Chapter 7

Chapter 7

We head out of our building and across the courtyard to a more modern brick building where students seem to be filtering from all directions. People stare at me and I see them turning to whisper to each other.

“Hey beautiful,” a deep voice says from behind us and I turn just in time to see Dot swept off of her feet by a tall man with a mess of shoulder-length blonde hair. Before she has a chance to respond, another male approaches. This one is shorter and has a military-style shaved head. He wraps his arms around her, pulling her from the blond man and planting a kiss on her lips. I stare open-mouthed at the scene in front of me, waiting for a fight to start or for Dot to protest, but it doesn't happen.

“Put me down,” Dot giggles and squirms in the man's arms until he releases her. She straightens her clothes and looks back at me. “Josie, this is Marcus,” she points to the blonde, “and this is Cole,” she pats the arm of the second man.

“Nice to meet you,” I smile awkwardly at Marcus before turning my attention to do the same to Cole.

“Where’s Joe and Max?” Dot asks the men who are now walking beside us.

“They came early to get us a table at the front,” Cole answers.

“Oh goody,” Dot claps her hands together in delight. “Tables at the front are first in line for seconds, “ she leans closer and whispers to me as we enter a large dining hall. I feel the eyes of all the students all lock onto me and my steps falter at the gravity of the situation I'm in. I feel like a fish that's been dumped into the shark tank as I recount the words in the book I’d read. These are all Greys, superhumans with powers that could do whatever they like to me and I'd be helpless to stop them. How am I going to survive here?

“Don't worry, they're just curious. It's not often we get new students, especially at our age. Most people here have grown up together,” Dot reassures, linking her arm in mine and guiding me to a large table. The room is not as impressive as I'd imagined. I was expecting Hogwarts and instead, this is a standard college dining hall.

“So this is your new pet?” a handsome black man with shocking blue eyes asks as he stands from the table and pulls Dot into his arms before kissing the top of her head.

“Yes, this is Josie. Josie, this is Joe,” Dot introduces. Joe flashes me a 1000-megawatt smile and holds out his hand to shake. I hesitate, remembering what had happened with Theo.

“Hi,” I do a small awkward wave instead and quickly avert my gaze.

“Babe, I got you a milkshake,” a cheeky-looking dark-haired man interrupts, handing Dot a bottle of strawberry milkshake.

“You know how to treat a girl,” Dot gushes, reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, before turning back to me, “this is Maximus,” she grins at me.

“Max,” he corrects with an eye roll followed by a wink.

“I’m Josie,” I smile.

“And what did you get me, Max?” Cole asks, elbowing Max in the ribs playfully. All four men begin teasing each other and making jokes.

“Sorry, they can be a bit much, but I love them,” Dot says wistfully as she watches the men scuffle. “Let's get some food,” she adds, leading me towards a large food counter. She hands me a tray and a plate and takes one for herself before she starts loading food onto it. The food is laid out under hot counters in a self-serve-style buffet. I take a slice of cheese pizza and some fries as we move along the counter.

“So which one are you dating?” I ask, glancing over to the four men who are now seated at the table.

“All of them,” she grins at me.

“What?” I gasp. “How did you pull that off?” I add with a giggle. I take an apple and a bottle of juice and follow Dot back to the table.

“It is how we do things here, take a good look around you,” she laughs. I take a seat beside her and the men get up to get their food. Looking around at the other students I notice distinct groups of one female with up to five men at each table.

“Our population is small and females are rare, so mate bonds are formed. It is usually four men to every woman, but sometimes it's three or five men,” she explains.

“And the men don't get jealous or fight?” I ask, finding all this hard to believe.

“Sometimes at first, but they work it out. Our bonds are not ours to choose. There are a couple of our kind that have the gift of sight, they can detect soulmates and match them together. When a female turns 18 the soul-seer guides her to her bonds,”

“And does anyone get a choice in all this?” I struggle to keep the distaste from my voice. This feels dirty and like exploitation.

“Of course they do, some resist the bonds, but they almost always give in eventually. It's not easy to ignore your soulmate,” she shrugs. I scan the room again. Everyone looks happy in their groups. Then my eyes land on a table at the back. There are only males at that table, and every single one of them is staring right at me.

“Who are they?” I whisper to Dot.

“Those are the unbonded, declared to have no living soulmate within the realm and resigned to a solitary life. You've just given them all a second chance,” she says excitedly. My heart skips a beat when my eyes lock with Mason’s, dread fills me when I see the devil in his eyes as he stares back at me with that murderous look once again.