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“Then it’s not the bonding you’re worried about?”

“No. I actually can’t wait for that part, but there’s this feeling. The only other time I felt like this was right before I met you.” I paused. “Do you think we should be worried about the Tribunal?” I asked for maybe the millionth time. There was a lot riding on it. Our punishments could even be death, although everyone kept saying that wouldn’t happen to us.Advertisement

“No,” he said patiently. “People will make their statements. Then there will be a question and answer session—that’s going to be the hardest part. Then, we’ll get to say what we want. Biting you was a serious offense, but we’ve already passed the Seven’s test, and Sebastian and Donovan themselves pardoned us. This is just a formality. It’d be different if that hadn’t happened yet. We’d need to prepare defenses and arguments, but I can’t think of a reason why it wouldn’t go our way now. Just tell everyone what happened, and they’ll get it. It’s going to be fine. Trust me.”

“Okay.” I’d been working on my speech for the past couple of days, but it wasn’t going very well. The Tribunal wasn’t until Monday night, so I still had some time to get it done. But if Dastien wasn’t too worried, then I shouldn’t be either.

He started down the dirt road. “It’s going to be okay. Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together.”

“Right.” I squeezed his hand, but I wasn’t sure I believed that. I’d never been lucky enough to have things go smoothly. Something told me this wasn’t going to be as easy as Dastien thought.

Chapter Three

The drive from my parents’ house didn’t take long. The baseline of Andrew Bayer’s “Bullet Catch” rattled the speakers, and I grinned. I freaking loved this track. The dirty beats made my heart race every time. When the breakdown hit, Dastien squeezed my leg.

He was smiling. I love this one, too.

It’s kind of perfect, right?

He cranked the volume as he hit the gas, and we wound through the curves of a back road, pushing his fancy-ass car to its limits.

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This. This was why I was with him. He’d totally played this track for me—for us—because he knew it’d make me happy.

The greens and browns of the forest blurred past. As we neared campus, a brick fence loomed. The gates to St. Ailbe’s were just ahead. I held my breath, waiting for Dastien to slow down, but he blew straight past.

I gripped the door handle. You missed it.

Did I?

He sounded a little more than mischievous. The guy was definitely up to something. Where are we going?

I want a little time with you before tonight. Is that okay?

Alone time with Dastien? You read my mind.

He laughed, because that wasn’t far from the truth. Ever since I’d gone furry for the first time, we’d been using this form of communication more and more. It was easier than talking aloud. Or maybe I just liked it better. It felt special.

Dastien finally slowed as he turned the car onto a dirt road.

Huh. I’d never been down here, and for good reason. The “road” was practically a deer path.

A loud thunk rattled the car as it bottomed out. The scratching noise pained me. “Holy crapola! That sounded like it hurt.”

“Eh. I’m sure it’s fine.”

The guy had lost his mind. After ten minutes of holding onto the “oh shit” bar, he finally stopped the car in the middle of the forest.

I unbuckled and got out. “Where are we?”

He gave me a small smile, and a wave of his nerves hit me. “This way.”

Why was he nervous?

I sighed. Sometimes Dastien wasn’t the most forthcoming person. I could’ve dug into his mind and figured out what we were doing. At least, I was pretty sure I could do that now that our bond had strengthened, but being patient was the better route. Snooping of any kind was rude, especially the mental kind.

I followed behind him as he wove through trees. After a little bit we hit a clearing.

The grass, brush, and flowers were wild and overgrown. I could hear and smell the wildlife that lived there. The view even had a small lake—okay maybe a pond, but whatever—it was amazing. “Wow. This is awesome. How did you find this?”

“You like it?” He was still nervous.

Not going to pry. Not even going to think about it. The temptation was too strong.

I was quiet for a second as I walked closer to the pond. The clearing was massive. Acres. It’s beautiful.

Dastien’s cheeks reddened. pqdm.com