Chapter 30 CHAPTER 30
\[Rhea’s POV\]
My stomach turned. Every time I had worn this ring, every time I had looked at it and felt lucky to be loved by Mark, he had been watching me. He hadn't just been a jealous fiancé. He had been a jailer, monitoring my every move like I was a piece of property.
Damian didn’t say a word. He reached out and plucked the ring from my hand. His fingers closed into a tight, powerful fist. I heard the sound of metal snapping and the diamond being crushed. When he opened his hand, the ring was nothing but a twisted piece of gold and broken electronic parts. He let the remains fall onto the floor.
"It’s gone," Damian said, his voice flat.
I couldn't stop shaking. "He knew. Every time I went to the library, every time I went to class... he knew exactly where I was."
"He's been hunting you as much as he's been hunting us," Lucien said, stepping closer. He looked at my pale face and the way I was hugging myself. "Rhea, you’re in shock. Let us drive you home. You need to lie down."
"No," I said immediately. The thought of being in a car with them, feeling their intense heat and their protective gazes, felt like too much. I needed to breathe. I needed to be away from everyone who wanted something from me. "I want to go home, but I’ll take a cab. I just...I need a moment alone."
"It isn't safe," Damian argued, his brow furrowed. "He just jumped out of a window and vanished. He could be anywhere."
"Please," I whispered, looking up at them. "Just let me go alone. I’ll call a cab from the front gate. I can’t...I can’t do this right now."
They looked at each other, a silent conversation passing between them. They were worried, I could see it in the way their jaws were set, but they finally relented.
"Fine," Lucien said. "But text us the moment you get inside your apartment. If we don’t hear from you in thirty minutes, we’re coming over."
I nodded, not caring about the threat. I just wanted to move. I turned and walked back toward the classroom to grab my bag. On the way out, I saw Isolde standing by her locker. She was alone for a second, and I felt a surge of desperation.
"Isolde!" I said, rushing up to her. "Isolde, please. Mark is... he’s crazy. He was tracking me. He just jumped out of a window. I don’t know what’s happening, and I really need my best friend."
Isolde didn’t even flinch. She kept her back to me, moving her books around as if I were invisible. When she finally turned, she didn't look at my face. She looked past me, her expression as cold and flat as a stone. She shut her locker with a sharp and walked away without saying a single word.
I stood there, my hand half-reached out. My chest ached. It felt like my entire world was falling apart. My fiancé was a monster, my best friend was a stranger, and the only people who seemed to care about me were two professors who claimed I was their mate.
I couldn't stay in the school another second. The air felt thick and suffocating.
I walked out of the main building and onto the campus grounds. Instead of heading for the cab stand, I kept walking. I needed the fresh air. I needed the wind on my face to help me think. The walk to my apartment was about twenty minutes, and I figured the movement would help settle my nerves.
As I walked down the sidewalk, away from the crowded university, my hand went to my neck. I felt the thin gold chain there. It was a necklace Mark had given me for our anniversary a month ago. It had a small gold heart pendant.
"Oh no."
I stopped under a tree and unclasped the necklace. My fingers were trembling so much I almost dropped it. I held the pendant in my hand and used my thumbnail to pry the heart open. It was meant to hold a photo, but there was no photo inside.
Instead, there was another tiny, pin-sized red light. It was blinking just like the ring had been.
"You bastard," I choked out.
The betrayal felt fresh all over again. He hadn't just tracked me with the ring; he had a backup. He had ensured that no matter what I did, he could find me. I felt sick to my stomach. Without thinking, I wound the chain around my hand and threw it as hard as I could into the thick bushes lining the park.
I watched it disappear into the leaves. "Find that, you freak," I muttered.
I turned around to keep walking, but I froze.
Mark was standing ten feet away from me on the path.
He wasn't wearing his suit jacket anymore, just a white shirt that was torn and stained with blood from the glass, but that was all. He sure didn't look like someone who had just jumped out of a third-story window otherwise. He didn't have a limp. He didn't even look like he was in pain.
"I told you not to take it off, Rhea," he said. His voice was calm, but it was a terrifying, hollow kind of calm.
"Stay away from me," I said, my voice cracking. I backed up a step, my heart racing.
"You shouldn't have thrown it away," he said, stepping toward me. "I gave you that because I love you. I gave it to you so I could protect you from them."
"Protect me?" I shouted. "You were stalking me! You were watching me like I was a prisoner!"
"I was watching you because you're mine!" Mark’s face suddenly distorted with rage. "And now you've let them ruin you. You smell like them. You look like them. But I can fix it."
I didn't wait for him to finish. I spun around and broke into a full run.
I headed for the main road, my lungs burning as I pushed myself to go faster. I could hear his footsteps behind me, heavy and fast. He was gaining on me. No human should have been able to run that fast after the fall he took, but he was closing the gap.
"Rhea, stop!" he yelled. "Come back to me! I'm the only one who really knows you!"
I didn't look back. I sprinted toward the corner, hoping to find a crowd or a car, but I felt a sudden weight hit my back.
Mark tackled me.
We hit the pavement hard. I felt the skin on my knees tear as I skidded across the rough concrete. The pain was sharp and hot, but I didn't stop fighting. I screamed, kicking and scratching as he pinned me down.
"Let me go!" I shrieked. "Help! Someone help me!"
Mark flipped me over, his hands pinning my wrists to the ground. He was heavy, his chest heaving as he stared down at me. His eyes were wild, the blue irises surrounded by a ring of dark, angry red.
"Stop screaming," he hissed. "I'm taking you back to where you belong. We're going to go away, Rhea. Somewhere they can't find us. I can fix you. I can make you forget about the professors. I can make you forget all their brainwashing words."
"I hate you!" I spat at him, tears streaming down my face. "I hate you, Mark!"
He didn't seem to hear me. He looked like he was in his own world. "You'll love me again. Once I get their scent off you, you'll remember. You’re my girl. You’ve always been my girl."
He gripped my arms and started to drag me up from the ground. My knees were bleeding, the pain making me lightheaded, but I kept struggling.
"I'm not yours!" I yelled. "I'll never be yours!"
"We'll see about that," he growled.
He yanked me toward a dark SUV parked at the side, his grip so tight I knew it would leave more bruises. I opened my mouth to scream again, but I didn't get the chance.
THWACK!!
A loud sound echoed through the air. Mark’s eyes went wide for a split second, and then they rolled back into his head. His grip on my arms loosened as he collapsed forward, falling face-first onto the pavement.