Chapter 37: For the rest of my life - Riven's POV

Marcus's jaw tightened. "I was just talking—"

"He insulted my mate," I said flatly. "Repeatedly. He even told her she should end it before it even begins and take a real alpha mate.”

Principal Wolffe cut his eyes in Marcus’s direction. “Really, Marcus?”

“I’m not apologizing for protecting her. She is my mate,” I said quietly. “You can’t tell me no other wolf wouldn’t defend what was theirs. He has to stop or eventually I might kill him in the hallway for all to see.”

"I'm not asking you to apologize for protecting your mate," Wolffe said. "But I need you to restrain yourself and not kill any male who might look at your mate. This is twice you’ve been ready to murder someone in my hallway, both of whom is Mr. Stonecrest. One more time and I’ll have to suspend you, mate bond or not.”

"He keeps coming after us," Callista spoke up. "We're not looking for fights. We're just trying to go to class and he keeps appearing. Riven doesn’t purposely seek him out to do anything.”

Wolffe's gaze softened slightly when he looked at her. "I understand this is a difficult situation for both of you. The first mated pair in this school's history and the bond recognized at sixteen, is unprecedented. But that doesn't give either of you carte blanche to solve problems with violence."

"Tell him that," I muttered, gesturing to Marcus. “I stay with her the entire day and have all the same classes with her. Marcus isn’t in any of them and has no reason to be around me. It’s not like I’m hunting him in the halls. He needs to stay in his lane.”

"Oh, I will." Wolffe turned his attention to Marcus and his pack mates. "You three. I'm tired of the provocations. Mr. Stonecrest, you challenged their bond at the ceremony and lost. Multiple times. It's over. Accept it and move on, or I'll be calling your father about harassment.”

Marcus's face flushed with anger, but he nodded.

"All of you are dismissed. Except for you, Mr. Nightshade. I need another word."

Callista looked at me worriedly, but I squeezed her hand. "I'll meet you at the car. Lock the doors.”

She stood, and I handed her my keys. When she left, it was reluctantly, and she shot one last glare at Marcus as she passed. Once the door closed behind them, Wolffe leaned back in his chair.

"How are you really doing?" He asked quietly.

The question caught me off guard. "Sir?"

"I've been an educator for thirty years. I've seen a lot of young wolves struggling with their power and with control issues." His eyes were sharp and assessing. "But I've never seen anything quite like what I witnessed at the ceremony or just now in that hallway."

My stomach clenched. "I don't know what you mean."

"Yes, you do." He leaned forward. "Your eyes, Riven. They go completely black when you lose control. That's not normal wolf behavior. That's something else."

Panic spiked through me. He knew or suspected.

"I'm not going to report this," Wolffe continued. "Whatever you're dealing with, it's clearly connected to your mate bond. And as long as Miss Monroe can pull you back from the edge, I'm willing to give you both space to figure this out."

"Thank you," I said quietly.

"But," he held up a hand, "if I see that control slipping further or if you become a danger to the other students, I'll have no choice but to involve your father and the Alpha King. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Good. Now get out of here. And Riven?" He waited until I reached the door. "Whatever's inside you, don't let it win. You're stronger than it is. Remember that."

I left his office with those words ringing in my ears. You're stronger than it is.

Was I? Right now, with the demon getting louder every day and more full moons coming, I wasn’t sure I was. The urge to claim her was already becoming unbearable and would just get worse with each full moon that passed.

I found her waiting by my car instead of in it, worry etched across her face.

"What did he say?" She asked as I approached.

"That I need to show more restraint," I said, which wasn't entirely a lie. "And that Marcus needs to back off."

"Good." She climbed into the passenger seat. "Because I'm getting tired of him ruining our days."

“What happened to waiting in the car with locked doors?” I asked as I got into the driver’s seat.

She handed me the keys. “I was too nervous and had to get some air.”

“Next time, do as I ask and get in the car to wait for me,” I said as I started the car.

The drive home was quiet. I kept replaying the conversation in my head and kept feeling how close I had been to losing control. If Wolffe hadn’t shown up when he did, I would have killed Marcus.

"You're thinking too loudly," Callista said softly.

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Just talk to me." She turned in her seat to face me. "What's going on in your head?"

"The demon's getting stronger," I admitted. "Every day it's harder to push it down, and having you so close, the bond is demanding more—" I trailed off.

"Is it worse because I moved in?" She asked, her voice hesitant.

“No,” I said, reaching over to take her hand. “Having you close helps me more than you’ll ever know, but it also makes me more protective and aggressive. The demon feeds off that.”

“So, what do we do?”

"I don't know." I pulled into the driveway, parking in my usual spot. "I was told that love will contain it, but I don’t know how long that takes to work.”

"Then we focus on that," Callista interrupted. "We’ll focus on us and on falling in love properly, not just the bond pulling us together."

I looked at her, this brave girl who'd given up everything to move in with me and pulled me back from the edge every time I started to fall, was looking at me as if I were worth saving.

"I'm already halfway there," I admitted quietly.

Her breath caught. "Riven—"

"I know we're young and I know it's fast. But Callista—" I cupped her face, needing her to understand. "You're it for me. Demon or no demon, I'm falling in love with you.”

Tears glistened in her eyes. "I'm falling too, even when you're stubborn and overprotective and refuse to let me fight my own battles. I'm still falling."

I kissed her then, unable to help myself. Poured every ounce of feeling into it, the mate bond singing between us. When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, she smiled.

"Come on," she said. "We have a history project to work on and your mom probably has dinner ready."

"Yeah." I climbed out of the car, but the demon's voice followed me.

She says she's falling for us, it whispered. But she doesn't know what we really are. What we're capable of. How long before she sees the truth and runs?

I shoved it down and took Callista's hand as we walked inside. For now, she was here, and she'd chosen to stay.

And I'd do everything in my power to make sure she never regretted it.

Even if that meant fighting the demon every single day for the rest of my life.