Chapter 44

The next morning, another note was slipped under my door. It was written in normal Valentin script with the time, ten at night, underlined twice. I frowned at it.

He usually wanted to meet in the morning, before Basics. This was at night firstly and secondly, not on the day of Basics. Something about the double underline as well seemed urgent and forced. I shoved it with my other notes and went about my day.

The day was fairly normal. A couple scoffs, a couple sneers. A few dirty looks. All in a day’s work at Alpha Academy. After dinner, Loren and I hung out in the library for a bit, doing our homework together. The clock struck quarter to ten and I slunk out of the library, hoping to go unnoticed. I pulled up my hoodie and padded across campus to the gym.

When I arrived, I gave Valentin a wave before turning into the locker room to change into my sparring gear. He called my name as I was half a foot in and I stopped. I pulled my hoodie down and looked at him across the gym.

“You won’t need to change tonight,” he said. He looked solemn and his hair was not the usual shiny brown. It looked stringy. His eyes had deep bags under them. He looked a bit of a mess, if I was being honest.

I walked across the gym. Valentin huffed a sigh as I approached running his hand through his hair. His eyes were darting around erratically.

“Are you okay?” I said, slowly approaching him.

He sighed again. It looked like there was a war going on in his brain. “I’m fine,” he huffed.

"Okay,” I drew the word out long. “Why are we meeting in the night? Usually, we get my extra sparring hours in the morning. Before Basics.”

Valentin shook his head sharply. “We aren’t sparring tonight,” he voice was low and pained. His eyes were cast towards the floor. I took another tentative step towards him, my heartbeat went into my throat.

“Valentin,” I said, gently. “What’s going on?”

“I had us meet later today,” he started. “Because I’ve heard rumors across campus that people think we’re having an affair.”

I snorted and crossed my arms over my chest. “You’re letting rumors get to you?”

Valentin jerked his head towards me. His lips were set in a thin line. His pupils pulsed on top of his white-gold eyes.

“I’m the Headmaster of this school,” he said, sharply. “Of course they are. I can’t let this threaten my integrity.”

“They’re rumors,” I threw back, dropping my arms at my sides. “That’s it. There’s no truth to them.”

Valentin turned his face back to look at the floor. I watched his eyes darting all over the place. He seemed to be fighting himself in his head.

“There could be,” he finally whispered.

My heart did a half a skip. Was he finally acknowledging the bond between us? The insurmountable lust and longing that circled us like a dark cloud every time we were together? I let me jaw fall slightly open, still staring at where Valentin was arguing in his own head.

“I’ve done a lot of horrible things in my time,” Valenti snapped. “I’ve killed. I’ve murdered. I’ve forsaken the Gods above to cause chaos and malice across the earth. I’ve lost my humanity for years. I am a shell of the person I was before the war. My hope and joy was lost to the vampires the moment we decided to fight back.”

I couldn’t bring myself to speak. Valentin’s jaw clenched as he continued to look at the floor. “But you, Zora,” he continued, voice switching to be soft. “You are kind and innocent and filled with the sort of light I could never have achieved. You have a wonder about you that someone will cherish and love and find all good in. You don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve—”

He finally lifted his head to look me in the eyes. He didn’t continue his sentence, but I couldn’t tell what he meant.

Him. He thought I didn’t deserve him.

“I don’t give a damn what you did,” I said, voice shaky. “You’ve showed me a kindness no one else has. You’ve helped me in a world I was completely lost in.”

“And I will hurt you so much that you will be lost yet again,” he held my eyes as he said it. It was firm. Definitive. There was nothing left to argue. He’d made his choice. And it wasn’t me or our bond. Valentin lifted his chin before he spoke again.

“I am to wed Isabella of Wolfamn when she graduates her final year at the Academy,” he said, sharp and precise. “Her marriage will be beneficial to the Lunerly name. She will be an excellent wife of the headmaster.”

He almost seemed to be explaining it to himself, to be justifying what he was saying as true. I felt a similar pang in my chest to when Thorne broke our mate bond. It wasn’t as intense, but it felt just as crushing. My hand went to my chest as I gasped.

Valentin’s eyes went wide. He took a half step forwards then stopped immediately. I noticed his hand shaking at his side. I took a step back, feeling a fire start to lick my insides. I plunged into my head searching for my wolf.

I found her snarling at the back of my mind. Then, there was a horrific pain shooting down my spine. I cried out and keeled over. My wolf snapped her jaws and I let my mouth fall open. I found myself speaking, but the words coming out of my mouth weren’t mine.

“A wolf must not be denied her mate!” I yelled. My voice seemed to radiate through the gym. My wolf was surging through my bones and pulsing in my head.

What are you doing?! I begged her. He’s not our mate! Thorne was our mate and he rejected our bond, remember?!

“He rejected what was not his to have,” I gritted. I was shook with the force in which my wolf was using. I had no control over my body, writhing on the floor and speaking in a growl from between my teeth.

“We are not to be rejected! We are inevitable!” I spit out. My back cracked and swayed across the gym floor. My body was lost to myself. I was possessed by my wolf. She tossed my head back and seemed to project her last statement to the gym.

“We are the Hier to the Luna Throne. We are a High Alpha!”

“I am the High Alpha!” Valentin snapped at her. “You have not yet ascent the throne! I hold rank above you and demand you step down.”

“Traitor!” my voice exploded from my throat. “Political spawn in the game of the wolves—”

“STEP DOWN!” Valentin yelled at me.

His eyes flashed red for a moment, boring into mine as my wolf twisted and turned my bones. With one final snarl of disapproval, she retreated deep within my mind. I collapsed on the floor in a pile. My wolf’s voice was gone and I was eerily alone within the confines of my mind for the first time in my life.

I pushed myself up to my hands and knees, panting as I tried to catch my breath. My throat felt raw. I clawed at it with my hands to try and scratch the burning itch under my skin. I looked at Valentin in a plea for help. He stared back at me, empty and cold. He turned on his heel and faced away from me.

“Go,” he whispered.

“Valentin—” I choked out.

“GO!” he roared. “Do not use my common name anymore! I am your professor and you should address me as such!”

I scrambled to my feet and ran for the door. My limbs felt number as I left the gym, door slamming behind me. I ran towards the forest. Once I was under cover, I collapsed again and let the sobs shake my body in utter disappointment and heat break.