Page 70 of Twisted Ties

Stone tried to break into my mind.

The man in black forced me from my home.

I should never have trusted them. Ever.

Fate may have chosen Azlan as my mate. But fate can go to hell.

I’m at my dorm, bursting through the doorway before I know it, hardly aware of the journey I just made, a million thoughts crashing through my mind.

“What is it?” Winnie says, sitting up in bed and crackingher head against the bunk above, Pip waking up too and snorting loudly.

“I’m leaving,” I say, pulling my bag from the wardrobe and stuffing my clothes inside.

“Leaving? You only just got back. Where are you going?” Winnie asks, swinging her feet to the ground. “Back to the man in black’s house?”

“No, back to mine,” I say, stuffing my phone and some books into my bag for good measure and beckoning towards Pip.

“Your home? Back in the wastelands? Why on Earth–”

“I need answers, Winnie. I need to know who the hell I am. I need to know who my mom was. Who my dad was. Why the hell my aunt was so determined to keep me hidden. I’m sick of knowing nothing about myself.”

“And you think you’ll find those answers back at your home?”

“I know I will,” I say, thinking of my aunt’s locket. The more and more I consider it, the more certain I am there are answers waiting for me inside. I was just too dumb to think of it before.

Winnie tiptoes over to me cautiously, placing her hand on my shoulder. “I understand, Rhi. It must be awful having all these unanswered questions.” I nod, wiping hot tears from my cheeks. “But can’t this wait until the morning? It’s the middle of the night and there’s a werebeast out there somewhere.”

“It has to be tonight,” I say. “If I wait until the morning, they’ll try to stop me.”

“Who will?”

“Azlan. Stone. York. The freaking Chancellor.”

Winnie squeezes my shoulder. “Okay, okay, but how are you going to get there?” I know what she’s doing. Trying tomake me see reason. But I don’t want to. I want answers. And this time, no one – and no thing – is going to stop me from having them.

“I’ll steal a bike. I’ll steal Azlan’s bike.”

“It’s two days’ drive away. They’ll catch you before you get half way.”

“They won’t,” I insist, crouching down and opening my arms to Pip. He peers up at Winnie, clearly unsure what to do, but he’s my pig and he’s damn loyal, and so he trots over and lets me scoop him up into my arms.

“Rhi, are you even aware of the reputation of your mate? If he wants to catch you, he will. Wouldn’t you be better off waiting and talking to him about this? I’m sure he’d take you if he knew how much this meant to you.”

“He’s keeping secrets from me, Winnie,” I say, more tears cascading down my face, tears Pip licks away with his tongue. “He never told me we were fated mates. And he knows stuff about my mom he’s keeping from me too.”

“Oh,” Winnie says, squeezing my shoulder, “oh sweetie, I’m so sorry.”

For a moment, I almost succumb to the temptation to let her hold me in her arms while I cry on her shoulder. But I sniff, blowing hard through my teeth.

“Please don’t talk me out of this, Winnie. I need to do this.”

“Okay,” she says, “I won’t.”

“Thank you.”

“And I’m coming with you.”

“What?” I say, nearly dropping Pip in my surprise.