Chapter 18: Chapter 18

~ ROWAN

I’d hoped that not bringing her here would prove better for my sanity, but I was wrong because with each passing second, I only thought about her more.

The mating bond was the cruelest form of torture. It didn’t make me instantly like her which would have made it easier, but it made me crave her.

I smelled her scent in my dreams, heard her voice in my mind when things went silent. She was like a plague, taking up every inch of my life until it felt like I was about to burst from the inside.

I pummeled the punching bag harder, forcing out every thought of Nyssa and her ridiculous perfection out of my mind—

A loud crash filled the air as the bag broke off the hinges and flew into the opposing wall.

“You really showed the punching bag who’s boss,” Aria drawled, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the wall.

I ignored my sister and tore off the wrapping from my hands.

My knuckles were bruised and bloody, but I ignored it. Part of being a lycan was healing quickly. They would be as good as new in a few hours.

“What do you want, Aria?” I asked once I’d retrieved the bag from where it fell.

It was of no use anymore. I’d torn through the fabric and the sand poured all over the floor beneath my feet.

“I thought it would please you to know that the guards are settling in nicely. They have been giving me updates regarding the pack. Henry is being an ass as usual.”

I snorted. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“They haven’t been attacked since we sent them, but they did notice some rogues getting too close to the territory. They don’t think it’s a coincidence that they are being attacked and not the other packs. It’s something they’re looking into.”

“Is that all?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

I hadn’t asked the guards to brief me directly because I didn’t want to risk hearing anything about Nyssa. I thought that by keeping her away, it would make this easier, but it didn’t. I was starved for any piece of information about her that I found myself going over her file in the office at random times.

“If you want to know something, Rowan, all you have to do is ask,” she teased, pushing off the wall. “Especially if it has anything to do with a particular brown hair and blue eyed girl.”

“Fuck you,” I spat at the eager expression on her face.

I was met with a howl of laughter that echoed through the gym and followed me even as I ascended the stairs.

No one enjoyed this more than Aria.

She wasn’t sold on the idea of me being mated to Nyssa, but she loved to see me suffer. I couldn’t tell if it was a little sister thing or if she was just a demon spawn.

“Sorry!” she yelled, rushing after me. “It’s just funny is all. Surely even you can see the humor in this situation.”

Unfortunately, I could, and that was what made it all the more frustrating.

I’d spent my entire life avoiding romantic relationships of any sort. I’d always assumed that if I were to mate, it would strictly be for politics. I had no time for women unless it involved temporary pleasure in which case they never heard back from me again.

If there was anyone in the world who was the least deserving of a mate… it was me, and yet I was the one the goddess chose to bless… or curse, depending on how you looked at it.

“They haven’t seen her.” Aria’s words caused me to stop in my tracks. “She greeted them when they arrived, but she hasn’t been seen since. You didn’t come for her like you said you would and the pack has taken it upon themselves to talk about it. She’s probably embarrassed.”

Just as I’d expected.

Hopefully this would be enough to keep her from ever thinking about us as something that would work.

“Rowan, I really think you should reconsider the-”

Whatever else she said fell on deaf ears because the air shifted immediately and a rush of adrenaline went down my spine.

I’d spent half my life in battle. I’d trained with the best and been in the scariest situations possible, but I’d never felt something like that before.

For a moment, everything ceased to exist and hot fire spread down my spine and towards my torso. The pain knocked me off my feet for a minute. I had to grab onto the wall just to keep standing.

“Rowan!” Aria screamed, her voice laced with worry. “Are you alright? Did something happen?”

I gritted my teeth, trying to will the sensation to pass, but it didn’t. If anything, it grew more intense.

I could hear my sister screaming out in worry, but I couldn’t unlock my jaw enough to speak for fear that what would come out would be a sound of pain.

“What the fuck is going on?” I hissed to my lycan. “Where is the pain?”

“It’s not coming from us,” he managed out.”

Somehow, I knew immediately where it was coming from.

I’d only heard stories about the shared consciousness. I’d never seen it manifest in real life.

Even in those stories, it only worked between couples who had been mated for a long time; whose bonds had withstood every test possible. It hadn’t even been a week since I first met her, but there was no other plausible explanation.

“Tell the guards to find her,” I hissed out to Aria. “Scour the entire fucking pack if they need to.”

“Find who? What are you saying?”

“Nyssa!” I ground out. “She’s hurt and she’s fucking dying. They need to find her, now!”

She nodded, grabbing her phone before awareness flickered in her eyes. She stopped and turned to me. “Where are you going?”

“To fucking find her myself!”

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