Chapter 26

Selene's pov

The evening air in the room was still, the silence only broken by deep breathing. It had taken me a while to steady myself once the training was over, and it still felt like residues of those conflicted emotions were within me.

Anger that was not my own, the suffocating weight of fear, and my confusion—I could barely shake it off even now. "What happened to me back there?" I wondered, leaning against my bed frame.

My body still ached from Lucian's sheer brutality, and my arm—the one that Raven had helped me heal—trembled faintly. I rubbed the tender muscles, my frustration bubbling just below the surface.

I had spent the first few minutes after getting back to my room punching the wall, which actually hurt since I was within limited power again, and pacing, trying to get myself to feel normal again. Lucian did something to me besides training. Something I didn't know, and something that terrified me.

I hated him—or so I thought I did.

A soft knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts, and I straightened. "Come in," I said, my voice coming out sharper than I intended.

Daisy stepped into the room, her wide eyes nervously darting around like she was expecting something lurking in the shadows to spring forth and attack her. A tray of food was balanced on her hand as usual.

"I brought your dinner," she said, her eyes not meeting mine as she placed it on the table.

I really was not in the mood for the fearfulness Daisy carried around her. Was she like this with every other person? I wondered, studying her.

"You don't have to look so afraid," I said dryly.

Daisy froze, her fingers still gripping the edge of the tray. "I'm not—I mean, I just—" she stumbled over her words, and now her voice was trembling slightly.

"Yes, you are," I said, standing. I crossed the room over to where she was and noticed the way she shrank backwards even though there was a good distance between us.

"You look like I'm about to bite your head off. Am I really that scary?" I asked bluntly.

"No, Miss! It's just I've never—" she hesitated again, her lips pressing together tightly.

"Never what?" I prompted.

Daisy took a deep breath like she was trying to summon her courage and then spoke, "I've never been around someone like you."

I raised an eyebrow. "Someone like me—as in a vampire, right?"

Daisy nodded quickly. She looked so uncomfortable that I was tempted to just let her go.

I heaved a sigh. Great, one more person in this place who thinks I'm just a monster.

"No!" she shouted, shaking her head frantically. "That's not what I mean! I just don't know what to say or how to act around you. The others, they don't—" she stopped, breaking off and biting her lip.

"They don't trust me, right?" I made a guess. My gaze softened as I studied her. She was afraid of me, terrified even—I could see it in her movements, and every time she came to drop food for me, she was all too eager to leave. Yet still, she came.

"Why are you still here then?" I asked. "Why do you still come into the same room that I'm in, knowing how dangerous I can be?"

"It's my job," she replied.

Fair enough. Lots of people would do anything just for money, even if it meant feeding a monster's appetite. I chuckled at the thought—me, a monster? Oh please, they had to be kidding.

Suddenly I got an idea. Daisy was the only werewolf I could easily access right now—I had no idea where Ira was at the moment, and I was pretty sure Daisy would be able to help me analyze my situation.

It might be strange talking to her, but it was also strange what I was feeling. Hopefully, she would be able to help me.

Okay, maybe I was desperate, but I needed to understand what was happening to me, else there was no way I could stop it.

"Relax," I said to her. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to ask you something, and I need you to answer me honestly. Can you do that?"

Her eyes flicked to me, and for once I noticed the color—a clear shade of brown, beautiful. "I'll try," she replied.

I quickly went over the many ways I could lead up to the conversation from other things, but was that really necessary? I had no time to dawdle, so I decided to go straight to the point.

"I need to know more about the mate bond."

Daisy's eyes widened, her shock now overshadowing the hesitance. "Mate bond?"

By her expression, she was also asking, "Why the hell are you asking me that?"

"Yes," I said. "I don't understand it, and no one has bothered to explain it to me. And it's left me confused. Something is changing—I can feel things. Emotions that are not mine."

"As a vampire, it doesn't happen this way, so this is also new. I need someone who's used to it to explain it for me. Can you do that?"

Daisy hesitated again, her eyes flicking towards the door as though she was considering making a run for it.

I couldn't have her chicken out when she could have the answers I needed. "I just need answers," I pleaded.

"Very well then," she replied. "The bond... it's complicated. I don't know if you can understand—although that doesn't mean you can't understand, I just don't know if—"

I didn't want her to keep rambling with words so I cut in, "Just explain it. Start from the basics—I will understand. What exactly is it? Why do I feel like I'm being dragged into his head every time we are in the same room?"

"He?" she asked, curiosity taking over restraint.

"Lucian," I replied, and her eyes went wide.

"Oh!" she giggled like a teenage girl, and immediately the tension in the room dropped.