Page 8

Chapter Eight

Juno

Remi looked like he’d seen a ghost. I tried to focus on whatever Mr. Trent was saying, but all I could think about was Remi. I wanted to hug him, offer him comfort. Whatever he was dealing with didn’t seem healthy. When Mr. Trent handed us each a paper with his requirements, we stood and thanked him. As soon as we were out in the hall Remi bolted. This time, I followed. Was it wise? Probably not. But I couldn’t stand the thought of him being alone and miserable. And he’d looked about ready to puke in there.

I saw him escaping into the bathrooms and followed him in there silently. He’d been too distraught to notice me following him and I needed to keep it that way, otherwise he would’ve kept his true feelings hidden and I needed to know how he felt. I needed to fix it.

A broken sob came from the stall furthest from the door. Quietly, I moved over there, leaning against the cool tiles as I felt my heart break inside my chest. Remi’s silent crying was my undoing. I felt my legs shake and started to glide down to the dirty floor, not caring about my new clothes, only caring about Remi.

I couldn’t stand the wall between us anymore, even if it wasn’t an actual wall but a stall, so I spoke carefully. “Remi?” The sobbing stopped but he didn’t answer. “Please let me in?” I begged, my own voice sounding broken as I pleaded with him.

“It’s open,” he rasped, his voice quivering. I stood on weak legs and opened the stall. He sat on the floor, arms around his bent knees, his face hidden between them.

“Remi,” I whispered, feeling my heart breaking all over again. “What’s wrong?”

He shook his still hidden head. “Nothing,” he mumbled.

“You cry in bathrooms often then?” I asked, fearing I would need to deal with seeing him cry often. I would do anything I could to stop that from happening. Remi needed happiness in his life, not tears.

To my surprise, Remi laughed. It was a broken laugh, but genuine. “No, can’t say that I do,” he finally answered.

“What can I do to help?” Please let me help.

He finally moved his head from its hiding place and met my gaze. His vibrant green eyes were red and swollen and I felt my hands tighten into fists at my sides. “Did someone hurt you?” I growled, feeling a bit unhinged as I pictured hurting whoever caused this.

He shook his head and smiled weakly at me. “No one did this,” he took a deep breath. “I just have a lot of feelings lately that I can’t fully control. It’s not easy.” His admission helped a lot; this I knew too well now myself.

Sitting down next to him, I took his hand in mine, feeling my body sing with contentment as I finally touched my mate. He gasped softly, clearly feeling the same calm wash over him. We needed to touch now that we’d found one another, but since I hadn’t found anything about human mates that wasn’t fiction, I knew they worked differently. Remi, however, seemed to function like we did, much to my pleasure, since I would hate to be the only one in this mating that felt our pull.

“I feel them too,” I assured him. “The attraction, the worry, the lust.” His eyes widened and he gaped at me as I continued to hold his hand and his gaze.

“You… what?” he looked truly confused, which then made me confused, too.

“This,” I waved my free hand between us. “Us meeting. It started these feelings and we can’t function without one another anymore. Did no one teach you this?” I was going to have words with his parents. But then again, mates didn’t seem normal here, people dated many people in their lifetimes before they found someone that fit them, and often they never did. It was sad really. And exhausting to think about. Not that Remi needed to think about dating others, he was mine.

“We can’t?” he asked, again with that puzzled tone. “Why?” I’d promised not to tell him about me until I trusted him, and since I trusted him, I could easily tell him now. But seeing as he’d already had a meltdown in a school bathroom, I figured half the truth would be sufficient enough.

“When you saw me, you found me attractive, right?” I asked and he nodded timidly. “And you now feel wrong whenever we’re apart?” He nodded again. “I feel the same towards you, this need to have you close, this new feeling of wanting someone, touching them.” I squeezed his hand a little tighter.

“But why?” Remi asked, his eyes still wet and seeking. With my free hand I brushed his tears away.

“Because that’s how mates work.”

Remi snorted. “Right, how could I forget.” He seemed to believe I was joking, then proceeded to pinch himself before wincing from the pain it caused him. What the hell should I do? I couldn’t leave him here. But I also needed to research how to help him. This couldn’t be healthy. He truly seemed close to a psychotic breakdown, his eyes glassy and distant as a broken laugh escaped his plump lips.

Then I did something I never thought I would. Against my mate, without his consent, I used my magic to lull him to sleep, watching his face relax until his whole body slumped and I caught him just before he fell over. Once I had him in my lap, I messaged Nix.

Juno: Emergency. Bathroom, furthest stall.

I added my exact location and when a confirmation beep reached my ears, I relaxed and waited.

“That took more magic than I thought,” Nix winced as he rubbed his temples. We carried Remi back to our room, making us invisible as we did so no one would see Remi out cold. But holding magic while carrying a person wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Plus, Remi was a tall guy, a sexy tall guy, and taller than both Nix and I. Carrying him here wasn’t an easy feat, but we succeeded and now he was sleeping. In my bed.

“Thanks for your help,” I said, looking over at Remi as he continued to sleep peacefully.

“Always. But what will you do when he wakes?” Nix had a point. I hadn’t thought about that part, only that I needed Remi to shut down before he had another meltdown, not wanting him to experience it.

“I don’t know. These feelings newly mated couples experience scared him. He told me so, and since they don’t have mates here, I couldn’t exactly comfort him.”

“Call the rulers, this isn’t something we can figure out on our own,” Nix said, gesturing to my slate.

“You’re right,” I admitted and called my dad. His face was projected into our room and soon the other rulers joined.

“What is it, son?” my dad asked with a worried tone when he spotted Remi sleeping in the background.

“I um, need your help,” I admitted.

“Did you kill someone?!” Trise gasped.

“No!” We said in unison.

“Then why is there a man on one of the beds who’s not moving?” Henriette demanded.

“That’s Remi,” I replied as they gasped in mortification.

“What did you do to your mate, son?” My dad asked with caution.

“He had a meltdown in the school bathroom because of all his feelings. They’re not used to this here, it scared him. And I couldn’t comfort him without telling him the truth and seeing as he was already losing it, I couldn’t tell him I was from another world, could I?” I snapped the last part, angry at the world and letting it out on them.

“Son,” my dad warned and I instantly calmed down, blushing from embarrassment. I couldn’t talk like that to our rulers. “Bring him here,” my dad ordered.

“What?!” Both Nix and I said simultaneously.

“He needs to see our world to believe it,” Dad answered calmly.

“I’m not kidnapping him through a portal so he’ll believe I’m from another world!” I snapped again, only this time not sorry about it. “He’s my mate, Dad! I won’t treat him like that.”

Henriette came closer and narrowed her eyes at me. “Remi is your mate and he’s hurting. If you can’t figure out how to help him through this you need to come home. This isn’t about you, Juno, and how you see yourself as a mate, this is about Remi and his needs.”