Chapter 15 Bechora
I was exhausted when morning rolled around.
After Geordie stepped back through the portal, shutting it behind him to end our conversation, I spent the night tossing and turning.
Doubts and fears plaguing my every thought.
Zypher and Gabriel’s absence was harder than I expected, even if they’d spent the night in their own beds at my request. Dragging myself upright, I stood, tucked my mother’s journal into my messenger bag, and moved to my closet to dress for the day.
“You look like shit,” Shadrie commented when I emerged into our shared space.
Wordlessly, I lifted a hand and flipped her off.
She laughed in response before turning serious.
“What happened after me and Miles left last night? Don’t think I didn’t notice Zypher and Gabriel aren’t on your heels this morning. ”
I sighed, leaning my elbows on the island counter. “A lot, actually. Apparently, there are some things Zypher neglected to tell me about being mated to him, and before I could even process that, Geordie popped in.”
“Geordie? As in your seer half-brother?” Her brows shot up as she spoke. “Don’t tell me he dropped more cryptic shit on you.” “He took me home,” I replied, hand moving to dig into my messenger bag.
“Home? Like human realm home?”
“Home, like the place I should have grown up, home,” I said, pulling the journal free of my bag and sitting it on the counter between us. “This was waiting for me there. My… my mother left it for me to find, except I can’t read anything it says.”
“That… Wow, B,” she breathed, nearly speechless for the first time since we’d met.
“I know.”
Stuffing the journal back into my bag, I quickly filled her in on everything.
Zypher keeping the expectations that came with being his mate from me, the visit to what should have been my childhood home, Geordie’s insistence that I let it go and accept my mates, and even him dodging the conversation about him being present for his mate.
Shadrie remained silent for most of it, but by the time I was done, I could tell by her face she had something she wanted to say and wasn’t sure she should.
“Spit it out,” I said, waving a hand at her to talk. “Whatever has you looking at me like that, just say it.”
“Well...” she started, pressing her lips into a thin line for a second.
“Geordie kind of has a point. About you and about keeping his distance, but mostly about you. Everything you told us about this prophecy says you need your mates, all of them. I get that Zypher messed up, and that you grew up in the human realm, but B… If this prophecy is legit, do you really want to end up caught unprepared just because you wanted to take things at the human pace?”
“You’re supposed to be on my side,” I balked.
“I am on your side. Look, I’m all for making them grovel and work for it, but not when it could mean you don’t make it out of this shit alive.”
My head jerked back in shock. “I–”
“No, B. I know I’m usually just fine going with the flow and down to have a good time, but you have a literal prophecy about you.
Those things don’t come with party bags.
They come with deadly outcomes, and at some point, you’re going to have to stop dragging your feet and just be all in with the fact that you have multiple mates and some of them started out on the wrong foot.
If you don’t…” she paused to shake her head.
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and I don’t want to lose you. ”
I didn’t know how to respond. As much as I wanted to push back, she was right. Geordie was right. Everything I’d learned about my magic and the prophecy since being brought to the Academy only served to show the prophecy was legitimate.
“You’re right,” I said finally, shoulders slumping with a heavy sigh. “It’s just not that easy to throw away everything I grew up believing.”
Shadrie stepped closer and wrapped her arms around me from the side.
“I get that. If it were easy… I suppose anyone would be able to step up as ‘savior of the realm’. But you’re a one-of-a-kind badass, B.
You can do this, you just have to stop being so damned stubborn.
” I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped me at her words.
“Come on, we should get going, or we won’t have time to eat before class.
Enough existential crisis talk for now. I need food. ”
She released me and moved to grab her bag before heading for the door. I followed her from our room and out of Magus House. When we stepped outside, I couldn’t help the twinge of disappointment that Zypher wasn’t waiting for us. Pushing it aside, I let Shadrie lead me to the dining hall.
Archer was already at our usual table, plates of food waiting in front of the chair to his left and three across from him. He grinned at me as I quietly slipped into the chair next to him, before glancing over my shoulder, as if he was looking for the others.
“Good morning, mate.”
“Morning,” I mumbled.
“You should know I had a talk with the other two last night. More like a solid scolding, channeled my dad and all that with his lectures on how to treat your mate. They’ll be much better about taking care of you properly… or else.” The stern look that settled onto his face caused me to laugh.
“That wasn’t really necessary, but thank you, anyway,” I said once I got myself under control.
Archer cocked his head to the side, eyes studying me. “They should have been helping you carry the weight of… well, you know.” He leaned forward to whisper the final words.
“It’s not completely on them,” I replied, stabbing a fork into the fluffy pancake on the plate in front of me.
“I haven’t exactly let them know how much I’ve been struggling to come to terms with everything.
Honestly… I’m not even sure why I told you .
It just sort of… spilled out. And as much as I hate to admit it, Zypher was probably right to keep the stuff about being his mate from me, for now.
” My eyes flicked to Shadrie, who gave me an encouraging nod as she dug into her own meal.
“I don’t like that he kept it from me, but with everything else, I get it.
He was just trying to keep me from being overwhelmed in his own way. ”
“Still…” Archer replied, dropping an arm to the back of my chair. “They should have been doing a better job of taking care of you. If you’ll let me, I actually have something in mind to help you.”
“I bet it’s his dick,” Shadrie interjected with an amused snort.
A grin broke out on Archer’s face again, and he whispered in my ear. “Only if you ask nicely.”
I swatted him away and jabbed my fork in Shadrie’s direction.
“Don’t encourage him,” I snarked before turning my head toward Archer.
“I’m not sure what you have in mind, but I actually do have something you can help me with.
” I paused, glancing around the dining hall as if I expected to find someone listening in on our conversation.
“Not here, though. I have a session with Caulder after class, meet me in my room after that, and I’ll fill you in? ”
“Happy to,” he replied. “But I still want to go through with my plan.”
“We can talk about it later.”
“Nope, it’s more fun if I keep it a surprise. Besides, you need to stop talking and eat up. You look exhausted, and you don’t need to add hungry on top of it.”
“I like him bossy,” Shadrie stage-whispered in my direction.
I shook my head and turned my attention back to my breakfast. After the conversation with Shadrie this morning, I really didn’t have the energy left to push back.
She and Archer chatted about the shifters she knew on campus while we finished our meal.
Neither pushed for me to join in on the conversation, although Archer did absently rub my shoulder, where his hand rested beside it on my chair, from time to time.
It didn’t escape my notice that Miles, Zypher, and Gabriel still hadn’t shown up in the dining hall by the time we finished our breakfast and separated for class.
My class load kept me too busy to really think about their absence further.
By the time my last class ended for the day, my eyes burned from exhaustion, and I was debating on keeping my lids open with tape as I trudged across campus to Caulder’s office.
I knocked lightly on his closed door when I arrived.
The door opened to reveal him in a white button-down, with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, and a pair of black slacks. His hair looked like he’d been running his hand through it, and I got the distinct impression he was nervous.
“Come in,” he said, ushering me inside and guiding me to an empty chair in front of his desk. As I settled in, his eyes scanned me from head to toe. “Are you alright?”
“Just tired,” I replied, not sure he wanted to hear about the bombshell dropped on me the night before.
A low growl rumbled in his chest, and my eyes widened in surprise as he moved to lean against his desk and gripped the edge, tight enough for the wood to creak. Every muscle in his body seemed to tense with the motion.
“Sorry… I…” he shook his head. “My instincts are screaming at me to put you in bed and ensure you rest.”
His words caused my mind to slip back to my earlier conversation with Shadrie, and I found myself back on my feet and stepping toward him before I knew what I was doing.
The pull between us seemed to thrum with contentment as I closed the distance, and as tired as I was, I let myself give in to the instincts I hadn’t realized had been screaming at me from the moment we met.
His fiery scent and the warmth of his body wrapped around me as I lay my head on his chest and let my body sink into him.
He hesitated for a moment before wrapping his arms around my back.
“This is… nice,” I sighed, my body relaxing.
A soft rumble, almost like a purr, built in his chest. “Nice. Yes. Unexpected, but nice.”
I must have been half delirious with exhaustion because I giggled. I felt him shake his head in response, but something told me if I glanced up, I’d find him smiling.
“We should get you back to your dorm so you can rest,” he said, reluctance laced in his words.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not. You’re clearly exhausted.”
“Maybe you’re just really comfortable,” I retorted weakly, my words slurring slightly as I struggled to keep my eyes open. “You’re warm. It’s nice.”
This time, he chuckled. “Alright then. At least let me make you more comfortable.”
I let out a sound of protest before he shifted his hold on me to lift me into his arms bridal style, keeping my head against his chest. A noise of contentment that I’d probably regret, and definitely overthink, later eked out when he moved us to the chair behind his desk and sat down with me still in his arms. With more care than I thought possible, he positioned my limbs so that I was curled against his warm chest across his lap, before his arms wrapped back around me.
“Rest, Bechora,” he murmured. “We’ll stay right here until you wake.”