Chapter 8
“I can’t eat anymore,” Damon whined as I held another strawberry over his lips. His head was on my lap and I’d fed him as we just sat in silence and enjoyed being near one another.
“You sure?” I asked, holding it out for him.
He laughed. “I feel like I could burst any second.”
I chuckled. “Fine, then I’ll eat it.” I took a huge bite of the strawberry, then moaned my appreciation. “Fuck, its good!”
“Wait, you haven't tried it?”
“No? I fed you, remember.”
“But you were supposed to eat them too!” He sat up and looked sadly at the now empty basket. “Was that the only one you got?”
My bunny was too sweet. “I loved hearing you moan much more than the taste of them, trust me. I would gladly feed you plenty more, even if that meant I’d never get to taste them again.” He blushed like I hoped he would.
“They were supposed to be for you, though.”
“They were, believe me.” I waggled my brows. “I enjoyed each and every one.”
He shook his head, smiling like I was silly. I pecked a quick kiss on his lips. “We should fly back before curfew. We can do this a few times a week, if you want to? I wouldn’t mind us flying out here and being alone until dark.”
“I love that idea. Maybe not every night, otherwise your family will grow to hate me for stealing you away,” he teased.
I sighed dramatically. “That is the curse of being the favorite family member.”
He laughed as we both stood, carefully packing away the food and bottles. Our favorite spread was the chocolate one and we’d finished it way too quickly. The perfect combination was the strawberry jam with the chocolate spread. So good.
Damon pulled me into one last kiss goodnight, bending me down and really making it one to last. My knees were weak when we parted, and he had on a smug smile as we shifted to our dragons. We hadn’t had time for our bunnies tonight, but that would just be something fun for next time.
I bumped my nose into his neck, nuzzling it. He returned my touch, making our dragons rumble with the pleasure of being together. Then we soared through the skies, heading for the academy.
My roommate Kim had snored louder than ever last night, which was why I was a groggy mess at breakfast. Ever since Kim had mated with his fated, a brunette called Julie, he’d been sleeping so damn peacefully that my beauty sleep was now without the sleep part.
I would forever be a beauty. My elf side made sure of that.
But it seemed my family didn’t care that I’d gotten almost no sleep as they bickered and laughed loudly around me.
“Here,” Damon’s soft voice whispered. I was resting my head on the table, my arms the perfect pillow, as I tried to survive the torture I called my family. “I brought you some bacon and sausages. I think you need some meat in you.”
I snorted, my eyes still closed as I replied, “I really do need a certain sausage in me.”
Damon choked next to me as the table went peacefully quiet, it lasted for like five seconds. Now they were all laughing around me, much louder than before. I could only blame myself.
Admitting defeat, I sat up and rubbed at my tired eyes.
“What’s wrong with you?” Nazuss asked, looking worried even through my blurry vision that slowly sharpened as I blinked.
“Just tired,” I shrugged.
“Did I keep you out too late last night?” Damon asked, sounding guilty.
I hugged him around his waist, pulling him closer against my side before pecking a kiss on his cheek. “Never. I just have a snoring roommate.”
Damon’s soft smile said exactly what he was thinking; soon it would just be the two of us sleeping together, snoring roommates now their fated’s problem. I couldn’t fucking wait.
Myve groaned, “Same! My roommate is a sleep talker and man, nothing she says makes any sense. I wish she would spill out her deepest and darkest secrets but all I’m getting is nonsense.”
I snorted at that and ate one of my sausages, making sure I held Damon’s gaze as I took it into my mouth. My sweet bunny blushed while my family pretended to be looking anywhere but at us.
“This should help,” Casey said, handing me a steaming cup of something. “The cooking staff told me the tea is infused with rejuvenating properties and energy. I also added a bit of honey to it.”
I accepted the cup gratefully. “Thank you, Casey.”
He just smiled and resumed his place next to Jamie, their eyes growing fond as they watched one another. Casey was good for my cousin, even if he’d been oblivious as fuck at first.
The tea tasted amazing, a thing I feared it wouldn’t. Tea was either delicious or disgusting in my opinion, and this one was definitely delicious with a sour raspberry flavor to it, making it taste fresh and sweet at the same time.
With one hand on Damon’s thigh, I focused on eating and drinking, knowing I needed all the help I could get. We never knew what classes we had for each day, so it was best to be prepared for everything.
To everyone’s utter surprise, Hans suddenly appeared with a weak smile as he stepped closer to Myve.
She was staring off in the distance as she ate her yoghurt, not even noticing his approach.
It was like an unspoken rule that no one spoke as we watched and waited for Myve to realize he was right there, looking seconds away from bursting into flames with how red his cheeks were.
He then kneeled next to our table, ignoring our wide eyes as he focused solely on his fated mate.
Myve finally blinked out of her stare and seemed to notice our silence. She frowned and looked down at herself, likely to check for spills or crumbs, then she gasped in shock when she noticed Hans.
“Please hear me out, Myve,” he begged. “I only need two minutes of your time, that’s it. I promise.”
Myve bit her bottom lip, looking like she either wanted to bolt or jump into his arms. The pull to her fated was a real thing she simply couldn’t ignore. “Okay,” she agreed. “You have two minutes, starting now.”
Hans’ eyes widened comically as he looked at all of us, his unwanted audience.
He swallowed, but then determination took over.
“I was close to my burn phase when I goaded Nym and Damon into fighting. I had to do something so I wouldn’t shift and I thought you were dating Nym at first so I hated him and that was partly why I targeted him.
It wasn’t until I noticed how he looked at Harpy that I knew he wasn’t into you, but I was already so agitated that I couldn’t stop myself. ”
He took in a steadying breath as he continued.
“Being a phoenix shifter like me isn’t easy.
Each burn cycle I get horrible to be around.
I feel horrible, myself, to be honest. For most of my life I’ve been secluded for the week leading up to it, until it’s over.
No one should be around me when I’m going through my burn phase, but I had no idea what to do with myself here and felt embarrassed about asking for help.
I know better now and I won’t ever lose my temper like that again.
I promise. Also, I can’t stand to be away from you, Myve.
My heart literally aches whenever I think of you; which is pretty much all the damn time.
Can you give me another chance to prove myself to you? Please?”
Myve didn’t answer, she simply stood from our table and offered her hand, helping him up from the floor. She then tugged him with her, likely to speak in private. It warmed my heart to see. Hopefully my sister would finally find some peace now that she heard his side of things.
“I like him,” Casey said, being the first of us to break the silence. “It takes a certain kind of courage to kneel in front of her family, declare his wrong doings, and ask for another chance.”
“I didn’t hear any apologies, though,” Nazuss grumbled, making me kick him under the table.
“Myve is a big girl and she deserves some happiness,” I said.
“We know better than most that we should trust The Magic.” That had my brother shutting up and nodding his head.
Our father Cole had been The Magic in our part of the world so we knew more than most what that entailed.
Although we weren’t allowed to share that knowledge outside of our family.
Most weren’t even aware that The Magic were several beings all ruling over different parts of our world.
“I like him as well,” Nym declared. “Damon and I know better than most what it’s like having our instincts take over. If he’s in agony and felt afraid to shift, then he just acted without thought to try and save himself. I can respect and understand that.”
I just nodded and took the last sip of my tea, already feeling more alert. I now felt ready for whatever the teachers were going to throw at us.