Chapter 5 #2
Waiting until the wolf was just within reach, I sprang towards him and ignored the snap up my calves as my muscles protested the burst of energy. A cold, numbing sensation spread from my core, alarming me, but my fingers were already on the ball.
Yanking it free, I tucked it in the crook of my arm and ran in the opposite direction. “Ew!” I muttered to myself, wiping my free hand on my pants leg as I ran. “Dog spit!”
If you’re afraid of a little spit, you’re in the wrong place.
Logan’s voice invaded my mind without warning and made me falter. I’d almost forgotten he had that power with me. I didn’t have time to wonder if it was a shifter thing, or just a Logan thing, because there he was, all teeth and snarl as a silver wolf that dared me to try and get past him.
Already having put my supernatural speed into my sprint, there was no way I was going to slow down in time. I glanced to my right to find a sleek panther trailing me. Those golden eyes beckoned me to toss the ball.
Well, the panthers might not have expected me to play on their team, but Aaron seemed to accept me.
Maybe it was just to piss Logan off, or maybe the panther had decided to give me a chance.
No matter his reasons, I wanted to get this goal.
Not just because I was on a mission for Hendrik, but because for the first time since I arrived at the Academy I was good at something.
I tossed the ball, sending it hard towards the panther. Aaron caught it with ease as his lithe form jumped through the air.
Beautiful.
He ran straight for the goal and Logan snarled, ready to attack. The rage in his eyes said that there would be violence.
“Oh no you don’t!” I shouted and launched for the wolf, pinning him to the ground. To my surprise his muscular form gave underneath me and yipped as if I’d hurt him. We rolled across the field and wetness spread across my shirt. I looked down to see a large splotch of red soaking my uniform.
Did I do that?
The crowd cheered as Aaron barreled past the lone wolf and made a second goal, but my attention was locked on the bloodied naked man clutching his chest.
“Logan?” I scrambled over to him and went to turn him over to assess the damage, then I froze.
My hands.
My very… inhuman hands.
Long elegant talons extended from each finger and streaks of black ran up my veins, dissipating at my wrists. I turned to see the shifters had noticed me and I searched to see if there was any way to hide what I’d done, but no such luck. Bleeding wolf. Me, literally red-handed.
Yeah, they were going to eat me alive.
“You were bested by a dud?” came a snide reply from one of the female wolves. She lifted a lip at me. “Disgusting.”
I looked down to see that my hands had reverted back to human with healthy pink cheerleader-worthy nails garnished by Logan’s blood.
Had I imagined it?
Was I going insane?
The long gash along Logan’s side said otherwise. I’d done that to him, somehow, and he wasn’t looking so hot.
Well, no, he was pretty fucking hot. I just preferred him less bloody and in agony.
He snarled at the shifters who judged him. “Didn’t expect her to have claws.”
Another wolf laughed. “Little baby human claws? Absolutely pathetic, pack leader,” he said, tossing the last word out with a heavy dose of sarcasm. “You’ve been stalling as Alpha for weeks and now this shit, plus we lost two goals! I’m out.” He turned on his heel and barked.
The other wolves echoed the sentiment, following him to their lockers. The audience murmured with excitement, but they seemed to take a hint that I wasn’t getting and started to leave as well.
I blinked a few times. “Uh, is the game over?”
The panthers watched the exchange, slowly slinking off one-by-one to leave the field. They’d won a game, probably the first ever, but they weren’t celebrating.
When we were the last ones on the field, Logan staggered to his feet and hissed in pain. “You. Come with me. Now.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but he grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me towards the panthers’ lockers. He smashed my hand onto the pad to open the door and shoved me inside.
“Don’t manhandle me… or wolfhandle me… or whatever the fuck you’re doing!”
He grunted in response and glared at the panthers who were getting dressed. “Out,” he commanded.
“You can’t just—” I began, but Aaron shot up a hand.
“It’s all right. We’ll leave you two alone to… discuss.” He glanced at Logan. The two were Alphas of their packs and seemed to have an understanding that completely went over my head.
“You can’t leave me alone with him!” I shouted, real panic filling my chest. I’d been trying to get to Logan for ages, but being alone with him when he was pissed off, and with no witnesses no less, felt like it put me at a distinct disadvantage.
Even if I did have sporadic inhuman claws that appeared of their own volition.
A supernatural trait I was so not cool with, by the way.
What’s your superpower?
Oh, you know. THE CLAW.
Logan glared at me after Aaron and the others left us alone. “The claw? That’s this new ability of yours? Pretty lame name.”
“It’s supposed to be lame. I didn’t know I could do that, and it’s lame. Who has claws, anyway?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Cats, for one. Are they rubbing off on you?” He grunted as he took a seat.
There was a pair of shorts next to him, but of course he didn’t have the decency to put them on.
Instead he just grinned at me with fangs pointing from his lips as blood ran down the inside of his thigh.
“You really should see a doctor,” I suggested, averting my gaze when I was tempted to look. I’d seen his dick before, but there was just something wrong about checking out a guy that was bleeding all over the floor.
“I’ll heal in a minute.” He patted the seat next to him. “Let’s chat.”
I scoffed and crossed my arms, keeping my chin high to make sure I still didn’t look. “Chat? Really? You’ve been avoiding me like the plague ever since Hendrik got into your head and now you want to chat.”
He smirked and his gaze fell to the stone that rested on my cleavage. It burned with fresh energy and I realized that it had fed on Logan’s suffering caused by his wound. In fact, the stone was still feeding on him now. Was Logan in pain?
“Yes, I’m in pain,” Logan confirmed, making me jolt.
“How are you in my head?” I whispered. “Can all the wolves do that?”
He shrugged. “Only ones that have mated to you.” He smirked, showing fang. “If any of them do, be sure to tell me so I can neuter them.”
Shock washed over me and I found myself taking the seat he offered before I fell over. “Excuse me?”
He released a long sigh. “Look. I’ve been avoiding you because I accidentally mated to you. It’s embarrassing.”
My mouth opened and closed a few times before I managed to croak out some words. “How does one ‘accidentally’ mate?” I mean, I was pretty sure Logan and I hadn’t slept together. I felt the pull of his Virtue bond, but it wasn’t permanent yet.
He perked up. “What’s a Virtue bond?”
Shit.
“Uh, nothing. You know. You’re so virtuous and all. It’s enough to make any girl want to bond to you, right?”
Yeah, I was babbling.
“No,” he drawled, leaning into me. “I don’t have any good virtues, and girls don’t bond. They fuck, or screw, or take. Bond is a magical term.” He tilted his head, his nostrils flaring as if he could scent any untruth. “What kind of creature are you that you need a mate-bond?”
I stilled my thoughts from answering that question, since apparently Logan could read my fucking mind.
“I can’t read your mind, darling. You’re shouting in my head and it’s impossible not to listen.”
Right.
I shot to my feet before I said or “shouted” something at Logan I shouldn’t.
“Why did you bring me in here? If it’s to punish me for hurting you, or helping the panthers win the game, I’m sorry.
” I tugged off the Blood Stone and dangled it in front of me.
“This is why I did it. Hendrik is going to let Olivia die if I don’t pay him a blood debt by charging this stone that feeds on suffering and you were one of his targets he told me to go after. ”
Logan frowned. “I knew you were his pet, but I figured that was because you were trying to get into his pants.”
Well, I definitely wasn’t doing his bidding to get into his pants, but I’d eventually have to answer the call of our Virtue bond.
A low growl emanated from Logan’s chest as he stalked me. His wound had nearly closed and his muscles rippled with renewed strength. I became acutely aware that I was in close confines with an Alpha predator—one that had just proclaimed I was his mate.
“You are my mate. Even if you haven’t accepted me yet, you have magic that calls to mine.
Your thoughts invade my head. I don’t know if it’s this Virtue bond you keep referring to, or if you’re a compatible shifter, but whatever it is, I can smell your need for me.
” His nostrils flared as his gaze dipped, every part of him hardening.
“Will you stop undressing me with your eyes?” I snapped even as fear and anticipation ran down my spine when he approached me.
Logan backed me up against a wall and boxed me in with his arms. “I wouldn’t have to if you’d take those things off.
” He leaned in until his breath puffed against my neck, sending goosebumps pebbling across my exposed skin.
“I brought you in here because you marked me, darling. That’s the first step in a mating courtship. ”
It was?
I tried to push him away, but my palms met a solid wall of muscle that refused to move. “Get your head out of your ass. I’m not a shifter, okay? I wasn’t trying to claim you, or whatever.”
I think.
He took his time and drew in a long inhale, brushing aside my hair before he licked my neck.
Oh, well, that’s kind of nice.
I mentally slapped myself and focused on the burn on my arm where the rune kept my succubus side in check. Nope, not going to let my succubus side take over my mental faculties. Repeat the mantra, Lils.
…. You’re greater than your sex-drive.
… … You’re greater than your sex-drive.
… … … Your sex-drive is great.
Dammit.
Logan chuckled. “Succubus? Is that what you are? I didn’t know your kind were allowed on campus.”
My blood ran cold and I tried shoving him away again, but he retaliated this time by pushing his leg between my thighs. An agonizing pressure ran up my core and made me want to forget getting away from him. My nostrils flared, taking in a new scent.
Lust.
“Stop that,” I hissed, but it was too late.
I had his scent now and it was delicious.
A magical mix of a forest and moonlight.
His hand fell to my hip as he grated his thigh harder against me, making me moan.
“Did you trick me into mating with you, little succubus? And claws. That’s a nice touch.
I knew succubi were a branch of demons, but—”
Demons.
That was where my claws had come from. I was one-third demonspawn and my worst fears were coming true.
The deepest, darkest parts of me were coming to the surface and I clamped that knowledge down tight.
Those were not thoughts I wanted drifting into Logan’s mind to shout to the rest of the Academy and get me expelled, or worse.
He frowned as he nosed my neck. “You’ve shut your mind off to me. Why?”
“Because I deserve privacy,” I countered, feeling that cold sensation spread through my chest again. A gnawing hunger ate at me and the rune Kaito had put on my arm began to burn.
Shit. My super strength. My claws. Those were magical attributes fueled by something inside of me, and my stores were starting to get low.
I was so not going to refuel on a wolf.
He chuckled, sending his breath hot against my skin.
I couldn’t help the urge to arch into him.
He was all muscle and tightness as he closed in around me like a prison I never wanted to escape.
“I couldn’t hear all of that, but I sense your need, darling.
I scent your heat.” He ran his tongue down my jaw, eliciting a shiver from my body. “And you smell delicious.”
No, this was so not happening. “Logan, you need to get off me right now,” I bit out, although the words held a sensual tremor to them that I couldn’t control. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Hurt me?” he sounded absolutely delighted by the challenge. “You can try, darling.”
“Quit calling me that.”
He nuzzled into my neck again. “Not a chance.”
Dammit! I needed to think of something. If he kept doing… that, I was so going to break.
“What, this?” he asked, shifting his leg against my core again and sending a moan escaping from my lips.
A cool breeze drifted into the locker room as the door popped open. I managed to flutter my eyes open to see Orion staring us down. I guess the Demis were one faction that didn’t require a signup in order to gain entrance to the arena’s locker rooms.
He grinned. “Is this a bad time?”