Chapter 3
My ears rang from how hard my heart was pounding, and if Raffe hadn’t been touching me, my blood would’ve been at hum level. Still, it was fizzing, on the brink of tipping over.
Of course a coven member saw us outside. We’re lucky Slade’s here and not Supreme Priestess Olwyn, though I bet she’s coming. Raffe squeezed my hand comfortingly, feeling the turmoil inside me. A coven is like a pack with how close they are, and Olwyn knows everything that happens pertaining to you.
Another round of knocking was followed by Slade saying, “Sky? I’ll call Mom so she can get the code from Lafayette if you don’t open up.”
He sounded concerned, easing some of the weight from my shoulders. He reminded me of the Slade I knew … my friend. He’d saved me to his own detriment, and maybe he wouldn’t inform his mom about Octavia if I asked him not to. I was letting Octavia’s manipulation get to me.
Will someone get the door? Lucy linked. I’m kinda busy here, and he already knows everything.
I winced and glanced over as she held a cracker to Josie’s mouth. Thankfully, Josie was conscious enough to take nibbles.
“Pretend we’re not here,” Octavia muttered, placing a finger to her lips. “He might think we left.”
“Fine, I’m calling Lafayette. I know you’re in there.”
Shit. If a vampire came here, they would definitely want to erase Octavia’s mind, and I wasn’t sure that was possible. I also didn’t want to chance her forgetting anything.
I released Raffe’s hand and marched to the door.
A witch somewhere on this floor must have noticed us walk by. Raffe hit one hand on his other palm. I swear, he’s like the plague, always hanging around. He then said out loud, “If you don’t want him to know who you are, you’d better play along and act like you’re not afraid.”
He had a point.
I opened the door and found Slade standing there—alone. His spiky blond hair was ruffled, and his emerald eyes were glassy as if he’d been drinking.
“Skylar,” he exhaled, his breath smelling of beer.
My stomach revolted at the foul scent, but I swallowed the acid down.
Slade pulled me to his chest and hugged me. “I’m so happy to see you.”
His touch felt wrong. I leaned back to get away, but Slade held on tighter.
Rage blasted through Raffe and into me as he marched over, snarling, “Get your hands off my mate.”
“Right. He’s here.” Slade loosened his grip with a frown. “I hoped Sasha was mistaken.”
Sasha.
I’d never met her.
That must be why I hadn’t recognized the witch when we headed in.
I took several steps back as Raffe came to my side. His nostrils flared as he glared at Slade and fisted his hands.
Given this already tumultuous situation, I looped my arm through Raffe’s. With Slade and Octavia watching, I didn’t want to try to unclench his hands. As soon as our bodies touched, some of his tension ebbed, but barely.
“You know better than to touch someone’s mate.” Raffe’s face twisted in fury.
Slade rolled his eyes. “Sky and I are friends. Friends hug from time to time.”
Even though Slade was my friend, he liked to piss off Raffe when he could.
I blew out a breath. “I’ve never been a big hugger, especially now that I’m mated with Raffe.” I had to draw boundaries, and Raffe’s feelings were more important than anyone else’s. Besides, my skin crawled whenever another man touched me.
“Whatever.” Slade scoffed and glanced over my shoulder. His back straightened. “What the hell happened here? And where’s Dave?” He’d noticed Josie. He shut the door behind him and walked farther into the room. Then his attention landed on Octavia.
She stood in front of the television across from Lucy and Josie with her arms crossed. She’d schooled her expression into one of indifference, but the corners of her mouth were tipped downward. I could only hope Slade didn’t notice that.
“Did you all get attacked?” Slade’s brows furrowed. “And who is this?”
“A visitor who helped us find Dave.” I didn’t want to say she was supernatural, but I also didn’t want to willingly admit she was human. Coven members didn’t have the sense of smell that wolf shifters did, so he might not notice if he kept his distance. “And Josie lost a lot of blood.” I told him about Dave.
Slade rubbed his forehead. “Shit. This is a huge mess.” He arched a brow. “Dave’s alive? After all this?”
If that didn’t prove he cared about us, I didn’t know what could. He and Dave were friends. Guilt churned in my stomach over doubting him again. I couldn’t let Octavia influence me.
“He’s fine.” Raffe shook his head. “I don’t fucking understand it. He should be dead from drinking wolf blood. I don’t know what made Josie do it.”
Swallowing a small bite of cracker, Josie cleared her throat. “I … I don’t know. I had the overwhelming urge to save him, and it wasn’t like we had options.” Her words slurred as if she’d been drinking, but she was speaking in full sentences. Between getting her some calories and her shifter healing, she was improving, but fatigue had hit her hard. She needed rest just as much as calories.
“That is odd. I’m sure Mom will want to visit him and figure out what’s going on.” Slade rubbed a hand over his chin. “I’ve seen vampires die from drinking wolf’s blood. Is he here or back in his room?”
“That jackass is the one who drugged Sky so those crazies could capture her.” Raffe’s hands clenched tighter until his knuckles blanched. “We’re keeping a close eye on him, and I don’t want him anywhere close to her. I don’t care if he fucking dies as long as he lives long enough to tell us everything he knows about that secret society.”
“He’s a student, so he’s Mom’s responsibility. She’ll want to check on him.” Slade removed his cell phone from his back pocket.
Raffe snarled, “She may be on the board, but we found him. Therefore, he’s under wolf shifter watch and protection.”
The two guys glared at each other, and when Slade swiped his phone to show he was going to text her, Raffe coiled, ready to snatch it away.
I’d hoped that one day we could all get along, but clearly, that wasn’t today. “Slade, I get that she’ll want to check on him.” I held on to Raffe’s arm tighter, trying to squeeze sense into him. Being all alpha-y and throwing his weight around would only get Priestess Olwyn over here tonight. Selfishly, I was exhausted and didn’t want to deal with any more drama. I needed to come to terms with Octavia and get some sleep. It’d been a long-ass day. “But he’s unconscious and needs to rest. She won’t get anything out of him until he wakes. Believe me, if we could, we’d all be over there with him.”
Slade lowered his hand, my reasoning hitting the mark, unlike Raffe’s. He pursed his lips. “He’s that bad off?”
I nodded and glanced at Josie, whose eyes were closed. Good. I didn’t want her to hear what I was about to say. Whatever connection those two had, she’d been willing to risk death to save him. “Honestly, even after her feeding him, I’d be surprised if he survived.”
“What the hell is wrong with this university?” Lucy placed her head in her hands. “Ever since the school year began, there’s been one attack, chaos, or kidnapping after the next. If I hadn’t attended school here last year, I’d be certain this place was cursed.”
Cursedwas another word people threw around to describe me, but not as often as freak and weirdo.
“Fine.” Slade placed his phone back into his pocket. “I’ll call her later and get her to put it off until in the morning. I assume he’s at Raffe’s apartment since the wolf shifters are monitoring him.”
“Not my place anymore,” Raffe interjected, placing an arm around my waist. “We’re mated. I stay here now.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have appreciated the possessiveness, but dammit if my heart didn’t flutter. My wolf wanted to trot in pride, knowing our man wanted everyone to know we belonged to each other.
Slade frowned. “This is the women’s apartments. The rules state—”
“We have a completed mate bond,” Raffe cut in. “That’s more than equivalent to marriage, and her roommate is my cousin. I’m not going anywhere, and if Lafayette tries to make it where we can’t stay together, Sky and I will move off campus.”
“Both of you, stop it.” I’d forgotten how they acted when we were all together. I placed my hands on my hips. “We have problems, and I’m sick and tired of you two having a pissing match every time we need to work together.” Sometimes, I wondered if Slade was meant to be a wolf shifter with how much posturing these two did around each other. “Raffe is my mate—you need to accept that.” I pointed at Slade.
From the corner of my eye, Raffe beamed.
But I wasn’t finished.
I turned to Raffe, our chests touching. “And Slade is my friend, so it’ll be easier if you two could pretend to get along.”
That’ll be the day, Lucy linked to me. They’ve always been hostile toward each other, but it’s been over the top since you came along.
Something else my presence had impacted. Everywhere I went, something bad followed. Those weren’t good things to bring, especially for a future vet, and only validated what King Jovian thought as well.
“Fine.” Slade sighed and waved a hand. “I’m just trying to come to terms with you two being together.”
“Get there faster,” Raffe spat.
Raffe, I linked, wanting him to defuse the situation. Aren’t you a political science major? Shouldn’t you be skilled at working across species and with negotiations?
Not when the person has the hots for my mate. Raffe”s body vibrated with anger. Imagine if a girl came sniffing after me all the time. You wouldn’t be all logical.
Uh, did you forget about you and Josie? I shot back. Yeah, you might have been pretending, but you guys were excellent at it. And your dad would be way more accepting of her than me.
Point made, I turned back to the matter at hand. I needed to be careful and not give away too much about Octavia. “Slade, I’m not trying to be rude here, but we’re all tired.”
“Yeah, okay.” Slade bit his bottom lip and glanced at Octavia. “Who are you, anyway?”
Octavia’s eyes widened slightly.
Great, no wonder she was freaking out about him. She couldn’t think quickly on her feet, and I doubted she wanted me to use her full name.
I came up with a nickname for her because Mom wouldn’t cut it. “Her name is Vi, and she came to visit. You know, today was a big football game for the school, and there are a ton of people here who aren’t normally on campus.”
“She’s part of our extended family,” Raffe added, and my stomach clenched.
I understood what he’d done—because he and I were mated and she was my biological mother he hadn’t lied, yet he’d made it sound like she was a wolf shifter.
“Great. More royal shifters on campus.” Slade rolled his eyes.
He needed to go, and quickly. I forced a yawn to illustrate that I was tired. “Is there anything else you need? It’s been a long day.”
Slade tapped a foot like he was delaying. “But I’m calling Mom first thing in the morning.”
Whatever it took to get him out the door. We would fight the next battle in the morning.
“Call me if you need anything,” Slade said, patting my arm and then heading out the door.
As soon as it shut, a weight pressed even heavier on my shoulders.
The four of us stood in silence as Raffe, Lucy, and I listened to Slade’s footsteps grow fainter.
Octavia frowned. “What’s the plan?”
“You sleep in Lucy’s room, and we’ll tie you to the headboard so you can’t escape or harm us.” Raffe’s eyes glowed, and when he didn’t connect with me, I realized he had to be talking to Adam and Keith. “Lucy, are you okay sleeping on the other couch?”
“That’s fine. I want to be close to Josie anyway.” Lucy stretched. “There’s only a small window in the room, so she can’t get out.”
“There won’t be any chance after I tie her up.” Raffe kissed the top of my forehead and linked, Why don’t youtake a shower and get ready for bed?
A shower sounded fantastic.
I glanced at Octavia, whose shoulders slumped. She knew she couldn’t get out of this.
I won’t be far behind. Promise. Raffe’s concern engulfed me, and I felt the magnitude of his love all over again.
Needing a moment to myself, I went into our room and grabbed some clothes before taking a quick shower to wash off the blood, grit, and dirt.
When I came out dressed in my favorite lilac pajamas, Raffe breezed past me into the bathroom. I glanced inside Lucy’s room to find my cat, amusingly known as Cat-Keith, standing on the end table, staring at Octavia, who lay on her side with her hands tied to the headboard. Raffe had left enough slack for her to be comfortable.
Octavia’s attention flicked to me, but I pushed away and went into my room. I needed the comfort of my own bed.
As I lay on my lilac comforter, listening to Raffe showering, I stared at the butterfly chandelier I’d made at home before coming here. It dangled from the light fixture, the darker purples at the top fading to lilac at the bottom.
I tried to push all thoughts from my mind, including the way my parents and King Jovian had reacted to Raffe and me being together. Both sets of parents disliked it, though mine thought our relationship was too intense, not understanding the supernatural, while King Jovian wanted Raffe to mate with the Atlanta alpha’s daughter to fix the divide among their people. Instead, his son was mated to me, a human turned wolf shifter, which should’ve been impossible. I believed King Jovian feared me and what I was.
Our time together had been one disaster after another, culminating in the appearance of my birth mother, who’d abandoned me. How had my life changed so much in two months? Even though I wouldn’t trade Raffe, Lucy, and the others for the world, I wouldn’t complain if life got a whole lot easier.
The water turned off, and within minutes, Raffe joined me in my room. His dark hair was damp, and he wore black sweatpants, remaining shirtless.
He slid into bed with me and pulled me into his arms.
I sighed. After today, I was so damn tired.
Are you okay? He cupped my face, watching me as I answered.
No, but I will be. I kissed his lips, needing to feel him all over me. With you here by my side and pleasuring my body.
He groaned, responding to my kiss, but when my hand went to his waistband, he caught my wrist. His tongue swept into my mouth before he pulled back and rasped, “You don’t know how badly I want to do that, but I can’t lose focus.” He tapped an ear. I need to listen in case Octavia tries something, and I’m pretty sure she will. Your safety and getting you some answers are more important tonight. That, and holding you.
I wanted to pout, but I forced my bottom lip to stay firmly in place. He was right. With Octavia here and Josie recovering, we needed to listen for any signs of trouble. I forced a smile, knowing he was saying no for me. Everything he’d done had been to protect me, even when he’d rejected me in front of the school. Though he’d been in the wrong, he’d thought he was doing the right thing.
He held me against his chest, my head resting right over his heart. The comforting and steady beat of his heart soothed me while the buzz of our connection sprang to life and his musky sandalwood-and-amber scent wrapped around me. He trailed his fingertips along my arm and pressed his chin to the top of my head.
My chest expanded until it ached. I felt so special and loved. No one had ever made me feel this way before him, and I had no doubt he would always protect me, even at the cost of himself.
I felt the same way about him, and before I realized it, I fell into a blissful, peaceful sleep.
Raffe and Sky,Adam linked, stirring me from my rest.
My eyes cracked open, and for a moment, I couldn’t remember where I was. It sounded as if Adam was standing right over us.
Raffe tensed. I realized I was turned away from him and he was spooning me from behind. The way my body thrummed from his warmth had me not wanting to move an inch. This was what waking up with him would be like every day for the rest of my life, and I loved it.
What? Raffe asked as he pulled me closer.
It’s Dave, Adam said hurriedly. Get here fast.