Page 7 of Bear It All
“I broke up with Bianca weeks ago. She’s been keeping it from you. I didn’t want to embarrass her, but it seems she doesn’t feel the need to extend the same courtesy to those around her. So hear me when I say this. Bianca and I are over. She crossed a line, and she knows it. If any of you agree with her, fucking stay out of my sight,” I snapped beforestorming out of the room and heading outside as fast as I could.
That lake was almost a mile away, and I had no idea how long ago they had taken that picture. Was she lost? Walking around naked and afraid, and so incredibly vulnerable? I cursed everyone I could think of, but in the end, it was myself I was the most upset with. Bianca had targeted her because of me.
I thought I had hid my feelings, kept my obsession with Freya a secret, but somehow, Bianca had figured it out. I hadn’t prepared Freya, and now she was going to have an even bigger target on her back because of my reaction. I may as well have just pissed on her in public after what just went down in the dorms.
I knew their parents would be hearing of the breakup and my human mate soon enough, which meant that a call from my parents would be coming through as soon as the news spread. I couldn’t care about that, though. I had to find my mate. Her scent grew stronger the deeper into the forest I got, morphing and growing more complex the further I went.
It smelled like wet grass after a spring rain, fresh flowers, and night blooms. The flora over there thickened, as if it had grown overnight. A sound caught my attention, and I froze, craning to hear better. The sound of shuffling feet over grass and leaves, followed by the muttering of a clearly outraged Freya, had me sprinting through the trees. I broke through a particularly dense thicket to findher practically naked, stomping her way through the forest, somehow on a path covered in fluffy, soft grass.
A growl escaped me as I got a closer view of her body. Her simple bra and panties were soaked through, barely covering any of her private areas. The points of her nipples were pushing through the thin fabric, begging for my attention. My mouth salivated as I took her in, and it took all my control not to start devouring her.
“Frey, baby. It’s me,” I announced, stepping out of the shadows so she knew I was there. With a jump, she turned, and relief flashed across her face before she quickly masked it.
“Came to get in on the fun? Want to take the last of the clothes your girlfriend left me with?” She snarled, her eyes spitting fire.
“Bianca and I aren’t together. I overheard them and came running. Here,” I said, pulling my shirt off and quickly pulling it over her head. She seemed frozen while I pulled her arms through the appropriate holes and straightened the bottom of the shirt until it hung down to her knees, covering the important bits.
Freya looked surprised and confused by the move, frozen in place before wrapping her hands around her middle.
“Thank you,” she said softly before turning her back on me and continuing her angry march back to the university.
“Wait!” Not my most eloquent response, but Ifound any game I had disappeared around her.
“Let me walk you back to the school. Make sure you’re safe,” I said. Freya arched an eyebrow at me in disbelief.
She gave a noncommittal shrug before resuming her determined sprint toward the university. I jogged a bit to catch up with her, and we walked in silence. The only sounds were the leaves and twigs crunching under our feet. It didn’t matter to me. I was just happy to be so close to my mate. She smelled amazing, and seeing her in my shirt was distracting as fuck.
“What did you say about me to Bianca?” Freya broke the silence with the pointed question.
“What? I didn’t say anything. What do you mean?” I was confused.
“She’s had it out for me since I got here. I’ve never done anything to her, except what happened in your room the other day. That was a mistake, though. I shouldn’t have done that, especially since you and Bianca have been together for so long.” Anger was in her tone, but it seemed aimed at herself rather than me.
“I told you before, Bianca and I aren’t together. We were broken up before I had you in my bed. You really think I would come to you when I was bound to someone else?” I asked, sad that she thought so little of me.
“I don’tknowyou, Mikhail. What am I supposed to think?”
“Misha,” I barked out, harsher than I meant to.There was a feeling of distance in the way she used my proper name. I loved when she called meMisha. It felt intimate—something just between us.
“I know we may not know a lot about each other, but you can’t deny that you feel this. You want me as much as I want you,” I growled out, angry at her denying me.
I knew the mating pull wouldn’t affect her in the same way that it did me, but for her to act so dismissive was upsetting. I looked over to see her staring at me, weighing my expression and the impact of my words. Freya gave a weary sigh before breaking eye contact and looking away.
“Even if that were true, there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m sorry, Misha. I can’t do it. I can’t be what you need,” she whispered, her voice ragged.
The school grounds came into view, and soon, we would be walking through the graveyard where I had found her. We both slowed down, eyeing the spot where I had ripped her from the ground. There were still holes in the dirt from where her limbs had sank into the hard earth.
“What happened here, Freya? What was that?” I asked her, needing to know who was after her so I could properly prepare, defend, and protect my mate.
Freya looked startled by my question, and I watched as a few emotions flitted over her face before she wiped her expression clear, presenting a mask of neutrality.
“No idea. Freak weather accident? Must have beenin the wrong place at the wrong time. I feel fine now, though, so all good.”
I flared my nose at her blatant lie, and my eyes drifted to her forehead, where the cut I had cleaned up was healing but still visible. An angry red line marked her porcelain skin.
“Say you can’t tell me, or don’t say anything at all, but never lie to me. When you’re ready, I’ll be here to listen. But there will only be truth between us, always.” I growled, upset at her blatant disregard for what I had witnessed—an event we experienced together.
“You want the truth? There can’t be anything between us. There are a hundred reasons why, but let’s get to the most important ones, yeah? You’re not human. Your people won’t accept me as a mate. I’m here to study and graduate. I’m not looking for a relationship, and I’m definitely not looking for trouble. You and Bianca, whether you’re with her or not, are trouble. If you really think there’s something between us, you’ll do as I ask and leave me alone. Don’t make things harder than they already are,” she said, her voice cracking on that last part as we finally entered the school building.
