Housebound with the Blackridge Heirs novel Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Maya

People stared the moment I stepped inside the internship building.

Not the casual, curious kind of staring either. Not the little glances I had gotten since the Council incident or the occasional whisper about how I “smelled different.” This was full-on, frozen-mid-conversation staring.

Some looked shocked, some confused, and a handful looked like they were so jealos that they wanted to bite me.

Literally.

I tried walking normally, pretending I didn’t notice the sudden rush of whispers following behind me like a storm cloud.

“She reeks of him.”

“That’s an Alpha scent.”

“So she really isn’t human. How is that possible?”

“She must have tricked him.”

My stomach twisted. I pulled my cardigan tighter around myself, even though I knew fabric wouldn’t hide the scent. By the way Tylon looked at me this morning as if I was another person. Even Leo who usually welcoming and kind, peeled passed me this morning after sniffing the air as Tylon did, and disappeared through the back door.

So I knew the scent, whatever it smelled like, was everywhere, woven into my skin like a second shadow. The complete bond might have been new, but its influence was not shy.

Caden’s scent seemed to clung to me like a brand.

יה

“Hey,” Elise whispered sharply, grabbing my arm the moment I reached my desk. “You okay? I know you’re fully mated now, but people are staring at you like you just murdered someone in the hallway.”

“I’m fine,” I lied, though my pulse said otherwise. “They’re just being dramatic.”

“No,” she said flatly. “They’re being werewolves.””

“Does it smell bad? Or like… sex?” I asked tentatively. I mean, Caden’s scent alone could not be causing this.

“No, you just smell like your mate.”

Before I could respond, Jamille strutted across the office like she owned the entire building. Her heels clicked against the tile and every head lifted. Her expression was cold enough to frost glass.

She stopped right in front of me.

“You have a lot of nerve showing up here,” she said. “Looking like that.”

“Looking like what?” I asked quietly, assessing my worn, red cardican and black dress.

Her lip curled. “Like you belong here. Everyone can smell it. It’s revolting.”

“Elise,” I whispered, trying to move past her, “let’s just go to the back room.”

But Jamille stepped right into my path. She shoved Elise aside with one hand and grabbed my wrist in the other.

“You think you’re good enough to walk around smelling like an Alpha’s mate?” she hissed. “You’re not even a wolf.”

“Let me go,” I said, jerking my hand back.

She only smiled.

“You want to pretend you belong here?” she snapped. “Come on then. Let’s see what you really are.”

Her fingers curled into my shirt and she yanked so hard my breath left my chest. Before I could find my balance, she dragged me straight through the door and out into the courtyard. The sunlight slapped my eyes, but I barely had time to blink before Jamille shoved me down.

I hit the ground hard. Grass and dirt bit into my palms.

“What is your problem!” I snapped, pushing myself back up.

“You,” she said, stepping closer. “You are my problem. You never knew your place. Always reaching, always clinging to what is not yours.”

“I didn’t take anything from you,” I spat.

The image of her and Tylon that first night resurfaced, and it made a bitter taste come into my mouth. I remembered the way he held her, the sounds they made and how I wished it was me there instead.

I remembered the sting of jealosy, and that similar feeling now as I thought about it.

But I ignored it.

Because that was Tylon. Not Caden. And from what I heard that night, Tylon didn’t want her back. So what was her problem?

“You exist,” she said with a sneer. “And that’s offense enough.”

I tried standing again, but she shoved me harder this time, and I went down with a small cry. Elise sprinted after us, but two girls from the office grabbed her arms and held her back.

“Let her go!” Elise screamed. “Jamille stop, you’re going too far!”

“Stay out of it,” Jamille snapped without even looking at her.

I pushed up on my elbows, heat building behind my eyes, but Jamille was already reaching for my cardigan.

“What are you doing!” I gasped, trying to scramble away.

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