Chapter 13 Rion
RION
“Remind me why the hell we trusted him to go?”
It feels like someone has poured cement down my throat, and with every breath I take, it settles thicker in my lungs.
I never should have trusted him. It doesn’t matter that I saw that look in his eyes, one that I thought would be worth our while, but now, as I pace back and forth in front of the main academy building, frustration rising inside of me, I regret it with every ounce of me.
I should have known his ability to lie runs deeper than just his words. Fuck, even his actions.
I’m going to slaughter him with my own hands before I shift into my wolf and feast on his fucking remains.
“We have to give him time. He’s coming back, I know he is,” Ocean murmurs, trying to reassure me, but I sense the air of doubt that swarms around her.
Cocking a brow at her, she tries to hide her grimace, but I catch the edge of it as Thorne clears his throat. Reluctantly, I tilt my attention in his direction and almost startle at the sheer level of contained ferocity that tightens his facial features.
“I promised her she would be safe here. If she weren’t, if I didn’t believe he would bring her back, I wouldn’t have allowed it,” he bites, clenching his hands at his sides, and I scoff.
“You wouldn’t have allowed it?” I blurt, making Ocean sigh as she pinches the bridge of her nose.
“Don’t start turning on one another. That’s the last thing Elodie is going to need when she gets back,” she insists, giving me a pointed look as I lift my hands with an air of surrender.
The reluctant apology remains muted on my tongue as the sound of the double academy doors swinging open cuts through the air. My gaze snaps toward the noise, but the hope that starts to blossom in my stomach instantly vanishes at the sight of the fair-haired vampire asshole filling my vision.
What’s worse? He’s alone.
His green eyes darken as he whips his gaze around us, all while the three of us zero in on him expectantly.
“Where the fuck is she?” I snarl, ignoring the tension to his jaw and the way his shoulders are hunched as I charge toward him with intent. I want answers, and only he can provide them.
The second we’re standing toe to toe, I shove at his chest, not feeling any satisfaction as he stumbles back a step.
In my gut, I know he lets it happen, but my wolf refuses to accept that it wasn’t all his doing.
He continues to glance around us as he speaks. “She came through the portal before I did. She should be here,” he states, scrubbing the back of his neck as his spine stiffens.
Rage tears through me as I reach for his chest, but instead of shoving at him again, I curl my fingers into the fabric of his t-shirt and drag him closer as I bellow. “If she’s gone again, I swear—”
His nostrils flare as he glowers back at me, but it’s Thorne who speaks.
“She has to be here. I’ve boosted the protection spell on The Vale, as I promised. There’s no way she was intercepted going from The Sanctum back to The Vale.”
My eyebrows furrow as my hands tighten on Kael’s t-shirt, but before I get too distracted with pummelling the shit out of him, I let go, my attention snapping to Ocean as she lets out a sharp breath.
“Institute Thirteen,” she whispers, making my heart flutter in my chest as I nod.
Without another word, I take off, assuming the rest will follow, but I barely make it a handful of hurried steps before Ocean hollers from behind me.
“Don’t you dare leave me behind, Rion. I swear to fucking God.”
Despite my desire to keep running, my steps falter and I glance back over my shoulder at her.
Fuck.
Sprinting back to the raging witch in question, I stutter as I stop before her. My eyelids flicker as I look from my hands to Elodie’s closest friend and back again, all while my two friends dart past us without care.
“What are you doing? I meant stay beside me, not… this,” she grumbles, waving her hands between us, and I roll my eyes at her dramatics.
“I was trying to get you to move at my speed, but I…”
“You what?”
Dragging a hand down my face, I sigh. “I don’t know where to appropriately put my hands on the one girl my Petal likes,” I blurt, irritated with watching as understanding washes over her and she grins.
“You love her,” she muses, and I scoff.
“Are we doing this or not?” I ask, refusing to acknowledge her words, and to my surprise, she relents, gingerly placing her hands on my shoulders as she nods.
“Whisk me away then. I don’t want either of them to beat us to her,” she orders, and when I don’t immediately move, she snaps my hands up, placing them at her waist before she returns her fingers to my shoulders.
Glancing over my shoulder, I become aware of how far the other two are since they’re using their abilities. It’s the push I need to lift Ocean off the ground and take off after them. She squeals, her nails digging into my shoulders as I work as hard as I can on catching up to Kael and Thorne.
It doesn’t take too long for us to catch up, my pulse thundering in my ears as my wolf tingles on the edge of my consciousness.
The second we’re a step ahead of them, the warmth of victory bleeds from my wolf to me, and I take off even faster, excitement buzzing through me as Institute Thirteen comes into view.
I race up the stairs two at a time, skidding to a halt on the fourth floor as I quickly place Ocean on her feet. Her eyes are wide as she clears her throat, and I take a second to smooth my hands over my t-shirt before nodding at her door.
“Open the door, Ocean,” I rasp, anticipation thick in my throat, and she nods, retrieving a key from her pocket before she quickly shoves it into the lock. An eternity passes as she turns it, but I still don’t exhale as she nudges the door open. I can’t. I need to see my girl first.
Luck isn’t on my side as my ears start to warm and my throat tightens, my breath firmly lodged as my Petal doesn’t come into view. Barging past Ocean, who looks as panicked as I feel, I do a quick once-over of the entire dorm room, including the walk-in closet, and ensuite, but come up empty.
“Where the fuck is she?” I snarl, desperation getting the better of me as I stare pleadingly at Ocean, but she’s as clueless as I am.
My nostrils flare as Kael and Thorne appear in the doorway. It doesn’t take a lot for them to read the room and understand the predicament we still find ourselves in. Blinking between the three of them, I feel the space shrinking. It’s too much. It’s even worse with Kael in my proximity.
Without a word, since no one can erase the fury I feel toward him, I exit the room in a huff, shouldering between the vampire and the shadow fae before I race down the stairs. I don’t stop until I’m outside, the bare trees drawing me closer as I plant my hands on my hips and let my head fall lax.
Defeated.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt it as strongly as I do now.
I hate it.
My wolf tingles at the edges of my mind, pleading to take over and shield me from the emotions bursting in my chest. It’s instinctive for me to sleep in the shadows while he protects me, but for the first time, I don’t want to hide from it. Not when it involves my Petal.
But… maybe for a little while so that I can think. I just—
“Rion?”
“Not now, Ocean,” I grumble, refusing to glance back in her direction, but I should know by now that the psychotic little witch loves nothing more than to push my buttons.
“It’s cute you think you have a choice,” she retorts, snorting, and I glance over my shoulder in time to see her inspecting her nails with an air of perfected arrogance. She’s the perfect friend for Elodie. I want to dislike her even more because she’s currently closer to her than I am.
My lips part, ready to tell her as much, when a muffled cry cuts through the air.
I stiffen, my gaze darting to the basement door immediately as my blood runs cold.
The essence of my wolf rises so close to the surface, I don’t think I can contain him, but his near presence makes it impossible to deny the thundering of my Petal’s heartbeat in the distance.
Hurrying toward the door, Ocean watches me cautiously, but I’m too distracted by my need for Elodie to explain. As I wrap my hand around the door handle, Ocean hurries to my side, but when I step inside, I turn back, lifting my hand to pause her in place.
“What are you doing, Rion?” she bites, and I shake my head.
“Do you trust me?” Ocean scoffs, cocking her brow in answer, and I sigh. There’s no time for this. “Ocean, I need you to stay on that side of the door and use whatever magic you can to keep it locked, no matter what.”
“Why?” She folds her arms over her chest, the challenge clear in her gaze.
“Because if she’s down there right now, she needs me more than ever, but I can also guarantee that she doesn’t need an audience.”
Her lips purse in agitation. “Then you stay here, and I’ll go,” she retorts, and I shake my head again.
“This is my doing, I have to take accountability,” I insist as another cry of pain cuts through the air.
“Elodie,” Ocean blurts in a panic, taking a step toward me, but she halts when I lift a hand, stopping her from trying to pass me.
“That’s not her in pain,” I grunt, desperate for her to understand. It takes a moment, but her eyes go wide, blinking at me repeatedly as her pupils grow smaller. “Ocean,” I plead, nodding toward the door, and to my surprise, she takes a step back, her spine straight as she looks deep into my eyes.
“I don’t know what the fuck is going on down there, Rion, but you help her. You help her right now.” She slams the door shut, her demand lingering in the air, but I don’t bother taking a moment to absorb it; I’m too focused on getting to the bottom of the dingy stairs.
My steps slow as I reach the last step, awe-struck as I gape at the fallen door. It takes my attention for a whole ten seconds until my gaze snaps to the enraged warrior of a woman dropping the weight of her hammer into her father’s skull again and again.