Chapter 18 CHAPTER 18
Rafael's POV
I took a deep breath and shoved my wolf down as far as he would go. He snarled in protest but eventually settled into an angry silence in the back of my mind.
The door opened behind me.
"There you are."
I didn't need to turn around to know it was Mathias. His footsteps were unmistakable: slow and casual, like he had all the time in the world.
"How did you find me?" I asked, still staring at the wall.
"Dude, you are not exactly subtle. Emma said you dragged Vivienne out of the cafeteria like a caveman. The music wing was an obvious guess. Plus, you tend to forget that we are wolves. Tracking by scent is pretty easy." He walked around to face me, and I could see the grin on his face. "So. That happened."
I shot him a look. "Not now."
"Oh no. We are doing this now. Because what I just witnessed in that cafeteria was legitimately insane."
"Mathias."
"Listen, I knew you were going to break up with Jessica. We all knew that was coming. But kissing Vivienne?" He let out a low whistle. "In front of the entire school? That was next level. That was—"
"A mistake," I cut in.
He raised an eyebrow. "Was it?"
I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated. "I do not know what I was thinking. I was not thinking. My wolf just... he moved on impulse. He saw Jessica trying to humiliate Vivienne again and just..." I gestured vaguely. "Took over."
"Took over?" Mathias's grin faded slightly. "Your wolf took over? Rafael, your wolf has not taken over anything in months. Not since the curse."
"I know."
"So what changed?"
I looked at him. "Vivienne."
Understanding dawned on his face. "Right. The mate bond."
"Yeah."
He was quiet for a moment, processing. Then he let out a short laugh and shook his head. "Well, at least everyone knows she is yours now. That is something, right? No more guys hitting on her. No more Jessica trying to make her life hell."
"That is not the point."
"I know it is not the point. I am just trying to find a silver lining because your face looks like you are about to put your fist through a wall."
I was quiet. He was not wrong.
Mathias's expression shifted, becoming more serious. He pushed off the piano and stepped closer. "Okay, real talk. What are you going to do about this?"
"About what?"
"About Vivienne. About the marking. About your wolf." He paused. "You have a year at best, Rafael. Maybe less."
The words hit like a punch to the gut because they were true.
"I know," I said quietly.
"So what is the plan?"
"I do not know yet."
"You do not know?" His voice rose slightly. "Dude, you just kissed your mate in front of three hundred people. You went full possessive alpha wolf on her. And you do not have a plan?"
"I said I do not know yet." I met his eyes. "But I will figure something out."
"Figure something out," he repeated slowly. "Rafael, she is human. You cannot mark her. It will kill her."
"You think I do not know that?" My voice came out sharper than I intended. "You think I have not been thinking about that every second since I realized she was my mate?"
Mathias held up his hands. "Okay. Okay. I am not trying to attack you. I am just trying to understand what you are thinking."
I turned away, staring at nothing. "I am thinking the universe has a really sick sense of humor."
"That is one way to put it."
"I finally find my mate. The one person who can break this curse. And she is human." I let out a bitter laugh. "Of course she is. Because nothing about my life can be simple."
"There has to be another way," Mathias said. "Some way to complete the bond without killing her."
"You think I have not thought of that? I have gone through every book in my dad's library. I have talked to the elders. There is no other way. The bond requires the marking. That is the only way to activate the healing magic."
"What about a witch? Someone who could—"
"I am looking into it," I cut him off. "But most witches antagonize werewolves, so this will be extremely tricky."
Mathias was quiet for a long moment. "So what are you going to do?"
"I told you. I will figure something out."
"That is not a plan, Rafael."
"It is all I have right now." I looked at him. "I am not going to reject the bond. And I am not going to let the curse take my wolf. So that leaves one option: find a way to make this work."
"Even if that means risking her life?"
The question hung in the air between us.
"I will not let her die," I said quietly. "I will find a way to protect her. I have to."
Mathias studied my face for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Okay. What do you need?"
"Information. Any witch contacts you have, anyone who might know about human-wolf bonds. I need to talk to them."
"I will ask around." He paused. "What about Vivienne? Are you going to tell her?"
I thought about the terror on her face when my eyes changed. The way she had practically begged me to let her leave.
"Not yet. She is not ready."
"When will she be ready?"
"I do not know. But I am running out of time to figure it out." I checked my phone. "I need to find her. Make sure she is okay."
"She ran out of the cafeteria pretty fast after you brought her back."
"I know. Something is wrong. Something besides this." I gestured at myself. "She said she has a lot going on. I need to find out what."
Mathias raised an eyebrow. "You are going full protective mate mode, are you not?"
"She is mine," I said simply. "Whatever she is dealing with, I am going to fix it."
"Even though she does not know you are her mate."
"Especially because she does not know." I headed for the door. "If I cannot tell her the truth yet, at least I can help with whatever else is going wrong in her life."
"That is actually kind of sweet," Mathias called after me. "In a stalkerish, overbearing alpha wolf kind of way."
I flipped him off without turning around.
His laugh followed me into the hallway. "Good luck, man. You are going to need it."
Yeah. I really was.