Chapter 212: 212-The Arrogant Mate Of Mine
Clementine:
"Come on. A little sugar is good for you. It’ll keep you upbeat," he murmured, smiling at his own words.
He wasn’t wrong. I needed the energy. I raised my hand, took it from him, and bit into it.
"I’m sure you didn’t bring me here just for this," I said, tilting my head. He nodded in those small, almost secret movements of his, like he was appreciating that I was always aware of my surroundings and the eyes others gave me.
"Are we going to talk about it or not?" he asked.
The way he clicked his tongue and squinted one eye shut made him look cute, but what he meant was heavy for me.
"Are you talking about the mate issue?" I asked, trying to dodge the real subject. He shook his head.
"How is it that every time we go North, we’ve got a walking encyclopedia with us? How can Ian know everything about the monsters while the rest of us are clueless?"
Finally, he brought it up. The topic I’d been avoiding. I cleared my throat and finished the chocolate, fiddling with the wrapper he’d held out to me at the end.
"I don’t know," I uttered awkwardly.
"Then are we going to talk with him about it or not?" he pressed. My breathing grew heavy at his question.
"I don’t know, Yorick. So much is happening. I don’t think I’m ready to find out that one of us knows more than the rest and refuses to share it." I finally admitted, meeting his eyes.
"But not talking about it isn’t going to get us any answers. We’ll just stay anxious. And what if he has a good reason, something that might actually help us?" Yorick countered.
He had a point, but I just looked away and stared at the sky.
"Yorick, you realize the other squads already hate us, right? Joshua thinks Ian and I didn’t help the love of his life. Matthias is probably out there waiting to sabotage us the next time we head North. I don’t know if I can handle Ian turning against us too, if questioning him makes him walk away." I spoke honestly, though I hid one part of it, I didn’t want Ian to be the one lying to us.
"Then I’ll have a talk with him. I just wanted to run the idea by you first," Yorick offered.
"No, no, no. I don’t think that’s a good idea. You speaking with him might just offend him," I said quickly, trying to shut it down.
"Then are you going to do it?" he shot back, eyes half open as he stared at me.
We were exhausted. All we wanted was one night of sleep without fearing Wendigos, without worrying about crusaders turning on us. The dorm was the only place that ever felt safe now.
"Okay, fine. I’ll speak with him," I sighed.
"Then let me know. Because honestly, I feel like something else is going on. If we know as much as possible, about the academy, about the North, it’ll be better. We’ve lost too many people already. Who knows if we’ll even make it back next time?" Yorick said, hands stuffed in his shorts pockets. He looked so sad.
Yorick was usually serious, unlike Haiden and Troy, but never this serious. I realized how much all of us were changing.
"Okay," I nodded. "Do you want me to talk to him now?" I wasn’t even sure why I asked, maybe I just wanted to speak with Ian at the moment.
"If you feel like it," he replied. "Do you want me to fetch him for you?" he asked, tilting his head.
"No, that’ll just make it seem like we plotted this. He’d know we talked first. Forget it," I disagreed with his idea and I rubbed my hands together nervously.
So we decided that when we got back, Yorick would just lie down in bed, and I’d stay awake and pull Ian aside when I had the chance.
By the time we returned, Troy and Haiden were already asleep. But Ian wasn’t in the room. He wasn’t in the bathroom either.
"I’m gonna lie down. I think he went out for a walk," Yorick whispered, pointing at Ian’s empty bed before heading to his own.
"Then I’ll go look for him," I said. And before Yorick could suggest anything, I was already at the door.
The moment I opened it, I bumped right into Ian. He was just coming back.
"We need to talk."
I didn’t even look at him. I sidestepped, rushed out, and waited for him to follow.
He followed me instantly, and before long, we were outside on the grass.
"So, did you have a talk with Yorick about mates and all?" Ian started right away, hands shoved in his pockets as he kicked at the ground.
"Hm. I wanted to talk to you about something else," I said, ignoring the subject and keeping my posture steady.
"What is it?" he asked. The lack of eye contact told me he already knew what was coming.
"I’m just curious, Ian. How do you always know—every time we go North— what monsters we’ll face? Their names, how to kill them, everything?" I asked, watching him nod slowly.
He let out a long sigh, then finally stopped and faced me.
"Is that what Yorick told you? Did he pump you up to come question me?" His voice had dropped low, rough, almost cold. The way he said it, without even a trace of a smile, sent a chill down my spine.
"He didn’t pump me up, Ian. We have questions, and we want answers. We were just trying not to offend you by asking." I shot back quickly, defending myself and Yorick. I needed him to know this wasn’t some scheme against him. "Yorick wanted to talk to you himself. I was the one who suggested I’d be the one to ask."
"Right. Then how about we have this discussion when Yorick’s around? That way he, and the others, get their answers too. What do you say?" Ian asked, almost taunting.
"Ian—" I started, but he just shrugged.
"I think we should rest. We’ll talk in the morning," he cut me off, turning back toward the dorm.
"Seriously? I’m not done talking," I complained.
"Well, I am. If that’s all you wanted to talk about." He stopped dramatically and turned, his beautiful eyes locking on me. His voice softened, almost tempting, "Is there anything else you want to talk about with me?"
"You had your moment in the North. You could’ve talked about it then. You didn’t. So don’t act hurt now." I let it out, grunting at the fact that he was so open in secrecy but the minute he was around others, he chickened out.
I didn’t hold back this time. He needed to hear it. Then I walked past him, faster than he had been leaving.
And before I was completely clear of him, I added, "We’ll talk in the morning, in front of everyone like you said."
This time, it was my decision. I left him there and headed back toward the room.