Chapter 35
The gala istwo days away, and I’m slowly—or not so slowly—freaking the heck out.
“Where the hell is she?” I grumble to the emptiness of my room, pacing back and forth as my anxiety takes me on yet another rollercoaster ride.
Marion was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago. She said she had the perfect solution to our dresses and was on her way, but where the hell was she coming from?
The freaking mall?
I shudder just thinking about that place. She wanted to go as soon as she found out the guys asked me, but I just couldn’t bring myself to say yes. While I’ve left the academy since then, it’s been in the safety of the guys’ presence. And she didn’t want them to go. She wanted my dress to be a surprise for them. I agreed, wanting that, too. But the memories of the day at the mall still linger too close to the surface. Hence why she’s supposedly on her way with an alternative.
I just really hope she didn’t take it upon herself to pick out my dress. Knowing her, she’ll have picked out some pale monstrosity and expects me to wear it. I love the girl. She’s become my best friend. But showing up with that will be the quickest way to end our friendship. She knows it, too.
A knock at the door signifies her arrival, and my sanity slowly coming back to me.
“Finally,” I huff, throwing it open. Only, it’s not Marion outside. Or well, not only Marion. Axel and Luka stand side by side, megawatt grins lighting up their faces. My heart skips a beat at the sight of my mates, and I can’t help but smile back at them. “What are you guys doing here?”
“They,” Marion huffs as she shoves herself between them, stepping into my room, “aren’t supposed to be. They were supposed to disappear before you opened the door, but men.” She shrugs her shoulders. “You know what I mean?”
I can’t stop the giggle that slips out at Marion’s explanation. It seems to be the one answer she has for everything that has to do with the opposite sex.
“Actually,” Axel grumbles, an air of superiority to his words, “we wanted to make sure you don’t take credit for our idea.” He stresses the word our, waving his hand between himself and Luka.
Marion gasps, clutching her chest in mock offense. “I would never do that.”
“Liar,” I cough under my breath, knowing damn well she hears me.
“Whatever,” she mutters with a roll of her golden eyes. “Bring it in, boys!” she cheers, linking my arm and dragging me away from the door.
The guys disappear from my line of sight, and in their place, women clad in fancy, expensive garments bustle through the door, bright smiles on their faces as they assess my room.
Jealousy rears in my head as I take in the perfection of these women. They are everything I’m…not. Perfect hair. Perfect skin. Perfect bodies. And they are with my mates. My breathing speeds up as my pulse roars in my ears over the fact that my mates have spent the morning with other women.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, goddess.” Luka pops up out of nowhere, dragging me into his strong arms. “I may not know what you’re thinking, but I can feel it. And whatever you think may be going on, you’re dead wrong. I promise you that.” He speaks the words into my crown, and while I may not be able to see his face, I can hear the truth in them. “Hurry up, Axe.”
Instead of my delicious vampire coming through the door, a rack is shoved through, followed by two more. Each rack is overflowing with black zippered bags, concealing their contents from my eyes. My head starts to spin as two men dressed in what looks to be waiter”s uniforms roll in a cart, overflowing with snacks and an ice bucket on top, with a bottle of champagne chilling inside.
Axel finally trails through the door after them, his eyes surveying all the new additions to my space. His blood red orbs find mine, and a sheepish look crosses his face when I raise my eyebrow at him. All of this is a little overwhelming, and yet I still have no idea what the heck is going on.
My vampire mate finally crosses the distance and pulls me from a grumbling demigod’s arms and into his, staring down at me like I’m his whole world. It’s humbling to be looked at like that, like the world begins and ends with me. But that can’t truly be right, can it? We only mated a few weeks ago, and while the pull is stronger than I’ve ever felt—with both of them—there’s no way just being in his orbit has made me the center of his universe.
“Alright, alright.” One of the ladies claps her hands, startling me and breaking the moment. “You men need to git,” she murmurs with a heavily laced accent.
“Yes, yes. Git,” the other agrees, making a shooing motion with her hands.
Marion snickers, drawing my attention to her where she’s lounging on the couch, a half-empty glass of champagne in her hand.
“That’s our cue. Have fun, cor meum.” Axel grips my chin, tilting my face up before brushing his lips over mine. He steps away as I suppress a whimper, wanting more. Needing more of him.
Luka takes his place, sweeping me off my feet and into his arms, nuzzling his cheek next to mine. “If you have any problems, we’re just a call away. I can be here in an instant, goddess.”
“That’s great and all, but can you tell me what’s actually going on?” My eyes dart all over his face, taking in his stunning, god-like features. It’s rare when I get a chance to study him so closely, so I take it whenever I can.
He readjusts me in his arms, his hands cupping my ass and squeezing my cheeks. My eyes roll in my head as I feel the start of his exquisite length hardening between us. A needy whine claws its way out of my throat, but before anyone can hear it, Luka swallows the sounds as he presses his plump lips against mine, immediately deepening the kiss.
The world disappears around us as I grind on his cock, needing him in me like I need air to breathe.
“Awe, young love, so sweet,” coos one of the women, making me freeze.
“And so, so hot,” mutters the other.
My face flames red hot as I shimmy out of Luka’s arms, keeping myself placed in front of him, not daring to turn around and face our audience. Their presence was long forgotten in his arms, and now…fuck.
“Ow, fucker, why’d you hit me?” I glance back up at Luka in time to see Axel grab him by the arm and start to drag him from the room.
Marion giggles as I gape at the ruthlessness my vampire is exuding. Something about him taking charge, muscling my large demigod around is hot as hell.
And I really, really need to get my mind out of the gutter. I can wholly blame Luka for where it’s at.
The door closes behind them, leaving me with Marion, two waiters, and two women staring at me expectantly. And yet, I still have no idea what’s going on.
“Now, darling. My name is Gia, and this is my sister, Mia.” She snaps her dainty fingers, and Mia hustles over to take my hand and hauls me into the middle of the room. “We are the owners of Twin-Chic Boutique.” I stare back at her, never having heard of the place. She huffs like she can read my mind before continuing. “We are the hottest dress designers in all the continents, and while we don’t normally do something like this last minute, Mr. Pennington helped us out of a bind a few years ago, and we are repaying the favor.”
That sweet, sweet vampire. I could kiss him right now.
“Now, Mia, measuring tape. Chop, chop.” Mia jumps to do Gia’s bidding, rushing around the room until she finds what she needs. “Now, spin for me, child.”
I grumble at her calling me a child but do as she asks. Sounds not of this world leave her lips as she walks around me, accessing me. One thing I can say for sure is that I don’t like the feeling of her picking me apart. Especially since most of those sounds don’t seem promising.
“Love the hair, darling. Nice and full.” She fluffs a few strands before coming to stand in front of me again. “Beautiful skin color. Won’t wash out with certain colors like some people.” She cuts her eyes quickly toward Marion before refocusing on me. “But that necklace. No. No, no, no. I cannot let you wear it.” She reaches out for my snowflake, and I smack her hand away, clutching my necklace with the other.
She gasps, affronted that I’d dare raise a hand to her. But this is my necklace. And no one touches it but me. She doesn’t like it, too freaking bad.
“The necklace stays,” I all but growl in her direction, my magic bubbling under my skin.
She raises her hands, backing away from me slowly. It’s only then I realize I’m still growling under my breath, my transmutation rune burning hotly from beneath my joggers.
Whatever is coming through is obviously not happy with her trying to take away the one thing keeping us safe. My eyes close on their own accord as I take deep breaths, trying to push back down what is trying to claw its way out of me.
A hand on my shoulder startles me, and I look into the golden eyes of my friend. She looks back at me with concern, but a small smile flits her lips.
“Your animal wants to be free, Bailey. Is that the first time she’s pushed to the surface?”
I swallow hard and nod, words escaping me.
“I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think you should start attending transmutation class again. He could really help you.” I wrinkle my nose like I’ve smelled something sour. “We’ll revisit this.” I nod. “Okay, Gia, Mia. Necklace stays. Now that that’s sorted, let’s get this show on the road.”
The sisters nod their heads at the same time before heading toward different racks. The sound of zippers being pulled echoes through my dorm room, drawing my eyes in every direction to see what they uncover.
Every color of the rainbow and then some explode from the garment bags, in every shape and style possible. Marion squeals as she sets her sights on the same pale monstrosities I knew she’d be drawn to, but it isn’t until a gorgeous red gown is uncovered that I find myself wanting to make the same noise.
There’s only one word to describe it. Stunning. It’s everything I never thought I’d want to wear, but I can’t seem to take my eyes off it.
“Alright, ladies,” Mia murmurs with a Cheshire grin, dragging my focus back to her. “Clothes off.”
Faster than I can blink, Marion stands before me in one of the strappy numbers I vaguely remember from our disaster trip to the mall. My clothes come off a lot slower, and Gia—or is it Mia—tsks at the sight of my less-than-fabulous undergarments. My cheeks burn under her stare, but Marion, the saint she is, redirects her attention toward her.
Thank the Gods because my smack-a-bitch game is strong today.
Two ungodly hours later, I’m finally—finally—standing in the dress. Blood red to remind me of Axel. A deep V extending below my breast bone that accentuates my breasts. Skin-tight satin that reminds me of the T-shirts Luka always wears, and it clings to my body like a second skin before flaring at the bottom in a mermaid shape.
But what I love the most is how it shows off my mate marks, even though no one can see them. There is still a good portion of the vine winding around my chest that’s still blank, but one end is shaded for my demigod while the other is in reds and grays for my vampire. Plus, on full display, are the two small puncture marks from where Axel bit me. And now, every time I brush my fingers over them, out-of-this-world pleasure rockets through my body.
But I digress. The dress as a whole, though, really is perfect. The sisters may have made us try on every single piece they brought, no matter how much I objected to some of the others, but I knew the moment I saw this one that it was the dress I would wear tonight.
Tears blur my vision as I stare back at my reflection in the large mirror they rolled in here while Marion and I were being put into our first dresses. What I wouldn’t give to have my mom here right now. Not my birth mother. My human mom. She always wanted to see me in something like this, but we never had anywhere to go that warranted something so extravagant.
“It’s perfect, Bailey,” Marion murmurs from next to me, staring back at me in the mirror. “You’ll knock those men of yours right off their feet.” I sniffle, barely keeping my already fraying emotions in check. “Hey.” She pulls me into her embrace despite the protests of the sisters. She rocks me back and forth, running her fingers through my hair. “You miss your family, don’t you? Your mom? Your dad?” I nod, sucking in a deep breath.
It’s a time like this that I’m glad I confided in her with that part of my life. And while I still feel like a shit friend for her still not knowing the truth, my whole body sags against hers as she reads me so easily.
“Why don’t you call them? Or maybe ask one of your guys to take you to the sector to visit.”
“They can do that?”
“For you?” Marion grips my shoulders and nudges me back a step. “I think those two would do anything you ask.” She looks around, emphasizing her point. “All you have to do is say the words.”
“Thank you,” I breathe, grateful for such a wonderful person to have come into my life.
It’s moments like now that I think back to that fateful day. The day I thought my world ended the second I realized I wasn’t human. But I was wrong. It was just the beginning. My world is so much brighter now on this side of the wall. I have a true friend. Two mates who I dare say I’m falling in l..lo—like with. Like…like a lot, a lot. And my future keeps looking better as the days roll by.