The next few hours passed way too fast. After sending Lily on her way, I lay in bed with a sleeping Alexandra, trying to figure out how to get my life in order. I’d been gone for five days. Suspended in limbo. I was back now, though, only to find that time was almost up. We had ten days left of training, and it felt like we’d only really started.

I still needed to talk with Johanna and the others to find out more about how they’d ended up here, and answer their questions. If they could stick with me in a war zone and sleep next to me at night, there wasn’t much point in keeping some of the simpler things from them. And it would probably help if I took the time to learn their names.

Man, I’d been such a shit leader. A shit friend too. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d talked to Blair, and after she was nearly blown up, she probably could’ve used some support. I needed to do better. If people were willing to throw their lives down to stand by me, I needed to be worthy of that kind of loyalty. I still saw this as a prison sentence, even if I would get a shot at revenge when this war ended, but the time for moping was over. Alexandra and Lily both needed their sister. My friends needed me to be there. My team needed me to get my head out of my ass and lead them. Lucas…well, he needed to get his own shit together. He was in no place to ask anything of me after getting in a slugging match in the middle of an elimination. It was a good thing Aaron had been there.

Aaron.

Did I really want to think about what he needed?

Lily had said he could be part of the reason I was getting worse, but I didn’t have the first idea why. I didn’t even know what a signasti bond was. I was reluctant to ask Aaron, because that seemed too real. Too concrete. I would’ve asked literally any of the others—Alexandra, Johanna, Blair, hell, even Lily—but they all were adamant that it came from him. If I wanted answers, I was going to have to get them on my own, because I sure as hell wasn’t ready to go to my sister’s ex-boyfriend.

A thought came to me, and I slipped my phone out of my pocket. Maybe the internet had some ideas. Just like this morning, though, the screen stayed black as the red battery icon flashed in the corner.

“Seriously,” I grumbled, slipping it back in my pants.

I rolled again, blowing the hair out of my face as I stared up at the ceiling. I really didn’t want to talk to him, especially when I knew nothing about what this stupid bond was. It gave him an advantage over me, and how did I know he wouldn’t lie? He’d obviously been lying for quite a while about it, which didn’t help my confidence in him.

But maybe…there might be a way to find out.

I shimmied down to the end of the bed and jumped off, landing lightly on my feet. Alexandra didn’t stir. I ran my hands through my hair, looping it around into a bun on top of my head. My mouth tasted foul, even though I’d eaten nothing in days. Come to think of it, all of me was gross. I grabbed my bag of toiletries and a fresh set of clothes, heading into the only working bathroom. I stripped quickly and sighed in almost-contentment when the cold water hit me. Wonderful, bringing an icy bliss like nothing else could. I hummed to myself while scrubbing my scalp clean with the citrusy shampoo Alexandra always got me, and five minutes later, I was already patting myself dry. I dressed quickly in jeans and a Daizlei t-shirt, after putting my hair back in a bun. I really needed to cut it, but as impractical as it was, I’d never sported short hair, and I didn’t plan on starting now. I scribbled a quick note letting Alexandra know I would be back, and stuck it in her outstretched hand. Heading out the door, I felt lighter already, more centered and like myself.

The walk to the library was brisk, and I didn’t see anyone I knew. I had no doubt my face would draw attention, but I hoped wearing a shirt without any visible weapons would calm some of the rumors that I’d skin anyone alive who talked to my sister. I only did that to those who meant harm.

The bell dinged when I walked in, and I found Professor Rivas, the librarian, sitting behind a broad oak counter. I breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent of old books, teenage hormones, and something like smoke. There wasn’t a fire going, but there was the faintest scent of something wild that had passed through a while ago and was probably long gone. I shook my head clear, and walked up to the counter.

“Yes?” she asked, peering up from behind the rather large collection of encyclopedias she was organizing.

Hi, Professor Rivas, how was your summer?” I asked, wanting to butter her up a little before getting to what I’d really come here for.

“Short, unfortunately. I was exploring a particularly fascinating Mayan temple when our Council sent out the distress alert, ordering us back. What can I get for you, Ms. Foster?” she said, straightforward as usual.

I liked that she didn’t waste time, and wasn’t the type to dally much. Like all underappreciated faculty, though, she wanted students to treat her with the dignity she deserved.

“I’m looking for a book,” I said, pausing while I thought about how to phrase this.

“Well, you are in a library, dear. I would hope that’s what you came for,” she said, cracking the briefest of smiles before motioning for me to go on.

“Have you ever heard the words signasti animam?” I asked her, lowering my voice even though no one was paying us any mind.

She cocked her head for a moment, assessing me. “I have. Might I ask what you want to know?”

“I need to know everything,” I said, backtracking a second later with, “For a school project.”

“Right,” she drawled, before coming around the counter to lead me into the heart of her books. We passed shelf after shelf, and the quiet whisper of students soon turned to true silence. The shelves back here had an inch of dust, and books with titles in languages I’d never seen before. In the very back corner on a smaller shelf were about half a dozen books with signasti animam and variations printed on the spine.

“This is it?” I asked. Surely a place this big with a budget like ours should have more than a few...but it would have to do.

“The bond is rare, and old. Most Supernaturals never find their signasti, and those who do don’t usually recognize them. Other species have better luck, but in the last few centuries, it seems Nyx’s turned away and taken the concept of predetermined mates with her. These are all we have on the subject,” she said.

I took a step toward them, but something made me hesitant.

Once I knew, I could never unknow. Blair and Lily had excused Aaron because of this. Alexandra hated him for it. This bond had already made a mess of my life. Did I really want to know?

Professor Rivas turned to leave, pausing only for a moment to say, “I hope you find what you’re looking for, Selena. Be careful.”

I had a feeling that warning had nothing to do with the books. For a woman who spent her days in a library, she knew more than she let on. Wasting no more time, I took my tiny collection of answers and settled down against the far shelf. The first book was small, not much bigger than my hand, with faded gold lettering that read: anima vinctum.

Soul bonded.

That was a slightly nicer term than the one they’d told me, even though they clearly meant the same thing. I took a deep breath and opened the book.

The first few pages made no sense. It was just a bunch of drawings of men and women, some morphing, others splitting. Several depicted what looked like two people being cut open to search for their souls. The author noted their death, and lack of results.

Well yeah, idiot. You can’t cut a soul out.

The journal was handwritten and badly faded. As the pages went on, it transitioned from drawings, to discussing the theoretical concept of a soul, to talking about something like divine intervention. The passages were barely legible, but I could pick out some terms the writer kept using. Anima Vinctum. Signasti Animam. The list went on, and some were more depressing than the one they’d given me. The books talked about forever, two souls always seeking each other out—which made it seem like they believed in reincarnation—but the books were old or fading. The English wasn’t modern, and that made it difficult to decipher. Forever sounded pretty long, though… How the hell did you end up bonded anyway? I flipped through two more journals until the pages came up blank then turned to the next book.

The History of Us. Who named a book The History of Us? Sounded kind of pretentious, but I’d give it a try. This one had more of a textbook quality, with an actual table of contents, and right there at the very bottom was signasti anima, printed in small black letters.

“Close enough,” I breathed, turning to page one hundred and sixty-seven.

Seriously? One lousy paragraph. Well, at least it confirmed what I’d already gathered—that this was some kind of archaic view of soul mates. Which, oddly enough, would explain the weirdness of the last year surrounding Aaron. If this was to be believed, it was because he’d known the moment he saw me. An otherworldly ‘tether’ had snapped into place, binding us forever. It seemed oddly convenient that Supernaturals hardly ever saw these bonds, and when they did, it was only after the ‘claiming’ had happened.

“What the fuck is a claiming?” I muttered, slamming the book shut and tossing it away. Tossing was an understatement, actually, as it flew ten feet and landed with a thud on top of a pair of dull black boots. Boots? What the—

“I was wondering how long it would take you to start looking,” a deep, distinctly male voice said.

I glanced up into coal-black eyes as the smell of smoke and the wild enveloped me. I should’ve known he was here. I’d smelled his scent when we fought. He took slow steps toward me as I stood. His eyes heated, like a predator on the hunt.

Oh hell. Not happening. I flicked my wrist and put away the books. They made a thack sound as they hit the shelves a little harder than I’d intended.

“You have claws, but you’re running like prey. Do I intimidate you that much? Does this?” his voice was a whisper in my ear.

I froze, my body instinctively tightening, as if it knew he was no good for me. Knew I would have no choice in how I reacted. I didn’t want to turn around because he was there. Right there. How he’d moved from five feet away without a sound…

“Intimidate me? You’re more likely to smother me with that ego. My answer hasn’t changed, Aaron,” I said bitingly, hoping my venom would keep him off my tail.

“What do you want to know about the claiming?” he asked, moving to lean against the shelf. His eyes were a burning black, the gold already peeking through like embers dancing in the depths of the darkness. My throat went dry, but at least I didn’t blush. I had a pretty damn good idea what claiming meant when the words ‘mate’ and ‘forever’ were involved—oh, and let’s not forget bound.

“Fuck off, Aaron.”

I turned to walk away, but didn’t even make it half a step when he wrapped his hand around my wrist, giving it a small tug. Like a string wound too tightly, I snapped right back into him. His scent was as intoxicating as it was assaulting, and I was in big trouble—because I didn’t pull away.

The inner heat that seemed to radiate from him hit me like a wall. My body went loose, as I let him wind his other arm around my waist. His hands were so warm, filling an ache in my bones I hadn’t known was there. Unlike last time, when he’d given me ample warning, this time, he was going for the kill. This time, he didn’t let me be dissuaded. And this time, when he brought his mouth down on mine, I liked it.

That was an understatement. It was the kiss that made people see stars, and think they could reach them. It was a wildfire raging through my body, needing an outlet, and he was ready to take it all. The restless beast inside me had been seeking something, and she’d finally found it.

I brought my hands up around his neck, curling my fingers into his hair. He groaned, pulling me closer, as he slid his hand away from my wrist and wrapped it around the side of my neck, using his thumb to guide my face higher. I stumbled in his arms, my legs weak, and then the damn doorway appeared in my mind. The heat. The fire. The beast inside me. It all came back to the door, and the way his lips set me aflame.

My emotions ran raw, and every nerve ending in my body came alive. When he let me slam him into the library shelf, we were wrenched apart for the briefest of moments, and his eyes glowed gold with an unnamable emotion. I reeled him back in, pulling his face to mine with all the strength my shaking arms could muster.

Something was building in me. Burning in me.

The door shook so violently that I wanted to reach forward and touch it. Caress it. Open it. Until it was all ripped away, and I found myself gasping for breath.

Aaron sidestepped me, untangling himself so fast that I fell forward, clutching two bookshelves for support and snapping one of them. I recovered my footing, pulling back to face him.

“I’ve waited a year to do that, and it was worth the wait.” He winked, but underneath that cool exterior, there was something in him that burned at my touch. His breath was nearly as unsteady as mine, and his heartbeat drummed in my ears. He wasn’t as together as he wanted me to believe.

“Why did you do that?” I snapped, my cheeks still flaming.

He was as cocky as the day I’d met him, sexy as sin, but it was the way he looked at me—like I was everything—that made me uneasy.

“Because now I know your soul recognizes me, and you won’t be able to stay away anymore.”

He turned away, leaving me open-mouthed, red-faced, and fuming, but I made no move to stop him.

Of all the arrogant things that bastard could—

“Oh, and Selena, darling?”

I looked up, into the dark eyes that saw past my cold exterior into the blazing fire of my heart. He might’ve seen me, but I wasn’t his. “When you want real answers, you know where to find me.”

And just like that, he was gone, and with him, any warmth.

“You’re an idiot to ever turn that down,” Violet said, ogling him from the back of my mind. She was a beast in her own right, and I shuddered to think what would happen if she came out when he and I were fighting. There was already enough…tension without throwing her into the mix.

“I don’t want a relationship, least of all with him,” I fired back, even though my body was telling me otherwise.

I’d just told Lucas there was nothing going on between Aaron and me, and even though I didn’t want Lucas, that didn’t mean I wanted Aaron—or his signasti bond.

“You know, for someone with so many issues, you judge an awful lot,” she said.

“Put a sock in it,” I hissed back.

Deep down, I knew she was right, but that was a secret better left buried in the graveyard where I kept my heart.