Page 13 of Make Me

“Oh my Realm, I totally forgot. Zack, this is my new friend Bethany. Bethany, this is my friend Zack and his new friend Cody, who you apparently already know.”

Bethany chuckled awkwardly and kept her eyes off Cody as she took in the wizard. He had a lean, lanky build that looked a bit uncomfortable folded into the dining room bench. She guessed standing up, he would be taller than her 5’10”, and her lion purred slightly at that. She wrinkled her brow briefly at her lion’s reaction but dismissed it. Zack was cute, for sure, in an adorably awkward way, but she had a mate. Well, she had a something. She couldn’t even say she had a best friend anymore with how Cody had abandoned her this summer. She glanced over at Cody briefly as Zack extended his hand for her to shake. His jaw was clenched. She looked back at Zack. She gave him a friendly smile, and he swallowed audibly.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she purred, ignoring Cody’s grinding of teeth.

A swell of anger rose inside her at his reaction. He didn’t get to be annoyed that she was making friends other than him. Not when he abandoned her all summer. He could fuck right off with that attitude.

Zack’s palm was warm in hers, and her cat rose to her feet when their skin touched. Bethany stifled the purr that threatened to explode from her chest as she shoved her cat deep down inside her. Nope. Her cat had gotten her in enough trouble already, and she didn’t need her expressing interest in anyone else.

Their meals appeared suddenly in front of them. Bethany and Cody jumped in their chairs and Holly and Zack laughed.

“Don’t worry, it happens to everyone the first few times,” Holly assured them. “We got here a few days early.”

“You get used to it, though,” Zack said quickly.

“Magic is so cool,” Cody breathed. “We don’t see a lot of it in the shifter territory.”

Bethany wanted to tease him about his awed tone, but it felt awkward to fall back into old habits like nothing had ever happened that summer.

“So, give us the need-to-know on everyone here.” She changed the subject. “The who’s who.”

As they ate, Holly and Zack filled them in on the important players at the Academy. The Stonemont Triad, who were in their last regular year, were the most powerful players, but they generally kept to themselves. Holly did let slip that Desmond was her cousin, but Bethany couldn’t figure out if they were close or not. The other big players were Vivienne and Brent, both witches and first years as well. Brent was from Zack’s coven, and from Zack’s expression when Holly said his name, she was guessing the Ashcraft heir was a real gem.

When they finished with the who’s who, they moved onto comparing class schedules. Holly and Bethany had one class together, Runes, while Bethany, Cody, and Zack had one class together, Potions. Cody and Bethany had Combat class together, while Zack and Holly had Elemental Magic. She wasn’t thrilled to be sharing two classes with Cody, but at least she had a buffer in one of them. Schedules set, they cleared their plates and then headed out of the dining hall. Holly and Zack had to head to the library to meet with their witch advisor, so Cody and Bethany were left standing awkwardly by themselves.

Bethany turned and exited the dining hall, determined to just ignore Cody as she headed back to her dorm. Except the fates had other plans.

“Bethany, wait!” Cody called from behind her.

She debated not stopping for him, but it was better they got this all out in the open.

She swung to face Cody. “What?” Her voice came out icy, and she hid her wince. Her cat yowled its disapproval at her tone towards her mate, but she had to remind her cat that Cody couldn’t possibly be her mate.

Cody stopped a few feet from her. “You didn’t tell me you were coming here?” He rubbed the back of his neck but couldn’t keep out the bite in his words.

“So? You didn’t tell me you were coming here either. And besides, to be able to tell you would mean you would have to have acknowledged me in the last… I don’t know… six months!”

Cody didn’t respond, just stared at her, clearly fighting an inner battle with his wolf, if his clenched muscles were anything to go by. Bethany was fighting her own battle with her animal, who was demanding she go to Cody.

“You know what?” Bethany said. “This isn’t going to work. I’ll tell Holly I’ll sit somewhere else at meals, and we can just ignore each other in classes.”

She turned to leave, and Cody grabbed her arm. Her cat purred at the contact, but she yanked her arm out of his grasp. His eyes flashed yellow with his wolf, and he held up his hands.

“No, please don’t… my father.” He gasped out the last part, gritting his teeth in pain and squeezing his eyes shut. “Please… I would really like us to sit together,” he said, like he was out of breath. “I know I’ve been a dick, but I’m really glad to see you here. Please.”

It was the last word, a whispered plea, that got her. She missed her best friend. He was the one person who knew her better than anyone in the Realm. Their friendship had been a comforting constant until this year. She should stay away, but she missed him. Bethany knew she was signing up to break her own heart by being this close to him, but if she only got to be around him for these few years at the Academy, the heartbreak would be worth it. But she couldn’t lose sight of the big picture. Her mom’s words echoed in her head. She had to stay focused on learning what she could so she could lead the pride. She had a life waiting for her when she got back. A life that didn’t include Cody.

“Fine,” she said. “But I don’t like you, and I won’t pretend to.”

Instead of rising to the challenge in her words, Cody threw his head back and laughed. She ignored how achingly handsome he was as he did so. “I wouldn’t expect you to, hellcat.”

She rolled her eyes at him and hissed when he tried to throw an arm around her shoulders. She smacked his shoulder. “No touchy.” Her heart wouldn’t be able to take it if he constantly touched her.

Cody held up his hands but stepped into pace beside her as they made their way back to the dorms. Hopefully, she could survive this. She would have to.

CHAPTER SEVEN

BETHANY

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