Page 32

The Mean Nurse

Isobel wanted to stay longer with Sophia, but she wasn’t going to put her in any more danger by making their friendship evident to the officials.

She had already said goodbye and was halfway through the chapel when Maya halted her, firmly closing the door to their residence and flicking her eyes around the small space to make sure they were alone.

“Have you ever noticed that Sophia has a sixth sense when it comes to Adam?” Maya asked lowly.

“Bellamy?” Isobel frowned, but then she was suddenly thinking about all the times Sophia had seemed to know that Bellamy was right outside her door before anyone else. “Actually, now that you mention it, yes.”

Maya nodded. She seemed nervous. “Did you have any near-death experiences before you entered your death phase?”

“A few, actually.”

“All after you met your mates?”

“Well, there was an accident when I was younger, but most of them were after I met the guys.”

Maya nodded again, her breath shaky. “I think my daughter is a tether, Isobel. And I think Bellamy is her anchor.”

Isobel’s mind went blank. She was already struggling to focus with the weight of all the emotions she had packed into the too-tight space inside her body. This revelation only increased her dizziness.

“But …” She floundered. “He …” She turned to stare at the chapel door, slowly clawing herself along the same path of thought that Maya must have gone down.

“They can’t be separated now. He can’t avoid her.

” Panic returned. “What if she enters the death phase and he’s too far away because he’s determined to stay that way? ”

“That is also my concern,” Maya said.

“Shit.” Isobel groaned, trying to fight off a debilitating wave of nausea. “Okay. I’ll talk to him. We’ll figure something out.”

“I can try and minimise the risk to her in the meantime,” Maya said. “But we can’t fight against fate. Death will find its way to her. Repeatedly, until they’re bonded.”

Emotion clogged up Isobel’s throat. Even though it was part of the process, even if Sophia would come back, she really didn’t like the idea that something, anything , was on the verge of happening.

She dragged herself away from the chapel with forcibly dry eyes and a stiffness to her step to mask the weak stumble that wanted to steal over her limbs.

She couldn’t skip her next classes despite her sickness.

It would be too obvious. So she forced herself through most of the day in a dizzying haze, ignoring the summons from Sloan to meet with Teak’s replacement over lunchtime.

Why they had suddenly decided to replace the bond specialist after so many months she had no idea, but she didn’t like that it coincided with the changes in their Stone Dahlia contracts.

When the day was finally almost over, and she couldn’t stand the weight of all that emotion swimming inside her any longer, she weighed her options.

She had two periods left, but the first was a vocal lesson with Mikel, and the second was a group session in their private training room, so she pulled out her phone and messaged the group chat.

Isobel: Taking the rest of the day off.

Their responses were fast.

Mikel (admin): Message if you need me.

Kalen (admin): Are you going home?

Elijah: Do you want company ?

Kilian: Do the Rosales need anything? We can send supplies with Cian or Niko; it won’t look suspicious that they’re going there.

Isobel: Honestly, I have no idea. It looks like Maya already raided the hospital. Maybe food? Luis really likes Cian, and he’s pretty scared right now.

Cian: I’ll go, keep the little guy company for a while, give the other two some privacy.

Isobel: Thank you. I think they’re going to need some alone time to talk through something.

Kilian: Is there something else?

Isobel: Maya thinks Bellamy and Sophia are mates. She thinks this near-death experience is a sign that her Death Phase is about to happen. Bellamy already broke it off with her. He doesn’t want them using her to get to him anymore. He can’t be avoiding her if her Death Phase is around the corner.

Kalen (admin): You’re not going home, are you?

Isobel: Just a small detour.

Kalen (admin): Niko.

Niko: Meet me outside the dining hall, Sigma. I’ll go with you.

Isobel scowled at her phone, but there was no real heat behind it. She was more embarrassed than anything at her lack of self-control or perhaps how predictable she apparently was. If she had just managed to take less from the Rosales, she wouldn’t be trying to conceal a stumble right now .

Niko eyed her as she approached the dining hall, a sigh of resignation on his lips as his eyes swept over her. “What have you done, little m—” He set his teeth together.

Little mate . He had been about to say it out loud.

“Maniac,” he revised smoothly.

“I fell asleep praying,” she lied, playing into the fact that she looked like utter shit. “I think I’m getting sick.”

“Then let’s go home.”

“Actually …” Her sluggish mind raced, trying to come up with a reason she needed to see Bellamy without making it painfully obvious that she knew everything.

“I ran into Bellamy on my way into the chapel this morning, and he was acting really weird. Looked like he was crying or something. I’ve been thinking about it all day. ”

Niko stared at her, that blank, terrifying mask in place. He blinked twice. “Are you waiting for me to give a fuck about Adam Bellamy?”

She was grateful that he had the energy to put on an act because she certainly didn’t.

“Please.” The tremble in her lips as she looked up at him wasn’t fake.

His brows drew in, and he stepped close, his hand closing around hers, threading their fingers together tightly. He pulled up his free hand, pressing a finger to her brow, smoothing out the lines digging in. “Fine,” he grunted. That was all, nothing else .

“I’ll text him.” She extracted her phone, sending off a message.

Isobel: We need to talk. It’s urgent.

When he didn’t answer, she sent another.

Isobel: Trust me. Please.

Bellamy: The forest at the back of campus.

“He’s going for a walk,” she said. “Let’s meet up with him.”

Niko corralled her into one of the golf carts outside the dining hall, hands cinching her waist as he plopped her into the passenger seat. “Where to?” he asked, turning on the electric engine.

“He didn’t actually specify,” she lied, “but I know he likes to run the path along the back of the academy, the one that goes into the forest by the river.”

The river Niko had almost drowned in. His teeth ground together for a moment, but he pulled onto the pathway without another word.

Isobel closed her eyes against the slight jostle of the cart, fighting back the spill of bile across her tongue and the violent spasm in her gut.

It was better than walking, but she was definitely running on borrowed time.

Niko shot her several looks but kept his mouth shut until they spotted Bellamy walking in the direction of the river, hugging the path that wound around the treeline.

He was already far enough away from the cameras that their conversation wouldn’t be overheard, but they couldn’t linger.

A camera crew was likely already on their way .

Bellamy stopped walking, watching as they approached.

He was so pale, his eyes haunted, his expression tight.

Isobel stumbled out of the cart as soon as it stopped, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. He sighed against the top of her head, his body slackening slightly, but he kept his hands loose by his sides.

Probably because Niko had rumbled out a warning sound behind her.

She only hugged her friend tighter until finally, he looped his arms loosely around her.

“It’s so fucked up, Carter,” he whispered.

She released him and stepped back. Niko immediately pulled her back against his body, his hands anchoring to her hips, lifting her shirt slightly so that his thumbs could brush against the bare skin above her shorts.

Bellamy eyed him warily, before taking in Isobel’s appearance. “Are you okay?”

Isobel blew out a breath of disbelief. “Forget about me. We need to talk.”

“It’s done.” He shook his head. “I made my decision. They can’t use her against me if it looks like I was just using her as a convenient—” He swallowed.

“—sidepiece. I can make it look like I’m no longer interested now that …

now—” He swallowed, tears of rage gathering in his light green eyes.

“Fuck!” he suddenly shouted, kicking the side of the cart.

It jolted, and Niko ea sed her a step away from it. And a step away from Bellamy.

He eyed them again, his brows pinching in. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She fought back her own tears. “But there’s something else you need to know. Maya thinks Sophia might be your tether. She’s noticed a few things, and apparently, these sorts of near-death experiences can be a sign of an impending Death Phase.”

Bellamy didn’t act as shocked as she thought he would. He didn’t look shocked at all. He looked … devastated.

“I had a feeling,” he admitted quietly. “I didn’t want to hope.” He fell silent, chewing his words, before finally admitting, “This makes things infinitely more complicated.”

“You can’t leave her alone,” Isobel said.

“I know.” He raked his hands through his hair, not even noticing when the sky seemed to darken and rain began to fall.

Niko reached into the cart and pulled out an umbrella, springing it open.

Isobel glanced up at him as he held it over her, and he rolled his eyes, nudging her body forward with small steps until he could reach out and hold the umbrella over a completely unaware Bellamy instead.

She squeezed his hand that was still anchored against her hip in thanks.

He grunted out an unhappy sound in reply .

Bellamy was tugging on his damp hair, fighting his own thoughts.

“What did they want you to do?” she found herself asking, afraid of the answer.