Chapter 8 Continued

"Beta Ortiz! We need you to come to the infirmary now!" 

"FUCKING DAMMIT!" I screeched out, grasping the back of my head with both of my hands as I rolled off of Corey, my face contorting in pain. The sound of Benji's loud voice linking me startled the hell out of me, making me abruptly jerk my head up and bang the back of it against the toilet the very second before Corey and I's lips touched. 

"COULD YOUR TIMING BE ANY FUCKING WORSE?!" I screamed into the air, my irritation palpable although I knew Benji couldn't hear me. 

"Are you alright? What happened?" Corey rapidly sat up, looking down at me. Although his face was neutral, I could see that his eyes held concern as I glanced up at him. He went to reach out a hand to comfort me, but I pushed his hands away, standing up as I began to gather my bearings. 

"Yea, I'm fine." I replied, trying to keep my voice even and nonchalant sounding even though it felt like there was a trapeze show going on in my heart with the way it bounced around in my chest. 

Turning away from him in an effort to hide my reddened cheeks and heading towards the door - carefully this time - I muttered, "Benji called us to the infirmary." 

I dressed quickly after I entered my walk-in closet, simply throwing on whatever athletic wear I could find first. I could feel that Corey was close - as I didn't feel any strain on the tether - but he was probably standing just outside of the closet as he let me have a moment to myself. I was grateful for it, as it gave me a few moments to process my jumbled thoughts.

My lips still tingled from our bathroom floor encounter, and I found myself lifting my fingertips to touch them. It drove me wild as I thought of how close we'd come to kissing these past few times. 

The sexual tension between Corey and I was almost painful, but it seemed like neither of us could work up the courage to address the issue head-on. So we danced a dangerous dance, our emotions and relationship in abeyance due to our stubborn inability to just talk about it. 

On one hand it was weird that just a kiss was causing me this much turmoil, seeing as to how we had done much worse in the past, but things were different now. After I spewed those nasty words at him and my father came back to haunt me, it felt like we were practically back at square one.

I just couldn't believe that I was so easily swayed by tingles the man gave me. It was like my body simply couldn't resist his touch, and it was only getting worse over time and as we resisted more. It was like someone was amping up the voltage every time I pushed him away. 

However, the hardest part to admit out of everything was how damn good it felt. 

At this point, I was past denying that it didn't feel absolutely amazing whenever we made contact, especially during the more... intimate moments we'd shared before I blew up at him during the mixer. If it was purely my body's decision, I would have been riding his dick like a cowboy right now, but my mind was a completely different rodeo.

Remembering the urgency of Benji's tone, I exited my closet to find Corey leaning against the wall, waiting patiently for me to finish. I kept my blush under control this time as I walked over to the bed to grab my phone from underneath the blankets. 

"What do you think Benji wants?" Corey asked, pushing away from the wall as I began to head towards the door.

"I have no clue, but it better be good because I still feel half-dead." I replied with an annoyed tone, shoving my phone into the pocket of the gray sweatpants I'd thrown on a few minutes prior.

We walked in an uncomfortable - at least to me - silence on the way to the infirmary. I smiled at a few pack members we walked past on the way, hoping to ease the tension, but most just gave me slightly curious looks in return, whispering to one another as they tried to puzzle out the reason why the 'Beta and his mate were taking a break from their positions for a while.' I quickly regretted my actions, settling for the uncomfortable silence between Corey and I over being gossiped about by my entire pack. 

We reached the infirmary in probably around 4 minutes, but I let out a breath of relief at the sight of the door, as the walk felt so much longer. I was quick to knock on the door, and it was opened a moment later by the pink-haired medic, who ushered us into the room. I plopped myself down carelessly into a chair in front of his desk, while Corey settled gracefully in the one next to me.

The room held the usual suspects. Benji's hulking mate, Tank, stood menacingly behind his mate's desk while Osias stood quietly, closer to the door. Tyrus and Daffodil stood between the two, looking disgustingly adorable as they always do, with their hands clasped together gently. However, this time Daffodil looked very sad opposed to his usual bouncing-up-and-down self, his big eyes glistening and bottom lip trembling as he held a whole lime tightly in his free hand. From the looks of the scene, they'd likely just had to coax the fae to calm down by giving him his favorite food.

"Why did you call us here? I was very busy having my date with death before your little interruption." I sassed, crossing my arms tightly across my chest. Benji sighed at my question, giving Osias a look before leaning forward and setting his bony elbows atop his desk, leaning forward onto them as he addressed us.

"Before you passed out the other day, Corey asked us what eventually happened to the tethered couple." He started. The tone in the room suddenly became serious - or maybe it was all along and I had just started taking it seriously - as Benji spoke. 

I had somehow forgotten that we never had a chance to finish the entire conversation before Daffodil thrusted Corey and I into a hurricane of lust that made me pass the fuck out, but I definitely wanted to know now. My ears perked up as he continued.

"For a while, Daffodil refused to tell us, but luckily we were able to... bribe him with a lime." Benji's purple eyes flickered over to his big brother who sniffled, rubbing his face against the arm of Tyrus's long-sleeved shirt to wipe away his tears. 

The larger man had his hand resting on the fae's yellow head, rubbing gently in an effort to comfort him, not at all caring that his arm was practically soaked through with the tears that fell from the Daffodil's massive eyes.

"Okay and...? What did the kid tell you?" I pressed, sitting forward in my chair as I looked at Benji, waiting for him to finish. My stomach clenched in anticipation, my thigh jumping up and down and foot tapping furiously at the suspense of the situation. Why couldn't he just spit it out already? 

Benji breathed out, pressing a thumb and forefinger on either side of the bridge of his nose.

"The couple refused to act upon the bond regardless of the tether. They neither rejected nor accepted one another, acting more like friends than the soul mates that they were destined to be." He continued, pausing at the end to assess our reaction to his words.

Corey sat as quiet as ever in his seat, staring calmly at Benji as he spoke. I, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of the peaceful man beside me, my body practically vibrating with anxiety. I suddenly grew impatient with his winded explanation, standing up and banging my hands down on his desk. I instantly regretted my decision as my hands began to sting at the force I'd used in slamming them down, but I was in too deep at that point to show it.

"Will you cut out the damn fluff and just tell us what the hell happened to them?!" I shouted, feeling unbelievably jittery and frustrated at the fact that Corey and I were completely in the dark about something that affected us so heavily. This whole situation was basically uncharted territory and it honestly scared the hell out of me that we still barely even knew what it was.

Benji met my eyes, and my blood ran cold at the next two words that he spoke.

"...They died."

__

Well, this puts a damper on things huh :( Stay tuned for what happens next!

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xoxo, 

Alex