Chapter 337
“I know,” Chase says, voice distant now, like he’s already retreating into himself.
I don’t look back. I don’t dare because I’m not sure what I will do. As much as he terrifies me, he’s also my bond, and it’s in my nature to want to be with him.
Archie closes the door behind us and we all stand in the hallway for a second, dazed, whilst we process what just happened.
“You okay?” Dillon asks, scanning my body as if checking for injuries.
“No,” I admit, voice cracking. “He’s my bond, and he’s insane.”
Nobody speaks. Not for a long beat. The silence hangs heavily between us until Finley finally exhales a low whistle.
“Well,” he says dryly, “that’s one way to make a first impression… congratulations, I guess.”
I’m still trembling, though now that Chase’s suffocating presence is gone, it feels like the adrenaline has nowhere to go. My head spins and my knees buckle. Archie catches me before I hit the floor and scoops me into his arms without asking. I don’t argue.
“He could’ve killed you all,” I whisper into his shoulder, my voice hoarse. “How are we going to form a bond group with him when he could snap at any moment?”
“But he didn’t,” Archie says, jaw clenched tight. His whole body is tense beneath me, his muscles coiled like a spring. “We will work it out.”
“I hope you’re right,” I murmur.
“Chase is intense, and he has some control issues, but he’s not a bad guy. I think having a bond will be good for him. As soon as you’re bonded, I think he might mellow,” Finley says as we follow him towards the door that leads out of the dorms.
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