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Sage gasps and tugs at my hand but Gabe just turns on his heel and splits, abandoning me as easily as he thinks I did to them.
“Thank you for calling, Sherry. I’ll get this sorted out so you don’t have to look at my weeping Bond any longer.” I freeze, of course things can and have gotten worse, because North has just arrived, looking like a wealthy wet dream in a suit, smiling tightly at the assistant as he breezes through the office.
Backup. As if he’s going to do anything here to help me.
I’m stupid enough to glance into the open doorway and my eyes meet Nox’s, the dark glint of satisfaction there chilling me to the bone. He’s feeling pretty smug about this mess. I want to die.
He’s the tiny sliver of a silver lining.
The only thing around here that is delicate is Nox’s fucking ego.
“Councilman Draven has the same qualifications as his brother and has offered to mark your assignments for the remainder of your classes with Mr Draven.
shame curling in my gut that once again my humiliation has to be a spectator sport.
“Nox isn’t known for his subtlety, you’ve wronged him and he’s going to make sure everyone knows about it. You can’t blame him for assuming you’d do a terrible job, he knows you dropped out of high school on a whim, Fallows.”
Then I get up and start working on my make up assignment. I’ll be damned if I let Nox fucking Draven win.
my time with the Resistance
“I will never let this go, Fallows. How can I, when you’re supposed to be my Bond and instead you’re draping yourself over any other guy on campus? What the fuck went wrong with you that you can act like this?”
I’ve known a lotta bad kids in my time here, you’re not one of ‘em.”
I feel the moment it touches my own Gift, skirting around it respectfully. Felix’s eyes snap to mine. I give him the smallest shake of my head that I can manage and, bless him, he presses his lips together firmly in silent reply.
Fucking typical. Of course it would be Gryphon showing up to mess with my entire freaking day because he’s the Bond that can actually fuck my shit up.
He’s the hardest of them all to face.
You gave her nothing, even after she spooked you. That’s not a normal response.” Right, so this is an interrogation.
“I think you made a mistake and instead of owning up to it and making amends, you’ve doubled down on it. You should have trusted us… whatever happened in that hospital room that made you run away, you should have run to us instead.”
I’ve been meticulous about not letting my Gift slip, not even a small burst of power, so I don’t know if it’s a coincidence that they’re inching in on my location, or if that man has found a way to track me without using my Gift as the beacon.
It’s a sad little story but there’s a few very key things he’s gotten wrong. Most of them I can’t correct without causing a freaking shitstorm,
It feels wrong to even think that way but, God, the aching and the straining every time I end up near one of my Bonds is slowly driving me insane.
Hate North all you want, but he’s keeping you away from a whole lot of shit right now.” Dammit.
“What? What the hell are you looking at?” He grunts at me, shaking his head and muttering under his breath as he jumps head first into the pool, “I fucking hate you.”
“C’mon, Fallows, you’re not that drunk. Give the guy a break.”
“Guess he had to cool down a little. We might need to get you a swimsuit that actually fits your amazing tits.”
“What a rack! Reject, I can see why you’re so popular.”
“What the fuck did you just say to my Bond, Martinez?”
“Just when I thought Gabe couldn’t get any more pathetic, he’s simping after the girl who threw him away. How does that reject pussy taste, Ardern?”
When we get to the house, Gabe scoffs and shakes his head at me, leaning in close to murmur, “You’re too fucking good at lying, Bond. Only a pro knows how to get past Gryphon like that, even North was convinced.”
“You’ve done enough damage that I’m bulletproof now, Fallows.
This is how he’s punishing me for leaving them.
My brain might not be at full function but something does click for me. He Shifted and ran here.
“Twelve Gifted were taken tonight. Three of them were from this building, heading back from a party and taken outside. North said your GPS hadn’t moved but… I had to check for myself.” Fuck.
I’m more open than I would normally be because it’s actually too freaking sweet to think he ran the whole way here just because I didn’t answer my phone,
This is what friendship with me looks like, take it or leave it.”
I lay back against the terrible pillow and attempt to get comfortable but it’s impossible to do with the way he’s just standing there watching me like I’m so fucking interesting here in my shitty room with absolutely nothing personal. Not even a decent set of sheets or a blanket.
he slides down onto the floor, his back pressed against the door and his eyes glowing in the darkness just a little, the only proof that he’s struggling with his Gift at the moment.
“Oli, where the fuck did you get that?” I roll my eyes and then turn my back on him because he’s once again proving to me that they all think they own me and have a right to take away every last one of my freedoms.
There’s silence again and then he mutters quietly, “Fuck, you’re a bitch, Fallows.”
North doesn’t show up at my door to snatch it off of me so I have to assume Gabe kept his mouth shut about it.
Gryphon doesn’t attempt to look over at me, which I already know is thanks to his belief that I’m a worthless brat, so that burns a little.
Maybe my Bonds will back off a little if they know I can defend myself even without a Gift. I doubt it but, hey, here’s hoping.
Gryphon just shakes his head, his eyes still anywhere but me. I hate it so much.
Personal shit aside, you’re still his Bond, and Gryphon Shore is not someone you just decide to piss off on a whim.”
I’m led through the maze of a house into a bedroom somewhere on the second floor and immediately there are women ‘working’ on me, stripping me and working to turn me into the pretty, obedient, and voiceless Bond North wants for the evening.
I’m going to ruin him during this dinner.
North's complete dismissal of me doesn't help a single bit. He doesn’t even have his phone in his hand as an excuse, he just scowls out the window like we’re some old married couple who enjoy nothing more than stilted silence.
I just about jump out of my own skin when North leans down to press a kiss to the top of my head as if I'm some precious person to him and I have to bite my tongue.
When North takes his seat next to me, I slide my hand into his on the table where everybody can see, because if he’s allowed to put on a show then so am I. He doesn't react other than his fingers tensing slightly under my touch,
"Oleander needed some time to find herself. She has a wild streak that none of her Bonds wanted to stifle, though we are glad to have her back with us once again.” His voice is smooth and rich, gesturing at my hair as if the color only proves that I'm a lot to handle and not that I am simply a nineteen-year-old girl with agency and my own sense of personality.
