Chapter 20 Rion
TWENTY
RION
Idon’t care to deal with Laurie’s shit today, but I know if I ignore her order of solitary confinement, it will only get worse.
Laurie is many things—a rogue wolf. A victim. A survivor—but with that comes tendencies that I can no longer deny. She is manipulative, controlling, and relentless. Sprinkle in the fact that she hates to be told no on top of all that, and she’ll turn into a raging banshee.
Did I see all of this before? Yes. Did I care? No. So why now? It’s easy. Elodie.
Laurie kept me safe when I became rogue, taking on the role of my guardian effortlessly. So when we came here, as a joint package, it made sense for her to officially assume that title. But as time ticked by, and roles shifted, I didn’t really know any different.
I thought desire was meant to taste average on my tongue.
I didn’t think a woman’s touch was supposed to spark arousal.
I was under the illusion that everything was as it should be.
Until Elodie.
The first time I laid eyes on her, in the damn hall closet of all places, my cock stirred to life.
It was a sensation I’d never felt before.
I knew my need for her was stronger than anything else when I watched her scarred back in the shower, but my fate was truly sealed when I tasted her sweet center.
A spark ignited inside of me. There’s no denying it, and there’s definitely no taking it back.
She’s mine.
A fact I’m all for, but it’s going to take a moment for me to adapt, her even longer, but that’s okay. It seems I’m a forever kind of guy. I can wait.
Although, if I wait a second longer outside of Laurie’s office, she’s going to be pissed, and I don’t care to deal with the consequences that come with that.
Have I been too harsh? Maybe, but it’s nothing she doesn’t deserve, not now that I can see the world truly through my wolf’s eyes.
He’s laid eyes on his mate; nothing else matters.
I rap my knuckles on the door and her terse voice creeps from the other side.
“Enter.”
Turning the door handle, I ensure my facial features remain neutral. The desire to sneer at her or glower until my wolf takes the lead and we rip her to shreds is strong, but I fight it down. Any kind of rise or reaction from me is going to please her, and that’s not what I’m here for.
“Professor Drayker, I’m here for my solitary training. Shall I meet you on the combat field?” I ask, watching as her eyes darken and her lips pout in distaste.
She always insisted I call her Laurie, but I hope the adjustment will make her see that all ties have been severed.
“Take a seat, Rion. I feel there are some issues we need to discuss first,” she states, folding her arms over her chest as she leans back in her seat.
“Is it with regard to my training?” I push, knowing it damn-well isn’t, but the certain cock of her brow tells me she’s not budging until I sit down.
With a sigh, I take a seat in the chair across from her, purposely leaving the door ajar. Her nostrils flare, acknowledging the move, but I slump in the seat with a sigh, refusing to acknowledge that I can read her every move.
“Don’t you care, Rion?” she blurts, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she flicks her attention between my eyes, searching for what, I don’t know.
“About what?” I indulge, and she swipes her tongue along her bottom lip. When Elodie does it, my dick goes hard; when Laurie does it, it shrivels up inside of me.
“Me. Us. Our history. Our everything.”
I shrug. “I don’t know what it is you want me to care about.” My words hang heavy in the air as her chest rises and falls a little faster, her attempts to contain her frustration growing weaker and weaker. “I thought I was here for my outburst in class,” I reiterate, and she huffs.
“You are.”
“Then how about we stick to that?”
Her palms slam against the desk between us. “Don’t you care about me?”
That’s a little more specific, but I know she won’t like my answer if I give it. Instead, I stand, wiping my hands down my sweatpants before I rise to my full height.
“Are we training or not?”
“I’m the one in charge here, Rion, not you,” she bites, launching to her feet too, and I scoff.
“Then maybe you need to show a little more professionalism.”
She’s around the table and in front of me a breath later, palm raised and aimed in my direction. The sting dances across my skin, but I don’t react. Instead, I simply stare at her, watching as an array of emotions shimmer in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Rion,” she whispers, covering her mouth with her hand in fake shock.
“You make me do stupid things.” Her fingers press into her temples in a poor attempt at calming her emotions, but we’ve been through this kind of situation before.
She’s not sorry, and we both know she would do it again.
Despite how much she angers me, I vowed as a child to never lay hands on a woman.
My father set the worst example, and she knows it.
“I can’t control myself when I’m around you,” she breathes, looking up at me with longing in her gaze as she strokes a hand down my shirt.
“Try harder,” I grunt as I take a step back.
She doesn’t allow the distance to grow between us as she follows after me, a snarl on her lips. “I don’t like this version of you.”
I scoff. “I don’t need you to.”
She throws her arms out wide, gaping at me as she shakes her head. “Explain to me what’s going on, Rion. I just want to go back to how things were.”
“That’s not going to happen,” I explain, noting the light sheen that glosses over her eyes. Fake tears now, too? I don’t have the energy or composure for this.
“Why? Rion, baby, please, tell me why.” She reaches around me, slamming the door shut with a resounding thud before she brings her hand to my cheek. “I love you so much, I—”
The tightness of my grip around her wrist is enough to make her pause as I lean in closer so we’re nose to nose. “You don’t love me, you love the control you had over me,” I growl, watching as her eyebrows pinch as if she’s shocked by the fact.
“Don’t be silly, Rion, I love you. I love you more than I love myself. You’re my everything, I can’t lose you.”
“Did you ever have me?” I retort, the sharpness of my tongue growing as my ability to remain unfazed weakens.
“What does that mean?” Her question is barely more than a soft exhale.
“How did our paths cross?” I lean back, shaking her touch from my skin, and her hands fall weakly at her sides.
“What does any of this matter?”
“Humor me,” I insist, and she gulps. This time, her nerves are on full display.
She clears her throat, but it does nothing to strengthen her words. “Our paths crossed when you escaped your father’s control.”
“Only to fall under yours,” I confirm, and the fire in her eyes burns brighter as she shakes her head, trying to deny the truth.
“No, that’s not it, Rion, I—”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses. Whatever distorted view you have, it’s not real,” I insist, and her bottom lip wobbles.
“Don’t say that.”
“I was a child.”
“I never touched you as a child.”
“Fifteen is still a child, Laurie, but it doesn’t matter; you won’t be touching me ever again.” The words echo like thunder around the room, snapping down my spine with a finesse that leaves me empowered by my own tone.
“Let me make it up to you,” she says sweetly, a shell of the ruthless woman she usually is, still not recognizing the cement in my words. They’re locked in and I won’t change my mind. Ever.
I step back, ready to leave. This was never about my training; it was all about getting me alone. I knew that, I fucking knew that, but I still hoped it wouldn’t come to this.
“Goodbye, Professor,” I murmur, but she pivots me as I turn for the door, blocking my exit as she plants her hand on my groin. Her lips part with desire as she gropes me, but there’s not a single response, not from my mouth, not from my mind, and certainly not from my cock.
Nothing.
“It’s okay, you just need a minute,” she insists, and I know playing nice is no longer going to work.
Reaching for her throat, I curl my fingers around her flesh, squeezing tight as I snarl in her face. “I don’t. I need you to get the fuck off me and get it into your thick skull that this is done.”
I barely hear the whistle of the door opening, followed by a soft breeze that drapes over me before the wood ricochets off the wall. One glance over Laurie’s shoulder and I see who it is.
“Rion?” Elodie’s eyes rake over me from head to toe, and I smile, more than happy to see my girl. I just wish the circumstances were a little better.
“Petal,” I rasp, joy coating my veins as my dick sparks to life.
Drayker retracts first, clearing her throat as I flex my fingers one final time before I release her.
“What’s going on?” Elodie asks as a familiar vampire comes into view behind her.
Kael.
He’s the reason she’s here.
“This is a private session,” Laurie snaps, brushing her hair back off her face as she inches toward the desk, putting distance between us.
Elodie’s stare narrows on the woman in question, rage dancing in her pretty orbs. “Consider yourselves blessed with an audience,” she snaps as Laurie snarls.
“Get out right now.”
I roll my eyes, keeping my attention on my girl. “You’re good, Petal. Come here,” I rasp, my cock growing uncomfortable behind the waistband of my pants, but she doesn’t take a step toward me.
“I’d rather you come to me and we leave,” she murmurs, rubbing her lips together, and I grin.
“I know, but I have a point to prove. Want to help?”
She raises an intrigued eyebrow at me, and I match her stance before she reluctantly eliminates the distance between us. The second she’s beside me, I drape my arm over her shoulder and direct her attention to Laurie.
“She was trying to give me a minute to get some blood circulating to my cock because she touched me and it did nothing to make my dick come to life,” I state, watching as Elodie’s throat bobs.