All Chapters of Mated To Valentine : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The engine hums softly as Achilles drives us through the winding roads back to the estate. The sky is overcast, the kind of dull gray that makes the world feel sluggish, but the air inside the car is anything but calm. My mind is still spinning from my conversation with Ellie, from the way she looked at me when she realized I wasn’t joking.Achilles taps his fingers on the steering wheel. “So… was that a good idea?”I glance at him. “Was what a good idea?”He shoots me a pointed look. “Telling your human friend that you’re a vampire.”I shrug, turning my gaze out the window. The trees blur past. “I owed her that much.”He lets out a low chuckle. “You might as well owe her a new living room window, considering the shade they sent after you broke hers.”I glare at him, but he just smirks.We fall into silence for a while. The quiet stretches between us, thick with unspoken thoughts. Eventually, I break it.“Do you think it was a good idea though?” My voice is quieter this time.He sig

The ride is smooth, the wind sharp against my face despite the helmet. I press closer to him, my arms snug around his waist as the bike eats up the road beneath us. It’s exhilarating, the rush of speed, the night folding around us like a velvet cloak.But when he finally stops, I immediately know something is different.This isn’t the same woods he took me to during our first hunt. The air is thicker here, heavier, as if the trees themselves are holding their breath. There’s no distant rustling of small animals, no chirping of insects. Just silence. These woods seem like the kind of place you'd find a skin walker or some other creepy shit.Not cute deers or wild wolves.I pull off my helmet, setting it down next to the bike. "This isn’t the same place," I murmur.He swings a leg over the bike, his expression unreadable. "No, it’s not."A chill creeps down my spine, but I shove it away. "Dramatic much?"He ignores me, his golden eyes scanning the area. "Remember," he says, voice lowe

"I swear, humans get dumber every year." Achilles says as he takes a sip of his cola. He's watching a group of students arguing over a trivial matter that soon escalates into a fight.He has an amused smirk on his lips as he tilts his head just so he can get a better view of the fight. The fight doesn't last long as a senior comes to break it up. "Aw! He just ruined the show," he pouts, focusing on me again briefly before turning back to the now resolved chaos. "Humans hate fun."I exhale, pushing my half-eaten cinnamon roll aside. "Speaking of humans, I need to meet up with Ellie."He turns his attention back to me again, brow arching. "Ellie? Thought she was avoiding you.""She is," I admit. "And I know why."He doesn’t even need me to say it. He just leans back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, exuding that effortless arrogance he carries like a second skin. "This is why we don’t tell humans what we are, North. They can’t handle it. Too feeble, too weak-minded."I give h

The estate is quiet when we step inside, the air thick with the scent of burning sage and something faintly floral. I barely have time to pull off my hoodie before Mara emerges from the hallway, her sharp eyes narrowing the moment she sees us."You’re back early," she states, her gaze flicking between me and Achilles. "I haven’t even started lunch yet."She crosses her arms, waiting for an explanation, but Achilles barely acknowledges her. He brushes past, his jaw tight, shoulders rigid.Mara’s frown deepens. "Achilles?"Nothing. He heads straight for the stairs.Something in her expression shifts—concern replacing curiosity. She looks at me instead. "What happened?"I sigh, rubbing a hand over my face. "His senses went haywire while we were at school."Mara straightens. "The council?"I shake my head. "He said no. He couldn't even tell what it was, just that something was off."Her lips press together, and for the first time, I see a flicker of unease in her otherwise composed expr

The laughter from earlier still lingers in my chest as Achilles and I make our way toward the main building. The sun is already dipping lower in the late afternoon, casting long shadows across the campus.Achilles stretches lazily beside me. “I don’t even know why I still go to these classes,” he mutters. “I could probably teach half these subjects better than the professors.”I smirk. “Then why do you bother?”He shrugs. “Gotta keep up appearances. Plus, watching humans struggle with the basics of existence is pretty entertaining.”I shake my head at him. “And yet, you still manage to fail pop quizzes.”He gasps, pressing a hand to his chest. “Excuse me! That was one time. And in my defense, I wasn’t paying attention.”“You were drawing a naked centaur in your notebook.”“Exactly. Art is important.”I roll my eyes as we step inside. We reach the main hallway, where the crowd splits us apart. He gives me a lazy salute. “Try not to die of boredom in history, okay?”I snort. “Try not