Chapter 19
The same matteblack sports car that drove me away from the only life I’d ever known idles at the curb out front of the academy. Axel—in all his vampire glory—leans against it, wearing a pair of black slacks, a red button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and dark sunglasses hiding his blood red eyes from me.
The glasses don’t deter me from knowing where his gaze is directed. I can feel it like a physical caress licking across my skin.
His long blond hair is partially up, a small man-bun on top while the rest flies free in the small breeze whipping around the academy grounds. He flashes me fang as his lips spread in a panty-melting smile.
My feet carry me before I’ve fully caught my breath, right down until I’m standing toe to toe with one of the men who has my thoughts in a vise grip. And while I’ve only been around Luka for a short period of time—only twice, in fact—something about him just…feels right. I don’t know how else to explain it.
“Good morning, cor meum.” Axel’s honeyed voice washes over me, sending shivers to all the right places. “Are you ready?”
Is anyone ever really ready to step foot into the house their dead parents left for them? Parents that they never met. Parents that died while you were given to someone else since they couldn’t be there for you. I’m not ready, and I don’t think I’d ever be. But there’s no telling Axel that. He feels I need to see where my roots came from.
At least he isn’t making me watch the video my mother left me. Yet.
“As I’ll ever be,” I mutter, finally answering him.
“It won’t be so bad.” He wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his embrace. I melt under his soft touch, burying my face in his chest.
“If you say so.” My words are muffled by his soft shirt, but with the way he chuckles, I know he heard me.
“Trust me?” he asks as he gently pushes me back, his fingers gripping my chin and tilting my face up. His bottom lip pushes out in an adorable pout, making me giggle.
“If I have to.” I roll my eyes good-naturedly, then pop up on my toes, grabbing his neck and pulling him down to plant a quick peck on his lips. Before he can even think of deepening it into something I’m not sure either of us are ready for—especially out front of the academy—I dance out of his hold and jump into the car.
Axel’s boisterous laugh can be heard from inside the car as he slips around the vehicle before smoothly sliding inside. He reaches over and snags the seatbelt, locking it in place around me before doing the same to his.
Only one question comes to mind as he does this, and I can’t help but ask.
“If we’re immortal, why with the seatbelt?” I wave my hand around as I ask.
The engine revs, a deep growling sound, sending vibrations through my body, before Axel peels out of the academy like the hounds of hell are on his ass. The trees blur by in a flash, and soon, we’re on an empty road heading who knows where.
“That’s a common misconception, cor meum,” Axel murmurs, adjusting his sunglasses. “We’re not truly immortal in the sense that nothing can kill us. We can all still die. The only ones with actual immortality are the gods. But we, even as supernaturals, can die if our weaknesses are exploited. An oak stake to the heart or a beheading for me. Too much blood loss where healing can’t keep up for you. Or self-destruction, which many curiomancers used as a way out instead of the mass execution many others died from.”
Already, I regret asking. Once more, my mouth ran away without thinking, and now that I have an answer, I wish I didn’t. But I continue my questioning since he’s already debunked one myth.
“So if not true immortality, then how are you as old as you are? Or Thaddeus? Hell, even Luka or Jasper. You guys barely look five years older than me.”
“Ahh. That is a much simpler answer. We don’t age anymore. Our bodies are frozen in development when we reach twenty-one.”
“Does that mean?—”
“Yes, cor meum. The moment you turned twenty-one a few days ago, you stopped aging. You’ll look as you do now until you die.”
Mind. Blown.
“But…” Axel reaches over, laying his hand on my thigh. My toes curl at the feel of him touching me. “There are those like witches who do still age. It’s just slowed down. They will live maybe two hundred and fifty years, but it won’t be until they hit around a hundred that they start showing signs of their age.”
My fingers thread through his, and he gives them a small squeeze. “So, Olga…” I trail off, knowing he knows where I’m going with that.
“Olga is very old and a rarity in the witching world. She’s outlasted many and will continue to do so if she takes care of herself.”
That makes me feel marginally better. I’d met her once, but I couldn’t imagine her passing any time soon. She said there was so much she wanted to teach me, and I’m totally here for it. Plus, she’s an extension of my parents that I didn’t know about. She may be the only person who was close to them, and one of these days, I’m sure there are stories about them that she’ll tell me.
When I’m ready.
That seems to be the common theme amongst everything: when I’m ready. I wasn’t ready when I was pulled from the lagoon. I wasn’t ready when Axel picked me up from my parents’ house. I wasn’t ready for anything that’s happened over the past week. But time doesn’t stop for anyone, and ready or not, it’s going to happen anyway.
It’s time to change the subject. I don’t know if my brain is capable of handling any more revelations today.
“So where is this house? How far away from the academy is it?”
“Just relax, cor meum. It’ll take an hour to get there, and I’ll answer any questions you have when we arrive.” Out of nowhere, he produces a second pair of sunglasses, passing them over to me. It’s only now that I realize I’ve been squinting out the front windshield. Once they’re on my face, I lean back in the seat, letting my mind wander to what this place could look like.
“Holy shit.”
This is so freaking far from what I was expecting. But I guess with as many zeros that made up the account now in my name, I should have known better.
“Welcome to what used to be known as Mancer’s Bend.”
“More like Mancer’s Mansions,” I mutter, earning a chuckle from Axel.
The building before me is so much more than a house. It’s a freaking palace. Especially for someone like me who grew up in a small two-bedroom house with a tiny backyard. It may be smaller than the castle housing the academy, but it rivals the size of any of the houses I’d ever seen in the human sector.
Three floors in height and as wide as a city block, the gray stone structure sits apart from the smaller mansions making up what was formally known as Mancer’s Bend. A large black wrought iron gate connects to a stone wall that surrounds the property, disappearing into the forest beyond the house. A red double door is visible from where we sit out front of the gate, and numerous floor-to-ceiling windows reflect the surroundings back to us.
“This is…mine?”
“It is, cor meum.” Axel rolls down the window and leans out, pressing a series of buttons into the small call box next to the gate before it slowly rolls open, admitting us inside its imposing walls.
“But won’t this,” I wave my hand around frantically, “give away what I am?” My voice squeaks, belaying the nerves this place brings.
Axel rolls smoothly through the gate, and I peer back, watching it slowly close behind us.
“The deed has been in my father’s name since your parents passed, and it was passed to me when I took over for him at the law office. And all the other houses in the bend have been purchased by other supers, so there’s no longer a connection to the curiomancers.” He pulls to a stop out front of the bright red doors and shuts off the engine. “Over the past twenty years, we’ve visited the house numerous times to stake our claim on the land in preparation for now.”
I nibble my bottom lip as I gaze back at the house that now belongs to me. What would I even do with something of this size? It’s not like I can pull my parents from the human sector and move them in. And the place is too big for just me. “Can I sell it?”
“What?” I may not be able to see him, but I can feel his incredulous stare as he processes my question. “Why would you want to sell it?”
My shoulders lift in a shrug. I’m not really sure why I asked the question, even though I’m dying for an answer.
“Cor meum, this was your family’s home. There are so many memories inside. Things you have yet to discover.” He grips my chin, replacing my view of the mansion with the concern in his blood red eyes. “It’s overwhelming. I get that. But before you make any rash decisions, how about we go inside. Get a feel for the place. Then you can decide what you want to do with it another time.”
“Okay,” I murmur, knowing it’s the only answer he’ll accept right now.
Axel leans forward, softly brushing his lips across mine before releasing me and climbing out the vehicle. It takes another moment for me to get my thoughts in order before I slip out after him, finding him waiting for me right outside my door.
He folds my hand in his and takes the lead, directing us up the stairs to the red doors awaiting to reveal all the secrets it contains. Axel produces a set of keys from his pocket and holds them out for me to take. To give me the honor of opening the door. But I shake my head. That’s not something I’m ready for. He’s going to have to drag me inside as it is, so there’s no way I can open them myself.
The keys jingle as he unlocks the door and pushes it open, waiting for me to take the first step into my birth family’s home. My feet move, but in the opposite direction, and only Axel’s hold on my hand keeps me from fleeing completely back to the safety of the car.
“Here.” Axel repockets the keys. “We’ll take the first step inside together.”
I can do this. Walking inside doesn’t mean I have to keep the place. It just means that I want to look around. Maybe get a feel for the type of people my parents were. It’s not like there are any memories that will come to me by merely waltzing around.
A nod from me is all Axel needs before he releases my hand and wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his side. For every step Axel propels me, I take a deep breath, trying to remove myself from the complication of what this house means. Maybe I can think of this as my handsome boyfriend and I wanting to move in together, and we’re looking at houses to make our home.
The moment we pass over the threshold, I release the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. No memories assault me, and no one jumps out of a hiding spot to scare us. Nothing happens. Nothing at all. It’s just an empty house save for the furniture and other personal touches left behind.
It’s crazy to think that at one point in time, my birth parents fluttered around inside these walls, creating memories. Then everything went to shit, and they were killed for what they are—what I am.
I shake those negative thoughts away and continue on further in the house, Axel holding me steady at his side. My Vans squeak across the marble flooring, drowning out the soft taps Axel makes with every step. He bypasses the foyer right inside the door. There”s nothing fancy to see there—just a tall black table in the center with an empty vase perched on top.
The floor under our feet shifts from marble to carpet, muffling our footsteps. Axel continues to guide me through what looks like a simple sitting room, something that might have been used at one time to welcome guests. But even I can tell it wasn’t the heart of the home. Even though the place has sat empty—minus the few times Axel and his dad have been here—this room doesn’t look lived in.
But then, everything magically changes when we enter another area just past the sitting room. It almost feels like the whole ambiance shifts into something different. Something new. Something dare I say, happy.
Everywhere I look, personal touches remain untouched with time. Is this what one would call a living time capsule? There are things that look outdated and like they were used more than other pieces.
Broken-in couches set in a semi-circle frame the room, all directed toward the flat-screen TV hanging on the wall. Underneath sits a large fireplace, something I could see myself sitting by while reading a book. Floor-to-ceiling windows line the back wall, giving a view of the backyard and the forest the house butts up to. Off to the left opens up into a massive kitchen, outdated appliances in place of where something newer should reside. A hum comes from that direction telling me the electricity is on, even though we have no need for it right now.
“So, what do you think?” Axel breaks the silence, finally dropping his arm from around me and stepping away. I want to claw and fight and tuck myself back into the safety of his arms, but there’s nothing here that can hurt me. Not unless other people’s memories count.
“It’s…” I trail off, not really sure how to word it. “Nice?” I state it as a question, shrugging my shoulders. If he wanted me to feel closer to the people who birthed me and see them in a different light, I’m not sure this is the way to do it.
“It’s alright, cor meum. I know this is a lot, and there’s no wrong answer here. Come, let me show you to the library.”
My whole demeanor perks up at the thought of finally getting my hands on something that could possibly—hopefully—help me figure out how to harness my magic better, learn more about the runes adorning my body, and just about what I am in general.
Axel takes my hand in his once more and leads me down a hall toward the one place I may finally get some answers.
A pile of books is stacked up near the front door, ready to be transported from where they’ve sat on a dusty shelf for twenty years into my dorm room so I can go through them when I’m not in class. And with the way I’ve been skipping classes already, I may need to come back next week to get more.
But I’m feeling pretty confident that I’ll know more about myself as a whole by the time I make it through the daunting stack.
Axel and I broke for lunch around midday, and now, with the night sky filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows back in the main lived-in room of the mansion where we are sitting, just basking in the silence of the house, my stomach grumbles, breaking the tension that still has yet to snap between us. One of these days, it will. But until then, I’ll relish in the quiet moments we spend together. Even though there are other, much more productive, things we could be doing.
Axel chuckles, a light-hearted sound. “Let me go put those books in the car, and then we’ll head out and stop for some dinner on the way back.” He doesn’t wait for me to reply, getting to his feet and moving toward the foyer.
While he does that, I take a chance to explore a little on my own. There’s pictures adorning the walls that I’ve avoided looking at, but this time, I step up to the first one, finding the same exact picture Axel showed me back in his office. Once again, I trace the features of the birth parents, noting just how similar I am to both of them. Then my finger circles over the big belly my mother is sporting, knowing that’s me in there.
My eyes snag on the next picture down, and I move to stand in front of it, my breath knocking out of my lungs as I stare face-to-face at me. As an infant. The one right beside it makes tears gather in my eyes. It’s a photograph of all three of us again, only this time I’m not in my mother’s stomach. My parents are both holding me, looking down at me with unconditional love in their eyes.
The same unconditional love my own parents—or my adoptive parents—looked at me with.
“They loved you to the moon and back, cor meum,” Axel says softly from behind me, making me jump. My hand clutches my chest as I spin around, knocking the unshed tears free to trail down my face. “Oh, sweetheart.” He pulls me into his chest, a place I’m starting to become intimately familiar with, and lets me work through my emotions the only way I seem to know how lately. With tears.
When they’ve all but dried up, Axel steers me toward the front of the house, locking the door behind us before ushering me into the car and buckling my belt. He clutches my hand the entire ride back toward the academy, stopping at a drive-thru for food that I’m no longer hungry for.
As we pull up out front of Stonewell, I’m finally able to shake off the funk seeing those pictures put me in. Axel has been amazing the whole time, just letting me process all that I saw and not forcing the house on me again. But I’m confident he knows, just like I do, that I’ll be keeping the house. There’s no way I can sell it after that.
“Can I walk you to your door?” I snort a laugh.
“Sure. Only if you carry my books.”
“What if I want to carry you instead?” My head whips toward him, not realizing just how close he’s moved, the middle console the only barrier between us.
I pull my bottom lip between my teeth, nibbling lightly. Axel’s red eyes flash down to my mouth before coming back up to mine. Heat resides behind those bloody orbs, tempting me to burn.
I’m not sure who moves first, him or me, but my seatbelt disappears and I’m over the console before I can blink, our lips crashing together in a dance of pent up need. With every swipe of his tongue, I feel myself falling further out of my own orbit and into his. The one place I’ve wanted to be since he waltzed into my home in the human sector.
“Fuck, cor meum, you drive me crazy. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,” Axel murmurs against lips, “about what I want to do to you.”
“What do you want to do to me?” I ask, damn near breathless from how he’s making me feel.
“I want to feel you come around my fingers.” Yes, please. “On my tongue.” Shit. “Around my cock.” I whimper, knowing that’s exactly what I want, too. What I’ve wanted since the very beginning. Virginity be damned. Not that I think he’d care about that pesky little detail. “Are you wet for me, cor meum?” His words make my thighs clench, feeling the wetness pooling between my legs. “Mmm, you don’t even have to answer.” Axel skims his nose across my cheek, sucking in a harsh breath before pressing a kiss below my ear. “I can smell your arousal, little mancer.” The sharp tips of his fangs scrape across the delicate skin of my throat, making me shudder. “Do you ache, cor meum? Do you need me to make the hurt better?”
I nod, all words failing me, but that isn’t good enough for the randy vampire.
“Words, cor meum. I need you to tell me what you want.”
Godsdamn. Him asking for verbal consent is sexy as hell.
“Please,” I cry. Wanting—no, needing—him to touch me.
The smooth leather of the seat creaks as Axel slides it back before he shifts me in his arms, my back flush with his front.
“Last chance, cor meum,” he purrs, his arm snaking up my chest before his hand encircles my throat. “We don’t have to do anything. I can take you upstairs right now, kiss you goodnight, and go home. What is it you want?”
Him.
“Touch me, Axe.”
“Mmmm, never have such sweet words passed between your gorgeous lips.” His hand squeezes my throat, the small action of his strength eliciting a whimper begging to be set free. “Prepare yourself, cor meum. I’m going to make this pussy hurt even worse before I kiss it all better.”
I suck in a breath, goosebumps prickling my skin as Axel’s other hand slides beneath my hoodie and his cool palm presses against my belly. His chilly fingers dance across my heated flesh, drawing a needy whine from my throat. Oh, so quickly, his hand slips beneath my leggings and my panties, straight to my molten lava core, and my legs spread wider, as much as the small area allows, giving him unfettered access to all of me.
Axel growls as his fingers glide through my wetness, grinding his hard cock into my ass. “Fuck, cor meum. You’re absolutely dripping for me.” A thick appendage prods my entrance before slipping inside easily, thanks to how wet this vampire has made me. My back arches with a cry, my legs trying to close, but Axel’s not having that. “Put one foot on the steering wheel, baby, and the other over the console, then spread those thighs wider for me.”
Doing as he asked, my legs shake as he thrusts that single digit inside of me while I try to maneuver how he wants me, but my knee cracks off the window before I’m able to get my foot placed. “Ow,” I grumble, making Axel chuckle, but he never stops the smooth glide of his finger in my core as he grips my thigh, pushing his cock into my ass to help lift me to shift my other leg over the console.
From this position, even with the limited room because of my clothes, he’s able to get in deeper, harder, faster than he was before. One single finger becomes two, the stretch a delicious ache I know I’ll feel tomorrow.
My foot slips from its place on the steering wheel as he brushes across my G-spot, making the horn blare and me jump in his lap. He pulls away with a laugh before the door is shoved open, and in my next breath, my back is pushed up against the side of the car with my legs wrapped around his waist. He nibbles at my lips as his hips grind into my center, making my pussy clench with the need to be filled by something thicker than the fingers that were just there.
His lips trail away from mine, and I toss my head back, begging for the breath in my lungs as he leaves open-mouthed kisses down the column of my throat, scraping his fangs along my flesh with the promise of his bite.
“Mmmm, cor meum,” he murmurs the words into my skin, pulling back slightly before sucking the fingers that were inside me into his mouth. “Such a delicious little pussy. I can’t wait for you to ride my face and come all over my tongue.”
Before I can reply, telling him to take me upstairs so I can do just that, a throat clears behind us, pausing all movements. Axel drops me to my feet and spins around with a hiss, his protective instincts at the forefront, pointed at whoever has interrupted us.
The muscles in Axel’s body seem to relax at the sight of whoever it is, but neither of them says a word. My curiosity gets the better of me, and I peek out from around his body, coming face to face with none other than the headmaster himself. Jasper.
My belly does a funny little swoop at the sight of him, but he ignores me, keeping his dark eyes trained on Axel.
“I think it’s time to say goodnight,” Jasper grates out, his voice sounding just as rocky as it has every other time I’ve been in his presence. It’s the first time I’ve seen him since the incident in his office with Professor Asshole. He hasn’t even tried to stop by to make sure I’d gotten back okay after I disappeared.
And as much as I want to disagree, I know he’s right. Here and now just isn’t the place or time for Axel and I to come together. Even if my body disagrees.
“Goodnight, Jasper,” I sass, even as I slip from between Axel’s body and the car. Heading around the car, I pop open the back door and lean in, grabbing the bags of food from inside so I can eat it when I get upstairs to my room. Once in hand, I stand back up, finding Jasper’s eyes on me. “Oh, you’re still here?”
“Miss Matthews,” he growls out, his wings twitching behind his back.
“Yes?” I say sweetly, batting my eyelashes at him.
“Inside. Now.”
“Yes, Headmaster.” I put extra sway in my hips as I walk back around to the other side and grab Axel’s hand in mine. I toss him a wink before Axel swoops me up into his arms and flashes into the academy. Leaving a fuming rock bird in our wake.