Chapter 31 Bechora
We’d settled on breaking into the records room and Dean’s office the following weekend.
It seemed less likely that we’d run into any staff when classes were usually out of session.
It’d been decided that Gabriel and Archer would hit the records room.
Gabriel’s enhanced speed meant he could get through the records quicker than the rest of us, while Archer insisted his superior senses of hearing and smell would tell them if they needed to get out.
I suspected Archer really just wanted to have some time alone with Gabriel, since he’d confessed to me that they were also mates.
Much to my displeasure, I’d been paired with Vallynn and Dante to break into the Dean’s office.
It was partially my fault for refusing to sit on the sidelines while someone else did the dirty work, but I’d expected to partner with Zypher or even Caulder.
They’d opted to act as the lookouts. Caulder made sense for that role as a professor, but I could have made use of Zypher’s ability to cast illusions.
Instead, I was stuck with the two males I wanted to avoid, and had to make do with a gargoyle and whatever Vallynn’s shadows were capable of.
That just left Shadrie and Miles. They’d be waiting in our dorm to start digging into anything we found.
With the plans finalized, there’d been nothing to do but wait.
The week was practically routine at this point.
Classes, my private sessions with Caulder, meals, and conversations that sounded casual on the surface.
Vallynn and Dante maintained their distance to not raise anyone’s suspicions, but every one of us was taking note of any new names to be added to our list.
I’d spent the last few evenings getting some one-on-one time in, with each of my bonded mates.
Caulder was the easiest because of our private tutoring, but I’d gotten so used to Zypher and Gabriel being around at the same time, it almost felt odd not to include the other.
We still wound up sleeping in my bed together.
Having them both beside me at night was something I’d grown used to and wasn’t willing to give up.
Even if my mind did wander to thoughts of having the others join us.
I was on my way to Versipellis House to spend time with Archer.
I’d considered having our alone time in my room, but I’d never seen the inside of the shifter dormitory, and I was curious what it looked like.
I’d also decided it was time to accept my bond with him, and didn’t want to worry about interruptions from Zypher and Gabriel coming to bed for the night, selfish as that may have been.
The moment I stepped through the doors of Versipellis House, the shift in atmosphere hit me.
It exuded a sense of welcome and warmth.
The common area sprawled out in front of me, a stark difference from the structured layouts of Magus and Daemonium Houses.
Soft rugs covered most of the floor, layered like they’d been thrown down without much thought.
Bean bag chairs and oversized chairs were scattered everywhere, most of them occupied.
Shifters lounged in piles of limbs and fur as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
Some were in human form, stretched out lazily among their peers, talking in low voices. Others weren’t human at all.
A massive wolf lay sprawled across one of the larger rugs, head resting on its paws, amber eyes flicking toward me for a brief second before dismissing me entirely.
Tucked against its side was a sleek, black panther, its tail flicking lazily as it lapped at the wolf’s fur.
A hawk perched along the back of a chair, feathers ruffling slightly as it tracked movement in the room.
A few heads turned when I walked in, curiosity sparking briefly before fading just as quickly when no one immediately reacted.
Someone snorted quietly at something across the room.
Another shifter in human form adjusted to make room for the fox that curled up beside him.
No one stopped me. It was like they knew they were the most dangerous creatures in the room, and because of it, I wasn’t a threat.
Probably a good thing considering the sharp claws on some of them.
I reached into my pocket, pulling out the small slip of paper Archer had given me earlier with his room number on it.
My gaze flicked to the stairwell tucked off to the side of the common area.
If Versipellis House followed the same numbering method as the others, he was on the second floor.
I folded the paper back up and slipped it into my pocket before heading that way, weaving easily through the scattered bodies and furniture.
I climbed the stairs, my steps slowing just a fraction when I reached the second level.
The hallway stretched out before me, doors lining either side.
Some were closed, others were open, showing the shifters inside.
The scene before me looked a lot like what I suspected a normal, human college would.
It was strangely normal. I pulled the paper back out, double-checking the room number and started scanning the numbers on the doors.
I stopped about halfway down the hall, checking the number on the door against the one Archer had written down, and then knocked.
The door swung open before my hand even dropped to reveal my wolf shifter, a wide grin on his face.
“There you are,” he smiled wider. “Come in.”
I let him usher me inside, barely making note of the two beds, one against each wall, before I noticed him hanging a sock on the outer doorknob of the door.
“What—”
“So my roommate knows not to come barging in,” he cut me off with a sheepish shrug.
“You do know, where I’m from, that usually means someone is fucking, right?” I asked, arching a brow at him.
His face blanched, and the smile dropped. I couldn’t help but laugh at my usually playful mate, looking like he’d made a major error in judgment.
“It’s fine. I know you didn’t mean it like that,” I said between laughs. “It’s really sweet that you thought to put up a sign to your roommate, so we could spend time together, uninterrupted.”
“I aim to please,” he replied, his smile back on his face, as he waggled his brows in innuendo. “Make yourself comfortable, that one’s mine,” he continued, pointing at the bed on the right side of the room.
I let my eyes roam around the space as I moved to sit on his bed.
His side was tidier than I expected. There were some photographs situated on his desk beside his neatly stacked textbooks.
An empty laundry basket sat beside his dresser, and I wondered briefly if the mess on the opposite side meant he had to wash his own clothing.
Archer closed the door and walked toward me, motioning for me to move up against the headboard as he climbed onto the bed.
Scooting back, my hand slipped under his pillow and brushed up against a wad of fabric.
“Is this my combat shirt from when Meara stabbed me?” I frowned, pulling free the shirt that’d been bundled under his pillow. The blood was mostly cleaned from it, but there was a little left around the hole the fae bitch’s blade had left.
“I like falling asleep with your scent,” he shrugged as he positioned himself against the headboard beside me. The look on my face must have called for further explanation. “It’s a shifter thing. You’re my mate, and since we haven’t sealed our bond, this is the next best thing.”
“Oh,” I said, something warm building in my chest.
“So, what do you want to do?” he asked, grabbing my hand. “I’ve got a stash of candy, or I can swipe a TV from the common area on this floor.”
A sudden bout of nerves caused my stomach to flutter. “Actually…” I started, hesitating as I felt my face flush.
“You okay?” he asked, noticing the deepening redness in my cheeks.
“Fine. I just… I don’t know why I’m so nervous about this.”
“About what?” Archer tilted his head, eyes lighting with curiosity.
“I thought… I mean, if you want to… we could maybecompletethebond.” The words came out in a jumbled rush, but the way his eyes heated told me he’d understood them perfectly fine.
Archer moved so that he was hovering over me, his hands on the headboard holding his weight up as his nose brushed against mine.
“I’ve been praying to Selir for you to ask me, that since the day we met.”
Archer’s words hung in the air, his breath warm against my lips, his differently colored eyes burning with a hunger that mirrored the ache starting to build in my core. My heart hammered, nerves twisting with anticipation as the bond pulled us together with the weight of a gravitational force.
“Then, don’t make me wait any longer,” I whispered, my voice steadier than I felt, fingers tracing the line of his jaw. “I’m ready for this. I’m ready for you. ”
He crashed his mouth to mine, the kiss devouring, as he unleashed all of his pent-up longing.
His tongue tangled with mine as he shifted us so that his body pressed me into the mattress.
One hand moved to cup my breast through my shirt, thumb circling my nipple until it peaked, hard and sensitive.
I gasped into his mouth, arching up, heat flooding me as his weight settled between my thighs.
“Clothes,” he growled against my lips, nipping them gently.
His hands seemed to be everywhere at once, yanking my shirt up and over my head, shoving my pants down my hips with shifter impatience.
Cool air hit my bare skin when he pulled back enough to tear off his own clothes, before his touch returned to chase it away.
His rough palms skimmed my sides, my ribs, thumbs brushing the underside of my breasts before he palmed them fully, kneading with just the right pressure to make me squirm.
I wasn’t about to let him have all the fun.
My fingers traced the grooves of his abs, trailing down toward his cock where it lay hot and heavy against my thigh.
I wrapped my hand around him, stroking firmly from base to tip, feeling him throb and twitch in my grip.
Archer groaned, hips bucking involuntarily as his lips crashed into mine again.
“Fuck! Bechora,” he rasped, pulling back to rake his gaze over me.
A needy whine tore from my throat, causing him to chuckle and nudge my thighs wider with his knee. “Don’t worry, mate. I’ll take good care of you.”
One of his hands wrapped around mine, where I still held his cock in my grip. He used it to tease the head against my slick entrance, sliding it up to hit my clit in a way that sent zaps of pleasure through my body. My hips tilted as I tried to position him where I truly wanted him.
“Please,” the word came out a needy whisper.
He ran his cock through my slick folds one last time before lining himself up with my entrance.
My legs locked around his waist as he entered me in one powerful stroke, burying himself to the hilt.
I cried out, back arching off the bed, nails raking down his back as he began to move.
He thrust into me with wild abandon, feral growls pouring from his lips.
“Mine,” he snarled as he snapped his hips forward. The word was pure possession.
I met him thrust for threat, getting lost in the sensation as he slammed into me, over and over.
The bed creaked with each impact, barely covered by the sound of my moans and pleas for more.
His hands gripped my hips, angling me to take him deeper, grinding his pelvis against my clit on every thrust. I was lost in the sensation of him, pleasure stoking to a roaring flame, deep in my gut.
“Come for me,” he commanded, leaning forward to graze my shoulder with his teeth.
My orgasm hit me like a tidal wave, at his words.
My inner walls pulsing around his cock as I screamed out his name.
He didn’t stop, fucking me through it with powerful thrusts as he chased his own release.
With a feral snarl, I felt his teeth sink into the flesh of my shoulder, just below the barely noticeable, mating mark Gabriel had left on my neck.
I was undone. Another orgasm ripped through me without warning and whited out my vision.
I distantly felt Archer’s weight settle on me and the rough lapping of his tongue over the bite as I slowly came down.
He shifted us so that I was sprawled on his chest while he was still buried inside of me, and wrapped his arms around my body.
I lifted my head, blinking slowly to bring him into focus.
“You’re mine, forever now, mate,” he whispered, a lazy smile spreading across his face.