Page 20 of Bloodstained Chrome

“Nonsense,” I snap as Aziz jokes with Orpheus, and they both chuckle.

I wish I could laugh along with them. I wish something deep inside me didn’t grab their words and lock them away for further investigation. I know that prophecy inside and out.

Finding my mate is bad in more ways than one.

If I lose my virginity, I’ll lose my abilities.

If Primal is my mate, I’ll lose my fucking mind.

But the prophecy states that I will grow stronger only with my mate. I will become more powerful than any other seer, even more so than the oracles. The fates proclaimed it long ago, before I was even turned.

If Primal is my mate, as Aziz and Orpheus think, I’m in more trouble than I thought possible.

Chapter

Eleven

Sibley

I spent a good amount of time with Orpheus and Aziz, something I haven’t done in a while. They both have been busy with their own lives.

It was nice to simply let everything go for a while. We talked and joked around with each other. The entire time we were together, as we used to be, I didn’t feel plagued by the visions or the eerie feeling of being watched.

It’d been perfect. Unfortunately, with the sun about to rise, I knew I couldn’t stay there all day. I needed to make my way back home. Not that the sun would actually bother me. It hasn’t in a long time.

As the hours passed, I’d managed to put the crazy thoughts of Primal being more than an overly concerned associate out of my mind. What Orpheus and Aziz said can’t be possible. It just can’t be true.

By the time I make my way home, I’m completely exhausted. All I want is to curl up in bed, pull the covers over me, and sleep. Something I haven’t done much of in days.

I’m falling asleep on my feet as I step onto my porch, open my front door, and lazily slip the key into the lock. I could’ve easily flicked my wrist and opened the door with my mind, but I do try to be as normal as possible when I can. Honestly, I don’t even have the strength to use my powers for something so simple. I push the door open, but even before I flick the light switch on, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Again.

This feeling.

Before I close the door, I spin and step back out onto the porch. “Primal,” I yell. I’m tired of this.

I don’t know which part of “I don’t need to be watched” he doesn’t get. It’s not making me feel more at ease knowing he’s hiding out in the trees.

“Primal, come out,” I yell again, but I hear nothing. He doesn’t growl or move a muscle.

Seconds turn into minutes, and slowly, the anger building inside me turns into something else.

Fear.

What if it’s not him?

Quickly, I get inside my house and slam the door shut behind me. I lock it and pull the drapes so nothing from outside can look in.

I don’t hear anything. It’s utterly still outside. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “Stop this. There’s no one there. No one,” I whisper to myself, trying to force my heart rate to slow. "There’s no one out there to fear."

After a few seconds, I open my eyes again and flick on the lights, determined to do exactly what I had come home to do. Get some sleep.

Once I get some sleep, I’ll feel better. I can put all this behind me.

My body feels like it weighs a ton as I slowly shuffle to the back, where my room is. I make my way down the hallway before the alarm bells in my head start blaring.

I hold my breath and step back, looking over my shoulder into my living room.