Page 6 of Venomous Lies
“But he just shut down and ran off. I didn’t have time to explain anything!”
“Incubi must have different ideas when it comes to mates than we do,” Wells replied before clearing his throat and combing a hand through his tousled hair.“May I ask who you mated with?”
“Bones.” I cautiously flicked my gaze over to him. Wellsdidn’t say anything, but he blinked a few times as if he were processing my response.
“A strong mate,” he commented in a rough voice.
“I wasn’t doing well after the rut and after trying to talk to Echo. He found me, and I just... I broke down.” I looked down at the floor and started to fidget with my hands as standing still had started to make me feel antsy. “He took me away from everyone to let me have some time to settle, and then... It just happened.”
“From what I understand, that’s how it works,” Wells replied softly. A hint of some unidentifiable emotion flickered across his face when I looked up over at him, there and gone within milliseconds.
I nodded a few times, my heart and mind at war. What was going on in my life? Cassius was still frustratingly quiet, offering no commentary on this unusual turn of events. He picked the worst times to hold his damnable tongue.
Between the misunderstanding with Echo, Cassius’ silence, and the unexpected mate, I couldn’t hold back anymore. Sobs wracked my body as I crumbled to the floor.
Before I knew it, Wells’ arms were around me. I let go, and he held me together until I was exhausted and out of tears.
Never once did he let go.
“You don’t have any more classes today, right?”
I shook my head, grateful that my Mondays had a light class-load. No way could I handle more today. An afternoon break was what I desperately needed. Honestly, time away from school altogether would be even better, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t like I had a way to just poof myself away.
“I have Divination at six, but there’s a place I found the other day that I think you’d love. Want to come check it out with me? They have a big selection of distinctive and rarevarieties of tea that you might like.” Wells’ voice was coaxing, but that was hardly necessary. The mention of the tea practically guaranteed I would come.
“That sounds perfect,” I answered excitedly before taking another bite of my sandwich.Tea sounds fantastic.
Wells smiled then started in on his gyro. A moment later, we went back to the conversation we’d been having before we noticed Echo.
Hanging out with Wells was so effortless that I was able to push aside the drama with Echo for a bit. He was just so easy to be around, and his passion for classes came through when he talked about the subjects he was excited about. His green eyes would light up, and his hands would begin to move, his gestures growing more and more wild as he got going on about something.
It didn’t take long before we were finishing up our food. A magickal hum filled the air, and Wells’ brow furrowed in silent question as I dug into my laptop bag to pull out the magicked paper from Demir.
“My mom,” I told him as I opened it to see what she had sent me.
She’d sent me a message the night I mated with Bones, but besides a quick response telling her I’d been busy with school, there’d been no opportunity to write her back again. Apparently, her patience had run out.
Unless they are sending us a dead body today, you better be calling soon.
Definitely Mom. Ma would have been way more creative than just saying they’d get a dead body.
I’d have to ask if Demir had given them a paper too or ifthey’d snatched it off of him. Knowing my family, either of those options could be true.
Grabbing my pen, I wrote back that I’d find a way to call them tonight after dinner.
Add that to my list of things to figure out ASAP.
Could I use the internet at the library to message them? Maybe I could ask Hellsing.
“Everything okay?” Wells asked as I put the paper back in my bag.
“Yeah, yeah. Just my moms telling me to check in since I haven’t been able to talk to them since I got here.”
There was a pained look in Wells’ green eyes before it was quickly masked by the grin that spread across his face. “You ready to check out that shop?”
“Yes! Do you think we have time to stop by my room beforehand?” I let him change the subject, knowing he didn’t want to talk about his family. They didn’t like that he’d come here, so I bet they didn’t want to hear from him. No need to have both of us hurting.
“Sure. It’s not too far from here,” he answered after sighing in what looked to be relief.
