Chapter 92 The bond screams
Chapter 092
DARIUS
Selene had led me away from the corridor and brought me to a table filled with her friends, all of them dressed in expensive gowns and dripping with jewellery that probably cost more than most people made in a year. She positioned me in a chair right in the middle of their group, sitting down beside me so close that our shoulders touched.
My mind was not on any of them or their shallow conversation. All I could think about was Ravenna leaving the academy in shock, tearing off on her motorcycle into the night whilst clearly upset. I prayed silently that nothing would happen to her. That she would be careful and would not do anything reckless because of what my father had announced.
Selene went on making comments to her friends about how she had told them she would be getting engaged to Darius Pike and how right she had been. "I always knew we would end up together eventually. Our families are perfect for each other."
Her friends made appropriately impressed noises whilst I just sat there fuming in silence. Every word out of Selene's mouth made me want to leave more desperately.
Then she pulled out her phone and held it up. "We should take some pictures together to commemorate this special night."
"No," I refused immediately. "Do not post anything on social media about this."
But Selene completely ignored my warning. She leaned against me and started taking several photographs from different angles, capturing us together whether I cooperated or not. I could see her fingers moving across the screen, uploading the images to various platforms.
"Smile, Darius," she commanded sweetly. "Stop being so cold to me. We are engaged now. You should at least pretend to be happy about it."
I clenched my jaw and said nothing, refusing to give her the satisfaction of a response.
After what felt like hours but was probably only twenty minutes, Dorian appeared at the table. He looked at me with concern clear in his expression. "Darius, can I borrow you for a moment? There is something we need to discuss."
I stood up immediately, grateful for the rescue. "Of course. Excuse me, Selene."
She pouted but did not try to stop me. I followed Dorian away from the table and out into a quieter area of the hall where we could talk without being overheard.
"Thank you," I breathed out in relief. "I could not take another second of that."
Dorian nodded in understanding. "Have you heard anything from Ravenna yet?"
My chest tightened at the mention of her name. "No. Have you?"
"Samantha and I have both been trying to call her," he explained, pulling out his phone to show me the multiple missed call attempts. "But her phone is not going through. It just keeps directing us straight to voicemail."
Worry twisted in my gut. "That is not like her. Even when she is angry, she usually answers eventually."
"I know," Dorian agreed, his own concern evident. "Samantha is really worried. She thinks Ravenna might do something reckless."
"I need to know she is alright," I admitted, running a hand through my hair in frustration. "I need to find her and explain what happened. My father had no right to make that announcement without talking to me first."
I turned to leave, planning to somehow track Ravenna down even though I had no idea where she might have gone. But before I could take more than a few steps, pain suddenly slammed into my chest.
I gasped and staggered, my hand coming up to clutch at my chest where it felt like something was being torn apart from the inside. The pain was foreign but somehow also mine, flooding through the bond I had been trying so hard to ignore.
Atlas howled in absolute terror inside my mind. The sound was primal and desperate; unlike anything I had ever heard from him before.
"Someone is dying," Atlas screamed at me. "Our mate. Our mate is dying."
The realization hit me like a physical blow. I was feeling this pain through the bond. Which meant something was very wrong with Ravenna. Something catastrophic.
"Darius, what is happening?" Dorian grabbed my arm to steady me. "Are you alright? You look like you are about to pass out."
"Something is wrong with Ravenna," I managed to get out through gritted teeth, trying to breathe through the pain that continued radiating through my entire body.
Dorian's eyes widened. "How do you know that? What is happening?"
I could not tell him the truth. Could not admit that Ravenna was my mate and I was feeling her pain through our unclaimed bond. So, I just shook my head and kept my mouth shut, focusing on trying to track where the sensation was coming from.
I paced the room in agitation, attempting to follow the bond to its source. But Ravenna was too far away. Out of range and out of reach. And because it was an unclaimed bond that neither of us had properly acknowledged, the connection was weak and difficult to navigate.
Atlas had gone completely silent in my mind. Not responding to anything I tried to say to him. It felt like he had died, and the emptiness where his presence should have been made panic rise even higher in my throat.
"I need to find her," I told Dorian desperately. "Right now. I need to know where she is."
Before Dorian could respond, my father appeared beside us. His expression was stern and disapproving as he looked at me. "Darius, what are you doing? The donor meeting is about to begin. You need to be there to represent our family alongside Selene."
"I cannot do that right now," I protested, still clutching my chest. "Something has happened to Ravenna. I need to—"
"You need to do your duty," Richard cut me off coldly. "Whatever personal drama you think is happening can wait. This meeting is important for securing future funding for the pack. You will be there."
He turned and walked away without waiting for my response, clearly expecting me to follow his orders like I always had before.
But I could not move. Could not think about anything except the pain still echoing through the bond and the terrifying silence from Atlas. Something was very wrong. I knew it with absolute certainty.
Dorian pulled out his phone again, his fingers moving quickly across the screen. "I am checking the academy social media to see if anyone has posted anything about Ravenna."
We both waited whilst he scrolled through various feeds and groups. Then his face went pale.
"What?" I demanded. "What did you find?"
Dorian turned his phone so I could see the screen. A message was spreading rapidly across all the academy social platforms, being shared and commented on by what looked like hundreds of students.
The words made my blood run cold.
"Ravenna Casmir has been involved in a racing accident. Currently, she’s in a critical condition and taken to City General Hospital."