Chapter 7 My Insane Mate - Callista's POV

The moment Mr. Cross dismissed class, I was out of my seat and practically darting toward the door. I didn’t look at Riven, didn’t acknowledge him, or this infuriating mating bond. I just grabbed my bag and headed for the door, weaving around other students as fast as I could.

“Miss Monroe,” Mr. Cross called out just as I reached the door. “A moment, please?”

My heart sank to my stomach as I froze. Of course. Of course he wanted to talk to me now and keep me behind.

Behind me, I heard Riven’s low chuckle. Gritting my teeth, I turned back. Most of the other students had gone now, leaving just me, Mr. Cross, and the one person I desperately wanted to get away from. Riven leaned against his desk, his arms crossed, looking entirely too satisfied with himself.

“Yes, Mr. Cross?” I asked, forcing a smile. “Is there something you need?”

The older teacher adjusted his glasses, studying me over the rims. “I wanted to thank you for taking Mr. Nightshade under your wing. I know Principal Wolffe can be…demanding with his ambassador assignments.”

“Oh, it’s not a problem,” I said, hoping I didn’t smell too much like a lie.

“Great news.” He grabbed a few papers from his desk, then looked at both of us. “I’m going to assign a project on the Alpha King’s territorial expansion. It will be partner work and due in two weeks.” His gaze flicked between us again and I didn’t need words to know what he was thinking. “Since Mr. Nightshade’s new and you’re already showing him around, you are the perfect partner for him.”

My stomach dropped. No, this couldn’t be happening. “Actually, I work alone—”

“Nonsense,” he chided. “This will be good for both of you. Mr. Nightshade can learn our academic standards, and you can help him integrate. It’s the perfect match. Win-win.”

I died a little on the inside. But then I felt Riven’s gaze burning into the side of my face. When I looked at him, he was grinning from ear to ear.

“Sounds perfect,” he said smoothly, glancing up at Mr. Cross. “I’m looking forward to working closely with Callista.”

The way he said my name made my wolf stir restlessly. My eye twitched, and I wanted to growl, though she’d never let me.

“Excellent,” Mr. Cross said, waving us toward the door. “Well, off you go. Don’t be late to your next class.”

We made it to the hallway, which was thankfully empty now. Everyone else had already moved on to their next class. I started walking quickly toward the east wing, where my Calculus class was, hoping he didn’t have that as well.

No such luck.

He was still following me. 

“Shouldn’t you go to your next class?” I asked, stopping and turning to face him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be showing me the way?” He had this huge smile on his face that made me all mushy on the inside, but I hated it.

I snatched his paper, turning it so I could see. “Calculus…One. And you have Mrs. Fitz with me.” I glanced down, seeing what other classes he had, and they were the same as mine. “You have all the same classes. You planned this.”

His grin widened. “We have a project together. How convenient.”

“Stop changing the subject. How did you pull this off?” I asked, still glaring at his schedule. There had to be a way to change it.

“I might have told Principal Wolffe that I’d benefit from being partnered with the top student.” His shoulders brushed mine, sending a jolt of electricity through me. “He was very accommodating.”

“Why…are you doing this to me? Not only did you transfer here, which was bad enough, but now you’re in all my classes and my partner in history class. Why go through all this effort?”

“I told you.” He took a step closer, backing me against the lockers. “You’re mine.”

“No mate chases—”

“That’s my answer,” he snapped. “It’s the only one you’re getting right now.”

My frustration boiled over. “You can’t just show up here and expect me to—” I paused and growled. “What do you want me to do? Fall at your feet? Accept this whole mate thing without question? You threatened my family, Riven. You showed me a vision of everything I loved dead in my own home. And now you want to act like we’re normal students?”

Something flickered in his expression. “The vision was necessary.”

“Necessary? For what?”

“To make you understand.” He braced one hand against the locker beside my head, caging me in. I had nowhere to run. “There are things happening that you don’t see yet. There are forces at work—” He cut himself off, his jaw clenching.

“What forces?” I pressed. “If we are mates, and you want me to trust you, then you need to tell me what is going on.”

For a moment, I thought he might actually tell me. It seemed to be right on the tip of his tongue, and the war was playing out behind his eyes. The mate bond hummed between us, urging me to close the distance, to touch him, and to stop fighting what we both felt.

Then his walls slammed back into place so hard that I felt it.

“Not yet. Soon, but not yet,” he said quietly.

I let out a laugh. “That’s not good enough.”

“It has to be.” He pushed off the locker, giving me space to breathe again. “So, Calculus One?”

“Yes,” I said. It was the only word I could get out.

“Then let’s go. I’d hate for us to be late again.”

I wanted to scream, to shove him away and run. But the bond wouldn’t let me and some traitorous part of me didn’t want to leave him either. 

We walked in silence until we reached Calculus One. I could already see students through the window, seated and ready for class. Mrs. Fitz was preparing for the day with notes on the board. We won’t be late, but if we waited any longer, the final bell would ring.

“I’m also with you at lunch, by the way, in case you haven’t figured that out yet.”

“You are insane,” I breathed.

“Maybe.” He reached past me to open the door. “But I’m your insane mate, so you’re stuck with me forever.”

When we walked into the class, Mrs. Fitz didn’t even blink. She motioned to the back of the class and didn’t ask for an explanation. I guess she already knew. Both seats were next to each other, which was a little too convenient. 

I slid into my seat and Riven took his, plopping down a little harder than necessary. His pine and smoke scent hit my nose, making it impossible to focus. 

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out discreetly to glance at the screen. It was from my sister and she wanted to talk at lunch. Apparently, I couldn’t get out of it and she wanted answers about the boy with the red-gold eyes who looked like he might devour me.

When I looked back up at the board, Mrs. Fitz hadn’t seen. But Riven, he had, and he was leaning a little too close to my seat.