Clementine:
As soon as he leaned in, something flipped inside me, and it wasn’t just the shock of feeling a mate bond with yet another alpha. A distant memory hit me hard. That was how my cursed brain worked. I remembered the way he had flushed out the pictures of my family, and suddenly I found myself placing my hands on his chest and gently pushing him away.
"Whoa," he said in a shocked tone, almost like he had no clue what just happened.
"I’m so sorry," I said instantly, stepping back and rubbing my face with my hands.
"No, it’s fine. I shouldn’t have done that. I was just confused," he explained and I shook my head, letting him know with a hand gesture that I didn’t blame him.
"It’s not your fault. It’s just that I can’t stop thinking about the past." The minute I said that, I noticed him frowning, then narrowing his eyes at me.
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" he asked, "the past? What past?" he asked, tilting his head. "Wait, are you talking about our history?"
He hunched down even more, one hand out of his pocket as he waved it sideways between the two of us, his fingers sticking out in the gesture. I covered my face with my hands and rubbed it.
"I’m just confused how it’s possible for me to feel a mate bond with three alphas," I muttered, stealing glances at him.
"No, Clementine, wait." He grabbed my arm, stopping me from walking away. "You said something about the past. Are you referring to the bullying?" he asked.
At this point, I felt like I was going through too many emotions. I faced him and smiled sarcastically.
"One of you exposed my family, my weakness. Another grabbed the pictures and tore them apart. And then you flushed them out."
The moment I said that, I saw realization hit him, and he slowly loosened his grip on my arm.
"I..." he stuttered, because of course he had no response to it.
"I’m sorry, Ian, but I don’t care what the moon goddess thinks or why she believes I should be mated to you all. I’m nice enough to still be on talking terms with you. Don’t expect anything more than that."
My voice even cracked when I said it, the words coming straight from deep inside me. It was true that I cared for my squad mates, but I cared about everyone. And even though I was concerned about them, and there were moments when I felt very attracted to them, I knew what a fool I’d be to forget everything they had done to me and just give in.
Just because now we were mated, just because now they thought they were treating me better.
As I spoke, as I told him how I felt, I turned my face away and clenched my fists, trying to calm my nerves.
She pinched Josh’s arm, freeing herself and stepping away. It all happened in seconds. As she ran for the door, Joshua rushed from behind, scooping her up and pulling her back.
She instantly turned and smacked him across the face. I guess the fight she was putting up was enough for Joshua to realize the difference between her love for him and Jack.
This time when Suki rushed toward the door, I don’t think Joshua could bring himself to go after her. But Ian and I had to. We needed to stop her from opening the door and letting those things in, but she was too quick. She had already opened it and jumped out. Joshua went right after her, trying to save her.
It was chaos. As she ran outside, we finally saw what was happening. Jack was fighting three Wendigos at once. He was badly wounded and didn’t look like he had a chance to survive. Ian and I exchanged a glance.
We had to jump in, because if we didn’t, we feared our squadmates would be lost too. So we rushed forward, swords in hand.
We fought with everything we had. At the same time, I noticed there were only four Wendigos in sight. Maybe there were others scattered around, but they usually came in groups and huddled together to attack.
Even if they split up, they would just find each other and strike as one. I was really hoping that was it. After these four, the North would finally be free of Wendigos, since they were the deadliest monsters of all.
Suki hoisted Jack over her shoulder but stumbled and fell while trying to carry him to safety. That was when Joshua appeared beside her. While Ian and I kept the Wendigos back, they carried Jack together.
But as we rushed toward the subway, we saw one of the Wendigos slip inside, and we knew they were planning the same attack they had used at the mansion. We had to find another way to survive the night.

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