Chapter 27
Harlow
I pile scrambled eggs and toast onto my plate, but my eyes keep drifting to the door. Where is Jordyn? She’s usually one of the first people here in the morning.
After our conversation yesterday, I’m sure I can guess. Part of me can’t believe she went through with it. Another part completely understands. She wants to be a rider more than anyone else. I hope it works out for her.
“Looking for someone?” Georgia asks, noticing my distraction.
“Just wondering where Jordyn is,” I say as I sit, my underwear going straight up my ass, which is annoying. I hate our flying leathers. It’s going to take me a while to get used to them.
“She’s usually here by now,” I add, stabbing at my eggs with my fork.
“Maybe she overslept,” Dani offers with a shrug. “We were all pretty exhausted yesterday.”
I nod. “Yep, that’s probably it.” Maybe she can’t walk after Grim had at her with his super-sized dick.
“Mind if I sit with you guys?”
The voice makes me look up. Becca is standing there with her tray, all smiles like we’re long-lost friends.
I nearly choke on my coffee. Georgia and Dani exchange wide-eyed looks.
“Actually, we do mind,” Dani says, her voice harder than I’ve ever heard it.
She leans back in her chair, crossing her arms. “You were a bitch to us, Becca. Particularly to Harlow. And now you just want to forget everything that happened and join us just because your friends have left? No thanks. You can go back over there.” She glares at an empty table on the other side of the room.
Becca’s smile doesn’t falter. “I get it. You have every right to be mad at me,” she says, setting her tray on the edge of our table.
“Please know that it wasn’t personal at all.
I needed you all to get through Sky’s Edge.
To just get it done already.” She looks at me.
“It was some tough love to push you, that’s all.
I have nothing against you, Harlow. Against any of you. ”
Georgia mutters something under her breath that sounds suspiciously like “bullshit,” and I have to bite back a smile.
Becca either doesn’t hear or chooses to ignore it and continues, “Look, we’re all here at flight school now, learning to ride.
We’re essentially in this together, so I’d appreciate it if we could put the past behind us and let me join you…
please.” She gets a sheepish look that makes me feel a little bad for her.
Part of me wants to tell her to take a hike. The other part – the practical part – knows she has a point.
“Fine.” I sigh. “Take a seat.”
Dani whips her head toward me. “Harlow—”
“Let her join us.” I shrug, keeping my eyes on Becca’s face. “Any more unkind bullshit from you and you’re out.”
“Of course. I swear I’ll be nothing but nice from here on out.” Becca takes a seat.
“We might be here for months and months,” I tell the others. “We may as well all get along and support each other.” I refuse to suddenly become besties with Becca, but we can be affable to one another. “This is hard enough as it is,” I add.
Becca’s smile widens. “Thank you, Harlow. I appreciate it.” She looks at the others, imploring them with her eyes.
The table falls into an awkward silence for a moment before Georgia breaks it. She rolls her eyes. “Fine. I know what it feels like to be excluded, but be a bitch just once and—”
“I swear I won’t,” Becca says, her eyes wide.
Georgia nods. “So,” she says, picking up a piece of melon. “I wonder what interesting information Scar will have for us today.”
“I wonder,” Dani says. “I’m sure we’ll find out about all the things that can go wrong when mounting a dragon. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long list.”
I choke out a laugh, and the others join in.
“I can’t wait until we actually get to do it,” Becca adds. “I want to ride up there. To take to the skies.”
“I need more theory,” Dani grumbles. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready.”
“You’ll be great,” Becca tells her. “You have natural balance…”
The conversation flows more easily after that, discussing the day ahead, comparing notes on our dragons, speculating about when we’ll actually get to ride. I finish my breakfast and check the door again.
Still no Jordyn.
If she doesn’t hurry, she isn’t going to have time to eat before we head to class. It’s a long morning before we get to have another break. I glance at my watch.
Not even a minute later, Grim walks through the canteen doors.
He heads straight for the buffet line and starts piling food onto a plate.
He loads up scrambled eggs, croissants, fruit, bacon, sausages.
Everything. The plate is practically overflowing by the time he’s done.
I’m pretty sure Grim is fetching food for Jordyn. I need to find out what is going on.
I push back from the table, my chair scraping loudly against the floor. “I’ll be right back.”
I weave through the tables toward him, nearly tripping over someone’s backpack in the aisle. I catch myself just in time, throwing my arms out for balance.
Grim is turning away from the buffet when I reach him.
“Morning.”
He grunts.
“Where’s Jordyn?” I ask, trying to keep my voice casual.
He looks down at me, his scowl firmly in place. “She’s not feeling well.”
I narrow my eyes. “Not feeling well? What’s wrong?”
“She’s not feeling well,” he repeats, not elaborating. His tone makes it clear he’s not interested in discussing it further.
I press anyway. “Jordyn has become a good friend to me. I’m genuinely worried about her. Maybe I should go and check in on—” I use my thumb to point at the door behind me.
“No, don’t!” he says a little too quickly. “She’s resting.” Calmer this time. “She has a headache and um…a sore stomach.” He shifts the overloaded plate in his hands, looking like he wants to end this conversation.
I don’t believe a word of it, but I keep my face neutral. They’re obviously planning to spend the morning, maybe the entire day, in bed together working on their “bond.” Heat creeps up my neck at the thought. I just hope Jordyn knows what she’s doing. I hope this works for them.
“She’ll stay in bed today,” Grim continues, his voice gruff. “I’m sure she’ll be feeling better tomorrow. She is not up for visitors right now.”
Tomorrow. Right. After a full day of…bonding activities.
“Sorry to hear,” I say. “Tell her I hope she feels better soon.”
He grunts in response and heads for the exit.
I make my way back to the table, where Georgia, Dani, and Becca are gathering their things.
“Everything okay?” Georgia asks.
“Jordyn’s not feeling well,” I tell them, keeping my expression appropriately concerned. “She’s staying in bed today.”
“Oh, no! What’s wrong?” Georgia’s face crumples with worry.
“Grim says she has a headache and an upset stomach,” I tell them. “He’s taking her breakfast. I’m sure she’ll be fine by tomorrow. She isn’t up for visitors.”
“Poor thing,” Dani says. “Hopefully, it’s just something she ate.”
I murmur agreement. Something she ate. Yep, it was something she ate, alright. Namely, super-sized dick. I bite back a giggle. No wonder she has a sore stomach.
We head outside into the bright morning sun. The parking lot is already full of SUVs, engines running, and all our bonded shifters are waiting.
My eyes move to find Drake leaning against the vehicle closest to us, and my stomach does that annoying flutter thing it’s been doing lately.
He’s in his full leather gear, the material stretching across his broad shoulders and emphasizing every muscle. His long dark hair is pulled back from his face, and even from this distance, I can see he looks brooding. Like the whole world is on his shoulders.
Scar steps forward before we can head to class.
“Change of plans this morning,” he announces, his gruff voice carrying across the parking lot.
“Jordyn’s not feeling well, so we’re adjusting the schedule.
We can’t have lessons today because she’d miss out on too much.
Instead,” Scar continues, “we’re going for an early mind-bonding session in the field, followed by fitness training when we return. ”
Dani and Georgia grumble to one another. It’s soft, so I can’t make out what they are saying.
My eyes dart to Drake. He’s not looking at anyone, just staring at some fixed point in the distance, his jaw tight. He looks even more grumpy than Grim.
I’m not looking forward to this. I didn’t sleep well last night thinking about our confrontation over Amelia, who continues to be a thorn in my side, even though she’s not here.
We all move toward our vehicles. I approach Drake’s SUV, and he finally looks at me. His eyes are stormy, his expression darker than I’ve seen it in days.
“Morning,” I offer tentatively.
He mutters something that might be a greeting, then turns and climbs into the driver’s seat without another word.
Well, this is going to be fun. You would swear I had killed his puppy.
I get into the passenger seat. Drake starts the engine and pulls out of the parking lot before I even have my seatbelt fastened. I fumble with the buckle, nearly dropping it twice before finally clicking it into place.
The silence in the vehicle is suffocating. Drake concentrates on the road ahead, and I try to focus on anything other than the tension radiating off him in waves.
For the entire drive, he doesn’t say a single word. Just stares straight ahead like the road requires his complete and total concentration.
I’m not going to try to fill the silence. Screw him. He can act like a child if he wants to. I don’t care.
When we reach the field, he parks the SUV and kills the engine. Before he can bolt like he did yesterday, I turn to him.