CHAPTER 279: 279-WE SHOULD REJECT EACH OTHER

Clementine:

I could not stomach any food, but I still forced it down.

During the time I was ignored, Ian, as expected, was focused on his own plate.

I was slightly confused as to why he had not shown any jealousy toward the others getting close to Oriana.

Or was he just telling the truth? Maybe he did it to annoy me. I didn’t care.

After the last bit of food was finished and we were ready to clear our dishes, I tried to speak to the ringleaders, but none of them stopped.

Even Miss Rue was not allowed to speak with me. We were told to leave, and I was more annoyed than ever this time.

As soon as we walked out of the hall and I began pacing down the passage, I sped up to get the attention of my mates.

"All of you, I want to speak with you," I said as I turned around, pointing at Oriana. "Except you." I moved ahead of them, walking briskly.

"What is it about? It’s okay, we trust her," Troy called from behind me. I raised my hand and shook it, signaling that I didn’t want an argument.

"If you want me to discuss something, it will be in private," I muttered under my clenched jaw.

"And by all of us, you mean Ian included? but somehow Oriana is not part of it," Yorick complained as he hurried to catch up.

"Yes, do you have a problem with that?" I hissed, finally turning to snap at him.

"Whoa, relax. What’s going on with you? Is North catching up with you?" Haiden asked, and I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw before turning and speeding down the passage toward the ground.

I watched Oriana slow down while the others followed behind me.

"Why is Ian included and she’s not?" Troy’s voice was even more aggressive this time, showing how much they cared about her.

In such a short time, she had become the center of their attention.

"Ugh! Enough with it," I finally turned around to snap at them.

At this point, I could still see Oriana in the distance. I didn’t know why she couldn’t just leave us alone.

She kept hovering nearby, watching us from afar.

"Because Ian is my mate, and she is not. Is that enough of an answer?" I barked, watching them all wear the same expression except for Ian.

The others looked angry, hands on their hips, while Ian smirked teasingly.

"What is it about? We get it. It’s about the mate bond, right?" Hidden asked. As I started to nod, it seemed they already had their own thoughts about it.

"About that, I think it’s better if we forget all the terms we made about trying to chase you, about making you accept one of us," Yorick said, as expected.

They had made up their minds not to pursue me. Honestly, I wasn’t greedy for their attention either.

The problem was that they never told me about their plans, and that hurt me.

All they had to do was come and tell me first. Instead, they waited until I confronted them.

I wondered if they would have kept going had I not asked them directly.

"Good," I replied, nodding.

I was disappointed and hurt because I had expected them to fight for me, to fight hard when I told them I didn’t want to continue.

It really broke my heart.

"Okay, so it’s decided," Troy said, checking the others’ faces. "That deal is off. We’re no longer chasing you, and we won’t be held accountable if we flirt with someone else, right?" The others instantly started to nod to him.

My eyes blurred.

It felt like I could never win with them. They were always one step ahead, always the ones hurting me. At this point, Ian had walked away, showing he was not interested in this conversation.

"Yeah, right," I replied, forcing a smile.

As they started to grin and high-five each other, celebrating what they saw as a victory, I added, "And I want rejection."

The moment those words left my mouth, their body language changed.

"What the heck did you just say?" Yorick’s tone changed, aggression clear in his voice.

"Since we’re not going to pursue each other and you’re all free to flirt with someone who isn’t even your mate, I guess it makes sense if we just reject each other," I said, repeating myself more clearly this time.

"You’re asking for rejection. Have you lost your mind, Clementine?" Haiden snapped, taking over.

I couldn’t help feeling satisfied as Yorick covered his face in anger.

So this is what it feels like to be hurt, huh? And why were they even hurt?

It wasn’t like they cared.

They were so happy, high-fiving each other, moving on. But the minute I mentioned moving on, suddenly it was a problem.

"Yeah, I know what I’m saying," I stated in a hissing tone.

"Get a rejection from us and go where? It’s not like you’ll find another mate. You got lucky having too many mates, but there’s a limit to everything."

Yorick hissed, trying to manipulate me now that I had asked for rejection.

I began to wonder if they were thinking they could go have fun with Oriana and then return to a desperate mate waiting for them.

Well, that’s not me. That could never be me.

"Wait. Are you thinking of going to Ian?" Troy asked. "Because if so, I don’t think he wants you. If he did, he wouldn’t have slept with Oriana."

Troy’s comment made it clear they knew Oriana had been with Ian.

That pushed a memory to the surface, something I’d noticed the first day I arrived at the academy.

I remembered them with a girl named Riv in the bathroom. Was that true? Did they only want someone to amuse them?

Now that Oriana had been with Ian, they weren’t even jealous.

"For your information, Ian gave me an option last night. He said if I mark him, he would stay loyal. If I refused, to spite me he would keep sleeping with Oriana," I mumbled with a smirk.

"Yeah, your best friend," I added in a taunting voice, mimicking them as I watched their eyes widen in shock.

"You’re going to mark him?" Yorick hissed.

That was when I realized there was a way to hurt them back.