Chapter 79: Who Are You - Callista's POV

For the entire class, nothing made sense. I tried to focus, tried to understand what was being taught, but nothing was clicking. I mostly sat there in a daze, my eyes barely moving from the board. If they did, it was just to look at Riven, who was actually doing the work.

The bond tugged in my chest, though it wasn’t with warmth. It was…coldness, as if the demon wanted to reach out when Riven didn’t. I flinched every time I felt his soft caress, because it felt so unnatural and…not him.

Toward the end of class, it pulsed faintly at random. Once again, it was only cold. No warmth at all.

Riven stood and took a paper to the front of the class. He never once looked at me. As I glanced around the room to see what others thought or if they were even watching, I realized they all knew. Occasionally, someone would look back at me with pity in their gaze.

They thought we were breaking up. But we couldn’t. We had traded bites and that was permanent. The ceremony made it official, which we hadn’t had yet, but still…we were never getting rid of each other.

Unless…he was gone or I was.

That thought slid into my mind unbidden and I hated that I even thought about it again. I didn’t want Riven dead. I didn’t want my entire pack to fall either, or myself. The demon had to go.

Riven returned to see his seat, still not looking at me.

By the time the class was done and we were dismissed for lunch, he made sure to walk alone again and leave me there as I collected my things. Tears burned behind my eyes, but I fought them back. I wasn’t going to cry in class.

I got my bag and made my way to lunch. Still alone.

Riven was already there, talking to one of the guys he fought over me. That hurt. When he sat down with them for lunch, I almost broke, but I kept moving. I went to the table I normally sat at, though my sister wasn’t there yet. She was probably in line getting food.

I knew that she would ask why I wasn’t eating, but I didn’t care. I didn’t feel like eating.

Then my gaze slid to Riven again. He was eating and talking as if nothing were wrong.

I sighed and looked out the window, my heart in tatters. The click of a plate being set down on the table jarred me to my senses. I turned, only to find Sabine sitting there.

She took one look at my face and knew something was wrong. “What did he do?”

“What do you mean?”

Her eyes dragged over my face, narrowing in suspicion. “I thought he was talking to the guys for a reason until I sat down and saw your face. He’s choosing not to sit with you, isn’t he?”

“Possibly.”

“It’s about…your…situation, isn’t it?”

She was careful with her words and I knew we had to be, so I nodded.

“Yeah, it’s about that.”

She shook her head. “I’m starting to believe this was a mistake. You can’t be Moon Marked at sixteen. I think the rumors of him using dark magic are true.”

“He doesn’t use magic,” I said, shaking my head. “People who do are well known.”

She rolled her eyes. “Listen, his family is the alpha family. They wouldn’t want anyone to know what they’re doing if they were. You know it’s forbidden for wolves to use it. It’s best left to the witches.”

“So you think he somehow used dark magic to get fate to Moon Mark me.”

She sighed heavily. “I said I was beginning to think that. You've known each other for almost three weeks, right? You’ve said I love you and marked each other. You’ve never once looked happy.”

“It’s been very stressful,” I replied, my voice low. “But I am happy.”

“Are you really?” She asked, her eyes staying on my face. “Because you don’t look like my sister right now. You’ve always been so bright and cheery. You’re the student ambassador, which you haven’t even done since they assigned Riven to you. Now, you look pale and you’re all doom and gloom. Something is wrong, Callista, and I think Riven is wrong for you.”

I looked out the window again, fighting back tears. “The Moon Goddess came to me in a dream, so this is my life. Riven is supposed to be mine.”

“And if it was dark magic, don’t you think they’d mimic the Moon Goddess? You’re going to be a powerful seer. Of course, they’d go for your visions first,” she whispered as she took the first bite of her food. “Come on. It’s obvious.”

“You don’t even know how dark magic works,” I scoffed. “They can’t mimic the Moon Goddess.”

But a demon could.

I shut my eyes, almost groaning. That’s right. His demon influenced the vision that night. He had said as much that he had given it to me. Was it possible that he had affected more than that? Could he make fake Moon Marks?

“This is getting confusing.”

Sabine laughed. “What did Dad always say about fated mates?”

“There would be no confusion,” I said, almost mechanically. “The Moon Goddess isn’t the author of confusion and chaos.”

“And how do you feel about Riven?”

Confused, I admitted to myself. I swallowed hard. She was right, even if I didn’t want to say it out loud.

“I’ll take your silence as an answer,” she murmured. “As much as I hate this, I think you need to find a way for the mate mark to be removed.”

That caught my attention. My head swiveled in her direction. “It’s permanent.”

“Keep telling yourself that. Until you go through the ceremony…nothing is permanent. Remember that one class?”

I rolled my eyes. Of course she would bring that up. “That is in extreme circumstances. They said it could be revoked if it was forced as long as it was done before the ceremony where the Moon Goddess blesses the union.”

She nodded. “Even if you had gone through the ceremony, you could still part from him. It’s…just the bond doesn’t go away. Maybe you need to look into it.”

I almost cried, but I fought it back. “We shouldn’t be talking about this.”

“Shouldn’t we? Callista, something is obviously wrong. You can’t keep going like this. Imagine how much worse it could be in a few weeks or months from now. What if you stay and at eighteen, you go through the ceremony? If you’re miserable now, it could be worse later. Things don’t always get better.”

I knew she was right. I didn’t want her to be, though.

“Do you really think he could have used dark magic?”

Laughter filled the cafeteria. I turned to see who it was, only to realize it was Riven. He was perfectly fine while I sat here like this.

Sabine tapped her fork on the plate. “And that is why I think something is wrong. He went from in love with you to that.”

“I understand your concern, but I don’t know—”

“Take a bit to think about it,” she encouraged. “But if this keeps up, don’t stay. Our parents will help you find a way out of this.”

I stared at Riven for a few seconds more and my heart sank. This wasn’t who he was earlier this morning. And he definitely wasn’t the boy who stayed at the foot of my bed just to keep me safe.