Page 10 of Mortal Shift
A flicker passed over Zane’s face that most definitely was not from the ambient lighting. “That… would not be wise.”
“Why, because he might actually understand?”
“Because she has precious little patience for your kind, and only accepted you here under the council’s duress.”
“Excellent. In that case,sheis definitely someone I want to see.” This was an improvement. She didn’t want me here, and I didn’t want to be here. That made us allies.
“Not excellent, Ms. Ellis,” Zane corrected me. “Because she would prefer to prove the council wrong in their assumption that a human can survive at Darkveil.”
“Wait.” A chill crept down my spine. “You mean… You don’t mean… She wouldn’t attempt to hurt me, right?”
“Herself?” Zane seemed to consider. “Unlikely. I suspect she would be less direct than that. But make no mistake, she has a vested interest in you not surviving your tenure here.”
“Great. Just great.” I tossed my bag on the floor and folded my arms across my chest, which earned me a chuckle from one of the spectators, and I immediately regretted my display of emotion. “Is there anyone here who doesn’t want to kill me?”
“Your fated mate.”
“Right.” I rolled my eyes. “Wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
Not if his reaction last night was anything to go by. He couldn’t get rid of me fast enough, even warning his friends not to tell anyone about me, so I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to be thrilled to find me hanging out in his academy. Which was fine, because I wasn’t actually planning on sticking around. I needed to find out what was going on with my mom, and as far as I was concerned, that was far more important than some sort of bullshit soul mate who didn’t even want me around.
“Come,” Zane said abruptly, sending a glare at the trio that had them turning and sauntering away, though not before eyeballing me one last time. “You’ve attracted enough attention. Let’s get you to your room.”
I picked up my bag and trailed after him as he led me through several hallways, each progressively better lit than the one we’d arrived in, and then we pushed through a large door with a faintly glowing wolf seemingly seared into the wood. Weird. I didn’t get time to ponder it, though, because Zane strode off ahead, glancing at door numbers as he went.
“Jax said something yesterday,” I began, because it seemed like Zane was my best chance of getting answers, and it had been niggling at me. “About my name being Cali.”
“Ah, yes,” Zane said. “I suppose you wouldn’t know, would you? Fated mates almost always share the same first initial.”
I frowned at his back. “I’m here because my first name starts with the same letter as his?”
“No, Ms. Ellis, you’re here because your Cole’s fated mate. That you happen to share an initial just proves the impossible. This one’s yours,” he said, stopping near a door at the far end and thrusting a sheet of paper into my hand. “Your schedule. Try not to lose it. Classes begin tomorrow, and I’m sure your roommate will show you to the dining hall.”
“Roommate?” I said, but I was talking to thin air. He’d literally disappeared between one blink and the next. Just great.
I heaved a sigh, and pushed my way into the room, pausing only long enough to shut the door behind me. A low whistle slipped from my lips as I looked around. The room was far bigger than my own room, and lit with a large window set into the far wall. A thick rug covered the cobbled floor, and there were two single beds pressed up against opposite walls.
And that was where my appreciation ended… because reclining on the second bed, watching me with a derisive expression pasted on his too-perfect face, was Cole.
“Oh, hell no,” I said, snatching up my bag again. “This is not going to happen. I need a new room.”
“Good luck with that,” Cole said, sitting up, manspread all over the bed as his dark eyes roved over my body. He blinked sharply, and jerked his gaze back to my face. “You don’t get to choose your own room round here.”
His tone suggested he’d already tried, and failed.
“No-one told me Darkveil was co-ed rooms.” Or that it existed until about ten minutes ago, but that was so not the point.
“It is if you’re fated mates.”
“Fated mates.” I swallowed, caught my eyes roaming over his broad chest, and forced them back to his face. “Right.”
“Don’t go getting any ideas, princess. Just because we’re mates doesn’t mean I want you here, or that I like you. You’re an inconvenience I could do without, and your existence has already caused enough of a smear on my reputation.”
“Well, excuse me for existing. Trust me, I didn’t ask to be your mate, and I’d much rather be back in my own life. Why do you even have mates if it’s such a bad thing?”
He sneered. “You really don’t have the first idea, do you? A fated mate is the most sacred connection my kind can form. And the fact I’ve been saddled with you—some mewling human—makes a mockery of it.”
“Xenophobic, much?” I tossed my bag on the foot of my bed—because it was that, or throw it at Cole’s head. “And I’m getting pretty sick of this whole ‘human’ crap. What are you, if you’re not a human?”
