“Chloe? Are you okay?”
“I don’t know…”
Had Isach somehow lessened the bond? It was still there, but I could control it now. How was that possible? And how had I not realized that until now? I needed to talk to Isach. Maybe if he did that thing again, he could lessen it even more until it was completely gone.
I rushed into the cafeteria, Trent right behind me, and sat at his table. Talking to Isach about this now, in front of everyone, wasn’t a good idea. I’d have time later, but I was going to do what I’d originally planned—take back control of my life.
“What’s up?” Whitney asked.
Trent opted to sit next to me rather than where he’d been sitting previously. It was a small victory, but I’d take it.
I cleared my throat. “Look, I know the only reason all of you are here—” I motioned around me to indicate the school—“is because you needed to watch me, to make sure I was safe. But I am safe, so you guys don’t need to be here. I know how miserable it is for you.”
“What?” Whitney laughed. “Are you kidding? I love it here. It’s fun.”
I gave her an incredulous look. “Fun?”
She nodded eagerly.
“As long as he’s here”—Trent glared at Isach—“we’re not going anywhere.”
“That’s my point.” I turned to look at Trent. “Isach hasn’t hurt me, and he isn’t going to.” I twisted to look at Isach. “Right?”
Isach nodded. “She keeps her word, and I’ll keep mine.”
“And I’m keeping my word.” I glanced around the table, my gaze pleading. “Besides, Isach has gone out of his way to warn us about his coven and what they’re doing. He’s actually helped me. Why would he do that if he were planning to kill me?”
“Because he’s sadistic,” Jax said, his eyes murderous.
“Why do you want to get rid of us?” Wyatt asked, and he sounded genuinely hurt.
“I just want my life back.” I folded my hands in my lap and stared down at them. “I’m tired of everyone always watching me. There’s no need for it. Not anymore.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Trent said.
I resisted the urge to point out that he’d already gone somewhere.
“Me either,” Jax said.
“I’m staying, too,” Whitney said.
“Same,” Wyatt said.
I stood. “Whatever.”
And I stormed over to sit with Ellie and my other friends. I was grateful for all Trent and them had done for me, I really was, and I adored Whitney. She was a good friend, but they weren’t here to be my friends. They were my babysitters, and I was tired of it.
“Why are they all sitting over there?” Abby asked.
“No idea.” I shrugged and stole a chip from Ellie’s tray.
“I saw you talking to Trent. Everything okay?” Ellie asked, giving me an encouraging and sympathetic smile.
“Yeah, I guess.” I stole another chip and crunched on it. “I hugged him, and he hugged me back, so I guess that’s a good sign. I don’t know.” I sighed and rested my elbows on the table. “I can’t figure him out, and I’m tired of trying.”
Abby laughed. “Just wait until he sees you in that dress.” She wiggled her eyebrows, and I laughed despite my crummy mood.
“I don’t even know if he’s going to the dance,” I said.
Though, now that he knew I was going with Isach, Trent would more than likely go just so he could keep an eye on me. That would be fun—having Trent stare at me all night while glaring daggers at Isach.
I glanced over my shoulder. Trent’s back was to me, but every few seconds, Whitney or Jax would look my way. Clearly, they were talking about me. If only I possessed some of those heightened senses right now.
Regardless of what they did or didn’t do, I wasn’t going to let them ruin my senior year. I was going to have fun with my friends and do all the stuff normal teenagers did. Ideally, I’d love to do all of it with Trent by my side, but that wasn’t going to happen. But I didn’t need some guy to enjoy myself, even if that guy was my soulmate.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE:
Making a Move
“HEY, CAN YOU CALL YOUR AUNT and see if you can come home with me today?” Whitney asked at the end of the day.
I stood staring into my locker, not really looking for anything in particular. I’d been distracted all day, by everything, and I had no idea what was going on.
“Why?” I slammed my locker closed and leaned against it, facing her.
“We all want to talk to you.”
I waited for her to explain, but she remained silent. “About…?” I asked.
“What you said earlier. Oh, and Isach has something he wants to share with us.” She rolled her eyes. “I swear it’s like he thinks we’re all friends now or something.”
“Okay,” I said with a heavy sigh. I pulled my phone from my pocket and sent Aunt Beth a text.
Me: CAN I GO TO WHITNEY’S FOR A LITTLE WHILE? I’LL BE HOME FOR DINNER.
Aunt Beth: I DON’T CARE. BE SAFE. LOVE YOU.
I sent back a quick THANK YOU and then slid my phone back into my pocket. “All right. I’m all yours.”
Whitney smiled. “Good.”
She looped her arm through mine and happily dragged me out to her car. The student parking lot was nearly empty—Trent’s truck was gone. So was Jax’s car.
I climbed into her car and hooked my seat belt. “Can you at least give me a hint about this?” I asked, twisting to face her. “I feel like I’m heading into an ambush. Or an intervention.” I frowned.
She sped out of the parking lot. “It’s nothing bad. I promise.”
And that was all she said the entire drive to the house. When we arrived, everyone else was already there, and my heart thumped loudly as I climbed the porch steps. Situations like this was what I’d been talking about today—I was tired of being summoned to meetings and being told I was in danger, or that someone new wanted to kill me. That list was getting too long.
Trent stood behind one of the chairs, gripping the back of it. “Sit,” he said, nodding at the chair.
I gave him a dirty look but sat, mostly because I wanted to be near him. Jax, Wyatt, and Sean were on the couch. Isach was in the other chair, and Whitney stood near the front door. I glanced around at all of them, and they stared back at me like I was an animal on display at the zoo.
“Okay, someone better start talking,” I said, crossing my arms.
Sean glanced up at Trent, then back down at me. “Is it true you want us to leave?” Sean asked.
I narrowed my eyes. “That’s not what I said. I just told them they don’t need to keep going to school so they can babysit me. I’m fine.”
“Because if you truly want us to leave, we will,” Sean continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “We’ll take the truth of your existence and we’ll disappear.” He paused, his gaze wandering to Isach. “Isach assures us his coven doesn’t know about you, either, and he’ll ensure they never do.”
My jaw dropped. “Seriously?” I stood and whipped around to face Trent. “Did you tell him this?” When he didn’t answer, I spun around on Jax. “Did you?”
None of them answered me.
“You know what, do whatever you want.” I threw my hands up in the air and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind me.
I jogged down the porch steps, my hands trembling with fear and anger, and I headed for the road, intent on walking home. When I said I didn’t want them hovering, I hadn’t meant I wanted them all to disappear. What would I do if they did leave?
“Chloe!” Trent clutched my shoulders and spun me to face him.
I covered my face with my hands and buried myself against his chest, my tears coming unexpectedly. “I don’t want you to leave,” I mumbled.
He wrapped his arms around me and held me for a moment, both of us silent. “Then what do you want?” he asked. “Because I don’t know anymore.”
Anger sparked inside
of me, and I jerked away from him. “Really?” I wiped my cheeks, my palms wet with my tears. I dried my hands on my jeans. “I want you, Trent. I want this stupid mark to go away. I want to be free from this bond I have with Jax. I want things to be like they used to be.” My lips trembled, and I hugged myself.
Trent sighed, the motion causing his shoulders to rise and fall. “Then make that choice, Chloe.”
“How?” I shouted, a new surge of anger coursing through me. “You dumped me, remember? It’s not like I can just get you back because it’s what I want.” I blinked back fresh tears. “I can’t just make this bond disappear, either. Believe me, I’ve tried. And if I even think about doing the one thing that will make everything better, I can’t. I refuse to let Jax change me, and Isach will kill me if I even try. So, you tell me how I’m supposed to make this choice.”
He paced away from me, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t know.”
I rolled my eyes. “Exactly. Unless you’re willing to live with things as they are…”
I shrugged again, unable to finish the sentence because I knew it was something Trent would never do. He’d already made it clear he couldn’t trust me, and he was probably right not to. I couldn’t even trust myself anymore.
“You can’t fight this forever,” he said, returning to stand in front of me. “So, what happens when the bond wins? Or when you decide you’re tired of fighting it?”
I hung my head. “I don’t know.”
Constantly fighting the urges and desires was physically and emotionally exhausting. Could I really do this for the rest of my life? Because that’s exactly what I’d have to do now that changing was no longer an option.
“But what else am I supposed to do? Go be with Jax?” I laughed bitterly.
“If being with him means you’ll have a happy life, then yeah, maybe that’s what you should do.”
My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You can’t be serious.” My voice shook. “I don’t want to be with Jax.”
“Are you sure about that?” He raised a brow. “I’m not stupid, Chloe. I saw how close you two were getting at the cabin, before Ivy locked you up together, before he ever bit you. Don’t tell me you didn’t have feelings for him before all of this happened.”
“Of course, I care about him,” I said cautiously. “But I care about all of you. Sean. Wyatt. Whitney.”
“I just think you need to take some time to figure out how you feel about everything. And everyone,” he said, his voice weighed with sadness.
“No, I don’t. I know—”
“Hey! We have a problem,” Isach shouted from the porch, interrupting our conversation. “Get inside. Now.”
With heavy steps, I headed back inside. I refused to look at anyone, though. What was the point? They’d all heard what Trent and I said, so there was no need to see their expressions of pity. I was the poor human girl in love with a vampire who no longer wanted her.
“What’s going on?” Trent asked.
“I just got a text from my father. The coven is moving against Ivy tonight,” he said.
“What? Why?” Whitney asked.
“They want answers about what happened, and they want to know what Ivy knows about the curse.” Isach’s gaze landed on me. “Are you positive she won’t tell them?”
I shook my head. “I have no idea what she’ll do. If she’s still hoping I’ll break the curse, then she’ll keep me secret. But if she thinks she can negotiate to restore the magical balance, then I’m as good as dead.”
“We need to warn her,” Sean said. “Let her know they’re coming.”
“No,” Isach said forcefully. “If we warn her and my coven finds out…” There was sincere fear in his voice. “The only ones who know about this move is my coven, so if anyone warns Ivy, my coven will know there’s a traitor.”
“And that means a real live witch hunt,” I said sarcastically. Then I laughed, though I had no idea why. Nothing about this was funny.
“My coven will torture its own to get information,” Isach said as he paced. “And when they find the traitor, they will kill him.”
“Looks like I’m not the only one on the Zoya’s hit list anymore, huh?” I said before I could filter my thoughts.
“Chloe!” Whitney scolded.
I sighed. “So, what happens if Ivy tells them about me?” I sank down into the chair, exhaustion weighing heavily on my limbs.
Isach looked at me, his face expressionless. “They’ll kill you.”
“And if Ivy doesn’t tell them?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” Isach stopped pacing. “I guess it depends on what she tells them.”
“Which we have no way of knowing if we don’t warn her,” Sean said, crossing his arms and pinning Isach with a steady stare. “We can tell her what’s going on, give her a story to tell them.”
“No.” Trent shook his head. “Ivy won’t lie simply because we ask her to. She’s going to want something in return.”
“Yeah. She’s going to want me.” I huffed. “And I am not going back there. Ever.”
“There has to be something you can do,” Jax said as he approached Isach. “All she wants is to restore the balance. Surely, you can give her that, can’t you?”
Isach shook his head. “Not enough to satisfy her. I’m sure I can tip it back in her favor a little, but not much. And using that much magic will put a target on my back.”
“So?” Jax shrugged. “We’ve spent our entire existences with this curse. Chloe’s life literally hangs in the balance. I think it’s about time you sacrificed something.”
“Jax, stop,” I said, standing. “Isach has made sacrifices. If it weren’t for him, we would probably still be locked up in that room. And he’s risking himself right now by warning us about his coven. What more can he do?”
Jax glanced at me over his shoulder, and my breath caught at the intensity of his stare. That was the same look he’d given me when he promised not to change me, when he’d sworn to keep me alive until rescue arrived. He’d kept those promises, too.
I hadn’t ever acknowledged that before now, though I didn’t know why. But it was something I needed to thank him for, because I hadn’t done that yet.
“So, we just sit around and wait to see what happens?” Sean asked.
I tore my gaze from Jax, my pulse pounding in my ears. Jax hadn’t ever broken a promise to me, not like Trent had. That realization slammed into me with the force of a thousand freight trains. Was Trent right? Did I need to take some time to figure out how I felt about him? About Jax?
“Yes,” Isach said.
“Why aren’t you going with them?” I asked, head tilted. “If you were there, too, you could do some damage control, right?”
“That’s a good point,” Trent said. “Why are you here instead of with your coven?”
“Because I’m warning you guys,” Isach snapped. After a moment, he dragged his hand through his hair. “Fine. I’ll go with them, and I’ll see what I can do. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” With that, he grabbed his coat and left.
“Can you take me home now?” I asked Whitney.
She hesitated, looking everywhere but at me.
“Whitney?” I asked, my tone sharp.
“Maybe you should stay here tonight,” she said. “Y’know, so you’re here when Isach gets back. Who knows what he’ll have to say?”
“No.” I shook my head adamantly. I looked at Trent, then Jax. “No way. I’m not staying here.”
“I’ll take you home,” Trent said.
I froze. Being alone with Trent was possibly worse than staying here tonight. At least if I stayed here, I could hide in Whitney’s room. But… Trent and I needed to finish our conversation. With a nod, I walked out of the house and got into Trent’s truck.
He followed a moment later, and we were silent as he backed out and headed down the road. He was driving unusually slow, well under the speed limit, and the only time he ever did that wa
s when he wanted to prolong our time together.
“I have to be home for dinner,” I said, staring out the passenger window.
He increased the speed, but not by much.
Frustrated, I turned to him. “Pull over.”
“What?” He sliced a look in my direction.
“I said pull over.”
“Thought you had to be home for dinner.” But even as the words left his mouth, he maneuvered his truck to the side of the road.
“I do, but we need to talk, and I have a feeling this is going to be the only time we have,” I said sadly. Because I couldn’t shake the feeling that once he dropped me off, that would be it. There would be no more time to talk and work things out.
“Is there really anything left to say?” he asked, resting his arms on the steering wheel and staring at me.
I unhooked my seat belt and scooted across the seat. “I think there’s a lot left to say.”
“Like?” He raised a brow.
“I love you,” I said, licking my lips. “And I miss you like crazy.”
His expression softened. “I miss you, too.”
I swallowed hard. That was a start. “Do you still love me?” My voice trembled, but I refused to let myself look away.
“I will always love you, Chloe.” He shifted closer and took my face into his hands. “Please don’t ever forget that. No matter what happens.”
“Then don’t give up on us,” I whispered. “Whatever Isach did, it didn’t break the bond completely, but it did lessen it. Even you said the marks had faded, and I haven’t dreamt of Jax in weeks, so maybe if Isach did it again…”
Trent crushed his mouth over mine, and I welcomed his kiss without hesitation. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pressed closer. His kiss was demanding and desperate, and it said everything he hadn’t. He didn’t want to be without me any more than I wanted to be without him. All I had to do was convince him he could trust me, that we could get through this together.
Groaning, he shifted and hauled me onto his lap, his hands firm and comforting on my waist. He flexed his fingers, and I whimpered at how safe and familiar and loving that small gesture was. I pulled back and gasped for air. Trent’s eyes were dark with need, and I’d never wanted him more than I did right then. We belonged together.
Eternal Bond : (The Cursed Series, Book 3) Page 31