Chapter 45 The Bite She Couldn't Hide
Simone Pov
I walked into Professor Martin's classroom five minutes early for our group presentation. The room was already half full with students preparing their notes. I found my seat near the front and pulled out my materials. This presentation was worth thirty percent of our grade so I'd actually prepared for once.
Madison sat down next to me. "Ready for this?" she asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I said. I wasn't really paying attention to her. My eyes were scanning the room out of habit. Looking for threats. Looking for problems. Looking for anything that needed my attention.
Then I saw her. Maddie Vale walked in wearing a black turtleneck that covered most of her neck. She looked terrible. Her eyes were red like she'd been crying. Her face was pale. Her whole body language screamed misery.
Good. She should be miserable. She should be suffering. After what she tried to do with Calix at that party. After throwing herself at him like some desperate pathetic girl. She deserved every bit of pain she felt.
She sat down in the back row. Pulled her books out slowly. Kept her head down. Didn't look at anyone. The perfect picture of someone trying to be invisible.
I watched her for a moment. Something was different about her. Something I couldn't quite identify. She looked the same but also not the same. There was something off.
Then she reached up to adjust her turtleneck. The fabric shifted just slightly. Just enough. Just for a second. But that second was all I needed.
A mark. Dark. Fresh. Right there on her neck where the collar had slipped. The unmistakable shape of a bite. Deep. Permanent. Exactly like a mate mark.
My blood went cold. Then hot. Then cold again. No. No no no. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be real.
Calix had marked her. Actually marked her. Put his teeth in her neck. Claimed her as his mate. Bonded them together permanently.
My hands clenched into fists under the desk. My nails dug into my palms hard enough to hurt. My whole body went rigid with fury. With disbelief. With absolute rage.
He marked her. After everything. After our deal. After his father's threats. After my warnings. After everything I'd done to keep them apart. He still marked her.
"Simone are you okay?" Madison asked. She was staring at me with concern. "You look really pale."
"I'm fine," I said through gritted teeth. "Just feeling a bit off."
"Do you need to go to the nurse?" she asked.
"No," I said sharply. "I said I'm fine."
Madison backed off. Went back to her notes. Left me alone with my thoughts. With my rage. With my plans that were already forming.
I couldn't stop staring at Maddie. At that collar. At the mark I knew was hiding underneath. The mark that meant Calix had chosen her. The mark that meant everything I'd worked for was slipping away.
How could he be so stupid? How could he risk everything for her? How could he throw away our future for some nobody wolfless girl?
The presentation started. I barely paid attention. Just went through the motions when it was my turn to speak. Said the things I'd practiced. Showed the slides I'd prepared. All on autopilot while my mind spun with fury.
The class finally ended after what felt like hours. Students started packing up. I grabbed my bag and practically ran out of there. I needed to talk to my father. I needed to tell him what I'd seen. I needed to move our plans forward immediately.
I pulled out my phone as I walked across campus. Texted my father.
"Need to see you. Urgent. Something's changed."
He responded within seconds. "My office. Twenty minutes."
I walked faster. My mind was racing. If Calix had marked her then the bond was complete. The connection was permanent. She wasn't just a threat anymore. She was his mate. His actual bonded mate.
Which meant she had to disappear. Had to be eliminated. Had to be removed from the picture before the bond got any stronger. Before Calix decided to actually claim her publicly. Before everything I'd planned for fell apart.
I reached the administration building. Took the stairs to the second floor. My father's office was at the end of the hall. I didn't knock. Just walked in and closed the door behind me.
He looked up from his desk. "What's so urgent?" he asked.
"Calix marked her," I said without preamble. "The wolfless girl. Maddie. He put a mate mark on her neck."
My father's expression darkened. "You're certain?"
"I saw it myself," I said. "Fresh. Maybe a few days old. Definitely a mate mark. He claimed her."
"This complicates things," my father said slowly. He leaned back in his chair. Steepled his fingers together. "A mate bond is sacred. If he's marked her then he'll protect her. Fight for her. The Alpha will be involved."
"I know," I said. My voice was getting higher. More desperate. "That's why we need to move faster. Much faster. Before the bond gets stronger. Before he decides to go public with it."
"How much faster?" my father asked.
"Days," I said. "Not weeks. Not months. Days. We need to handle this before he has a chance to solidify their bond. Before she becomes untouchable."
My father was quiet for a long moment. I could see him thinking. Calculating. Weighing risks and benefits. He was always so careful. So methodical. But we didn't have time for careful anymore.
"Please," I said. My voice broke slightly. "Please daddy. I can't lose him. I can't watch him choose her. I can't live with knowing he marked someone else."
"Alright," my father said finally. "We'll accelerate the timeline. But we need to be smart about this. A mate marked wolf is protected by pack law. We can't make it look like murder."
"Then make it look like an accident," I said. "Make it look like she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Make it look like anything except what it is."