Chapter 27 Slater
slater
. . .
I fell asleep wishing my mate was on my screen again.
Okay, technically, I fell asleep wishing she was on two of my screens.
Screen one was on my academy-issued tablet, open to the House of Twilight common area’s monitor feed.
Screen two was on my phone, on my private feed.
The one she didn’t know about yet that showed her bedroom from the upper corner of the window frame.
It was totally normal, ethical, and acceptable fated mate behavior.
That was what Zuko said when I told him about it. He also made me give him access, but that was beside the point.
Snakey snored softly from his perch on my stomach, making little hissing-purrs that vibrated every time he exhaled. He always did that when Rune was on screen. My chaos manifestation was as obsessed with her as I was.
Her room was empty now. She’d been in class when I got back to my room after my own classes, but that never mattered. Watching her sleep was my favorite, and usually, when I took a nap, I’d wake up and see her on one of the two screens I had pulled up.
The soft click of my bedroom door startled me, then Rune’s voice hit me.
“Slater?”
I jolted upright, Snakey flying off me like a launched danger noodle of chaos.
Rune stood in the doorway, her pretty golden eyes narrowed, hands on her hips, and her expression a mix of surprise and desire.
“Are you watching me?” she demanded, stalking toward me. “Did you actually install a camera in my room?”
Heat shot through my neck, and I tugged my shirt down instinctively. “Um,” I murmured. “Define ‘install.’”
“Havoc baby, just be honest.”
“Okay, okay, fine. Yes,” I blurted, holding my hands up in surrender. “But hear me out before biting me!”
Her eyes flared with amusement. “You’re getting bitten.”
I almost moaned. “Please do. That’s fine. I can tell you later.”
She shoved my shoulder, making me bounce back onto the bed. “Don’t tempt me.”
“You barged in yelling at me,” I said defensively, “which, don’t get me wrong, that was the hottest thing I’ve seen all week. I mean, other than when you pushed me into the closet in the hall on Tuesday.”
Her lips twitched, and then, the bond flared warm and fuzzy.
“Slater…” She dragged a hand down her face. “Why would you even do this?”
“Because I was scared,” I admitted, glancing up at her from my bed. “After we started year two, after we moved out of the First-Year House...I wasn’t in the same building as you anymore. I missed you.”
Her mouth parted. “You installed a cam because you missed me?”
“I also like watching you breathe.” I smiled. “It soothes me.”
She blinked before a sly smile spread across her lips. “Do you get off to me often, Havoc baby?”
Heat swept through me, hot enough I felt my cheeks burn. Not from embarrassment but from the raw amount of desire streaking through me at the memories of doing so. “Venom baby, you’re my mate,” I said, my voice coming out in a low rumble. “Of course I do.”
She reached out and grabbed my jaw with one hand before kissing me as if she wanted to devour me.
I made a noise that was somewhere between a choke and a whimper as her fingers slid into my hair and tugged. Her lips were soft and insistent.
I reached for her waist, but she pulled back just enough to breathe against my lips.
“You, Havoc baby,” she whispered, “are so unbelievably cute.”
My brain short-circuited.
A little hiss sounded as Snakey slithered onto Rune’s ankle and wound around it affectionately.
Worthy, the tiny winged snake that lived under my mate mark, burst out of her shoulder in a shimmer of chaos magic, hissing at Snakey.
“Unworthy!”
Snakey hissed back, clearly irritated.
They clashed and started rolling around on the floor.
“Look at them bonding,” I cooed proudly. “Our little chaos manifestations.”
Rune snorted, brushing her fingers over her shoulder where my mark was. It made my soul tingle. “You know, I’ve never had my chaos snake bite me before. Snakey’s venom is fun, but what about Worthy’s?”
I wished I had venom to inject her with, but alas, I only provided chaos. “Do you want him to?”
Before I could finish the sentence, the tiny winged serpent zipped away from Snakey and up her arm, biting her neck, whispering, “Worthy.”
Rune shivered as the venom worked through her. “Oh, you have the same venom as Snakey. That’s badass.”
I swallowed hard. “I am trying very hard not to combust right now.”
She smiled wickedly, plopping down next to me. “As tempting as it would be to make you combust, I want to see all of your feeds.”
“All of what?” I asked, suddenly nervous.
“All the security feeds you’ve hacked. And I’d like to know how long you’ve been stalking me.”
“That’s so accusatory,” I muttered, but I clicked to the master feed at the academy, anyway. “Look, I only put the private cam in your room after you moved into House of Twilight. The rest of these are just academy feeds.”
She raised a brow. “You hacked every camera in the academy to watch me?”
“Well, yeah.” I nodded. “Obviously, I needed to know every angle of possible danger. Especially after what happened last year.”
She leaned down and kissed my temple. “Fates, you really are adorable.”
I kicked my feet in excitement. “I love you, venom baby.”
“Slater,” she murmured, pulling back and pointing at the lower-right monitor on the screen. “Is Ominous being followed right now?”
I squinted.
Sure enough, Ominous was walking alone down a dim hallway in Apex Nexus when a second shadow peeled itself off the wall behind him.
Another shadow demon.
Not just any, though. It was a shadow demon from House of Fortitude. A needle glinted in his hand.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “He’s going to inject him with something.”
Rune gasped. “We’re going, now.”
She grabbed my hand and ran, dragging me out of the house and to the academy.
We sprinted down the bridge and into the academy building, ignoring everyone else and running fast until we hit the corridor he was in.
Ominous smirked. “Hey, guys!”
“Ominous,” she shouted, “incoming threat behind—”
I pointed behind him.
Before she could finish her sentence, the shadow demon behind him lunged with a syringe glowing with liquid.
It was Tourmalyke, and I would’ve bet anything that it was the new strand.
Ominous pivoted, shadow magic blasting backward in a burst of black static. It sent the attacker slamming into a wall hard enough to crack it before the academy wards fixed the damages.
The demon shrieked, form flickering with darkness as he tried to shadow travel.
“Nah, you’re not going anywhere.” Ominous had the guy tangled up with his shadows.
Rune slapped the demon across the face, and he sagged in Ominous’s hold.
The syringe fell from his hand, rolling on the floor.
Ominous’s shadows scooped down and grabbed it.
Rune turned back to us. “He’s paralyzed now. Are you okay?”
“I’m good.” Ominous blinked at her with wide eyes. “Thanks, but I knew he was following me. I had it under control.”
I elbowed him. “My mate was worried about you.”
Rune nodded. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”
Ominous nodded. “Yeah, of course, Rune. I appreciate you guys helping me. Paralyzing him really helped. Bastard was fighting me.”
“Let’s get him to my dad,” she said. “Before more show up.”
Ominous wrapped his shadows around us all. In one lurching, stomach-dropping second, we were yanked straight into the Headmaster’s office.
Lake Bloodwyne raised a brow at us. “Wasn’t expecting visitors.”
Ominous dropped the attacker unceremoniously in front of my father-by-mating’s desk. “This shadow demon tried injecting me with this.” He tossed the syringe onto his desk.
“Shit.” Lake groaned, grabbing his phone and making a call. “Tourmalyke cuffs. Now.”
Security arrived in seconds, binding the shadow demon in the shimmering crystal.
The demon was still paralyzed, but his black eyes were filled with hate as he was hauled up.
Lake ran a hand through his hair. “Rune and Slater, be safe. Clearly, we don’t only have to worry about the human threats but the supernatural threats working for them. Ominous, I need a statement.”
Ominous nodded. “Of course.”
Rune and I said our goodbyes and left the office.
“Want to go back to your room?” she asked softly.
My heart fluttered. “I always want you in my room, venom baby.”
When we made it back to my room, we curled up together on my bed. Rune’s golden eyes were bright as she propped her chin up on my chest.
“So,” she murmured sleepily. “Tell me about this dress you bought me.”
My cock hardened at the thought of her in it. “It’s for the pre-finals formal event. My tradition states I must buy my mate the prettiest dress in the entire universe for this event every year.”
“Oh, really?” She giggled. “And what does the dress look like?”
“Well,” I said dramatically. “It’s black.
It’s sparkly. I want you to think of thousands of tiny star fragments woven into it.
It will look like you’re wearing the night sky.
And it has a slit up the thigh, high enough for me to put my head in and find heaven.
” I held my chest with a sigh. “The back dips low because I like your back. A lot.”
Her grin slowly widened. “Slater.”
“What?” I said, adjusting myself in my boxers. “I have taste and needs. Sometimes those can combine. Don’t even get me started on how perfect your boobs will look.”
She lifted and straddled my lap, kissing me softly. “You are the sweetest chaos demon I’ve ever met.”
I tucked her hair behind her ear. “Rune?”
“Yeah?”
“I like you in my space,” I said quietly. “I like you here. With me. Not on the feeds. Really here.”
Her expression softened, and affection streaked the bond. “I enjoy being in your space. I like being with you. I always have.”
My heart flipped. “I love you.”
She leaned forward, pressing her forehead to mine. “Thank you for loving me.”
Her saying that made something wild snap open in my chest. “I love you more than you could possibly know, venom baby. I knew you were mine the moment I met you.”
“I know.” Her fingers curled into my shirt. “I love that about you. I love you, Havoc baby.”
Her lips sealed over mine again, and I moaned as she rolled her hips over my erection.
Snakey peeked over the pillows, saw us kissing, and slithered away.
She pulled back, and her chaos snake manifested and perched on her shoulder, watching proudly.
His head tilted, and he de-manifested.
“You know, he didn’t call me unworthy this time,” I joked.
“Maybe he’s warming up to you.” She giggled.
My heart squeezed. I hoped he was, because he was now a part of my mate, and I wanted every inch of her approval.
I loved her more than anything in Kalista.