Page 109 of The Stone Initiation
“Tell him, I won’t be calling him again. Tell him…it’s for the best.”
I hurried down the stairs and out of the door into the fresh air.
Fuck mate bonds.
Fuck feeling like shit.
I was done with it.
It was time to focus on me and my goals. It was time to learn how to kick some gargoyle ass.
* * *
The forest closedin around me as I ran, faster and faster, until I hit the clearing. There I stopped, threw back my head and screamed at the almost full moon. Once. Twice. A third time, until the pressure in my chest was gone. I blinked back tears of disappointment because what did I really have to be disappointed about? No promises were made, in fact, the situation had been made crystal clear from the start.
I’d broken Levi’s heart, and now Serath had bruised mine.
Karma sucked.
It was time to do the smart thing and listen to my head not my heart or the primal instinct that raged at me to go find him. To claim him.
Those voices would be put on mute. They had to be. For my sanity and for his.
The little game we had started would stop now.
Back in my room I took the phone and shoved it into the depths of the wardrobe, along with the crimson slip he’d given me.
I stripped off my clothes that reeked of his room and jumped into a scalding shower. I’d missed classes, and I had some catching up to do, but I had friends who’d help me.
I may have lost Levi and Serath, but I had plenty more to hold on to here. And those were the things I’d focus on.
I dressed, grabbed my keys, and headed out in search of my friends.
* * *
The next day passed uneventfully,and I even succeeded in not thinking about Serath all afternoon, but as I jogged to my meeting with Selas, he was all Icouldthink about. Probably because I was headed to meet his team member. An elite. And the association made it hard for me to block out thoughts of him.
I’d have to work on that.
Selas was in the middle of a kata when I got there. I stopped at the edge of the clearing not wanting to interrupt her flow.
She moved like silk, easy, light, and fluid, and she was going to teach me. Getting one-on-one time with an elite like this was an advantage I wasn’t about to squander.
She finished up and turned to me. “You’re on time. Good. I value punctuality.”
“Same.” I joined her in the clearing. “And I appreciate you giving me your time.”
She smiled. “Good, then let’s not waste it. I’ve seen you move, Cameron. You’re fast and you’re light on your feet, and I’m sure you can hold your own against a human, vampire, or shifter. Your file said you were a hunter?”
“I was. Yes.”
“You’re no beginner when it comes to combat. I’m not going to insult you with teaching you the basic moves. What Icangive you is an insight into gargoyle combat, the blind spots and the weaknesses that will help you in training against much larger opponents. But before working on those moves you need to learn to connect fully with your gargoyle.”
“I am connected.”
“Are you? Can you feel her now, simmering beneath your skin?”
Simmering? “No. She comes out when I need her.”
