Rowan had watched the clock tick the day away. He was reluctant to leave university when his lessons finished. His gut told him that Kaerius was waiting for him at the beach, so Rowan stayed in the library for a few more hours.

When it reached seven in the evening, Rowan went home because he was hungry. He walked back along the beach with his sandals in one hand and his white t-shirt in the other. He wore peach coloured board shorts and a dark green backpack hung over his shoulders, which was full of library books.

As Rowan neared his home, he started to feel a pull towards the ocean. He glanced towards the rocks and watched a head bobbing up and down in the rough water. Rowan knew it was Kaerius, and it took a lot of mental strength to keep walking towards his home and not run to the sea creature.

Deep down, Rowan knew he would forgive Kaerius eventually, but first, he wanted to make him suffer for plotting to kill him. Rowan was far from pleased. He was a little heartbroken, and he could never forgive something so serious overnight. If Kaerius were not bound to him by an invisible force that made their souls fall in love, Rowan would never speak to him again. If it were between two humans, Rowan would have called the police.

"It's me in the water," Kaerius thought. Rowan ignored him and continued to the sand dune. "I will keep apologising until you know that I mean it. Rowan. You can't ignore me forever."

"But I can damn try," Rowan muttered and climbed the dune. He felt the sun and Kaerius's eyes on his back.

"I'll annoy you until you talk to me."

Rowan kept climbing the dune until he reached the top.

"Fine. I'll get disgusting human legs and break into your house like I did last night."

Rowan turned and shielded his eyes from the sun. He stared at Kaerius, who all the other beach-goers couldn't see. Rowan shook his head and continued his journey to his house. He didn't want to give in to the bond. His soul screamed and whined for him to forgive Kaerius, but Rowan couldn't.

When he entered the house, the radio was loud, and someone was making noise in the living room. Rowan stopped at the door in time to see his mother almost breaking her back, trying to lift the coffee table. Rowan rushed over and lifted the other side.

"Oh, Rowan," Mandy said, a little out of breath and with paint smeared on her cheek. "I didn't think you were coming home."

"What are you doing?" Rowan asked. The strong smell of fresh paint was already giving him a headache.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Rowan wanted to comment on how she lacked the ability to have a normal conversation, but he was too tired to argue. "Are you bored or something?"

"Bored with the room? Yes. I need to redecorate."

Decorating was highly out of character. "Wez has made you take your holiday leave, hasn't he? How long are you not allowed to go hunting for?"

"A week," Mandy muttered. "I'm already pulling my hair out with boredom."

"You need to go on an actual holiday. You know... lie on the beach all day or have a spa week. Not rearrange the entire house." Rowan helped his mother move the heavy table in front of the window. The faint sound of the waves tingled his ears. His eyes always found their way to the ocean, even if it was just a glance.

"I need to keep myself busy," Mandy said, looking around at the progress she had made. "I should have booked myself into a training camp. My knife skills need a bit of work."

Rowan held back a sigh. His mother didn't know the meaning of the word rest. Every holiday they ever went on was somewhere that taught Rowan how to fight and hunt.

"Anyway," Mandy said, looking up to her son. She was taking a softer approach, which made Rowan suspicious. "How were your lessons today? What did you learn?"

Rowan's jaw was ready to unhinge and drop to the floor. "Uh... yeah, alright." His eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Am I not allowed to know about your day?"

"Normal mothers can, yeah." Rowan raised a brow. "It's nice to hear you ask, though. How was your day?"

They sat on the couch together, which was a rare occurrence. Mandy told Rowan about the things she had been up to that day, which were rather ordinary for a mother who hunted the supernatural. When the silence stretched out between them, Mandy was worried her son would get up to retreat to his bedroom, so she asked, "Have you made friends yet?"

"At uni?" Mandy nodded. "I guess I've sort of made one friend. He's in my assigned group, though he's not very nice."

Mandy watched him as he spoke. There was something different about her son; he seemed distracted when he spoke. "Have you made any female friends?"

Rowan crossed his arms and shook his head to say no. "Why?"

Mandy shrugged. "I just think that if you want a normal life so bad, then maybe you should get yourself a girlfriend or something."

All Rowan could think about was Kaerius's vibrant purple eyes, his thick lashes, his devilish smirk, his black hair, and his muscular torso. "Um," he said, clearing his throat to clear his mind. "I don't want to date."

"You're an eighteen-year-old boy, and you haven't once brought home a girl."

"There's a reason for that," Rowan muttered. His heart thumped when his mother frowned. "Because I'm born into a family of hunters," he quickly added. Good save, he thought.

Mandy's eyes suddenly changed, like the clogs in her mind started turning and weaving a plan. "You know, there's a gathering in a few days. All the hunters in the area are coming together to have a barbecue. Maybe you'll meet a nice girl there." Mandy thought, if Rowan fell head over heels for a woman who hunted the supernatural, then maybe he would start hunting too.

"Mum, this is weird. You've never talked about this stuff with me." Rowan sat rigid on the couch. His arms had coiled around himself, and his fingers fiddled awkwardly with his t-shirt sleeves.

"Well, I phoned your father earlier for advice on what to do with you."

Rowan almost choked on air. "Wow," he said with an amused smirk. "You asked dad for advice? Are you feeling okay?"

Mandy nudged him. "I was worried about you. You've been... different. I know it's the trauma from what you've been through."

Rowan looked down to his lap. If only he could tell her that the trauma didn't end on that day. Rowan was still battling with even more significant stresses. "What did dad say?" he mumbled, trying to remember what his dad had said to him on the phone. Constant pressure didn't help to keep his mind in order.

"Michael said to be gentle with you and make life as normal as possible. He said to engage you in conversation about boring stuff, so here we are."

Rowan now understood why his mother was so interested in what he had been up to. He was pleased she was making an effort, even if she did think that caring about what he had done that day was boring. "I do feel a little better."

Mandy seemed to perk up. "That's good. Um, should we talk more?"

Rowan could feel the hunger pulsing through his stomach. "Maybe tomorrow? I'm gonna eat then go to bed."

Mandy looked relieved. She found the entire conversation just as awkward. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Rowan nodded and stared at her until she looked away. He withdrew to the kitchen and relaxed when he was on his own. It never used to be that awkward between them, but ever since Mandy shot Kaerius in the shoulder, and he risked his life to save him, things would be tense until they spoke about it out loud.

Rowan ate quickly and hurried to his room. He flung his bag in the corner and sat at his desk.

"If you don't come to me, I'll come to you."

Rowan rubbed his temples.

"I mean it. I'll come to you."

Rowan scooted to the window and shut the blinds. His head throbbed from too many concentrated hours. It was almost impossible to get work done with Kaerius droning on in the back of his mind.

"I'm coming. Rowan. Do you hear me?"

"It's impossible not to hear you!" Rowan yelled and dropped his head onto his desk. He started wishing that he was just caught in a nightmare where there was a chance he would wake up, and Kaerius wouldn't be real.

All hope of that was lost when he eventually heard someone creeping up the stairs. With the most uninterested expression, Rowan turned and stared at the door when the handle twitched.

Seconds later, he was looking at Kaerius who was like a deer caught in the headlights. They both heard shuffling from downstairs, so Kaerius hurried into the room and shut the door behind him.

Rowan's eyes trailed him up and down. "You're naked, again." Kaerius shrugged and lunged for Rowan's bed. "No! put some clothes on!" Rowan whined, but Kaerius didn't listen and wrapped himself up in his blanket.

Rowan shook his head. "Why are you even here? I'm mad at you. You're not being fair and letting me be mad at you."

"Accept apology," Kaerius said from the bed. The smell of Rowan wafted from the cushions. His scent was addictive, and Kaerius wanted to shove his face into the pillow and fall asleep to the beautiful fragrance.

"No."

"Then I'll lie here until you do."

"You might be lying there forever then."

Kaerius sat up with a frown. "You're never going to forgive me?" he thought.

"Would you forgive me if the roles were switched?"

Kaerius thought about it. He knew what the desperation had felt like. But if he were like Rowan and only saw the good in people, he would be extremely hurt. "I don't know."

Rowan looked away and pursed his lips. He wished he could escape to his dad's house. "Did you ask Jaiker if he lied about getting rid of the bond?"

"He didn't explicitly say that he had lied, but I know he did."

"What if he didn't? Would you still try and end the bond?" Rowan asked.

Kaerius watched the human's mouth curl down. His eyes stacked with misery and Rowan felt sad and partly humiliated. Kaerius had caused those emotions. Slowly, he climbed from the bed. The hot pit in his stomach burned him more when Rowan did his best to move away, but his chair was stopped by the desk behind him.

Kaerius stood in front of Rowan as the human stared tensely at the ground. Kaerius made small steps closer until his legs touched Rowan's knees. "Look at me," he thought.

Rowan didn't move. His eyes were now gaping at Kaerius's legs that brushed against him. His touch felt like bolts of electricity zapping up his thighs.

Kaerius felt the tension too. He swallowed his pride and leaned down to cup Rowan's chin. He was able to lift his head, so they made eye contact. Rowan looked surprised.

"I sorry," Kaerius said with his deep voice that tickled the human's spine. "Rowan. I... Made mistake. No kill... When... Kiss." Kaerius frowned, thinking of the correct words.

"Just think it," Rowan mumbled with Kaerius's fingers still on his chin.

"When we were with the werewolves, you protected me. The guilt from then on felt like it was eating me alive. When we... kissed, I... I guess I've never emotionally connected to someone like that before. The guilt should have been enough to tell you. The Goddess will find a way to punish me, and I'll deserve it. I am sorry, Rowan. I know you can't forgive me, but if there's no way to end the bond, we just have to deal with this."

"This is me dealing with it." Rowan pulled his head away from Kaerius's grip. Gently, he rested hands on Kaerius's waist and moved him back until there was at least a foot between them. He let go and started fidgeting with his fingers. "I don't want to argue or cause more conflict, but just let me ignore you until I'm ready to start trusting you again."

Kaerius nodded. He respected Rowan's wish. "I stay?" he asked, wanting to bury himself in Rowan's scent again.

Rowan leaned back in his chair. A body was just a body, but there was something that had been staring him in the face since Kaerius got out of bed. It was painfully distracting. "Only if you put some clothes on."