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79: NOT UNFORGIVABLE
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The Mate Agreement 80: STARS
Silence answers me.Is he asleep in there? Or is he even in there at all? I knock again, listening closer for any sound. Nothing. I glance at Rosa questioningly, and she gives me a nod. I take a deep breath before opening the door.It’s empty.William Ravenstone is not in here.I walk in, and a shiver wrecks through my body. It’s so cold in here, because the air conditioner has been left on full blast and all the two windows in the room are open, letting in the chilly night air.I look around the space. It’s so different from his room back in the Acadia Academy dorms. First off, it’s gigantic, furnished with a king sized bed, a walk-in wardrobe, a workspace, a bookshelf on the far wall, and a chandelier. But it lacks… life. There are no chessboards, or plants, or a cat named after a chess prodigy, or sketches on the desk. The whole room could’ve simply been copied from a home magazine and pasted in real life.I turn to Rosa, and she’s already looking at me. I swallow the small sense o
The Mate Agreement 81: A KILLER AMONG US
“Bella!”I groan and turn away from the voice, trying to sink deeper into sleep. I’m underneath the embrace of clouds, floating through my dreams, but the voice comes again, shaking me out of my slumber.I peel my eyes open and find my sister’s panicked face, looking down on me. Something about the way her eyes are wide and seem to be in shock makes me bolt upright in bed.Wait, bed?I don’t remember when I got back to my room last night. All I can remember is the rooftop, with William’s head on my lap and staring at the stars. I must’ve fallen asleep there, right after he had. I’m still in the blue dinner dress, which explains why my body feels like it’s bound.“Bella!” Wilma calls again, shaking my shoulders.I blink back at her, fully awake now. Her expression makes a shot of panic flash through me like electricity. My heart climbs up to my throat. I don’t want to think of what could get Wilma shaken like this, but the worst case scenario comes to my mind. Mom. “What is it?” I dema
The Mate Agreement 82: GLASS TRUST
Sprinting to my mom’s hospital room is the fastest I have ran in my entire life, in flip flips and a tight dinner dress.I burst through the doors and careen to a halt, relief flooding through me in comforting waves. I never thought hearing these damned beeping machines would be reassuring, but they are. Mom is in bed, still unconscious, still stuck in a limbo between sleep and death. And Lexie’s braids are still intact; two ropes on either sides of her face.Wilma passes me and reaches mom, pressing her fingers to the pulse on her neck as if to make sure everything is okay, and then double-checking the machines. She sighs in relief, her shoulders slumping as she sinks into the chair near the bed, and closes her eyes.Mom is okay.Well, not exactly okay, but nothing bad has happened to her overnight. Not like Lexie. For now.The door behind me creaks open and I whir around on my feet, ready to jump into action and very much on my guard, but the creased face of the doctor looks back at
The Mate Agreement 83: MERLOT AND HONESTY
“All of this and you didn’t even think to tell me?” Bibah huffs through the phone. I hear something fall in the background, and she huffs again, feet shuffling.“I’m telling you now.” I point out.“Yeah, after someone gets unalived!” She whispered harshly, keeping her voice low because her siblings are nosy. She’d gone straight home to Sohdan City after graduation. “Does William know it’s not suicide?”I sigh and recline back on the pillow propped up on my bed. “No, I didn’t tell him.” I admit, glancing at the unresponsive face of my mom. Wilma had gone to her room to take a shower and change out of her blood soaked clothes.I’ve done the same, but it still feels as if I have blood drying on my skin and on the oversized white cotton tee and black maxi skirt I’m wearing.“Well you should. And you should get out of there, ASAP.” Bibah chides, the worry in her tone palpable. “Fauza is getting the flight tickets online as we speak. There are no outbound flights from South Lake City to Soh
The Mate Agreement 84: VODKA
My eyes pop out of their sockets.She did not just do that. But she did. She really did. Mila just slapped Luke Ravenstone, her mate, across the cheek. The sound bounces off the cold countertops, almost blasphemous in its echo. The short silence after is even more tensed. Her eyes widen with realization of what she has done. And then she bursts out in tears, clutches his shirt and sobs. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” She repeats over and over again.I wait for it.But, no.The world doesn’t end.Luke Ravenstone doesn’t turn into a hulk and herald in the apocalypse. No, he rubs Mila’s back, soothing her in the softest voice that could come out of his vocal cords. “It’s okay, you’re just drunk, you’re okay.”I sit back down and stare; dumbfounded.So he’s capable of feeling anything other than disgust and cold rage? Huh.Mila calms enough to straighten, although she’s still tipsy on her feet. She looks at his face, takes in a sharp breath, and bursts out crying for the umpteenth tim
The Mate Agreement 85: DOWN TO THE BONE
I have no idea where to start looking for Ethan.Mila really should’ve given us a tour of the private quarters. What I do know is this; William’s room, and possible Luke and Mila’s rooms are on the third floor, and the only thing above that level is the rooftop. The guest rooms where Wilma, Lexie and I stay, are on the second floor, and I’m pretty sure the other doors on that level were more of guest rooms too. That leaves the ground floor for exploration, where I already know there’s a kitchen, a large living room, and…I look out the sliding doors of the living room and find a swimming pool out on the terrace. There’s a swimming pool. Well, of course there’s a swimming pool, this place is unbelievably huge.Abandoning my mission to seek out Ethan, I open the transparent sliding doors instead and step out into the terrace. If I’m leaving soon, I might as well explore the rest of the house.Cool wind blows through my hair, brushing against my cheek like an invisible, loving hand. The
The Mate Agreement 86: STOOL VERSUS RIFLE
Wilma doesn’t have to tell me who’s here.I know.I know it’s Lucien.It has to be.More gunshots ring out; each one louder than the last, like they’re moving closer and will be breaking down the door any second. And then stop. In the eerie silence, the monitoring machines continue to beep steadily. The electricity is still on; I realize. Only the lights have been cut off.Why?I grip my sister’s shoulders, staring at her fear-striken face bathed in infrared light. “Wilma, tell me what you know.” I demand, my voice shaking, my fear peeking through the chaos.“Ethan.” Wilma says sharply in an inhale, then screws her eyes shut for a heartbeat as if gathering her thoughts and reconciling them with her tongue. “It was Ethan, he let them in. I know you said to not play detective, but he looked so suspicious so I tailed him, and I saw-“We have to get out of here.A deafening gunshot.We have to go.Wilma is trembling now, as she clutches my arms tighter, her fingernails digging into my ski
The Mate Agreement 87: GRUNT AND GROWLS
Ethan narrows his eyes. Suspicion flashes through his gaze. I can see the choice warring behind his eyes, and then it all falls away. Nothing but conviction stays. He doesn’t believe me, but he acts like he does. I know an actor when I see one.I clutch the knife behind me tighter.“We can’t stay here.” Ethan says finally, shadows falling over his face as he shifts back and the infrared lights cuts over the hollows of his cheeks. His smile looks more wolfish than ever, and I know I’m in the presence of a predator. “I know a safe place. A panic room.” He makes a motion for me to come forward. “We don’t have time.”No, you don’t have time, because I’m going to fucking kill you.I make a show of hesitating. I must convince him I know nothing. For now. “But my sister…”His smile tightens, teeth gleaming red in the lights as if he’d gulped down blood and stained the enamel. “We’ll look for her. But I need you to stay safe first.” He wipes a splatter of blood on his cheek, and I wonder if i
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The Mate Agreement 111: EPILOGUE
The Mate Agreement 110: THE END
The Mate Agreement 109: PREMONITIONS OF CHAOS
The Mate Agreement 108: MOTORBIKE
The Mate Agreement 107: SPEEDBOAT DINNER
The Mate Agreement 106: LUCKY GIRL
The Mate Agreement 105: YOU’RE KINDA HOT WHEN YOU NAG
The Mate Agreement 104: LOST TO WHIMSY
The Mate Agreement 103: IMMERSED
