Dragon Scorned

34. River

Iwas sore all over as I made my way into Knox’s office. My mates did not let me have a moment’s rest last night. We were up talking half the night when they weren’t torturing me with my many toys.

On the plus side, I think Kai now approves of my vibrator collection. After Ryker forced him to watch, Kai pulled out my biggest dildo and made them watch as he fucked me stupid with it.

Yes, he fucked me stupid. I never considered that as being a real thing, but I assure you it is. When Kai was done, I was not able to put a cohesive sentence together. Everything I tried to say came out a jumbled mess of nonsense.

“Good morning, Sir.” I greeted Professor Knox as I walked into his office.

He messaged me late last night and asked if we could meet in the morning before class instead of tonight because he had meetings. Of course I obliged, I can’t help it, he was enticing. I was positive he was one of my mates, but he never let me get close enough to find out.

He always kept a barrier between us and I was getting sick of it. So, I formed a plan to make him come to me. I know calling him sir drove him crazy, and I used every chance I had to do just that. Soon he would break and initiate our bond. I don’t know why he was holding back.

I know he felt it, too. I could see it in his eyes every time he looked at me. It felt like he was the missing link to our horde, and now that I had solidified the bond with my other four mates, the need for him intensified.

“Miss Moonstone, please, have a seat,” Knox said from the safety of his chair. The desk was sitting between us, blocking any contact.

I eyed the desk in displeasure, me and that damn thing were going to have some personal beef real soon if Knox kept hiding behind it like a shield. He needed to man the fuck up and tell me why he didn’t want to bond with me. I wouldn’t be mad if he had a good excuse, but I think Ryker’s would top his.

At least Ryker finally came to his senses and told me. I’m not going to lie, it was a lot to take in, but I understood why he would keep that from me. Moonbeam was actively hunting him, and he needed to stay hidden. It stung a little bit that he didn’t trust me, but I guess that”s the pot calling the kettle black. I don’t trust people easily, so I couldn’t fault him for that.

“What are we going to talk about today, Sir?”

I smiled as Knox closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He let out a groan of displeasure before answering me.

“Today we are going to talk about crystals, or more importantly smoky quartz and obsidian.” He pulled a box out of his drawer, flipping open the lid and turning it toward me.

There was a beautiful ring with what looked like a black obsidian stone positioned in the middle. It was surrounded by a halo of smaller opal stones and the band was a beautiful white gold. It only added to the dark stone”s beauty. Tiny flakes reflected off of it when the light hit the obsidian and it looked like a thousand twinkling stars were trapped within the crystal.

Next to it was a deep brown chunk of raw quartz. That must be the smoky quartz he was referring to. I’ve never actually seen one in person, and it honestly looked terrifying. The stone looked like there was a black hole in the middle of it surrounded by crystal, making it appear an amber color.

“Now, smoky quartz is not bad for all supernaturals. It actually helps disperse fear and negativity and even helps with depression. But, to dragons, it only causes harm. There is no dragon in existence that can withstand the draining power of a smoky quartz crystal. Let”s test it out, shall we?”

I hesitated a moment before standing up. I eyed the stone as I took a few steps toward Knox’s desk, stopping when I was directly in front of it and looking down into the box. Not knowing what to expect, I reached for the quartz, my hand was shaking slightly.

It felt like a punch to the gut when I wrapped my fingers around the stone. I started becoming tired and wanted to curl up and take a nap. Was this what it felt like, the drain of a crystal? It was fucking terrible. I felt like I hadn’t slept in weeks, and my body started to go limp. The world started to fade out of focus, in its place was a black hole into nothing. I squinted my eyes, trying to see into the black darkness, it almost looked like there were people standing in there.

I cocked my head to the side, trying to make out the figures. They looked like shadows. I could tell there was a person…or people, but their features were cloaked in darkness. Another round of nausea slammed into me when I leaned in to get a better look.

“River, release the stone,” Knox said, standing up and reaching toward me.

Drag?, what”s going on? Are you okay?

Little minx, what’s happening? It feels like our connection is straining.

You’re in pain, ma lune. What’s wrong?

I’m coming, my star. Tell that fucking professor I will rip him limb from limb if he does anything to you.

The sound of my mates in my head snapped me out of the trance I was caught in. I dropped the crystal like it was a hot coal and snapped my arm back, cradling my hand against my chest. It bounced on the desk, rolling to a stop before reaching the edge.

I blinked a few times, clearing my vision until Knox came back into view. His expression was one of pure terror. Glancing down, I noticed his outstretched hand. Whatever the fuck just happened, it was enough to make him reach out for me. I don’t think he initiated the bond, though, because I didn’t feel that electrifying zap like I had with the rest of the guys. But, who knows, that was fucking crazy.

I opened my shields to the guys, letting them all know I was fine and that they didn’t need to burn the world to the ground. I only left my walls down long enough to send them all a message before slamming them back into place. I really didn’t need any of them in my mind right now. It was a jumbled mess, and I needed to figure out what happened before I let them know.

Knox picked up the smoky quartz and placed it back in the box. It didn’t look like he experienced anything like what I just had. I stared at him wide eyed, glancing down at the stone and back up at him.

“I have never seen a dragon react to smoky quartz like that. Usually, it slowly drains us and makes us feel tired. Nothing like what you experienced, it was like your life force was being sucked away.”

Knox sounded terrified as he talked, making me even more nervous.

“What does that mean? Why did I react to it like that, but you hardly had any reaction at all?”

“I’m not sure, Miss Moonstone. I’ll do some research on it tonight, though. In the meantime, I want you to have this.” He pushed the box toward me again, gesturing to the beautiful obsidian ring lying within it.

“I can’t take that,” I told him. There was no way, that thing probably cost a fortune. Obsidian was extremely hard to come by, he said so himself. There was no way I could take something that valuable from him.

“It was a matching set of my parents.” Knox raised up his right hand, showing me another beautiful solid obsidian band on his ring finger. “They are long gone, and it feels wasteful to have this sit in a box to collect dust. Please, River. I want you to have it. I know you don’t have an obsidian stone, and I would be honored if you would wear this one for me.”

Tears pricked the back of my eyes, and my throat burned. He rarely called me River, it was always Miss Moonstone, so I knew this was meaningful to him. My chest ached, and I so wanted to jump into his arms. I wanted him to accept the bond and stop running from it. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. Just wear it. Draw power from it. Let it protect you.”

I reached in and gently plucked the ring from the velvet casing. Once I slid it onto my right ring finger, I felt it. The power it was feeding me was incredible. It was almost as good as flying, and that”s surprising because nothing even comes close to being as good as flying.

“Just promise me you”ll never take it off, Miss Moonstone.”

Just like that we were back to student and professor. The moment I thought we had was long gone, and ‘no bullshit Knox’ was firmly back in place.

“Thank you,” I murmured before reaching down and grabbing my bag.

“I’ll let you know what I find out about your reaction to the smoky quartz.”

I nodded at him before slipping out of his office. Kai was leaning up against the wall across from his office door. His arms were crossed against his chest, and he had one foot resting against the wall. He looked like an avenging angel straight from hell. I sucked in a breath when I met his eyes, the icy blue was completely taking over his normal navy blue. He looked dangerous and I don’t know whether to be turned on or terrified.

Horny won that battle as I felt my arousal leak out of me. His nostrils flared as he took in a deep breath.

“We”re taking a leave of absence today.” Kai growled before kicking off the wall and grabbing me behind the knees and flipping me over his shoulder.

“Kai, you crazy bastard. Put me down.” I hollered, slamming my fist against his back. “Are you serious? Put. Me. Down.”

I pounded my fist into him over and over again, but he only tightened his grip on me. This man was fucking unbelievable.

The cool air surrounded me as we made our way out of the building that housed the teachers’ offices. I pressed up on Kai’s back, looking around to see if I could spot anyone to scream for help. Of course, there was no one on the sidewalks heading to class.

I heard the beep of a car before Kai dropped me down into his Porsche and clicked the seatbelt into place. I folded my arms across my chest and scowled at the possessive asshole.

He closed my door and walked around the hood, climbing into the driver”s seat. “Wipe that look off your face. We”re going to check out one of the Moonbeam buildings on your list.”

“Really?” I squealed, sounding way more enthusiastic than I meant.

“Yes, really.”

I bounced in anticipation as Kai flew out of the parking lot and sped down the road. Finally, it was time to work on taking down Moonbeam.