Chapter 21: Chapter 21

"It's the truth," Kyle said, his amber eyes never leaving mine. "I've been in love with you since we were kids, Imogen. Since before I even understood what that meant."

I laughed, a bitter sound that made several nearby students glance our way. "Love? You call what you did to me love? Reading my most private thoughts to the entire pack? Making me a laughingstock?"

Kyle's face crumpled slightly. "I was fifteen and terrified of what I felt for you. When I saw your letter... when I thought it was about Marcus..." He ran a hand through his dark hair, that familiar gesture of frustration. "I lost my mind. I wanted to hurt you the way I was hurting."

"Well, congratulations," I said, my voice shaking with barely controlled anger. "Mission accomplished."

"I know." His voice was barely a whisper. "I know, and I've hated myself for it every single day since. Do you think I don't remember the look on your face that night? Do you think I don't see it in my nightmares?"

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold together the pieces that threatened to shatter. The bond between us pulsed with his pain, his regret so deep it made my chest ache. But I couldn't let that sway me. I couldn't let the mating bond trick me into forgetting years of hurt.

"It doesn't matter now," I said, standing up from the table. "Love, hate, whatever you want to call it, it doesn't change what happened."

Kyle stood too, his movement quick enough that I took an instinctive step back. "It could," he said urgently. "If you'd just give us a chance..."

"Us?" I cut him off. "There is no us, Kyle. There never was, and there never will be."

But even as I said the words, I could feel how wrong they were. The bond hummed between us, connecting us in ways I was only beginning to understand. And my wolf... my wolf wanted to lean into his warmth, to accept the protection and affection he was offering.

"The bond says otherwise," Kyle said softly, echoing his words from last night.

"The bond can go to hell," I repeated, just like I had in the forest. But this time, the words felt hollow, lacking the conviction they'd carried before.

I turned to leave, but Kyle's voice followed me. "I'll wait, Imogen. However long it takes. I'll wait."

I didn't look back, but his words echoed in my mind, until.

\-Come to me, my little Marble wolf, come to me.-

I grabbed my head, trying to block out the voice in my mind; it wasn’t from within the pack.

\-Even if you don’t, it won’t be long now until I find you, won’t be long now, little princess.-

My legs buckled, and I barely caught myself against the nearest table before I hit the floor. The voice in my head wasn't Kyle's, wasn't any of the Williams brothers. It was cold, predatory, and completely foreign to the pack bonds I was still learning to navigate.

Kyle was at my side instantly, his hands steadying me as concerned murmurs rose from the students around us. "Imogen? What's wrong?"

I couldn't speak, couldn't explain that someone, something had just invaded my mind as it belonged there. The voice had called me "little princess," and had known about my wolf's colouring. How was that possible?

"I need to go," I gasped, pushing away from Kyle despite my wolf's protests. "I need to get out of here."

"Imogen, wait..."

But I was already moving, stumbling through the cafeteria as fast as my shaking legs would carry me. Behind me, I heard Kyle calling my name, heard chairs scraping as people turned to stare. The bond stretched painfully between us, but I couldn't stop. That voice, that presence in my head, felt wrong on every level.

I made it to the bathroom just in time to empty my stomach into the nearest sink. My hands gripped the porcelain edges so tightly my knuckles went white as I tried to process what had just happened. Someone had spoken directly into my mind. Someone who knew what I was, who I was.

The door opened behind me, and I caught Caspian's scent before he spoke. "Imogen?"

"Get out," I whispered, not lifting my head. "This is the girls' bathroom."

"I don't care." His voice was closer now, and I felt him hovering behind me. "Kyle said you collapsed. What happened?"

I splashed cold water on my face, buying myself time to think. How could I explain that a stranger had somehow broken through whatever mental barriers werewolves were supposed to have? That they'd called me by a name that suggested they knew exactly what bloodline I came from?

"Someone was in my head," I finally said, meeting his amber eyes in the mirror above the sink. "Someone who isn't pack."

Caspian's expression went deadly serious. "What did they say?"

I told him, watching as his face grew progressively darker with each word. By the time I finished, his hands were clenched into fists at his sides.

"We need to tell my father immediately," he said, already pulling out his phone.

"No." The word came out sharper than I intended. "The last thing I need is more pack drama. More attention."

"Imogen, if someone is targeting you..."

"Then I'll handle it myself." I turned to face him fully, drawing on every ounce of Alpha blood in my veins. "I've been handling things myself for six years. I don't need the Williams pack's protection now."

But even as I said it, I could shake the feeling that I had heard it before a long time ago.

The next thing I knew, the pack's alarms sounded. The William’s pack was under attack.