“What do you care if he has—”
“Silvie, are you all right?” Zayn took a sip of his orange juice. “If you need a hand to control your warrior, let me know.”
“I’m good.” I grabbed Guy’s hand and hauled him to his feet. “This impossible warrior wants to know the location of my school. Could you lead the way?”
“Sure. You’ve only got a couple of minutes until the bell. See if you can keep up, Moyer.” He stood and zipped away.
Guy ’ported in his wake, and through the dark we traveled. We arrived in a flurry behind a large tree on the perimeter of the school field.
Shoot. They could have traveled a little slower. I clutched my belly as it rolled. “Okay, thanks for that breakneck trip, boys.”
“No problem.” Zayn eyed me. “I’ll catch you for training as we discussed. Hopefully by then, you’ll be minus the tag-on.”
“The sneaky—” Guy heaved past me, grabbing at Zayn, only he’d ’ported and all Guy got was thin air.
“Okay, you need to chill. You two managed to behave all right in each other’s company yesterday.”
“Barely, and that’s before I knew of his intentions.” He gripped my hands and pressed my palms flat on this chest. “I won’t have you relying on him, in any way, shape or form.”
“What are you doing?” I stared at where the heavy beat of his heart pounded against my flesh. No way. Surely he wasn’t— My hands heated and my pulse jumped. It vaulted a second time then beat steadily in time with his. Hell no. He’d aligned our heartbeats as our mated men did in order to strengthen the bond. If I was ever in any distress he’d know, because our hearts would beat in sync. “How could you?”
“It was my choice.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Don’t fear the change.” His grip tightened. “This way I can come in an instant should you need me.”
“Aligning our hearts goes deeper than that.”
“It’s done, and it can’t be reversed.”
“No, what you’ve done will only add to your frustration, and mine. In the future you’ll feel—” Heck, he’d feel every acceleration in my heartbeat, because it would be mirrored within his. So not good.
He dipped his head to mine. “I know what I’ll feel, but it’s worth it to know I’ve seen to your safety. You can wield fire, and as your ability grows and you move through your rising, you’ll feel three times its strength. I can’t allow you to go through that alone.”
“I’m never alone, and my rising could be days or even weeks away. The girls’ problem might be solved by then, and us, apart.”
“That’s irrelevant. You are my mate, and if you ever need me, whether now or at any time in the future, I’ll be there.”
“Argh.” I thumped my forehead against his chest. “You’re completely irrational.”
“Yes, it comes with being mated, or so I’m discovering.” He tipped up my chin and his mouth came down on mine. He took my breath away in a scorching kiss then pulled away. “I’ll speak to you later.”
“If I speak to you at all, it’ll be to give you a blasting.” I shoved my shaky hands behind my back. “You’d better leave now before I strangle you.”
His gaze searched mine. “You’ll ’path me if you need me?”
“No.” The last thing I’d ever do was ’path him. I stormed away.
“Then it’s just as well I did what I did.”
“Sure it was.” Huh, men. I crossed the field toward the path leading to the front of the school. Boy, I needed to calm down. I couldn’t let him get to me like this. I inhaled then let out a long breath, hoping it would help. Certainly, the sooner I came up with the answer to the girls’ problem and kicked my mate out of my life, the better.
I flicked my hair over my shoulder and marched on. Some students walked in groups, nattering to each other. Others raced ahead to the locker bays. For five years, I’d attended Te Puke High. I had so many friends here, although Faith was the only one who knew of Magio. I passed blocks of two-story high weatherboard-clad classrooms, and eager to get out of their shadow and into the warmth, picked up my already speedy pace. I’d never tried to get to class this quickly.
Inside my locker, I foraged and found the books I needed. The bell pealed loud and clear, and I followed the other students into class. Faith sat at the back, sitting stiffly with a worried look on her face.
She rose and snapped out a blue-gray metal school chair. “What was that all about?”
“You mean on the field?”
“Hell, yes. I wanted to check on you. You and Guy surely know how to…argue.”
“What did I say about checking on me, Miss Nosy?” With my elbows on the desk, I plopped forward. “Argh, what am I going to do with him? He stayed in my bed last night.”
She gasped and covered her mouth.
“Nothing happened. It was a platonic sleepover. He turned up, and then just didn’t leave. Now those feelings I told you about are harassing me big time. I can’t feel this way about him.”