Chapter 3

Chapter

Three

F or three days, I'm left in this boring bedroom, and I spend every second pushing my Nexus away when the normal nightmares come to haunt me. The rest of the time, I spend tapping the runes on my wrists to annoy my Nexus mate who locked me in here in the first place.

I can tell it's pissing him off, because he looks a little more annoyed every time I see him.

I'm thrown new clothes this morning, a little different from usual. Simple black leggings and a black top, which I appreciate, but I still don't get my bag back, and no one talks to me. Onyx comes three times a day, every single day at the same time, I suspect, not that I have a clock. At least the food he leaves is good. He can walk through the barrier, which is permanently in place. No one even walks past the corridor outside. I know because I sat for hours staring through it, hoping to see someone, but there's nothing. No one. I can just about see a window down the corridor, and that's the only way I can see if it's day or night. The house is too quiet. I almost wonder if anyone even lives here. In the afternoon, right before sunset as usual, the door opens, and the barrier actually fades away.

Onyx, in a dark shirt and jeans this time, strolls in. There are dark circles under his eyes, and I'm kinda proud of them. I spent all last night tapping the runes non-stop because I couldn't sleep. "Come with me, Gwen. We need to have a discussion."

"We can discuss it right here, and then I can leave Starlight," I counter. "I'm not going anywhere with you otherwise."

"Do you want to stay trapped in here for another three days?" He looks right at me with those dark eyes. Those eyes almost scare me. I know some Nexus hurt and abuse their mates, and for all I know, he could do the same. "Because, trust me, I can leave you in here for a year while we keep repeating this and not be remotely bothered about it."

"Fine," I snap, climbing out of the bed and storming past him through the door. He stays right at my back, only inches away, gruffly telling me directions. We head down the staircase and to the left and into a room that is almost like a greenhouse. The one wall is all glass and looks onto a circular driveway and, further away, a cute street. There are tall trees at the end, blocking the view of anything else. I glance around, noting the entire ceiling is all glass too, with green framing. There's a wooden table with chairs littered around. Onyx waits at the table, and I take the hint to sit down on one of the chairs. The table is covered in plates of food, all Thai food, but with him staring at me and with the feeling the other Nexus mates are close, my appetite has disappeared.

I focus instead on the room, which is sparsely decorated. There are a few paintings to see on the wall, and a few pretty plants in pots near the glass of the ceiling where I imagine the sun streams through in the morning. There's a big bright chandelier above the table, which catches the dying sunlight.

I tense as I sense two of my mates nearby. Hollis walks in first and I don't even bother looking at him, but his complete double walks in right after, making me blink. Twins, they must be twins. They have the same blond hair, they're the same height, same eyes, but the other twin has a horrific scar that creeps down the side of his face. It almost looks like he was burnt in hundreds of small circles. It still doesn't take away from how ridiculously handsome he is even in casual dark jeans and a black Marvel Spiderman top. He looks like a sexy geek, and next to his posh twin, he's almost cute enough to make me smile his way. Onyx murmurs. "You've met Hollis. This is his brother, Rhodes."

Rhodes looks at me for a second longer before Hollis nods his head to the table, and they both sit opposite me.

I stay completely silent. Onyx tugs on the collar of his shirt. "We're just waiting on Alek and Finn."

Two more of my mates.

The not-so-joyful reunion I didn't want. Aleksander comes in next, and I actually know this one. I've seen a picture of him in a Nexus Starlight newspaper that Harry was given for his birthday last year. He's quite famous all round the Nexus world. Something to do with his powers and tragic backstory. I never let myself read the rest of the paper, because just the photo of him, even in black and white, stole the breath from my lungs.

In person, he is a thousand times more threatening to me. He is stunning. He's Mexican, I think I remember hearing Harry say. Aleksander pauses in the doorway and casts his hazel eyes on me. There goes the air in my lungs again. His eyes are absolutely stunning shades of green and brown, all mixed together. He's bigger than all of them, thicker, more muscular, and he comes right over, taking a seat right next to me, pushing his body close to my side. Everywhere we touch feels like an electrical wire buzzing across my skin. I don't say a word, but I move over in the chair to the other side. Aleksander smirks, running a hand through his short black hair. "I don't bite." He lowers his voice, but I'm sure I've heard his voice before. I can't put my finger on where, but I know his voice. "But my bear does."

I shiver at his tone, and I struggle to keep my resolve not to say a word. Aleksander looks above me. "I'd ask if she can talk, but I've heard the delightful things she has shouted from her room for three days."

A laugh clogs my throat and I gulp, pushing it down. Onyx takes the seat on my other side, making sure that I'm squished uncomfortably between them. It's silent between us, only the sound of Hollis tapping his foot in the room, before my final mate appears.

Finnegan. Something about Finnegan completely freezes me to my spot with terror, and my monster watches him too from my grey eye. For fuck's sake, she loves the scary man. He's tall, at least six foot nine, taller than all of them, and that's saying something, as each of them have been at least six foot three. He's not exactly muscular, more of a swimmer's body, but I can tell that he's strong. His brown hair is short, spikier at the front, and his eyes are the purest blue as he slides into the seat next to Rhodes.

He doesn't even look at me, not that I blame him. The silence that follows makes me want to run and jump out of the window. Hopefully, with a bit of luck, a piece of glass ends my sorry excuse of a life. Onyx clears his throat. "Gwen, now you've met everybody, we can discuss the plan going forward. You're free to?—"

"Leave?" I ask, hopeful.

He grits his teeth. "No. I've told you already it isn't safe out there."

I cross my arms. "I can look after myself, and I didn't ask for your advice or protection. What if I don't want to do your plan?"

Onyx whirls to face me, and he is mad. I grin, only winding him up more. I know he is the type to be in control at all times and doesn't like it when someone doesn't do as they are told. He is extremely fun to mess with. "Then you stay back, locked in that room. Fucking permanently!"

I roll my eyes. "Fine. What's your plan then?"

Onyx nods at Aleksander behind me, who continues on. "We have considered that you've been missing a long time and you have not done any training in years. You are a liability to us, and that isn't acceptable. We need to get you trained up, and fast. I have made a plan to train you three times a week on a more intensive course to make up for lost time."

I'm not doing that. I pretend to agree. The moment they let me out of sight, I'm going to leave here no matter what. Aleksander watches me and I nod. "Fine."

Onyx looks happy that I've agreed. "We all live in this house, and so do you now. None of us will touch you. You don't have to worry about that. We don't want a mate." A sting of rejection lances my chest. "That's your room and you can do whatever you want with it. You'll get an allowance to spend, and you'll go to work with Rhodes at a local charity. You'll work there two times a week. The other three days, you'll be training in various combats with us all until you're fully trained."

That sounds like hell and I'm definitely not doing that. "Anything else?"

He is looking suspicious now. "Yes, we eat two meals a day in here. Together. It's good for building trust and communication. We all have stressful jobs in Starlight, and eating together has proven useful in sharing the pressure."

I dig my nails into my arm. "Great, good for you. I won't be eating with you all two times a day. That sounds depressing when we all hate each other."

Hollis coldly laughs. "Like she's gonna do anything that isn't benefiting herself. We will find her napping in a sunbed by tomorrow morning."

Rhodes is kinder than his twin, and he changes the subject. "The Scottish weather isn't good this time of year, and it might be cold for you."

I actually love the Scottish weather. I love the rain. I never liked the sun of Spain and how hot it was. But I don't dare give them any answer. Onyx isn't done, though. "One of us is going to be with you at all times when you leave the house. Wherever you go. We can't trust you."

"I'm free, but not really?" I push my chair out. "I'm not hungry."

"Where are you going? You can't just run from every problem, Gwen," Onyx shouts after me. "Finn, leave her?—"

I turn around in the doorframe to come face to chest with Finnegan. There isn't a hint of kindness in his eyes when I finally look up, nothing but malice, and it is directed at me. My wolf likes it. "If you try to escape, Sun, that pretty Harris you lived with?—"

"His name is Harry." I don't know why I bother interrupting him to correct him. He just looks more terrifying, and my Nexus is falling more in love by the second.

"I don't give a shit what your boyfriend's name is, but I'll kill him. You step one foot outside this city, I'll cut him from head to toe and serve you his remains. His family too. Do you understand, Sun?" My heart races as I stare into his blue eyes and see he isn't joking.

He will kill the boy who cared for me, trained with me, and treated me like family.

Tears threaten to fall, and my shoulders drop as I imagine Harry dead. I don't bother correcting him a second time by telling him he isn't my boyfriend. Or that my name isn't Sun. "I got it."

He shoves past me, and I look at the rest of my so-called mates. Hollis is smirking, Onyx looks tired, Alek is frowning, and Rhodes is half out of his seat with a worried expression. Hollis beats him, coming over to me and touching a tear on my cheek. "Why did you reject our Nexus bond?"

I would almost believe he cares, but he is a good liar. I know because I'm one too.

Still, I want to tell him it was to protect him. It was to stop my wolf, my monster, it , from destroying this world. That I am a danger to them, and they have successfully trapped me here. That they need to let me go before I lose control of it.

There is no compassion in his voice, nothing but hate. "Or are you too selfish to even answer?" He huffs when I don't speak. "I wish you hadn't, because if you'd given us half the chance, if I'd taken one look at you, I would have rejected the bond too. You're a weak coward, Gwen." I can barely hold in the tears from that statement, from the pure hate in his eyes. Hollis looks over his shoulder at Onyx. "I'm not her fucking babysitter. I'm not taking her anywhere. Figure it all out yourself, but I'm done."

My wolf howls in my chest, whining in pain at the firmness of the word done . I wonder if they can hear it as all four of the rest of them look straight at me for a second, like the echo of the Nexus bond between us that I broke is vibrating. I don't trust myself to say a word without crying.

The door opens behind me, and I turn around to see Rochelle strolling in like she knows this place well. Rochelle is still blonde, very skinny, but as beautiful as she was when we were teenagers and had nothing to do but have petty arguments. She isn't someone I expected to see though. She looks me up and down, sighing loudly, walking past me into Hollis's open arms. He smiles at her like she is his world and then kisses her, passionately, clearly to show me my place. She has her own Nexus mate, so why is she here and all over mine ?

But he isn't mine.

I rejected him and I deserve every bit of this pain.

I have to dig my nails into my palms to push my Nexus down. The wave of jealousy coming from it is like nothing I've ever felt, and the feeling clashes with my pain, almost toppling me over. My feet feel like they are moving on their own as I turn, running to the front door and straight out into the open just to gasp in the air like a much-needed drug.

I don't stop running.