Page 27 of Mortal Shift
“The fuck you are.”
“Look, no-one wants me here,Idon’t even want me here, and I have responsibilities to get back to in the real world.”
“Darkveil Academy is the real world.”
“For you, maybe. Not for me. So either help me, or get out of my way.”
I made to barge past him and he snagged my wrist, yanking me back to him with a painful jerk that traveled up my shoulder. I tried to tug my arm from his grip but he just gripped tighter.
“When are you going to grow up and think about someone other than yourself?”
“Excuse me?” I glared at him, stunned by his gall. Iwasthinking about someone else.
“Bad enough that I’m stuck with a human as my mate, which has just derailed my entire fucking future. If you get kicked out of the academy, my family’s name will be mud. And if you run away?” He exhaled an angry snort. “My family has ruled the country’s packs for a dozen generations. It’s my destiny and my duty to take my place as next in line and I willnotlet you fuck that up.”
“That’s why people keep bowing their heads to you,” I realized. “And why they all followed your lead last night, despite you being a first year.”
And an asshole, I added mentally, but maybe being an asshole was a plus round here.
“Yes,” he said simply.
“Great. Well, bully for you. Enjoy your throne, your highness.” I sketched a mocking bow, my wrist still caught in his grip. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a wall to scale.”
He jerked me back to him before I made it one step.
“Let go of me!”
“I’ll fucking tether you to myself if I have to. Didn’t you just hear a word I said? Your actions reflect on me and my family. What the hell is out there that’s more important than my entire pack’s future?”
“Myfamily,” I snapped. “My mother is locked in some shitty mental hospital, so excuse me if I don’t give a shit about her wellbeing messing with your right to rule.”
“You think getting yourself killed is going to help her?”
“Killed?” My throat went dry.
“Darkveil isn’t an academy, princess, it’s a proving ground. A place for every supernatural in the country to prove they deserve their powers. And if you show anyone here the slightest weakness, they’ll take us both down. It’ll be bloody and it’ll be messy, and no-one will think twice about it. You know what the graduation rate at Darkveil is?”
I shook my head mutely.
“Less than fifty percent. Except people don’t flunk out round here, they get buried. So unless you want to be one of them, I suggest you get your head in the game. Because I will not let you drag me down with you.”
“All the more reason for me to leave,” I said stubbornly. “I’m not sticking around here for some vampire to suck me dry, or for some fae asshole to tell me to jump off a cliff for his amusement. And I’m sorry if that messes with your family’s name, but frankly, I care a damn sight more aboutmyfamily.”
Cole whirled on his heel and started marching down the track, dragging me behind him. I dug my heels into the dirt and leaned back against his grip, trying to pry his fingers loose with my other hand.
“Get off!”
“No,” he snarled, dragging me along. “My father is trying to find a way to sever this link between us, but until he does that, your actions reflect on my whole pack, so you’re going to damn well learn to heel.”
“He can… he can do that?” I asked, hope warring with a pang of disappointment that I ruthlessly crushed. I didn’t belong here. I didn’t want to be here. And I sure as hell didn’t want to be Cole’s mate. So why was my stomach churning at the thought of it?
Cole raked his free hand through his hair. “Maybe. There’s never been a case like this before.”
“Because shifters don’t imprint on humans?” I said, recalling his words. I stopped trying to free myself—because all I was doing was clawing a hole in my own wrist, anyway—and fell into step beside him.
“Yes.” He shot a sideways glance at me. “What’s different about you?”
I snorted. “Hell if I know.”
