Sara’s POV
I stare at him, speechless for a moment. As he smiles at me, his eyes, soft brown and framed by long dark lashes, glint in the late evening sunlight. A soft breeze blows wisps of his dark hair, loosely wavy and semi-long, across his face. His very handsome face.
I blink.
Where did this guy come from? I mean…how did I not notice someone like him on campus before? He is not the kind of face I would forget…that anyone would forget.
He looks like the kind of guy who would have gossip of his good looks aflutter everywhere he went. The kind of guy who would have females tripping all over themselves trying to get his attention.
But then again, I’ve been quite preoccupied with other matters since I got here. First, with all the she-wolves who were out to get me thanks to Kai, and second, my three roommates-cum-mates sent from hell.
Three mates…
A gasp escapes my lips as something registers. He…he is not another one, is he? “Why did you help me?” I ask, taking a step back.
His smile disappears, and his left eyebrow dips in a small frown. “Because you needed my help?” He frames it like a question, as if my query was unexpected.
“I didn’t scream or anything,” I say, “how did you find me?”
If he is my mate too, he must have felt my distress through our connection, and that’s how he found me. Otherwise, it makes no sense…
“I saw him drag you up here,” he replies.
I halt my line of thought. “What?”
“You didn’t look too willing, so I thought I would check to see whether you needed help.”
“Oh.”
He nods. “Take care,” he says, and then turns to open the door.
“Wait!” I call and approach him. “Thank you.”
He nods and saying nothing, reaches for the door handle.
“I’m Sara, what’s your name?”
“Nathaniel,” he replies.
“I owe you one,” I say.
“No you” he pauses mid-sentence, frowns towards the door, then grabs my arm and takes me with him as he moves several steps away from the door.
Barely a second later, the door flings open and Christian rushes through. His face is stormy, and when his eyes zero in on us, he advances threateningly. “Let go of her this second, if you know what’s good for you.”
“What are you doing here?” I demand, moving to stand between him and Nathaniel.
His eyes move from Nathaniel to me, and the furious look on his face falters. “I…I thought you needed help. Who is he? Is he bothering you?”
Where was he all this time? It’s been minutes since I was in distress. If he felt it, why didn’t he come to my aid then?
“I’m good,” I tell him in a clipped tone, “I don’t need your help.”
He frowns. “But I felt”
“Well, you are too late,” I snap. I thought I was over the fact that none of them showed up to help me. That I was done relying on them, hoping, expecting their help. And, in truth, they don’t owe me anything. So why am I angry at him?
“Sorry,” he says, “we…I was distracted. I should have come right away.”
I blink, not believing Christian is apologising to me. Christian, who in his default setting is an ice prince who barely says anything, let alone kind things, to anyone?
And then it occurs to me. He must be feeling like he owes me something because of last night. I helped him when he was in trouble, and he thinks he has to return the favour.
Before I can assure him that I don’t expect him to come to my aid, his eyes fixate on Nathaniel’s hand on my arm. The regretful look on his face is replaced by a blank one. This one I’m familiar with. When his blue eyes rise to me, they have turned icy. “Let’s go.”
“I have plans with my friend here,” I say, lifting my face to Nathaniel.
He gives me a bewildered look, but doesn’t dispute my claim.
“Friend?” Christian questions, his voice tense and clipped.
“Yes,” I confirm. “You can get back to whatever you were busy with.”
He narrows his eyes at me, and I hold his gaze, not cowered by his cold look. What is he going to do? Drag me with him?
“Suit yourself,” he says, then turns around and disappears through the door.
I almost cannot believe he left without a fight.
“Christian Rivers?” Nathaniel asks beside me, his voice full of amusement and curiosity. “What’s going on between you and him?”
I pull my arm from his grip and shake my head. “Nothing.”
“Really? For a moment there, I thought he was going to snap my neck.”
“He always looks like he wants to snap someone’s neck,” I say dismissively. “Hey, so, would you like to get a drink? My treat.”
He hesitates, then smiles and shakes his head slightly. “Another day, maybe. I’ve got to get to class.”
“Oh, okay,” I say.
As he walks through the door, I wonder whether I’ll see him around. Do we share any classes? What pack is he from? What if he gets in trouble with Eddie because of today? Something tells me I don’t need to worry about him, that he can handle himself.
I leave the rooftop and head to the dorm, where I clean my scraped arms and knees from when Eddie threw me to the floor. I find a bottle of sleeping pills in the bathroom and take two. I have three more classes today, but I don’t plan on attending any of them. I don’t want to risk running into Eddie again.
About my roommates, I’ve made up my mind. When they all get back in the evening, I’ll tell the truth about our mate bonds. They can do with that information what they wish. All I know is that I’m done dealing with their nasty tempers.
Feeling much better now that I’ve decided what to do, I go to my room and lay on the bed.
I’m woken up hours later by a crashing sound coming from somewhere in the dorm. By the light coming through the window, I can tell it’s still daytime. A glance at my phone reveals it’s almost four o’clock. I’ve been sleeping for almost six hours.
I don’t hear anything else as I get out of bed and approach the door. Is it one of the guys?
I open my door slowly and peek into the living room through the small gap. I don’t see anyone at first. And then, when I’m almost convinced I must have imagined the sound, a groan disturbs the silence.
The sound draws my attention to one of the couches in the living room. I head over and find Christian lying on the sofa, on his stomach.
A gasp escapes my lips when I catch sight of his back.
Starting from where the arrow had pierced his skin yesterday, a web of purple veiny marks spread all over his back.
He turns his head towards me. His brow is knotted in pain and covered in sweat. “Are you gonna help or not?” he snaps, his words coming through clenched teeth.
I wring my hands together. “How…what should I do?”
Where are the others? They should know what to do. What’s happening with him, anyway? Wasn’t he supposed to have healed from this already?
“Painkillers. Bathroom.”
I hesitate for a second. Painkillers? They might fix the pain, but what about the poison?
Deciding he would know better, I rush into the bathroom and get the bottle of painkillers. After that, I get a glass of water in the kitchen, where I find a broken bowl on the floor. That must be what caused the sound that woke me up.
I get back to him and he takes the pills before laying back down on the sofa.
“Anything else?” I ask, putting the pills and glass away.
He shakes his head.
“But…I think the poison is spreading on your back,” I point out. Maybe he doesn’t know how bad it looks.
“Leave,” he grits out.
Leave? Is this any time to be an insufferable jerk?
“I’ll go get Kai or Levi,” I say.
He stops me with a hand on my wrist. “Don’t.”
“Should I take a picture of your back so you can see how bad it is?”
His eyes narrow at me. “What do you care? It’s none of your business.”
You know what? He is right.
“Suit yourself,” I say. When I attempt to pull my wrist from his hold, he refuses to let go. I have a retort ready on my lips when he pushes off the couch and sits up.
“Since you are so concerned,” he says, “I can show you how to make me feel better.”
He tugs me forward by my wrist, and I don’t have enough time to offer resistance as I tumble onto his lap.
“What are you”
My words get lost between our lips as he smashes his against mine.