Page 22 of Starlight Mates

She shakes her head of blonde hair. “I can’t. Sara was right, not even my dad could get between a bond. Ian Castleton is from a wealthy family, and my dad relies on the support of the rich. I’ll have to figure something else out.”

“I’ll help however I can,” I suggest.

She smiles as she grabs her pyjamas from her bedside unit. “I know. You’re a good person. How was your day at the rescue?”

“Good. Sad.” I tell her all about the golden retriever through the door as she gets dressed for bed.

Eventually, she comes out and drops onto her bed. “That’s awful. I hope the pups make it. My dad never let me have pets.”

“Neither did mine. At first, it was because I wasn’t ‘responsible’ enough, and then when I finally was, we were always on the run, so having a dog—” I stop mid-sentence as I realise what I just let slip out.

Her eyes soften. “My dad makes up lies for a living to keep Nexus people calm and happy. The story about you being trapped by Vian never really felt believable to me.”

I search her eyes and realise she isn’t going to say anything to anyone. Annie might end up being the best friend I’ve ever had. “Let’s get some sleep. It’ll be another long day tomorrow, and we can figure something out, even if it means having Sara sleep in here and following her about.”

“Okay.” She yawns. “I’m exhausted after the healers. They take your energy to heal you. How did you miss the arrows, by the way?”

“Dumb luck,” I lie, climbing out of bed. I take my clothes into the bathroom and shower quickly before changing into my pyjamas and cleaning myself up for the night. By the time I’ve come back out, braiding my wet hair, Annie is already fast asleep, snoring. I tuck myself into my bed just as there’s a bump at the door. My Nexus peeks out of my one eye as the handle turns. I slip my hand under my pillow, grabbing my Nex dagger as a huge bear stumbles into our room, kicking the door shut behind him with a brown, furry leg.

My eyes widen as the giant bear grumbles and lies down on the floor in between us, filling the space with only a tiny gap for me to slide out. I can sense who it is, like a sixth sense almost. “Finnegan?” My Nexus is happy that he is here, as this is her favourite mate, which feels wrong because this asshole is the worst of them all. It’s bad enough dreamwalking into his head, but having him sleep in here? Fuck no.

I gently kick his giant shoulder, but he is like a furry rock. The bear grumbles before snoring loud once, and I notice his eyes are not open.

“He’s not awake,” Annie whispers. “Sometimes bears, because we don’t hibernate in deeper sleeps like we do in the wild, end up sleepwalking. To their mate’s is pretty common.”

My heart races. “Is he even allowed to stay here?”

She chuckles. “Are you going to move him? I like you, bestie, but I’m not helping you drag a bear out of here.”

I huff. “Dragging a bear out of the room is your limit for me? Noted.”

She laughs before lying back down and soon falling to sleep. I lie down and look at the gigantic bear that’s buzzing with purple Nexus magic and go to sleep rather peacefully for the first time.

Until my Nexus decides to take over.

Chapter

Eleven

Idon’t wake up in my room. In fact, I wake up on the cliff edge, sitting, looking out at the sea with my hair down and blowing around me. I’m soaked from the drizzling rain, and I know I’ve been out for hours. Maybe all night. As usual, I don’t remember anything. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. My eyes widen as I look down at my hands, which are too clean and smell like bleach. There might not be blood on my fingertips, but I know, without any doubt in my mind, that my Nexus went hunting last night without my permission. What the fuck happened to make it do that? We are usually in agreement.

My Nexus is sleeping, feeling tired and content in my chest. The last thing I remember is going to sleep and Finn was in his bear form, asleep on my floor. Then, nothing. Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap. Alarms start blasting off in the castle, along with a message to gather in the entrance hall. I quickly climb to my feet and turn, blessing the Gods for giving me the luck of having no one else around this early. The sun hasn’t risen yet, only making my heart patter faster as I worry about what the alarm is for.

Did my monster hunt in the castle? Did it kill someone I know? I try to calm myself down, hating that I’m in my pyjamas and nothing else as I slip into the castle and shut the door behindme. My feet are dirty, like I’ve been running through mud, and I can smell my wolf all over me. What did she do?

Thankfully, I’m soon lost in the crowds of rangers, and everyone else is in their pyjamas, so I don’t look out of place. Literally everyone is flooding out of their rooms and into the entrance hall until it’s crammed to the brink. I sense someone staring right at me, even in a packed crowd, and my eyes drift up to find Finn is at the top of the stairs. He is wearing tight black shorts and no shirt. No. Shirt. My mouth completely drops open as I run my eyes down his toned chest and flat, muscular stomach. There are grooves from the top of his hips down, and there is a line of dark hair dipping into his shorts. He has to be the fittest man I’ve ever seen.

My Nexus all but bends over and begs him to take us. Fuck her. Finnegan is a psychopath and hates me. His blue eyes narrow and he storms towards me. Time to hide or leave. I scoot through the crowd to the back, near a wall where there is a door.

Tutor Jettie, followed by Finnegan’s father, Edvard, stops at the top of the stairs. Everyone immediately goes silent as Edvard’s voice rings out. “There was another attack last night by a Vian in the city. I’m sure you’re all hearing about it from your family members, but I want you to know that the castle is perfectly secure and safe.” Nope, it’s not. The monster is right here in the crowds. “No Vian has breached our walls, and no one came in or out last night. We’ve double-checked this, and the magic speaks the same.”

Finnegan’s hand wraps around my upper arm, and I jump. He leans down, his hot breath blowing in my ear. “Where the fuck did you go last night, and how did you get past me?”

I flash him an innocent smile. “I went for a walk. That doesn’t break the rules, does it, Tutor Finnegan?”

He growls, but his father is still speaking, and I turn away from him.

“We’ll be sending our best rangers out into the city to investigate, and there will no doubt be more restrictions put in place by the Supreme Alpha. Your families are safe and none of you have leave to visit them, but for the next hour, you are excused to make phone calls. I know many of you will be worried about your families, but we must trust in the Gods to guide us. All will be well, and we will carry on classes as normal.”

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