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North chuckles under his breath and pulls my hand under the table so our joined hands rest on his thigh. The woman's eyes follow the movement and I see the flinch. Oh my God. Oh my fucking God, this is another one of his ex-lovers here to mess with me because she’s pissed that I’m his Bond. She’s sitting there snarking bullshit at me not because I left my Bond, but because she’s pissed that I've come back and now she has to compete with me.
Something as simple as finding out that my Bond has been having it off with one of our dinner guests is enough to change my plans of presenting a united front. North can sense the change in me immediately,
His fingers squeeze mine again and I tug them out of his grasp.
how the fuck does he know that I prefer fish and seafood over anything if given the option?
"Does it even matter what I say to you? It's not like you will believe me anyway."
one of his hands splays out on my bare stomach underneath my thin nightshirt. His palm is warm but it becomes scalding hot as his power flows through his skin and into mine. The pain stops. I start to cry all over again.
“Leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. This pain is nothing compared to that.”
I fall asleep easier and more deeply than I have in years.
everything I’ve done is to keep you safe.”
The glare on his face gets darker and when I step towards the door, he doesn’t move away. I’ll have to brush against his body to get past him but as I move to do so, his arms shoot out and grab me. My breath leaks out of my lungs. Too close. He’s too close and I’m too close to breaking the fuck down. He stares into my eyes for a second before pulling a credit card out of his pocket and slipping it into mine. “That’s yours. You’ll use it for anything you need from now on. Order in food, pills, a new fucking bed, I don’t care. Just use it.”
I pull my arm out of his grasp and take another step towards the door, but he clearly has no intention of letting me go. He grabs me again, spinning until he can pin me against it with his body. A gasp rips its way out of my throat and he leans down, his eyes still hot with that intense heat of his, and he whispers, “Say it and mean it. There’s nothing worse than a liar.”
“North will never risk losing you again. I don’t think he will ever let you find a job, but if you ask him directly, I’ll side with you.”
"I really appreciate-" "Are you going to try running off again?"
Gryphon's hands tighten so hard that the leather of the steering wheel creaks. "Did you want your Bonds? Back then?" I blink back the tears that always come when I think about that time. "More than anything, that's what I wanted." He nods. "And now? Do you want your Bonds now?"
"There's no point in answering it. I can't have these Bonds. You all hate me, and I know it's too dangerous to try. I'm better off alone."
Gabe questions why Gryphon was driving me into the campus but I brush him off easily, still mad that he had a hand in getting me to the Council dinner shit show with North.
How the hell is it my fault you had a shitty time? If interacting with girls your Bonds have fucked is enough to ruin your day, I have some bad fucking news for you.”
I’d get this all of the time if I was allowed to Bond with him. This moment I think it, I hate myself because my bond starts immediately straining towards him, desperate to have him.
There’s a sharp knock at the door that startles Gryphon awake. He bolts out of the bed, instantly on high alert, and he pulls a gun that I had no freaking clue was in the room out of his boot as he takes the two steps over to the door.
Gryphon nudges me out of the way, his keys in his hands as he scowls around at the entire hallway full of gaping girls. “What’s there to explain? You’re my Bond.”
Not that there’s anything wrong with us hooking up, but I’ve been so adamant about hating them that this feels like I’ve suddenly just bent over for him because he asked.
A week later, I’ve almost forgotten what my bed feels like without Gryphon in it. He’s much more discreet about his stays in it, always coming in after I’ve fallen asleep and leaving before I wake up in the morning, but there’s always little signs that he’s been here.
I wish he’d stay to wake up with me, just once, but I also know how dangerous that is because he’s chipping away at my resolve to keep them all at arm’s length.
The Gryphon comments burn a little more these days.
The hoodie is one of Gryphon’s, the one he wore here last night, and I tell myself I’m only wearing it because it’s cold out and not because I’ve become addicted to the smell of him.
I find my breath knocked out of my chest instead. The photo Atlas sent me of himself did not do him justice at all.
Hot-freaking-damn! His arms are covered in tattoos that creep up his neck to tuck under his chin and my eyes follow them up obediently. It's only when I get to his face that I see the cheeky grin plastered across there at my swooning and I blush.
"Yeah, I'm going to fix that for the both of us pretty soon. North may be on the Council on this side of the country, but my family controls the Council on the East Coast. If he is going to a be a dick about this, then I'm taking you home with me and they can fucking rot here for all I care."
"Sweetness, I don't give a fuck what North Draven wants. If he gets in my way or upsets you, I'll royally fuck him up." Ok, now I'm definitely swooning.
He doesn't look pissed off at me for pulling back, instead he holds out a hand and threads his fingers through mine.
the smile on his face directed at the girl poking her head out of the room next to mine. It slides right off when he sees Atlas standing there, holding my hand and my bag.
Atlas squeezes my hand gently and leans in close to whisper in my ear, "Lock your door, Sweetness." I side-eye him, he totally did not have to get that close to me to say that,
A snarl rips out of Gabe and I fight my instinct to spin around to face him, trusting Atlas to watch my exposed back against my Shifter Bond.
Gabe's eyes start to glow and I suck in a deep breath. Who the hell do I call if he loses it?
“You wanna go slow, then we’re going slow. Take my hand, Bond.” Deep breath. And then I take his hand.
Eating lunch is usually my favorite part of the day, but being jammed between Atlas and Gabe, with Sage and Sawyer dying of laughter at their vicious jabs at one another, kind of ruins it for me.
our relaxed familiarity pisses Gabe off. He then shadows us both, scowling and snapping at us whenever Atlas leans in to me or makes me laugh with his easy-going humor.
but Atlas hadn’t commented, just accepted the boundaries I was putting in place like this is all going exactly the way he expected it to.
Kieran finally figures out that Atlas isn’t just a grinning, arrogant kid. He’s a Gifted making threats.
Atlas smirks and shrugs. “I have an exemption, Shore. I can’t turn mine off, it’s a part of me.
Atlas slips his hand into mine on the table, threading our fingers together where everyone can see. I think it has more to do with claiming me than showing me any sort of affection.
“Oh yeah? Well, unlike you, I'm not afraid to tell the others to fuck off and keep my Bond to myself. I don't care what's happened in the past, that shit is over with. She's mine, and you've chosen for her to not be yours."
Gabe is an anomaly because I think he’s both desperate to bridge the gap between us, but also completely unwilling to let go of the damage my supposed abandonment did to him.
I have nothing, no money, no job. The education I'm getting is just to keep me under their thumbs and not to actually help me find a job I want. I'm freaking powerless and it sucks.
You're coming with me now and I'll deal with the Council if they have questions. You're my Bond, I'll take care of you."
“Come on, Sweetness, let’s get the fuck outta this shithole.”
"It's fine, I don't mind sharing. I mean, we're Bonds, right? We have to get used to it sometime."
"What, like a cam-girl? I guess I could get my tits out. Do you think I have a voice for sex work?" I’m joking, there's no way I'd ever have the confidence to do that kind of thing, but the glare Atlas shoots me is kind of awesome. I haven't had any sort of possessive actions from any of my Bonds like this so having him care about my tits... is pretty great. "Over my dead fucking body, Fallows.
"I'm playing to win, Oli. This is one hand I refuse to lose."
There’s an ache in my chest over the thought of him showing up to my dorm room tonight to find it empty so I flick him a quick text to tell him where I am instead. I already know he won’t answer, but at least I’ve tried.
