Chapter 292
Clementine:
“So you’re his twin brother. That was you I saw that day in the hotel with his ex-girlfriend,” I said loudly, pointing a finger at him.
Everything started to make sense, and guilt hit me hard.
For days, I hadn’t figured it out, probably because no one ever told me about his brother.
If only I had known, I would’ve found a way to reach Ian sooner.
“Right, I’m Zian. People call me his evil twin,” Zian said, sliding his hands into his pockets with a smirk.
I pressed a hand to my forehead, taking deep, steady breaths.
“I heard he was having quite a bit of fun, so I decided to replace him and see what was going on. And boy, he really was having fun, what a sight,” Zian remarked, licking his bottom lip as his eyes moved over me.
“I could kill you right here. Tell me, where’s Ian?” I growled, my breath catching as my fists clenched.
“Boy, you’re sassy, huh? You know what? When I met him, he told me there’d be one person who’d know when her friend had been replaced and he was right. I’m impressed,” Zian commented.
His words stirred a faint memory of Ian once asking me if I’d always notice when a friend started acting differently.
Knowing now that his brother had taken his girlfriend before and realizing he was even worse than I imagined, it made my skin crawl.
“Well, for your information, he’s fine. He’s resting,” Zian said as he strolled around, his hands still in his pockets, trying to show how careless he was.
“What do you mean by that? When did you take him? Did he ever come back?” I asked, my eyes drifting into the distance.
Zian leaned closer, lowering his head as if trying to read my thoughts.
“He was here. And then you took him away. That day when Yorick found him passed out, it was you. You replaced him, and Yorick found you!” I hissed.
Zian burst into laughter, nodding with excitement.
“You’re so good. Oh my God, that’s exciting,” he commented, pulling his hands out of his pockets and rubbing them together. “And by the way, after you saw me in the hotel, I wasn’t the one who returned, he was. And then I replaced him the next day p>
His words made my jaw drop. It was then that the pieces fell into place, I realized the man who walked in on me with my mates had been Ian, the real one.
The person who was hurt was Ian. But the one who insulted me was Zian.
It all made sense now. All this time, I thought my mates were scumbags, but I had unknowingly hurt Ian.
“Where the fuck is Ian? If you don’t tell me now, I’ll go to the principal. You better believe he’ll find out what you did and where Ian is,” I hissed, stepping closer, my fists clenched as I locked eyes with him.
“Easy,” he warned. “The day you do that will be Ian’s last. You don’t know where he is, and you have no idea what I’m capable of. You saw the Lurker talking to me, right? I can make the dead talk. Doesn’t that scare you p>
His voice changed completely, no more joking, no more playing around.
He suddenly meant business, and the threat in his tone was real.
“I came here to enjoy myself, to relax for the vacations. But you and your squadmates, you’re all so messy, dragging me to the North. I don’t want to be in the North. The fuck!” he snapped, waving his arms around to emphasize his words.
Ian never used to move like that.
“So that’s it. You’re scared of the North, aren’t you?” I remarked, watching him grunt and narrow his eyes at me.
“Why the fuck did you mark me? Don’t you know that when a man marks someone who isn’t his mate, and they don’t declare each other as chosen mates, it can make the marked person sick?” I shouted, shoving him hard. He tripped and fell back onto the ground.
But he just laughed, clutching his stomach as if he found it all amusing.
“I know that’s why you were so sick last night. God, that was fun,” he taunted.
Nothing worried this demon of a man.
I strode toward him, crouched down, and pointed a finger in his face. His smirk began to fade at my boldness.
He looked from my finger to my eyes, waiting for me to make a threat.
“I’ll make you release Ian, and you better believe I will. Even if I have to do the most horrible things,” I growled. “Ian trusted me, Zian, and I’ll prove myself to him. I’ll find him, even if you hide him in the darkest corners of the North. Mark my words p>
I glared at him one last time before straightening up, turning away, and walking off.
Of course, he couldn’t resist getting in the last word.
“You were willing to risk everything for your other mates too. Look what happened, they replaced you,” he muttered.
I didn’t turn back. I couldn’t waste another second on him.
I had to find a way to bring Ian back before the vacations ended.
I wouldn’t let Zian win. If he thought he could control Ian and keep him locked away until this was over, he was dead wrong.
Maybe before this, Ian didn’t have anyone to fight for him.
But now he had me.
It seemed like the opportunity had been waiting for me, because the minute I stepped into the dorm room, someone was already ready to stir things up.
As I headed toward the bathroom, Oriana rushed in front of me so suddenly that she slammed into my shoulder, nearly sending me into the wall.
Pathetic! But that was her thing, doing little power plays to show she could take even the smallest things from me, like using the bathroom first.
I wasn’t any more mature than she was, so I sprinted after her and slipped inside before she could get in.
Her shocked gasp when I slammed the door shut said it all.
Then she lost it.
“Fucking get out! I need to go to the bathroom!” she screamed.
“Well, then you’ll have to break down the door,” I called back. “But I guess you’re too weak for that p>
I didn’t even think about my words. I turned toward the sink, started washing my face, then froze when I heard a loud crack from the other side of the door.
Or rather, I heard them break it.
“Come on, Haiden! Yorick! Troy! Break this door and pull her out!” Oriana shouted.
And to my shock, they actually followed her orders.