"HOW THE HECK we missed it?" Tressie says. "We can sense our Alkas only after we ascend, but werewolves can sense their mates anytime since they turn eighteen. How the fuck did we miss that?"
"I shouldn't have gone," I say, applying the ointment on the bruise spanned across my lower back. Shit didn't feel painful when he was touching. Now I want to kill him. Couldn't he have held me gently? Not that I don't wish he hadn't held me at all.
"At least this confirms he's Riva's Alka," Jo says.
"What use is that?" I tell her. "I still don't know what kind of curse this is."
"You'll get there," Jo assures me.
I spend another week in agony on my quest for the right curse. By now I've learned so many of them that I might as well crossover to the dark side. My favorite curse to use would be the one that forces a person to sing till they pass out, or die.
At night, I visit the nearby supermarket to grab some pasta and corn for my midnight snack. As if foraging for a curse is not enough, the exams have started too. I forgot how that thing called sleep even feels anymore. With a large crinkly white plastic full of groceries I depart the fluorescent store through the darkness to my apartment.
At the front door, I see Hayden, clad in a black t-shirt and a pair of navy jeans, leaning against wall. The mere sight of him makes me question the purpose of my life. But I don't have the time to ponder yet.
Instinct directs me to look around first before scurrying over to the door and open it. "Get in, quick," I urgently whisper. He gets in on his own pace.
After I silently close the door behind, keeping an eye out till the very end for any eyewitness, I raise my voice. "What's wrong with you? You will get me k— What the hell are you doing here in front of my apartment?!"
And why do you look so hot even at this time of the night? Ugh. Focus, brain.
"I know you witches think everyone but you are stupid, but news flash: we are not. I was careful. No one saw me."
"Okay, smart guy," I say, moving away from his view to the door. "I guess then you also know your way out then."
He glares at me.
"Where you are now," I tell him, "this is not one of your damn territories. Do you know what can happen to you if you're caught?"
I'm probably asking this more to myself than him. If I could, I would never want him out of my sight. But if we're caught together, I'm scared I'll never get to see him again.
He opens his mouth but I cut him. "I don't think you do. Otherwise, you wouldn't be standing here in the first place."
"I know we're not in one of my territories, otherwise you wouldn't dare to talk to me like this," he angrily says.
I shake my head. This boy has no clue what he's getting us into. I take a deep breath. "Why the hell are you here?"
His jaws clench.
I don't have the least bit of inclination to be polite to Hayden at the moment. If he doesn't like my attitude, I'm not holding him back from storming out, and I wish he would do just that.
He says, "I wouldn't be fucking standing here, if you hadn't come to my school that day, or at least had let me talk to you before you ran away!"
"There's nothing to talk about."
He throws up his hands. "Wow, I didn't realize you're so fucking difficult to even talk to," he says, and looks away and mumbles, "I don't know what I was thinking that day."
My palms clamp over my crossed arms. So he regrets kissing me? This werewolf is showing his true colors after all.
He pushes back his hair. "Well, this at least clears up that I don't want to be your mate, and you don't want to be mine. Right?"
My fingers digging into my arms is painful. But I wish it was even more hurting, so I could smother out the other pain. "Right."
"From what I heard, you have not yet ascended, so I'm guessing you can't feel the bond like I can. Which is great for you. But as you know, I'm not that lucky. I can't just fucking pretend I don't have a mate even if I want to. The past week has be— Never mind, have you thought about what to do with our... bond?" he says.
"I'm looking for a way to break it."
Suddenly, my back is against the wall, with his hand grabbing my hair, and his mouth bearing his fangs.
Scared, I squeal, "Hayden, please don't hurt me."
He steps back, blinking, like he couldn't believe what he just did. "I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just— I—"
Feeling dizzy from being displaced so abruptly, I slide down to sit on the floor.
He kneels down quickly. "Shit, Riva, you okay? Does it hurt?"
Now that he mentions it, my head does hurts where he grabbed it. I wince.
"Let me," he says and gently massages the area. His hand is warm. The pain alleviates, and the tension in my body loosens up.
"I'm sorry. I'm a fucking idiot. It's just," he says, and touches my forehead with his, and softly says, "I've never held anything as fragile as you. I forgot my strength could hurt you. I'm sorry."
I meet his eyes. And as mine well up, I look away before the first tear comes out.
"Don't," he says. "I will never hurt you."
I get up and wipe my tears away. "You need to leave."
"Riva, pl—"
"You can't be here! You need to leave! Please!"
"Okay," he says, "I'll go. But we've to talk. You can't just pretend like I don't exist."
I slip my hand into my coat's pocket and pull out my phone. After creating a new contact, I hand over it to him to fill his number.
He gives a missed call to his number before returning my phone. "Don't do anything to our bond without letting me know, like br— you know. Just, let's not be rash," he says.
"Even if I want to I can't. I can't even figure out why a werewolf is my Alka."
He looks confused for a second before realizing witches and wizards' soulmates are called Alkas. He nods. "It's strange, isn't it?"
"That's one way to put it. Anyway, I'm trying to find out why this happened. As soon I find anything, I'll let you know. I won't do anything to our bond by myself. But, you, please, don't drop by my home like this. We could get in serious trouble."
"Alright, I won't. But... we have to meet from time to time, right?"
"I told you I'll call you when I find something."
"Yeah, but till then how— Leave it! I'll call you if I find something, too."
I watch him from the window till he becomes a shadow I can't trace in the darkness outside, and look around to confirm no one saw him leave.
I touch the back of my head where he rubbed. There's still a faint remnant of pain, along with a faint sensation of pleasure.
