Page 46 of Mortal Shift
“I hardly ever see you out there, you know,” I said. “In the academy, I mean. Or in the canteen, the common rooms…”
“So?” She sounded almost angry, defensive, and her eyes almost flashed as she cut me a sharp look. “Areyouabout to lecturemeabout being more social?”
“No.” I shook my head sadly, and softened my voice. “I’m saying I know why I’m hiding in here, but I never asked why you do. If you need help, I’m here for you. Ling, are you scared of someone out there?”
“Out there?” She snorted bitterly. “No.”
“O…kay?” I searched her face, but she avoided my eye. Then, with a sharp exhale, she finally met my gaze.
“Me, okay? I’m scared ofme.Of what I am.”
“I don’t understand.”
“No, I wouldn’t expect you to.” She glanced up at the clock on the wall. “You should go or you’re going to miss the canteen.”
“What? No, I’m not hungry. This is more important.”
“I wish I could believe that.”
“So believe it. I’ve never lied to you, and I don’t intend to start now.” This conversation was getting weirder by the moment, and I wasn’t even sure how we’d gotten here, or what I’d done for Ling to think I was such a shitty friend, but clearly I’d donesomething.I just wish I knew what, so I could fix it. “Please, Ling? Just tell me what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing. I’m feeling tired. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”
She wouldn’t meet my eye again.
“Okay,” I said. “And whatever I did to upset you, I’m sorry.”
She swallowed hard and turned back to me, her eyes gleaming with unshed moisture. “You haven’t done anything. None of this is your fault.”
“But you still don’t want to talk about it?”
She clamped her lips together and shook her head.
“Then I’ll be here for you when you’re ready. Whatever you’re going through, you don’t have to go through it alone. I’ll see you soon.”
I left the library, wandering the hallways deep in thought. Ling never really spoke about herself, and now that I thought about it, I really didn’t know the first thing about what she was or where she’d come from. I’d never even seen her hanging out with anyone else—not that the student body had warmed to me enough to spill on one of their own, anyway. So I wasn’t going to be finding out from anyone else round here. Probably for the best. Sniffing around wasn’t going to make Ling any more likely to open up to me about whatever was bothering her.
I mean, it was probably nothing, anyway. Everyone round here was some type of dangerous monster. Except me, of course. I bet fate was laughing its ass off about dumping me in the middle of this place.
Well, fate could suck it. Because Iwasn’tgoing to the Christmas party, but the fact that everyone else was meant one thing: it was the perfect opportunity for me to hop over the wall. One way or another, I was going to check on my mom. Even if it meant walking into the middle of a wolf pack.
What galled me was that I had to come back again, because Cole had made it clear if I wanted her to stay safe, I had to play his game. And much as it pained me to admit it, if he was telling the truth about the facilities his father had access to, then it might just be the best place for her. But if it wasn’t, if she was more prisoner than patient, or if there was even the slightest hint that she wasn’t being treated right, then I was busting her out—pack of wolves or no pack of wolves.
And then we’d disappear, and this whole nightmare would be nothing but a bad memory. Not that I wanted it to come to that, of course. No. No matter what, her health was more important than my desire to be free of this hellhole—and its psychotic occupants.
And worse, its hot ones. Everyone seemed intent on shoving me at Cole at every given opportunity, and hell, I’d probably have been onboard with that if he didn’t act like a total asshole one minute, and the kind of guy I might want to get to know the next. He was giving me whiplash, and the stupid mate bond had me getting all het up every time he was around. Far from developing some sort of immunity to it as I’d hoped, it seemed to be getting worse. It seemed like he was on my mind more often than not recently—right now being case in point.
“Hey, watch where you’re going!” a voice spat as I bounced off a particularly solid chest.
“Sorry, I—” I started automatically, jerking my eyes up. And then I found myself staring at Kallan. Well, just because he and Cole had some sort of stupid rivalry going on didn’t meanIcouldn’t be civil to him, right? I tried for a friendly smile. “My mistake.”
“Yeah, it was your mistake,” he said, and I sensed as much as saw a couple of shifters falling into position at his shoulders. “Because you shouldn’t have come here in the first place.”
Right. What had I been thinking?
“You know what, Kallan? I was trying to be nice. But it’s been a long day, and frankly I’m over the whole ‘humans don’t belong at Darkveil’ thing. So if you don’t have anything novel to say, maybe you and your cronies can step aside and let me get to the dining hall.”
A look of what might have been uncertainty flitted across his face in the flickering light, and then he shrugged.
