Page 43 of Forsaken

I carefully peel off the bandage, and my lip curls up at the angry red line down my leg. It’s crooked and sloppy and stings like a bitch under the shower spray.

Despite that, I stay under the showerhead for a long time, letting the dirt run away. I clean my body again and again, stopping myself before I go in for a fourth round. It feels as if I need to undo the events of the last eight hours or so: Sean kidnapping me, making me into some magical experiment; poor Robbie being so desperate he thought his only option would be to run away. Even though death likely awaited him while he was all by himself, it’ll be worse now. He’ll get publicly humiliated, then cast out, then die a slow death away from the rest of his pack.

When I’m finished, I dress myself in the Greystone Academy uniform again. No doubt the security staff are going to be in and out all day, so we’ll want to act like we’re sticking to their rules. I throw on a little makeup and decide to let my hair dry naturally. All in all, when I’m done, I feel more myself. The effects of the drugs seem to finally be out of my system, and the thought of sleeping from now to eternity doesn’t consume me.

Just as I finish, a ring comes from downstairs that sounds mysteriously like an old-school telephone. I stride toward the door and pull it open right as Trish calls out from below, “Mia! Phone for you!”

Surprise ricochets through me. The only person I can imagine it will be is one of the security guys forgetting that he wanted to ask me another question. I grab the Band-Aids I found in the bathroom drawer and head downstairs.

Trish grins, offering me the receiver. “It’s your mate.”

I glare at the phone. He has balls to be calling me right now. I grip the island as it dawns on me that we’re stuck in here, so there’s no way Nathan or I can go looking for my phone to see if we even have a good recording of what happened.

As I take the black receiver and hold it to my ear, a trickle of awareness tells me Nathan is nearby. “Hello?”

“Mia.”

“Sean,” I state, letting my anger seep into my voice.

“Are you okay?”

“Really? We’re going to play that game?”

The line is silent for a moment. “I just wanted to know if that wolf hurt you.”

“The way I saw it, they saved me.”

I tap my foot as I wait to see what he comes out with next. His response surprises me. “We’re eating dinner at your parents’ house tonight. I’ve arranged it with them.”

I blink. “Excuse me, what?”

“You’re only allowed off alpha grounds with your mate or a chaperone. After they brought Ventura back kicking and screaming, you wouldn’t want anyone to think you were disobeying your mate, would you?”

My fingers curl into my palms, turning sharp as my wolf threatens to come out, and I know I’ve pierced skin. What Nathan and I didn’t want to happen is now happening. I’ll have to be alone with Sean. Inside, I sense my wolf raising her head like she’s not about to bow down to a fight. He got her with the drugs before, but we can safely say we’re not going to take anything he gives us again. “What time should I be ready?”

“Oh, about an hour.”

I open my mouth to agree, but he’s already hung up the phone. I strangle the life out of the receiver before calmly placing it back on the base and then take deep breaths before allowing myself to turn and face the other two. Nathan is so attuned to me that I’m sure he knows something is wrong, but Trish should know nothing. “So, here’s some news.” I cross my arms over my chest. “We’re allowed to leave with our mates or with a chaperone. That’s it.”

“So, you’re going somewhere with Sean?”

I don’t look at Nathan while I answer. “Before this, we had plans for dinner at my parents’ place. I guess I can still go.”

She pouts. “I wonder how long this will last. Who knows if my mate will even want to see me? He probably thinks I’ll bail like Robbie.” Luckily, she lets out an exasperated breath and runs up the stairs. With just Nathan and me, we don’t have to pretend.

“If her mate was worth anything, he would contact her before she does what Robbie did,” I mutter.

Nathan still hasn’t said a word, so I slowly move my gaze to him. He has a death grip on the stool pulled up to the island. It’s the same chair Sean sat in yesterday.

I lower my voice. “He said if I didn’t want to be seen as another Robbie, I had to go.”

The chair groans under his attention. There’s so much pressure on the wood that it might snap. “He has us by the balls. You couldn’t say no.”

I want to call him out for the balls remark, but as a metaphor, he’s right. I’m stuck. “At least it’s at my parents’ house,” I offer. “They’re upset, but they wouldn’t let anything happen to me.” I think.

Well, I guess I’ll find out, anyway.

“I need to get you a phone,” Nathan rumbles. “You can’t go there with zero way of communicating with me if you need it.”

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