On Monday at school I waited for Rylee but she never showed up and her number on my phone wasn’t working anymore. I was standing at my locker when I saw her emerge from the bathrooms but she saw me and walked the other way.
The day dragged on and Rev kept giving me these odd looks. I was quiet and thinking about everything I remembered and everything that had happened between me and Rylee. I saw her walk into the cafeteria but she didn’t look at me although she didn’t look like herself either.We all looked up at the same time as JD jumped up from his seat and Carson pushed him backwards. Rylee was looking at him with fear in her eyes and his face was red with rage as he looked at her and then at Rev.“Shit,” I whispered.“You slept with him!” JD yelled at Rylee and I saw her flinch and stood up.“Did you?” Carson asked her loudly.“No,” she said loudly and looked him in the eye.“Then how do you explain this?” he asked her. He shoved his phone in her face and her eyes widened as she looked at the picture.“Just because I was at his house doesn’t mean anything happened,” she said as she looked at him.“Why were you at his house?” he asked her as he sat down again and looked at her.“My drink got spiked at Josh’s party and I went home with Christina and Rev took me home the following morning,” she said. They weren’t shouting anymore but I could still hear every word.“Stay the fuck away from Rev, he’s a weirdo,” JD hissed at her and released her arm. I had only noticed now that he was gripping it and she rubbed the spot where he had held on to her.She stood up from the table and walked out of the cafeteria but I caught her eyes for a second and I knew that if I followed her out now then all hell would break loose. I signaled to Jax with my eyes and he nudged Preston as we all stood up and walked out of the cafeteria.I felt JD looking at us as we walked out and I headed to the girls bathroom. We stood outside the bathroom leaning against the wall when the door swung open and Rylee came out. She shook her head when she saw me.“Don’t talk to me,” she said as she walked past me.“We need to talk,” I said to her.“We can’t, JD already suspects the worst,” she said and walked past me.“Worse than the truth?” I said loudly and she stopped walking for a second before continuing.“Okay seriously Lucas, what the fuck is going on with you two?” Jax asked me.“Not here,” I said to him as we walked outside towards the quad.“Spill,” Jax said as we sat down at an outside table.“Friday night I almost slept with Rylee when Tessa barged into my room and freaked out, threatening to out Rylee to JD,” I said.“But you didn’t?” Preston asked.“No, not Friday night,” I said.“Oh geez man when did you sleep with her?” Jax asked.“The first time or the second time?” I asked and Rev looked at me.“You’ve slept with her more than once!” Jax said loudly.“Keep it down moron,” I said to him, “the first time was a year ago and the second time was Saturday morning.”“So that’s why she was crying,” Preston said almost to himself and Rev shook his head.“So what’s the problem?” Jax asked me.“I like her and she hates me,” I said.“Well obviously you two have something going sleeping with each other all the time,” Jax said.“It was twice and I didn’t remember the first time, I sort of said something to her afterwards and now she hates my guts and I don’t blame her,” I said.“So fix it,” Preston said.“Or just let her get on with her life, she’s Lower District and we’re Upper District, she’s JD’s girl for crying out loud,” Jax said.“I can’t really do much more, I told her we need to talk, the ball’s in her court now,” I said as the bell rang and we walked back inside the school.Rylee didn’t come to school for the rest of the week and JD kept giving us dirty looks. Something told me that Rylee wasn’t fine but I didn’t know where she lived, although it wouldn’t be hard to find out and I didn’t have her number.I cornered her friend Sharon one afternoon after school as Carson and JD watched me. I had no other choice. Preston blocked their view from one side and Jax from the other side as I stood in front of her and Rev’s back touched mine as he watched our rear.“I need Rylee’s number,” I said to her.“Why?” she asked me.“I just need to talk to her, why isn’t she in school?” I asked her.“She’d kill me if I told you, but I’ll give you her number,” she said and I handed my phone to her. She punched in Rylee’s number and handed my phone back to me.“Thanks,” I said to her.“Can I go now?” she asked me.“No, why isn’t she in school?” I asked her.“Please, I really can’t tell you,” she said in a pleading voice.“Is she okay at least?” I asked her.“She will be,” she said and pushed past me and ran to her car.We walked to our cars, I threw my keys to Jax, and he smiled as he got into the driver’s side. We pulled away from the parking lot and I dialed Rylee’s number.“Hello,” she answered.“Rylee, don’t put the phone down,” I said to her.“Lucas?” she asked me.“We really need to talk,” I said to her.“No we don’t, forget what happened, forget what I said and just carry on with your life,” she said to me.“I wish it was that easy,” I said to her.“Please don’t complicate this,” she said to me with a sigh.“Rylee, when’s your birthday?” I asked her.“What? Why?” she asked me.“Just answer me,” I said.“In a few days,” she said.“Shit,” I said.“Why are you asking me this?” she asked again.“Because JD isn’t your bonded half,” I said to her.“He has to be. How can you be so sure?” she asked me.“Just trust me. Are you okay though?” I asked her.“I’ll be fine,” she said and I knew she was lying but she put the phone down and when I tried calling her back her phone went straight to voicemail. This was frustrating as hellWe drove in silence as I leaned my head against the window and Jax slowed down as we neared the house. He glanced at me and I didn’t really want to have this conversation with him and I knew he had a thousand questions.“Is she your bonded half?” Jax asked me.“Yes,” I said to him.“How the hell do you know that?” he asked me.“Because I could feel it after we slept together,” I said to him.“Shit Lucas,” he said.“I know, she’ll only realize it on her birthday,” I said to him.“Did you two have sex at school?” he asked me and I closed my eyes again.“No, Saturday morning,” I said.Jax parked my car and we headed inside the house. Chris came running down the stairs and looked at me with wide eyes, trying to catch her breath.“What?” I asked her.“Rumor has it that Rylee spent the night here with Rev,” she said and Rev’s head snapped up.“What?” Hannah asked as she looked at Rev and he shook his head.“That’s old news Chris,” I said to her already having figured that part out.“Okay I bet you don’t know the next part,” she said and folded her arms across her chest.“Which part?” Preston asked her listening intently now.“The part where JD’s going to give her a promise ring on her birthday,” Chris said and Jax looked at me.“It doesn’t mean anything,” I said to her.“It does when he plans on marking her as his bonded half,” she said and I froze for a few seconds.“He can’t mark her,” I said.“Why not? They’ve been dating for close to a year, they’ll probably be bond-halves anyway,” she said.“They’re not,” Jax said and looked at me.“What are you guys hiding?” she asked and Rev grinned suddenly.“Nothing,” I said as she tapped her foot against the marble floor.“Then you guys probably wouldn’t want to know that he plans on doing it right after school,” she said as she looked directly at me.“Shit,” I said.I joined the guys in the gym and we trained for the next two hours until Hannah pushed the door open and took Rev by his hand. I wondered sometimes if she had a crush on him and how Rev felt with all the attention that Hannah showered him with. For someone that didn’t talk he had forged quite a bond with her.“Hannah, you do know that Rev’s actually our friend,” Jax said.“Just until we get married,” she said and we all stood watching her with open mouths as she led Rev from the room.“Did she just say she was going to marry Rev?” Preston asked.“Poor Rev,” I said and we all laughed.“Are we still heading in to Chicago tonight?” Preston asked me.“Yeah, I need to meet with Jasper O’Connell,” I answered.“Who’s he?” Jax asked.“He’s the Sire of the Chicago lair, we’re negotiating the terms of our alliance tonight,”
Rylee ignored me on Monday and she was never alone. She looked worried and her eyes looked sad and something else I couldn’t place. She ignored my texts too and I was close to losing my temper. We were sitting in the cafeteria having lunch and I couldn’t help but stare at her.“Lucas, I have to talk to you about something,” Jax said as I sat down.“What’s up Jax?” I asked him still looking at Rylee.“I’ve found the one,” he said to me.“The one what?” I asked not really listening to him.“My bonded half… it’s Chris… her smell is intoxicating and I know you’re protective but I’m not going to reject this bond,” he said to me and my head snapped to his.“What?” I asked him thinking I didn’t hear him correctly.“Chris and I have been bonded,” he said to me.“No,” I said to him.“It
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Chris asked me angrily as I neared the steps.“You’re sixteen Chris, he had no right to push this bond on you,” I said to her my anger flaring up again.“He didn’t,” she said to me and I looked at her neck, it was unmarked.“Shit,” I said.“We both realized it this morning when we bumped into each other in the hallway and he was on the verge of rejecting me. I said to him I wouldn’t reject this bond even if I always thought of him as a brother. You know very well that we can’t fight it,” she said to me.“I thought he marked you,” I said to her.“You’re a shithead because the mark will only appear when I’m seventeen,” she said to me.“I know,” I said as she turned around and left the front door open behind her.Jax wasn’t in the living room and I went up to the second floor to his bedroom and knocked on his door. I knew he was in there. I could sense and smell him. He opened the door and looked at me before turning his back on me leaving the door open
I sat in the dining room but I couldn’t eat, I was nervous. It was Monday and Rylee’s birthday, she would know I was her bonded half the moment she saw me. I had no idea when JD’s birthday was because he would’ve known already if he had turned seventeen.“Have a good day at school,” Martha yelled as we headed to the front door.“Thanks!” Preston yelled back and slammed the door shut.I drove to school alone and much slower than normal. I parked in my usual spot and sat staring out in front of me until I heard the bell ring. Great, now I was late for class. I walked to my locker getting my books and headed to our homeroom.“You’re late Mr. Grey,” Ms. Lucy said as I opened the door.My eyes found Rylee and she gasped audibly. My eyes flickered between green and yellow as I took her scent in, it was much stronger now that she was seventeen and she looked at me with disbelief all over her face. JD was watching both of us and I saw the exact moment he realized what had happened.“Sorry,” I
I pushed myself away from the wall as Stella and Chris exited my room. I felt my heart sink at the look on their faces, it was grim. I had sent everyone else away and waited alone.“She’s asleep,” Stella said.“How bad is it?” I asked her.“She was beaten rather harshly, I found a lot of bruises all over, some cuts and…” she said.“And?” I pushed her.“She has bruising between her legs,” she said and looked down, “I’ll come by and check on her again tomorrow.”I just nodded my head as I looked towards my room. I heard Chris talking to Stella as they walked down the hall and I vaguely heard the front door. I stood frozen on that spot for a few more minutes before entering my room.I pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down. She looked small and frail and I felt that familiar anger rising up in me.“What the hell happened to you Rylee?” I asked in a whisper.Her eyes remained closed and her breathing was even. At some point during the night I fell asleep in the chair as I watched h
I ran up the stairs to my room and opened the door. My bed was made and a folded letter lay neatly on my pillow. I knew immediately that she wasn't here. She wasn't even in the house and I dreaded to pick up that letter."Dear LucasI can't stay here, not just with you, but here in Aurora. A relationship between us would never work, especially after what happened to me. You seem like a good person, to me at least, you deserve someone that can give you everything. I have nothing to give you. Reject this bond and move on with your life, I'm sure a chosen half would be much better suited to you than me.Take care,Rylee."Rev stood in my doorway and walked over to me as I held the letter up. He read it quickly and put it down on the bed next to me."She's afraid," he said."She didn't want to tell me what happened to her but Stella said she had bruising. I think she was raped," I said to him."You should talk to Hannah," he said."Why?" I asked him."She sees and feels things," he said a
It was the last week before graduation and I didn't really see the point in going but I went and the only thing that was different was that Rylee wasn't there. Carson and JD still glared at us and I saw that they got their dragons too. I caught a glimpse of Carson's indigo dragon and JD's green one.He must be so pissed off that he didn't get a blue one since he was Carson's second in command. The look in their eyes said that they thought my own gray dragon were beneath them and I only smiled to myself with that realization."Heard you got rejected," Carson said as he pushed past me in the hallway."Heard you bonded with another guy," I said to him and his eyes widened."When did you become such an asshole Lucas, we used to be friends," he said to me."Yeah used to, so glad my eyes opened up," I said to him."What's your problem man?" he asked."Did you know your mother isn't your father's bonded half but a chosen one?" I asked him."That's a load of bullshit," he said."Whatever make
A lot has happened in the past six years. Chris and Jax had gotten married and Preston had met his bonded half, funnily enough she was human but she had taken the news of dragonkin well and they were well suited. She didn't take any of his bullshit and he had changed from a player to a caring and thoughtful boyfriend.Rev had been charged with aggravated assault, possession of an illegal firearm and obstruction of justice. He had also been found guilty and he was currently serving his time at the Federal Prison in Chicago. Hannah had taken it very badly and most nights she screamed as she felt Rev's pain. Rev had also refused any visitors and none of us had seen him in six years.I reached out to Tirsynth on a weekly basis and he confirmed that Rev was doing all right, sometimes he'd tell Baz that Rev had been hurt but mostly I already knew that through Hannah. I kept tabs on him and made sure that he always had money in his prison account and we sent him packages weekly.Rylee had fi