30. River
Ididn’t normally go flying during the daytime, but after the fiasco in class today I needed it. The sun was scorching my dark scales, but I ignored it. Beating my wings hard against the sky.
I didn’t get the normal recharge I felt when I flew at night, only solidifying the fact that the moon was recharging me as I flew in the dead of night. I don’t know how I never realized the moon was filling my powers. I was always jealous of the huge mass in the sky. Maybe it was not jealousy I was feeling at all, but a connection to the orb sitting high in the sky.
My mood dampened as I flew up toward the sun instead of the stars. It was definitely more dangerous to fly during the day, but I knew Natalia’s ward was in effect. Plus, I was more afraid of the hunters than the humans nowadays, and the wards would do nothing against them if they were supernaturals like we suspected.
So I beat my wings under the sun”s intense rays, building a sheen of sweat over my blue and purple scales. Huh, I didn’t know it was possible for dragons to sweat. Yet, here I am, sweat glistening over my huge dragon form.
Storm clouds soon covered the sky, casting the world in shadows as snow started falling. I dove in and out of the flakes, letting them cover my body and cool me down. It wasn’t long before four dragons entered my line of sight. Two were identical hunter green, one pitch black, and one royal blue.
My star, what are you doing out here?
Nikolai asked in my head as they reached me, circling around me like I was their prey. I hovered in place, swiveling my head back and forth to look at them all as they circled me.
I was much smaller than all of them. Nikolai was by far the biggest of the bunch. Ryder and Tate weren”t far behind him in size, though. Jax was right in between, slightly smaller than Kai, but bigger than the pair of green dragons.
I studied Tate and Ryder, but I was only able to tell them apart from the scar that followed Ryder into his dragon form. It made me wonder if in fact he was Tate’s twin and was hiding as his cousin. They just looked too similar in their dragon forms, but how did he look different in his human form?
I made a mental note to confront him when we were back in our human forms.
You embarrassed me in front of the entire class today, Nikolai. I needed to cool off and stretch my wings before I lost control.
I yelled at him through our mental link, taking a moment to look at him before I turned and dove toward the ground.
I tucked my wings in tight against me, barreling fast to the ground below. Right before I was getting ready to shoot my wings out, shadows surrounded me, stopping my descent.
I turned my head to growl at Jax, baring my teeth. His shadows dissipated as I stretched my wings out, moving them softly to hover in place. I would have stopped myself before I hit the ground. I shot him one last glare before turning and heading home.
I heard the beating wings of the four dragons following behind me. So, I dropped lower, weaving in and out of the trees as I made my way back to the cottage. I know they”re all too big to follow me into the dense forest, so I figured I’d lose them. Boy was I wrong, I glanced up to see the four insufferable dragons flying directly above me.
I growled in frustration, shooting up toward them. My sudden change of direction had them all faltering on the gust of wind I sent their way. They paused, trying to regain control of their wings. I took the opportunity to get away from them. I beat my wings at an insane pace, gaining more speed than I ever have before. It was exhilarating.
When the cottage came into sight I shifted dangerously close to the house, almost taking off a few shingles from the roof. I left my clothes laying on the porch and ran inside. I plowed into my room, closing it and flipping the lock.
I smiled to myself as I went in to take a long shower. I stayed under the spray until it turned cold, washing the sweat from my flight off my body. I took my time brushing and braiding my hair. When more than three hours had passed, I decided to face the world. My stomach grumbled loudly, reminding me I only ate a muffin today. I guess now was as good as any to face the music.
I quietly opened my door, peeking out to see if my mates were still lingering around. When I only spotted Natalia in the kitchen, dancing and singing, I sighed in relief. Pushing open my door, I headed in her direction, stopping in my tracks at the four men sitting in different spots across my living room.
Fucking hell, I guess avoiding them for the rest of the day wasn’t a possibility.
Natalia smiled brightly at me. It was intoxicating, leaving me no choice but to smile in return.
“The overgrown lizards told me what they did today. And all about the fight between Knox and Kai,” she said, flipping something on the stove.
Ahh, so it was Kai and Knox who got into a fight when I ran out of the room earlier. But why? Knox didn’t seem to give a damn about me when he wasn’t teaching me. Even then, he stayed behind his desk. I mean, I thought I got a reaction from him in our one-on-one sessions, but he didn’t do anything. Maybe I was just imagining things.
“You know what we need,” Nat said, as she set the fresh rolls she just pulled out of the oven down.
I raised a brow at her in question.
“We need a night out. They just opened up this new club downtown that”s exclusive to supernaturals. I say we go.”
She turned back to the stove, grabbing the two pans filled with chicken marsala and placed them down beside the rolls.
“Nat, you spoil me. This smells freaking amazing,” I told her before grabbing a plate and loading it up.
“You know I had to make you your favorite dinner after the roller coaster day you had girl.” She smiled at me, waving the guys over.
I was still royally pissed off at them, and they didn’t try to talk to me. Just filled up their plates and sat around Nat and I. Tate sat on my right, and Kai sat on my left. Jax and Ryder sat on either side of Nat.
“So?”
I swallowed down the food I shoved into my mouth before answering her. “So, what?”
She rolled her eyes in irritation. “Dancing, drinking, club Ultrapure?”
“Club Ultrapure?”
“I know stupid name, but it’s awesome. Lainey and I went on opening night and I promise you’ll love it,” she told me.
I glanced around at the guys. They were all staring at me, waiting for my answer.
“Why not? Let”s go clubbing,” I told her, and her screech in delight was ear-piercing.
“Yay, I’m going to call Lainey. She’s been asking about going back,” Nat said, cramming the rest of her food in her mouth and darting into her room.
“I don’t think going out is a smart idea, my star,” Nikolai said.
I narrowed my eyes at him, “No one asked for your opinion. I’m going and you can either come with me or not.”
I pushed my chair away before any of them could say another word and stormed into my room. Flipping the lock again so none of them would be tempted to follow me. Now, I just needed to find a dress that would drive them absolutely crazy.
Payback was always my favorite dish, and I was about to show them just how turned on I could make them without even lifting a finger. Then, I would make them suffer all night long.