Page 9 of Bear It All
“You can’t be that dense. You’re supposed to be a fucking alpha, but you can’t even control the pack of heathens you call friends, especially your girlfriend. Since I stepped foot on campus, you put a target on my back for Bianca and her mongrels. She’s draped over you all the time, staring daggers at me, then goes out of her way to corner me whenever I’m alone. Bianca loves to tell me how useless and ugly I am, to warn me away from you. I doeverythingI canto avoid BOTH of you, and the one time I’m alone and enjoying myself, you two have to come along and ruin it.” He opened his mouth, ready to respond, but I wasn’t done.
“I’m minding my own business, taking a swim, and your bitch and her cronies track me down to take my shit. As if that wasn’t enough, she went ahead and posted naked pictures of me on the internet. Then, you get to show up as a hero, give me a dumb T-shirt like that’s going to make up for the fact that the entire school will now know me as the Bartholomew beluga.” He looked shocked, his brows drawn together in anger and color filling his cheeks. In a mocking voice, I continued.
“Mikhail, the big bad alpha.” I snorted. “It’s all bullshit. You’re a joke. Stay away from me, and fucking keep your ho on a leash. I’m done with these juvenile games. Make no mistake, I can and will make both your lives hell if you keep coming after me.”
“Freya, wait. I wasn’t a part of this. I’ll talk to Bianca. I’ll fix this.”
“Shut up. Just stop talking. Nothing you say matters. You are only seeing this from your perspective. I. Don’t. Want. You. I don’t want a part ofanyof this. I want to be left alone. Do you really care about my happiness? Then forget I exist, and make sure your friends do as well. Then again, with friends like yours, who needs enemies?” I sneered, thinking of Annika and Balor, who had joined in on Bianca’s torment more than once.
I saw him getting ready to speak and lifted my hand to shush him, but my powers were swirling inside of me. As if an extension of my arm, the wind swept past me before stopping in front of Mikhail, trapping him behind an invisible wall.
“This is goodbye, Mikhail. Remember what I said. Forget about me,” I told him, watching as he tried to push through the barrier holding him back.
I walked away, the door closing behind me as a loud growl reverberated down the hall. I only had a moment of satisfaction until the reality of what the next day was going to be like hit me. Invisibility wasn’t exactly an option for me after that. Bianca wanted to shame me, publicly humiliate me. Well, she had certainly accomplished that.
All the wind left my sails once I got back to my room. In reality, there wasn’t much I could do. Any reply would just draw more attention to myself—even hiding out would just stir the gossip mill up more. The best I could do was go back to keeping my head down, ignoring the people around me, and hoping some new drama would capture everyone’s attention so I could once again disappear into the background.
Chapter 10
Mikhail
I had been slamming against the air in front of me. There was nothing there, but I couldn’t move, couldn’t stop Freya from stalking out of my room. I growled as I plowed forward, only to fall flat on my face.
Whatever was holding me back before had left with her. Everything she had said was whirling through my head. I was angry at her for denying my mate claim, but if what she said about Bianca was true, I had failed her.
Shame swirled through me at the realization of the damage done. I hadn’t protected her. I knew that Bianca was vicious and would lash out when she realized I had feelings for Freya. I thought I had hidden my emotions better, but I was so blinded by the idea of finding my mate that I didn’t pay attention to everything around me.
The fact that Freya would even think I was involved in posting that picture hurt me. She was my mate; my only mission was to keep her happy and safe. It showed how little I had done to prove myworth to her, to make sure she knew that I would choose her above anyone. Then there was Bianca. I had underestimated her—a mistake that wouldn’t happen again.
Not just Bianca, but the whole group would pay for what they did to my mate. Grabbing my phone, not caring about the late hour, I dialed my father’s number.
“Mikhail. It’s late. What’s wrong?” he answered, his accent thick with sleep. I could hear my mother murmuring next to him.
“I want you to cut ties with The Harrington Company. I don’t care what you have to do, what money we will lose. I will not come home if we have any continued relationship with Bianca and her family.” I heard some rustling before my mother’s voice was clear on the phone.
“Did you and Bianca get in a fight? What happened, Mik? I’m sure we can work this out.”
“No, we can’t. Do you want me to return home and take over as alpha?” A heavy silence met my threat before my father calmly replied.
“Son, maybe you should tell us what this is about,” he said, his voice clearer now.
“I found her. My true mate.” My mother gasped, and my fathershushedher.
“I broke up with Bianca as soon as I sensed her. She did not take it well. For the sake of the families, I let her keep on as if nothing had happened while I tried to learn about my mate. I thought I was being subtle, but apparently, Bianca caught on right away,and has been regularly harassing and threatening my Freya. Tonight, they went too far. Now, do you want me to return home as alpha with my true mate, or do you want to keep an alliance with the Harrington family?”
“I’ll have the lawyers draw up the papers tomorrow so we can sever the business ties,” Father stated before Mother rushed in with her questions.
“Is your mate okay? What type of animal is she?”
“She’s not a shifter. She’s human. I think. Is that going to be a problem?” I asked. Both my parents were quick to assure me it wasn’t.
“Oh, Misha, dear, I can’t believe this! You found your mate! I want to know everything. What is she like?” my mother gushed excitedly.
“Pissed and unimpressed. At Bianca, too, but mostly at me, for not protecting her. She’s right to feel that way, though. I will do everything I can to prove my worth to her, but I will not sit by and let what Bianca did go. If anyone from my family is okay with it, then I don’t want my mate around them either. Once I prove to Freya that I am worth her attention, no one will come before her. Including you two.” I growled, angry that I hadn’t taken action sooner.
“You don’t have to convince us, son. Sounds like you should save that energy for your mate. She sounds feisty. I look forward to meeting her. I’ll give you a call tomorrow to let you know how our meeting with William goes.”
After a restless night’s sleep, where I spent the night analyzing every moment, every thing I had done wrong by my mate, a plan was finally developing. As soon as the sun rose, I was out of my room and heading to the dean’s office.
