Page 51 of Untamed

“We could do the DNA test,” Jonah offers.

“Yeah, sure. Fine. Let’s ridicule my parents further by making them prove I’m theirs. I mean, what other choice does a couple of outsiders have?”

“Kinsey....” Jonah turns toward me on the couch.

My eyes fill with unshed tears. I just want to rage at the unfairness of the world.

Ms. Ebon stands. “Miss Walker, why don’t you go to your room and Mr. Livestrong and myself will conclude the meeting?” I get to my feet and turn toward the door. She stops me with a hand to my arm. “I’m very proud of you.”

Her words settle around my heart, but they don’t break through the unjustness currently pressing down on me.

Instead of answering, I make my way out of the meeting area, my footsteps echoing through the empty corridor as I make my way toward the second floor. I walk straight past my own room and knock on Mia’s. She answers a minute later with flushed cheeks. “Um, hey.”

“Hey,” I grumble, walking in. Nathan is sitting on the floor, the tips of his ears red. I feel bad for even having a problem like this when they’re stuck here. “Got any chocolate?”

Mia switches to lifesaving mode, pulling a bunch of bags from her closet. She dumps everything into a bowl and beckons me to the bed. “Spill.”

I tell them everything, even the stuff I’d held back before. They listen and eat, and by the time I’m finished, there’s a mound of empty wrappers in front of each of us.

“Fuck,” Nathan says, shaking his head.

Mia echoes his sentiment. We’re all quiet for the longest time before she says, “I know it’s not what you want to do, and you shouldn’t have to either, but you need to get that test, Kinsey. Everything rests on it. No parent wants to see their child in the Rejected Mate Academy—or worse. If they can help at all, I’m sure they will.”

My heart cracks. I know they would, but that’s not the point. They shouldn’t have to.

I hold my hand out, and she fills it with another peanut butter and chocolate concoction that melts on my tongue. “I know,” I tell them.

Nathan stands and sits next to me on the bed. The three of us line up, our backs to the wall. “I know with everything else going on that Jonah accepting you doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it should be. In the grand scheme of things, isn’t that the most important part?”

I sigh, shame filling me. “I’m sorry.”

Mia bumps her shoulder with mine. “Don’t be. We’re happy for you, aren’t we, Nathan?”

“Yeah,” he whispers, though there’s something off with his voice. “You know, I just remembered I have to catch up on some homework. I’ll see you guys later.”

He stands, leaving with his head down. I frown at his retreating form, and Mia rests her head on my shoulder. “He had a bad meeting with his mate today. It’s not your fault.”

“Maybe you should stop calling them your mates? Maybe Bitch and Asshole would work better?”

“You’re not wrong,” she laments. “I’m going to be stuck here forever. And that’s the good path. The alternative is worse.”

I hug my friend. It’s the only thing I know to do. “I hate everyone today.”

She chuckles, her shoulders moving up and down against my own. “Me too. This is ourhate everyonepity party.”

We toast with another piece of chocolate before deciding to watch a comedy and forget about everything for a while. As curfew approaches, I stand from her bed and thank her for helping me.

She gives me a hug. “Any time, Kinsey. I always knew you didn’t deserve to be here. You’re going to make it out, I know it.”

I squeeze her. “No onedeserves to be in here.”

We let those words sink in, and then I mope back to my room. When I get there, I pull out my cell and find a couple of texts from Jonah asking if I’m okay. I tell him I’m fine, then bring up the group conversation with my parents. I text them that I love them, then sit there with the phone in my hands, my heart catapulting around in my chest. Maybe I don’t want the DNA test because I’m scared of what it will show. Mom and Dad have been acting strangely ever since I got here. My mother freaking out and telling me not to befriend anyone; my father being cryptic. I’m missing something, and that scares the shit out of me.

Maybe my parents haven’t ended the rumors with a test before because they knew it would make my situation worse.

The thought curdles my stomach and makes me hate myself at the same time. My mom and dad love each other. That much is abundantly clear. They’re true fated mates.

I groan. This is ridiculous. All these confusing thoughts are coming up because my pack put them in my head. If I go with what I always believed—in the special connection I feel between my parents—thenI knowI’m theirs.

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