“You want him?”
I dumped my head into my upturned palms. “Yes, but it’s just the bond which drives him, not a desire for me.”
“This is all my fault.” She rubbed her forehead on my shoulder. “I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have put you in this position.”
“No, it’s not your fault, it’s Donaldo Wincrest’s. He’s the one who’s about to make the biggest mistake ever.”
“Hey.” She tugged on my wrist until I lifted my head and looked at her. “I’ve got your back. We stick together. I’ll speak to Guy if you want.”
The door to the classroom bumped open and Mrs. Gray tottered in, arms full.
“No, it’s better if I deal with him.”
She tweaked my chin. “Then cheer up. We’ll talk more about this at lunchtime and see if we can gain some more ground on my problem. That way you won’t have to see your warrior anymore.”
“Yeah, once I fix your problem, it’ll fix my own.” I straightened as the teacher walked toward me. She was one of my favorite teachers, a kindly older woman, with her salt-and-pepper hair short, straight and styled up higher over her forehead. “Hey, Mrs. Gray.”
“Silvie, you missed an important class yesterday.” She passed me a stapled set of papers. “With finals so close, I went over some of our previous English exam papers. That one’s for you, but it’ll have to be homework. Hand it in as quick as you can. Tomorrow would be best.”
I slumped onto my desk. Great. I had extra homework, training for a skill I had yet to control, the girls’ problem to sort and one very frustrating mate. What a super start to my day.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
Faith prodded my arm with her elbow.
“I forgot to bring lunch.” Ankles crossed, I stared at the yellow leaves of the big tree we’d chosen to lie under at the rear of the school field. Bright, dappled rays beamed through the foliage and washed over us. “There wouldn’t have been time with all the bickering between Guy and Zayn anyway.”
“You want some of mine?” she mumbled as she took a bite of her ham and cheese sandwich.
I flicked the crumbs off her violet spaghetti strap top, a shirt strikingly similar to one I had. In fact, so were the frayed denim shorts she wore. “Have you been borrowing my clothes again?”
“Yep, but I found these in Hope’s wardrobe. She must have borrowed them from you, and now I’ve borrowed them from her. You’ll get them back eventually. Here.” She grasped her bag and slung it over. “I’ve got a donut left over from yesterday’s lunch. You know, it’s been ages since you made me rocky road.”
“It was like last week.” I pulled her lunch box out and nabbed the donut, one of the round ones with yellow icing. “So, what should I do about Guy?”
“You need to stop kissing him, and double the marshmallows next time in the rocky road.”
“You are so insightful, but he’s the one kissing me. You got anything else, oh-so-wise-one?”
“I really like it when you double the nuts too.” She smiled as she sat up. “I know. What if you ’path me whenever he turns up? I’ll be your go-between.”
“I can’t keep interrupting you every time I need supervision. I’m not a five-year-old.”
“Of course you can. Hold still.” She launched to her feet and grabbed a rugby ball before it hit us. She tossed it back to the guys who’d come out to play a game. “Oh, there’s Belle. Davio must have thought I needed our empath today.”
Belle skipped past the tech building in her skinny white jeans and a pale pink t-shirt. She adjusted her school bag over her shoulder and waved.
“Faith, why don’t we bring Belle into the fold? Like me, she’ll understand your problem. I could certainly use the help.”
“Hmm.” She scrunched up her face as she did when in deep thought. “You might be right. I’ll run that scenario.” Her violet eyes glazed as she focused. “Belle’s for peace, not war. I don’t see her spilling to Davio or Silas.”
“You don’t see me spilling what?” Belle plopped onto the ground beside us. “What are you two conspiring to do this time?”
Faith wriggled around on her bottom. “Get ready, because this news is a little nasty, Belle.”
During the telling of Faith’s forewarning, Belle’s face went white. “That’s horrendous. Wincrest can’t be allowed to do that, and slayers? They’re the worst of their warriors.” Her gaze jolted to mine. “Who else knows about this?”
“Hope and Guy. That’s why Guy’s still sticking around. Faith’s seen I need his aid on this, and he agreed to help me.”
“No, he’s helping because of more than that. I’m an empath, remember?”
“If he feels more, it’s only because of the bond.”
“Yeah, but the bond is also too important to simply toss aside. Deep down, he must recognize it. I certainly wish my mate had the guts to come for me.” She shoved her long dark locks over her shoulder.