Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
He tipped his head. “Fair point.”
“Just because I don’t take it lying down, doesn’t mean I loved it when that bastard destroyed my mom’s letters—forcing me to strike back. Or that I loved showing the world that the man Luame chose as my soulmate is a fucking gay basher!”
Nyx winced. “Daze, easy, I wasn’t criticizing. Although, you make another fair point,” he mumbled. “I actually... like that about you. You don’t back down. You never stop swinging. Of course a shameful coward like me admires you.”
“Really? Oh.” My anger drained out of me, leaving me standing there feeling silly. “Sorry about the gay-basher thing,” I mumbled back. “I know you regret what you did.”
“I do,” Nyx said softly. “I’ve tried calling, texting, emailing, and messaging Patrick to apologize, but he’s blocked me on everything—which was the reasonable response, so I can’t blame him. That’s uh— That’s actually why I sniffed you out and came looking for you. It wasn’t to satisfy my hot-guy kink of scaring the mess out of you.”
I rolled my eyes.
“It’s because I need to go, Daze. I’ve got a lot of groveling and forgiveness to beg for, and that has to start with Patrick.” Seriousness like I’d never heard from him before laced his tone. The vain clown I once knew was gone. “Face to face, I need to tell him how sorry I am.” Nyx laced his fingers through mine. “Will you be okay while I’m gone?”
Heat filled my face. “I—”
“Of course you freaking will,” Edric snapped. “Tell that asshole to fuck off and get lost on the way back. He can get his hands off you too while he’s doing it!”
“Stay out of my head!”
“Daze?”
I tossed my head, pulling out of the argument. “Huh? Oh, yes, I’ll be fine. Why wouldn’t I be fine?” I flushed harder at my high-pitched voice. I was blaming my wolf for that, and no one could stop me.
Nyx smiled knowingly. “I want to say I won’t be gone long, but if I’ve learned anything from you, it’s that I don’t get to decide when I’m forgiven. I’ll stay in Pinewoods as long as it takes to make things right with him.”
“But what if he never forgives you? What if he refuses to let you make amends?”
“There’s that chance,” he admitted, tipping his chin, “but I know another ruthless, vengeful person who swore they’d have nothing to do with me, and I thawed them out big-time—”
If I thought my face was on fire before, it practically melted at his wink.
“—so, I think I’ve got a chance.”
“Do you have to go now?” I glanced back at the double doors. For all I knew, Orion was still on the other side of it—waiting. “Things are getting weird here.”
“I’ll stay if you need me to, but I think we both know what’s really standing in the way of us mating,” he said. “It’s not because you don’t like assholes, or you wouldn’t be with Edric.”
“Fuck you!” Edric snapped in my head.
“It’s because as long as you look at me and see a fucking gay basher, I’ll never be attractive to you.”
My lips parted to deny it... then closed.
Nyx gave me a crooked smile. “My stuff is all packed. Would you mind letting me out, Headmistress?”
“Oh, uh—” I hesitated, but only for a second. Pretty much everyone else knew. No point hiding it from him. “You actually don’t need me to let you out. Turns out the gates also obey my fated mates.”
His brows popped. “Really? Wow. How come no one ever knew?”
“I think it’s because most of the headmasters and headmistresses of the past weren’t mated. Having to live here year-round is a big-time relationship killer.”
“Huh. But that would explain why they did bend the magic to allow fates in,” he mused. “So that Headmaster Dirty could get a little nighttime hot-n-heavy action in the woods.” Nyx suddenly cringed. “Who do you think Dagem’s undercover side-piece was?”
“Satan,” I dropped without hesitation. “Couldn’t be anyone else. He’s one hundred percent her type. Actually, he was her bitch. If anyone dominated that relationship, it was Dagem.”
We looked at each other, and busted up laughing.
“Get rid of him already.”
I cut off my laugh, sending pissed-off thoughts at the invader in my head.
Nyx’s laugh trickled off too. “Anyway, I’d still like you to walk me out, if that’s okay.”
I looked away, nodding at the far wall. “I can do that.”
We were an awkward, silent duo heading through the halls and out onto the lawn. As promised, Nyx’s bags were placed in front of the gates—waiting for their departure. He touched the lock and it gave way, obeying its new commander.
“I’ll come back as soon as I can,” he said as the gates swung closed, parting us with deceptively weak-looking bars. “When I do and you’re hot for me again, I’m going to shower you in so much of that seduction-shit, we’ll lock ourselves in my dorm for a twenty-four-hour sex marathon.”