Page 114 of Love Bites

BELLA

Istomped away through the labyrinth, nearly shaking with fury.

How dare he trick me into sleeping in a cave just to get an extra night? How dare he pretend my plans didn’t matter?

He kept sayingour kind. Well, his kind was chauvinistic and horrible.

But his hands, oh, his hands and that hard, hot body…

But I was determined not to let my desires run away with me, especially since I knew they were mostly due to whatever spell he had me under with the whole mate bond thing.

That was hardly fair.

I walked faster, focusing my eyes on the path ahead as the upper floors of the castle came into sight.

The lights were already on in the turret and several other rooms, though by the sun’s progress, it had to be very, very early in the morning.

As I stepped out of the labyrinth and into the courtyard, I was surprised to see Anya running toward me.

“Oh, Bella, thank God,” she cried. “We have to get to the library, hurry!”

“What’s going on?” I asked, allowing her to grab my hand, and jogging alongside her.

“There was a break-in last night,” she said.

“A break-in?”

“Someone tried to break into the library,” she panted. “It sounds like it was a sloppy job, since they tripped the wards. And…”

“And what?” I asked.

“There were muddy paw prints all around the window.”

I thought back to last night, to Luke and his wolf form.

He was with me all night.

At least, I thought he was. But I also knew that he was only one guardian. There had to be more out there.

“Some of the students are whispering about the guardians,” Anya said, as if reading my thoughts. “But you were with yours all night, right?”

“Of course,” I said without hesitation.

“Well, I’m glad I came out here,” she panted. “The others assumed you would stay with him. Very few come back after the first night.”

I chose not to answer her. My heart already felt like it was stretching thinner with every inch I ran from him. But I still intended to refuse the bond with Luke.

“Why are we running?” I asked.

“We’re recasting the wards,” she told me as we reached the end of the courtyard and the doors to the school. “Resetting them to be more secure than before.”

“I don’t know anything about setting wards,” I told her. “I don’t think I’ll be much help.”

“No, that’s not it,” she said. “Only people who are part of the circle when the wards are set will be able to come in and out of the library from now on. Anyone who is not part of the ward-setting circle won’t be able to access the library at all.”

My heart pounded as we climbed the stairs and headed down the east hall to where the library must be.

I had been that close to missing out on my chance to study healing. I felt a begrudging gratitude to Luke for waking me up so early. Obviously, the faculty hadn’t felt it was worth waiting for me since I was only going to be someone’s mate.

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