Relief washed through me. “Good. Your mom is cool. She’s kind, and it’s clear she cares about the students. All of us.”

Rage tightened his jaw and swallowed hard. “What does that mean?”

“It means I didn’t do it just for you, Rage.” I leaned closer, and my voice grew sharp. “I did it for Honor and Noble and all of us at the school—but mostly … I did it for her. Since your despicable, lame-ass uncle won’t even fight to protect his own wife.”

How could the king slink away in fear and leave his wife to be kidnapped and assaulted? I would never bow to that asshole. Ever.

His pulse feathered in his neck, and even if he didn’t understand the insinuation, he knew I meant the dig to sting. Crouching to meet me at eye level, he snarled. “You have no idea—”

“Well, if I don’t know something,” I hissed. “It’s only because no one bothered to clue me in. You treat me like a pariah—”

“Yeah. That’s only because Crescent Clan doesn’t have the best record for loyalty.”

What. The. Hell? This again? My jaw dropped, and I sucked in a breath, trying to rein in my fury. He did not just say that.

“I am so over your ignorance. Stay right there!” I whirled back through the doorway and raced to my room, hands shaking. Grabbing the top yearbook, I flipped through the pages until I found one of the pictures of my uncle with his arm around Rage’s dad. Then, I stormed back down the stairs, still incensed, through the foyer and out the door. Rage stood there, eyes glowing yellow. I reached out, slamming the thin volume of class pictures to Rage’s chest, and growled. “You’re the one who’s been lied to. You’re wrong about Crescent Clan, and as far as I see it, you’ve been wrong about me.”

I shoved past him and stormed across the quad toward Harvest’s dorm, hoping Nell would still be there to hide my mate marks.

If Rage was my mate, fate must seriously hate me.

Chapter 20

I was shocked at how quickly school settled back into its normal, fun-filled routine … with only one tiny exception. Well, maybe two.

First, the entire student body, save the Midnight princes, buzzed with excitement surrounding the upcoming Samhain ball. Apparently, it was printed on the school schedule and everything.

Second, the headmistress disappeared. Her office, once open to students, now remained closed—with guards outside. Guards with guns, tactical knives, and a few extra clips on their vests just in case. Apparently, the king was finally protecting her like a mate should.

I’d heard whisperings of retaliation, that the king had gone into the magic lands and slain some shifter packs in retribution for the island attack.

I still received packages from my mate, but after my fight with Rage, those lost their appeal. While Noble and Honor still said hi when our paths crossed, I kept things brief and ignored their appeals to hang out. I informed Honor our Saturday classes were over. Knowing the brothers had banded together to keep my mate a secret from me made me not want to deal with them anymore. Rage probably still thought my clan was traitorous and shady. Whatever.

It only took a day of stony-faced ignoring for the jokes in the cafeteria line to disappear. As well as the teasing. As for Justice, any time I caught him looking, his expression furrowed before he turned away.

And Rage … he lived up to his nickname. Whatever angst I’d hoped the picture would clear up, apparently it had done the opposite.

Well, fine. Screw them all! I was done.

Even my time with Kaja and the Harvest Clan sisters waned. Not that I blamed them. They probably needed time to heal after such a horrific trauma, almost losing their sister. I respected that, but I suddenly felt so alone. I worked, went to class, worked, and then went home to draw the covers over my head until morning.

I also focused on what I could do. Besides, far more important than a moody, distrustful werewolf, or four, was the mid-year exam that determined my future, the day after the Samhain ball. One way or another, I’d win the respect of my teachers and the other students—for me and my clan. My studies took on renewed purpose. I buried myself in my books. Every. Single. Day.

“Are you excited for Samhain tomorrow?” Kaja said, sliding onto the bench across from me in the cafeteria. Dinner was officially over, and I’d loaded my plate to the top, so hungry I couldn’t wait to dig in.

Grinning at me from across the table, she practically bounced with energy. “Well? Are you?”

I pulled the hair-net off and shot it into the garbage. Tomorrow was Saturday, which meant the Samhain ball, and also, most likely, almost certainly, running into my mate. Something that no longer excited me. “Not really.”

After a long guzzle of water, I bit into my burger, nearly groaning as the flavors hit my tongue. “But-this-is-so-good.”

The words slurred together around my mouthful of food, and I swallowed and opened my eyes, only to flinch away from my BFF’s proximity.

Kaja glared at me, not even six inches from my nose.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, leaning back on the bench. I shoved cold tater tots into my mouth and chewed, waiting for her to spill the tea, but when she said nothing, I went back to the main course.

She shook her head and pointed at my burger.

I glanced down to see what she meant. But the burger looked fine to me—more than fine, really. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Not the burger.” She rolled her eyes until they nearly disappeared and then gave me a flat stare. “You.”

“What did I do?” Besides me not inserting myself in her life every single waking moment, not much had changed.

She drummed her fingers against the Formica tabletop. “Just eat your burger, Nai. Then we can talk.”

Her tone was light, but I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Did I do something wrong? Lately, it felt like I couldn’t do anything right. The loneliness that had been eating away at me the past few days ramped up a notch. I quickly ate every bite on my plate before sighing with contentment. “That was a good burger.”

“Yes, all three of them.” She snorted and jerked her head toward the door.

The cafeteria was empty, save Kalama, but I wasn’t about to argue our departure.

We stepped out into the cool air of autumn, and I chuckled. “All right, tell me what’s up. I can deal now.”

“That’s just it,” Kaja muttered, her expression tight. “I don’t know what’s up. You just don’t seem like you anymore. You’re a ghost, always studying, always busy. Ever since that night … you don’t come over anymore.”

“Wait a minute. What do you mean, that night?” I tried to buy time while my brain assessed the situation. Was she mad? Hurt? How bad did I screw up? I’d just been trying to give them space.

“That night … you know, the one where you saved my life by binding yourself to a dark mage with a blood debt for a year.” The longer she spoke, the more her shoulders drooped. Finally, she offered me a small smile. “That one. You pulled away.”

I cocked my head to the side and shook it. “You think I’ve pulled away? I thought no one wanted me around. Rage and the Midnight boys hate me because they think my uncle killed their dad. You almost died, so you probably want time with family. Nolan is demon-spawn, and I’m … coping. Sort of.”