Chapter 55: Stop checking me out
ERIC
"Did you apologise to her?"
I paused in my tracks and turned. Kol was sitting on the stone bench near the duck pond, inside the garden that surrounded our building.
This was usually my spot when I wanted to clear my head. Now he was here.
"Did you apologize to Elyse?" he repeated, shutting the book in his hand.
I glowered at him.
Kol furrowed his thick brows. "You promised to."
"I didn’t say I was going to give you a fucking report afterwards," I snarled.
After our altercation yesterday, Kol had urged me to apologize to her. But I didn’t do it just because of him.
I knew it was wrong. I had seen how my words hurt her. The tears she desperately tried to hold back before she ran away.
My wolf was hurting. He felt her pain through the bond. I knew I fucked up. That was why I went looking for her yesterday. And again today.
Still, my apology wasn’t accepted. And she was defending that bastard Elliott with her last breath.
It should be me.
I gazed back at Kol as he began to hum. My face twisted in annoyance. "Why the fuck are you even here?"
"This isn’t the Callahan Estate," he replied, rising slowly to his feet. "I can be wherever I desire, except near my mate, of course."
He faced me, jaw tight. "And guess whose fault that is?"
"It’s not my fault you and Lance decided to jump me!" I shot back.
I was the one who suffered the most and I still was. I didn’t see him and Lance getting locked up in the Hollow Vault for their rage.
Kol nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I’m not the one who tried killing my friend."
I scoffed.
Lance had attacked me first that night at the party. But whatever. Let’s all pretend I was the problem.
Silence stretched between us for a short beat. When neither of us spoke, I continued on my way. The building was just a minute’s walk away. I didn’t want to stay in the garden anymore because of Kol.
"If she suffers, we suffer," Kol murmured.
I stopped again, staring at the beautiful winter roses that covered nearly half the garden. My nostrils flared, dragging in the spicy scent.
"That is how the mate bond works, Eric," he said. "Except if you feel nothing for her."
I chuckled softly. "What mate bond are you talking about?" I turned my head slightly so I could see him without fully facing him. "The one the council refused to confirm? Or which exactly?"
Kol shook his head. "I was trying to be civil to you. After what Elyse said, I realized it was unreasonable to keep fighting whenever we see each other. We are adults and we should work around our feelings."
"I refuse to," I said, simply holding his gaze.
Agreeing meant we would have to share her. No. I had no intention of doing that.
"I know," Kol said with a nod. His expression remained neutral — for only a fraction of a second.
The next moment, I felt a rush of air against my face as Kol slammed me into a tree, pinning me hard against the rough bark.
"You piece of shit!" he barked, eyes flashing gold.
I gripped his hand and tore it from my shirt.
Kol swung. His fist collided with my jaw.
The sound of skin breaking split the air. Blood bloomed instantly in my mouth. I spat it out, staring at the crimson liquid staining the grass.
"You fucking hurt her!" he growled, trying to swing again.
I caught his blow and shoved him back forcefully.
"You think I wanted to?!" I hissed.
"Yes!" Kol roared. "If you never had that intention, you should have kept your fucking mouth shut!"
Easier said than done.
"I’ll just pretend this never happened," I grunted, rubbing my jaw.
Fuck. It hurt.
I definitely deserved it. I turned and continued toward the building.
"If you desperately want your father’s validation, then you shouldn’t have a mate!" Kol shouted behind me.
I ignored him.
"Son of a fucking bitch!"
"No wonder your father didn’t want you!"
"Ass hole!"
He kept throwing more insults, calling me names, but I didn’t answer.
As soon as I stepped into my room, I slammed the door shut.
The sweet scent of pansies by the door wafted over me — the flowers my mother had insisted I keep. Her favorite.
They were supposed to make the room less gloomy against the dark paintings and the depressing mural I’d recently added. It didn’t really work. Especially not when thoughts of my father lingered.
The floral blue curtains rustled softly as a breeze slipped in. Another gift from Mom.
"Won’t you want a Luna like me someday, Eric? A Luna adds colour to the life of an Alpha."
"As if," I snarled.
I walked to the middle of the room and stopped in front of the beanbag. My foot slammed down hard on it. Pain shot up my leg, but I didn’t care.
The physical pain was nothing compared to the one twisting in my chest.
It wasn’t just that Elyse hadn’t forgiven me. It was the jealousy eating me alive. The thought of her with Elliott — sneaking around, laughing with him, defending him — made something ugly settle deep inside me.
"I’m not good enough for anyone," I let out bitterly.
Not my father. Not my mate. Not anyone in this damned life.
The buzzing of my phone snapped me out of my thoughts. I pulled it out, staring at the screen.
"Lord Callahan."
I gulped hard, my thumb hovering over the answer button. I remembered our conversation yesterday.
"No," I murmured, shaking my head. He was the reason I was in this mess.
I tossed the phone onto the bed. It continued ringing for another minute until I finally had enough.
I snatched it, turned it off, and shoved it back into my pocket. Then I plopped down on the beanbag, legs stretched out in front of me, my gaze fixed on the golden chandelier above.
"How the fuck do I even make this work?" I mused.
How did my father stay with my mother even though he was trash and she was just barely putting up with him?
—
The hallway was empty. The entire building was eerily quiet. The only time it ever felt this still was on weekends. Mostly Sundays as students needed to stay in to prepare for the next day.
So it happening on a Thursday— one of the busiest days — felt wrong.
I stood in front of Headmaster Alaric’s office. He had sent a message saying he wanted to see me. I assumed it had something to do with my release from the Hollow Vault.
Probably another warning not to mess up again, or I’d be thrown back in for good.
I slipped inside and shut the door behind me.
Straightening up, my nose wrinkled as seven different, powerful scents hit me all at once. Each one intense and impossible to ignore.
I looked up.
Seven pairs of eyes locked onto mine.
Headmaster Alaric. Kol Archer. Rafael Woods. Elliott Ashford. Azrael Paxton. Dashiel Armstrong. Even Lance Beckett.
Every damned house was represented here. What the hell was going on?
I frowned, looking at each of them.
The last I checked, Rafael should still be in prison.
Azrael was supposed to be away on his exchange program. Dash had only arrived back yesterday from his tour, he shouldn’t be in any trouble yet.
And Lance... My eyes glided over his frame. He looked surprisingly well. No injury. No support like the last time I saw him.
"Stop checking me out," Lance snapped, pulling me from my thoughts. "We still have a lot to discuss."
"Surely not in my office or anywhere around the academy where I can see you," Headmaster Alaric said.
Lance grumbled under his breath.
"Thank you for joining us," Headmaster Alaric added. His tone was neither sarcastic nor angry.
That was odd.
He pulled off his glasses, set them on the desk, pinched the bridge of his nose, and let out a heavy breath.
This didn’t look good.
I stepped closer to Dash. He was the only one here I had a relatively good relationship with, him and Azrael.
"What is going on?" I whispered.
He shrugged, folding his arms across his chest. "No idea. I got a notification saying it was important for me to be here."
"Maybe it has to do with the inter-House competition," Azrael chimed in.
I doubted it.
We’d had many competitions before. Headmaster Alaric had never called all of us into his office looking this tense.
Besides, the inter-House event was still two months away.
I waited for Headmaster Alaric to speak.
When he remained silent, I muttered, "I have training in twenty minutes. Can we get to whatever this is quickly?"
All eyes turned to me again.
"What?"
