Chapter 12
1999 Words
Ariah parts ways with me before lunchtime. We agree to meet up later with Nate and Celeste.
Deciding to use this as an opportunity, I head up a flight of stairs toward the library. I’m hopeful to find the Book of the Divine and figure out the meaning behind my mark. That is, if I don’t get lost in this place.
The sheer size of it is worthy of nightmares. Imagine being late for class and having no clue where you are.
Thankfully, with some luck, when I round the corner, I find the library. There’s a hand-scribbled note stuck to the closed door: Be back in an hour.
I sigh and lean against the wall, contemplating my next move. Without a timestamp on the note, I have no idea when the hour will be up. Going back to my room isn’t appealing since there’s nothing there to keep me occupied. And I would rather avoid the common room too, as I’m not in the mood to deal with another run-in with Valerie.
I can drop by June’s storeroom and see if there is anything useful to personalize my side of the dorm room.
As I stretch and yawn, I hear low voices behind me.
“I told you to leave me alone,” a familiar voice growls, followed by the sound of pounding feet. “I’m not interested.”
Curious, I peek around a book stand stuffed with flyers, spotting none other than Elijah and Valerie arguing. Well, Elijah is arguing; Valerie looks like she’s in heat, fawning over his broad shoulders with her hands and smiling flirtatiously.
Elijah pushes her hands away. “Don’t touch me.”
“Why? Is it because of her?” Valerie presses.
Elijah’s head snaps in my direction, and I quickly duck behind the stand, my heart pounding in my ears. “No,” he bites out. “It has nothing to do with her. It has everything to do with you. I can’t have a relationship with someone who only cares about my status.”
“Oh, come on, Eli. You know my family and status are great for yours. You need me as much as I need you in that department,” she muses. “Besides, we know how to have fun together.”
“I don’t give a crap about status. If you knew me at all, you’d know that.”
“Really?” Valerie pauses, twirling an ashy curl around her index finger. “You, the future alpha, don’t care about status? What will your dad say?”
“I didn’t say I didn’t care about our people,” he snarls. “I just don’t care about you.”
They move toward where I’m hiding, and I dodge to the stairs, hoping they don’t see me in the process.
“It is about her. It has already started, hasn’t it? You’ve imprinted on that new mutt.”
I freeze midway down the stairs, straining my ears. My chest heaves from breathlessness, and I have to work hard to steady my breathing so I can hear his response.
“And so what if I have? You know no one can control that.”
“Wow, really, just like that?” Valerie sounds hurt. “You’re dumping me for her?”
“Valerie,” he says through clenched teeth. “I’ve been trying to get you to leave me alone for months. You know it has nothing to do with her.”
“It’s not what you said last week when I was in your bed.”
My cheeks flush. Okay, this is the part where I decide I’ve eavesdropped enough. I stealthily make my way downstairs and, the moment I reach the bottom, I break into a run straight to my room.
***
“What does it mean to imprint?” I ask, taking a bite out of my warm pizza in the cafeteria. Three sets of eyes swivel in my direction at our lunch table. Nate speaks up first, his cheeks bulging with food.
“You’ve been to the library, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, I read something about that,” I lie, feeling my face heat up. “But I didn’t have much time to look everything up. There was way too much information.”
“Makes sense. There’s still a lot for you to learn. To answer your question—”
“I wish some hottie would imprint on me,” Celeste sighs wistfully. “It’s every girl’s dream. If a guy imprints on you, he’ll do anything for you and protect you with his life.”
“Unlike the sore losers in this place,” Ariah mutters through bites of pizza. “None of them are imprint-worthy.”
“I can think of a few,” Celeste flutters her sooty lashes. “There’s Adam, Vic, Elijah, Cory—”
“Excuse me, I was talking,” Nate quips before turning back to me. “To answer your question, it’s an unbreakable bond that forms between two werewolves. It usually happens when two souls are eternally aligned—”
“What Nate is trying to say is you’re destined to be with this person. You’ll find each other in every life you live. Happy, in love,” Ariah explains.
“Ah, the passion!” Celeste gushes with a wink.
“Though, unfortunately, I think ours got stuck somewhere in the cosmos,” Ariah miffs.
“Or the afterlife,” Celeste laments. “There’s also the possibility the dumbass hasn’t been born yet.”
I bite down on a smile and turn to Nate. “Is it something you can feel when it happens? Does it go both ways?”
He throws an annoyed glance at the other two as he replies, “You both feel it. It’s like when two magnets pull toward each other. It’s pretty powerful.”
“Kind of like when you’re in love?” Not that I know what that feels like to begin with.
“Yes, times a million. I can’t explain it to give it enough justice, but you’ll know if you’ve been imprinted. Trust me.”
I bite my bottom lip, considering whether to tell them what I overheard from Elijah and Valerie’s conversation. Sure, Elijah is swoon-worthy, but I don’t feel the wild attraction they’re talking about. “Does it take time?” I poke further.
Nate’s brows shoot up. “Time? What are you talking about?”
“I mean, the imprint thing. Does it take time to feel it? Or is it instant the second the two people meet each other?”
“Not sure, to be honest. It could differ for everyone,” he motions with a hand. “I can’t testify exactly how it feels since it hasn’t happened to me. I wouldn’t mind, though.”
My heart pounds as I open my mouth. “See, earlier I overheard—”
“Hello, everyone!” My voice dies in my throat as Elijah appears beside our table, a short girl with auburn curls shadowing him. “This is Katie. Another new pup.”
I expel a breath of relief, my cheeks burning fiercer than the deepest depths of hell. Well, what do you know? I almost made a complete fool of myself.
Turns out I’m not the only new mutt—Valerie’s words, not mine—in town.
Katie’s big silver eyes sparkle with excitement as she peers around our table. “Elijah says one of you is new here, too?”
I give her a small wave. “That would be me.”
She extends her hand. “Hi. I’m so glad I’m not the only one.”
I accept her hand and shake it, noticing Nate hiding a smirk behind his palm. “Honestly, I’m glad too. But unfortunately, because of my mark, I stick out like a sore thumb.”
“Worse than a sore thumb,” Nate chirps.
I sputter a laugh. “Yeah, thanks.”
“Are you born into the club or specially hand-picked from the planet of norm?” Celeste inquires.
Katie smiles. “Born and bred.”
“Born and bred?” Nate wiggles his eyebrows. “No offense, but why do they always say ‘born and bred?’ Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around?”
Celeste chokes on her milkshake. “Nate, ‘bred’ as in raised, not the other ‘bred’ you’re thinking of.”
“You mean produced? Made? Formed—”
“Good gracious, Nate, you need to get laid. Your mind is in the gutter.” Ariah stretches her arms over the table.
“Says you, who gushed over certain boys a few seconds ago,” Nate rolls his eyes and offers Katie an apologetic look. “Sorry, we always get carried away.”
Elijah bites back a smile, glancing at Katie. “Told you they’re interesting. And I figured, since the two of you”—he gestures toward me—“are both new, you might relate and adapt a bit easier together.”
“That is so thoughtful of you,” Celeste enthuses.
“Very,” Nate expels a breath.
I roll my eyes. “Thank you.”
Katie doesn’t waste a second, tugging out a chair on the other side of Nate and making herself comfortable. “Is the pizza as good as it looks?”
Nate pushes a plate with two slices to her side. “You can try them. They’re not bad, but I’ve had better than this.”
Katie plucks up a slice and takes a bite, saying something I don’t catch because at that moment, Elijah leans in next to me. “I heard you had a run-in with Valerie?”
Nate says something to the others about food and teachers, and they burst out laughing.
“It was nothing.”
“When it comes to her, it’s never nothing.” He glances at my friends, then back at me. “Look, I’m sorry for whatever she said.”
My lips purse. “I don’t see how it’s your fault.”
“What—” he hesitates. “What exactly did she say to you?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me.”
I shift under his gaze. There’s a certain kind of intensity in it that makes me feel… something. I can’t quite place it. Warmth? Security? I’m not sure.
“Are you okay?” Elijah slides closer. My skin tingles as his arm brushes mine.
I don’t realize I am frowning at him like some i***t until I do. “Sorry, uh, she just complained about standard queen bee stuff. You know, ruling the school and all that dumb kind of crap.”
“Yeah?” I can tell he doesn’t believe me. “If she gives you any more trouble, let me know, okay?”
“Would that make a difference?” I cross my arms, presenting a knowing expression. “She hardly seems like the type to obey anyone.”
“No, she doesn’t,” he admits. “But the guardians don’t take lightly to students harassing each other. She’ll be punished for it.”
“Elijah,” Katie calls out, holding up a small piece of paper. “I think they gave me the wrong schedule. Come look here.”
He offers me a crooked smile before circling his way to her side of the table. When he leans down beside her, I can’t ignore the envious twist inside my stomach. Katie stares at him like he’s a delectable dish. I don’t blame her. He is nice to look at. Really nice to look at.
I pay attention to how they interact, not forgetting the conversation I overheard between him and Valerie. He talks to Katie the same way he talks to me. Nothing special or noteworthy. So who the hell is the new girl he imprinted on?
- Writer
