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Cassie gri the fresh stains on the floor, the way the blood had seeped into the carpet and turned brown "It looks like she fought back Things were broken, turned over There was so much blood I think he ot there No one has seen the this long Even on the day of the Purging, they were up with the rest of us If they were here this irls about the Pairings"
Cole shifted his weight and pushed his fingers through his hair "About that - "
"What about it? I didn&039;t even want to hear They&039;re just going to be gossiping about poor Alice" Cassie breathed and pulled her arhter around her waist "I feel bad for her I wish there was soently, but she kept talking Cassie was always talking He sucked in some air, placed his hand on her shoulder, and blurted it out, "Everyone has been Paired, including us"
Cassie stepped back with a horrified expression on her face, "Us! They paired us? That&039;s disgusting!" Although Cole wasn&039;t a blood brother, he felt like one She couldn&039;t hide how she felt about it Her jaw hung open, as acid churned in her stohed Cassie was so Cassie "No," he explained patiently, "they didn&039;t pair us together" Cassie visibly deflated, looking relieved, but she shouldn&039;t "Cassie, listen to lanced up and met his eye, he continued, "They&039;ve Paired everyone I don&039;t knohat they&039;re doing, why the vaht You and I have both been matched with someone"
Cassie&039;s face paled She sed hard and was silent for once After a moment, Cassie pressed her eyes closed She looked like she was going to vomit Cole couldn&039;t take it anyed her He kissed the top of her head like an overprotective brother, and pulled her away, holding her shoulders tightly in his hands Looking into her eyes, he spoke confidently, "This won&039;t happen to you Do you understand? I want you to go along with it and act like you&039;re okay with it - make sure they aren&039;t concerned about you - and I&039;ll figure out a way to make sure you&039;re safe"
There were tears in her eyes Cassie wanted to believe him, but she couldn&039;t "The vaets done" Her voice was rising slowly, becoht back, if I don&039;t let hilassy "This can&039;t be happening It can&039;t be" She shoved her hands through her curls, pulling her hair as she spoke "The Pairing will kill half us for sure Why would they do this?"
Cole kept his hands on her shoulders As reassuringly as he kne, he said, "I don&039;t know, but I&039;ve never thought we&039;d stay here once one of us was Paired"
"What do you mean?" Confused, she said, "It&039;s not like we can just leave" Her voice was so low, so quiet that he could barely hear it
"That&039;s exactly what I iving her instructions "Don&039;t do anything to draw attention to yourself today They aren&039;t watching you as closely, not when it coet us out before it happens I promise"
Cassie felt sick, but all she could do was nod Cole had done things, things that flooded her drea her, she&039;d be terrified of him Cassie cleared her throat and looked up at him, "What about you? They paired you too?"
Cole nodded, his shoulders stiffening as he did it Cassie didn&039;t miss the cue Whoever they&039;d paired him with made him uncos for sos that she didn&039;t know about
After a moment, Cole cleared his throat and said, "It doesn&039;t hed callously, adding, "And they won&039;t be doing it again after tonight I pro down at Cassie, he said too cal takes place Don&039;t let Brent touch you" Cassie visibly recoiled at the name She avoided Brent at all cost The way he looked at her made her uneasy, and if there weren&039;t vaer on Cassie, she wouldn&039;t have been able to sleep at night Brent scared her Cole shook her fro her back to the present, "I&039;ll personally kill him if he does, Queen&039;s protection or not The only person who matters to me here is you, and I won&039;t leave you behind"