Chapter 12 Rune
rune
. . .
Steam curled from the kettle, winding around my wrists as I poured water over the teabag.
My hands moved on instinct. Measure, pour, steep, add poison, stir, but my mind was on Jesper.
The matebond thrummed under my skin along with my magic.
It was a faint pull in my chest that ached and soothed me all at once.
I knew he was okay; if anything, he was irritated to be away and longing for me, too.
He’d left early this morning for his mission, and already my soul felt his absence like a bruise.
“You’re thinking about him again,” Ominous said, perched on the counter with a half-eaten piece of toast. “But did you tell your boyfriends about your new mate?”
I swallowed hard as I stirred.
My phone lay face up on the counter, the thread of our group chat still open.
Rune Bloodwyne
I wanted you to hear from me first; otherwise, I would tell you in person. But Jesper and I…when we went on the date last night, the matebond snapped.
Zuko Vyre
We know, but do you still like us?
Rune Bloodwyne
Of course I do. I feel deeply for you both…just like I do for Jesper. Wait, how do you know that the bond snapped?
Slater Havoc
Congrats on the matebond, venom baby, but don’t think this changes anything. You’re still ours.
Rune Bloodwyne
Of course I’m both of yours, just like you both are mine, but how did you know before I told you?
Slater Havoc
I keep tabs on you, venom baby. Don’t worry about how.
Rune Bloodwyne
I miss both of you…and my feelings for you haven’t changed. Please don’t think otherwise.
The tiny dots under their names had pulsed for a long time before going dark.
Cora breezed in and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. “Duh, Rune, they’re jealous. I’d be mad too if my sisters bonded with Tobias first. Doesn’t mean they are legit upset over it. They just gotta process. Be reassuring if you still want them.”
“Of course I want them,” I croaked.
Her words landed heavier than I wanted them to. I did still want them. I still longed for Slater and Zuko the same way I did Koa, Drecken, and even Dimitri. The matebond sealing with Jesper hadn’t erased my feelings for them. It had just solidified the space in my heart that was his.
Dimitri walked into the kitchen, Brynn trailing him like a shadow.
My heart clenched so hard it hurt. Seeing her up his ass first thing in the morning was like a dagger between my ribs. I knew. I knew Dimitri was going to be my mate. Otherwise, why would it burn this way seeing a woman simpering after him?
I’d read everything I could find about multiple matebonds.
Fox shifters were famous for taking multiple mates, but newer research concluded that any supernatural could have multiple mates.
I knew that, but the research was fascinating.
That said, if their soul was split enough to carry it, once one matebond snapped, they could have feelings for potential mates until the bond snapped with them.
It wasn’t common for a potential mate not to become a fated mate.
My soul and magic still felt incomplete, like a puzzle missing pieces, and I knew that Dimitri was one of them.
All I had to do was tell him. And hope he could let go of whatever he was gripping so tightly that he needed a matebond to move forward.
“Is everyone ready for class?” Dimitri asked, red eyes avoiding me.
“Hold on,” I muttered, realizing I’d left my dagger in my room.
I slipped back into my room and froze.
My dagger lay on my pillow.
Next to it was a folded note, and I had not left my dagger there.
I’ll forgive you for last night. Stop placating the others and come back to me already. I’m better than my cousin.
Every nerve went on high alert, and my stomach flipped. The glacial amber scent of Darian clung to the note like ash.
How had he known?
Was he becoming completely fucking delusional?
My phone buzzed with a message a second later.
Jesper Wyvernheart
Honey drop, you okay? I felt your anxiety.
Rune Bloodwyne
I’m fine. Sorry. Found a creepy ass note from your cousin. It’s nothing.
Jesper Wyvernheart
We will talk about it later, and I’ll set him straight.
Behind me, Dimitri’s voice drifted in. “Rune, are you coming?” He froze, nostrils flaring. “What’s that?”
I crumpled the note and tossed it into the trash in one motion, strapping the dagger to my thigh. “Not important. Let’s go.”
Dimitri’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t push.
The tension between us was already as taut as it had been, but since he found out about Jesper, it was worse. He didn’t know that I still felt for him after the bond snapped with Jesper, and I had to find a way to tell him without Brynn hanging about.
“You guys coming?” She peeked in.
I let out an annoyed breath, and our class walked in silence to Apex Simulator 2.
6, where Jarvins waited for us for our assignment in Charm and Deception.
“Your assignment today is to extract classified intel from your target without them realizing you’re manipulating them.
One shot. No alarms, no spells. Each of you will infiltrate a different scenario with the same tactic: seduction. ”
He rattled off targets for each of us. Zara’s warlock archivist. Cora’s siren songwright. Seth’s coven matron. Ominous's smuggler. Dimitri’s apothecary-aide. My name came with the ritual guard captain.
I squared my shoulders and nodded. “Got it.”
My gut churned with the idea of seducing anyone but Jesper and the others. I’d felt that way before, but I really felt like I was about to puke thinking of seducing anyone but my mate and potential mates.
I had to push through it.
Inside the simulator, the base formed around us: torch-lit halls, magic circles humming, and supernaturals moving like chess pieces. My matebond still hummed for Jesper, dragging my focus like a tide.
I forced my breathing even as I focused. I had a job. To get my hands on a relic.
Quick glimpses of the others flickered as I moved through my mission: Zara flirting over footnotes with a warlock too eager to brag about his own; Cora harmonizing with a siren on a balcony; Seth kneeling beside a matron, voice trembling with fabricated grief; Ominous slipping a forged seal into a smuggler’s hand.
My gaze found Dimitri without trying. He stood in the darkened apothecary space, offering something to a gorgeous woman. His smile was careful; the way his fingers brushed hers was deliberate.
Jealousy and longing punched through me so hard, I almost stumbled.
He didn’t even glance my way, but I saw his distaste flash in his aura briefly before he masked it.
I shook it off and approached my own target. The guard captain was every inch the stereotype of how I’d assume one would be. Broad shoulders layered in muscle and scar tissue, a jaw like stone, and eyes sharp with suspicion. Cynicism dripped from his posture the same way sweat rolled from his neck.
Every part of me recoiled. My soul didn’t want this. My magic whispered venom, whispered strike and end him, not soften him.
Seduction wasn’t my weapon—it made my stomach twist.
I forced myself to mimic his stance, to mirror the way he squared his shoulders. I knew combat, and I used that to bridge the space between us.
“So, you train the guard?” I asked, pitching my tone as steady.
His eyes flicked to me, assessing my stance. “You state the obvious.”
My throat burned with venom as I nodded, feigning admiration. “I notice what matters. Your duty is perhaps the most important.”
His lips twitched as though he hadn’t smiled in years. “Would you like to spar?”
I nodded.
If we sparred, it gave me a reason to touch him and put my venom in his veins.
We sparred, the clang of our blades echoing in the hall. Each strike was an excuse to be closer, to touch him, to reach into his space and dose him with truth potion.
My palms itched with the urge to shove him away when he got close, but I twisted and pushed the feeling away.
When his blade slid past my guard and grazed my sleeve, I seized the opening.
I let myself stumble into his chest, close enough for him to feel my breath on his neck, and pushed truth potion from my fingertip onto his wrist. “Let me earn the right to stand at your shoulder for one shift,” I murmured.
Inside, I wanted to gag. My stomach knotted so hard I thought I might retch from the contact. I’d never struggled so badly to touch anyone, but I also had never had a matebond intact before either.
For a second, I thought he saw through my tricks. His eyes narrowed, his weight shifted, and suspicion flared.
I didn’t move, and he stared at me for a good minute before he chuckled, heavy and gravel-thick. “You’ve got the attitude for it.”
I listened, staying close, but my soul hated every second.
Finally, he told me where the relic was, and I made up an excuse and retrieved it without him knowing.
After the simulation, Jarvins announced that we all passed, so we left the simulator for a break.
Jesper was waiting for me outside the academy’s doors, leaning against the wall.
“Can I kiss you?” he asked as he kicked off it and headed toward me.
“You don’t have to ask.” The matebond was pushing me toward him, and I let it. I jumped at him, kissing him deeply. We broke apart, and I smiled. “We’re mated.”
“Consent still matters,” he murmured shyly, a smile plastered on his face.
Slater and Zuko rushed over as they ended their classes, like they knew exactly where I was, and honestly, they probably did.
Slater grabbed my waist and kissed me, and Zuko cupped my face as he kissed me too.
“Wow,” Brynn muttered as she walked past us. “Well-loved, aren’t you?”
“And?” Slater shot back with a satisfied grin.
I laughed, breathless, surrounded by the scent of them and the feeling of their lips on mine.
April came up stiffly. “Jesper, I have a question about the mission—” Her eyes landed on me, on the mark, on Jesper’s neck. Her nose wrinkled as she scented us on each other.
She went white, then red, then turned and walked away, tears spilling down her cheeks.
“She definitely likes you,” I grumbled.
“But I only like you,” he murmured softly.
“I can’t wait to see what your mark looks like on her,” Slater murmured, his hand brushing where Jesper’s mark was embedded on my hip.
Zuko leaned close on my other side. “I want to mark you. I want to force the matebond.”
I nodded. “Okay. We can try.”
His one free orange eye shone with devotion as he slipped down his bandage and smiled.
“If she says yes, it’s her choice. But once marked, it will show. Scar. Are you prepared for that?” Jesper asked us both.
“I want her to mark me too,” Zuko said.
I nodded. “I’m fine with it scarring.”
Slater’s red eyes glinted. “I’ll wait for the Fate’s blessing. But you’re mine, venom baby.”
“Duh,” I giggled. “And you’re mine.”
Dimitri passed by us, his red eyes unreadable as he forced them to look ahead. “I’ll see you in class,” he murmured.
Zuko and Slater glowered at him.
“Did you tell him about still having feelings for him?” Jesper asked gently, but I shook my head.
“I haven’t had the chance to yet, but I will,” I whispered.
And I hoped that would be enough for him to change his mind about giving us a chance.