like Caspian transferred some of his courage to me when he marked me.
Madison’s smile melts away, replaced by a sneer. “Oh, so you think you’re a big deal now that Caspian has claimed you? You think spreading your legs for the Alpha makes you special?”
“Of course not.” I deny, “I’m the same person I was last week, which is why I know you’re full of it.”
“You don’t fool me, Viviane Belle.” She drawls snidely. “You’re not any better than the rest of us. Don’t forget I know what you are.”
Righteous anger seethes in my blood. I’m tired of being told I’m worthless, I’m sick of feeling lesser than simply because of my DNA. How is it fair that shifters can hunt my kind to extinction when we’ve done nothing but try to live our lives? Caspian showed me that not all wolves are like the pearl reapers and traffickers who made my life such hell, but Madison undoubtedly is.
I refuse to be weak any longer. I refuse to let this petty girl walk all over me, and I absolutely refuse to feel ashamed of what I am. Sidling closer to Madison, I drop my voice to a husky whisper. “So does your alpha.” I tell Madison, relishing the way her eyes widen in surprise. “And he still claimed me.”
“You’re lying.” She stammers, seeming unsure of herself.
“Am I?” I arch my brow, feeling more empowered than I have in my entire life. “Why don’t you ask Nerissa what comes of spreading such ugly rumors? Why don’t you ask her what happened when she tried to “help” Caspian see the truth?”
The color drains from Madison’s face and before she can say another word, I push past her, stalking away with my head held high.
Kiera
Late. Late. Late! I think frantically as I rush down the street.
After sleeping straight through my alarm, I didn’t even have time to eat breakfast before running out of the house. I’ve always struggled with getting up in the morning, which means I’m chronically late to school. If I get one more tardy slip I’m going to be stuck in afternoon detention, which is the last place I want to end up.
Detention isn’t that big of a deal when it comes to your permanent record, but it's absolutely miserable. Half the room gets filled with Asterion’s incurable delinquents – bullies and troublemakers who consider the punishment some sort of social hour – and the rest is taken up by class clowns, slackers and the punctually-challenged like me. However the detention monitor, Mr Higgins, treats everyone like downright criminals, no matter why they’re there.
It’s a painfully long saga of the foulest chores Mr. Higgins can come up with – scraping gum off the bottoms of the lunch tables, washing all the crusty old gym uniforms, scrubbing toilets and locker rooms – and you can’t leave until all the work is done.
I’d much rather spend my afternoon liaising around with Viviane, assuming Caspian will let her out of bed long enough for us to actually hang out. I know mates can’t keep their hands off each other at the beginning of their relationships, heck they barely have any restraint even when they’ve been together for years, but I swear those two are excessive. Although I have to admit, if Chase wanted to make love to me all day and night, I wouldn’t ever try to leave either.
The school is in sight now, as I step into the crosswalk I hurriedly pull out my phone to check the time. Two minutes, I have two minutes to get across the street and – the sound of screeching brakes and an urgent honk jerks my head up from my phone, just in time to see the truck barreling towards me at top speed.
Chase
Nightshade academy starts classes half an hour later than Asterion High, so Caspian and I are still hanging out on the front lawn when Kiera comes racing around the corner. My wolf scented her before she appeared, remembering the elusive perfume from Viviane’s suite in the Pack House.
He immediately perked up when she came into sight, and I became so distracted watching the beautiful lynx I stopped listening to Caspian completely. It’s a good thing I was so preoccupied with her, because I saw her step into the street against the light. I saw her staring at her phone instead of checking for cars, and I saw the truck hurtling straight into her path.
I’m running before I can offer a word of explanation to my friend, dashing towards Kiera as fast as I can. It all happens in seconds, but I’ve never felt such savage fear. The thought of anything happening to the little cat shifter – who I’ve hardly said two words to in the past – fills me with such agony that I can hardly comprehend it.
There’s only a few meters between Kiera and the truck now, and the driver was going too fast to stop in time. The thoughtless girl is about to run right in front of him, and she still hasn’t looked up. The deafening screech of his horn finally calls her attention, and she jerks her head up, eyes wide with terror.
She doesn’t even have time to scream. I slam into her a second before the truck would have flattened her, knocking her out of the way and wrapping my body around her small form to protect her from the fall.
My t-shirt does nothing to shield my limbs as we roll to a stop on the hard asphalt, and burning pain rakes over my skin. However the stinging road rash is the least of my concerns. My breath is coming in gasps as I unravel my arms from the feline bundle, finding her head tucked and her muscles tensed up like she’s still bracing for death.
My eyes dart over her body, checking for injuries. I clock a few ugly scrapes on her bare legs, but otherwise she seems unharmed. Sighing in relief, I drop my head back onto the road, lowering my arms again and holding her tight.
After a moment Kiera hesitantly looks up, still trembling with fear. The moment our eyes meet, understanding clicks. Suddenly I know why the thought of losing her filled me with such dread, why I find her scent so distracting.
“Gods,” I breathe in astonishment, “you’re my mate.”
