by Cate Corvin
“And… Miss Darke. You’re under my aunt’s conservatorship, correct?” There was a slight edge to her smile that put me on my guard.
I wondered if everyone in the hall could hear my teeth grinding. “Yes.” I already disliked her. Something in her flawless face was very… Daphne-esque.
Then what she said hit me. Aunt?
“And you’re training her personally?” She touched Dominic’s arm and leaned into him. “How admirable. Not many would have the fortitude to take on such a hopeless case.”
Bloom looked up at him and batted her lashes. What the fuck?
My heart pounded so hard all I heard was the steady thump of rage in my ears.
“The Headmistress feels Miss Darke has the makings of an excellent firewitch.” My heartbeat slowed an iota as he defended me. “I wouldn’t call her hopeless by any means.”
Professor Bloom seemed to realize her misstep and leaned back from my Dominic. I could’ve breathed fire just seeing her stand so close to him.
Chill, Lu. Irritatingly enough, it was Roman’s mocking voice in my head. Keep up the charade.
She smiled, tucking a perfect caramel swirl of hair behind her ear. “Of course not, I misspoke. Aunt Mallory has always had an impeccable sense for witches with skill. She’s dedicated her entire life to running Cimmerian, after all.”
I didn’t buy her apology for a heartbeat, but I didn’t dare say anything. She was yet another landmine for me to negotiate through these halls- and Gilt’s niece?
If she was anything like her aunt, the newest Divination professor was probably going to be watching me like a snake waiting for prey.
Even now, her dark eyes ran over me, examining my messy ponytail, wrinkled shorts, and grass-stained shoes. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
“Of course,” Dominic said, his voice colorless. “Let’s continue on to the rest of the North Wing, shall we?”
Shane had gone tense, every muscle in his body locked up tight. My stomach made another feeble lurch as Bloom looped her arm through Dominic’s, even though he hadn’t offered. She smiled at me and Shane and waved a hand with glossy pink nails as they walked off.
Dominic didn’t even glance back.
Shane didn’t relax until their footsteps faded from the hall, and even then, there was a wariness to his eyes that made me nervous. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head, no longer pulling me but walking by my side. My feet felt like they were encased in lead, even if I knew I was being ridiculous.
What did I have to be jealous about? Sure, she was poised and flawless, but Dominic cared for me. He trained me, even knowing I could explode into all-consuming wildfire at any second, and never treated me like a hopeless burden.
He could’ve sent you a note instead of making you wait out in the cold and dark for no reason. Roman’s voice sounded like he was laughing. I pushed it away.
I still hadn’t figured out why a master mirrorwalker, whose services could’ve kept an entire covenstead afloat, would be here in Cimmerian teaching classes to students who were never meant to graduate. He’d promised to tell me what he was hiding in due time.
But I wasn’t blind to coven politics, even if Ashdarke House had been too small to register among most other covens. If Ivy Bloom was Mallory Giltglass’s niece, then she was much closer in bloodlines to a Great Coven than I was, and likely had a lot more money to her name.
From an outside perspective, she would be a much more lucrative match for a Master of mirrorwalking from Steelblood than a cast-off from a manorless coven.
I was all too happy to abandon my whirling thoughts as Shane pulled his bedroom door shut behind us and immediately yanked off his shirt.
I slipped out of my jacket and dropped it, with no time to think before Shane had shoved my own T-shirt up, revealing my bra.
He growled against my neck, all heat and hardness and flashing fangs. It was easy to lose myself in his fevered touch.
His short black hair was like silk under my searching fingers, the carved planes of his face and ridged scars becoming as familiar to me as my own. Shane’s tongue teased my lips, demanding I part for him, and slipped in my mouth in a consuming thrust.
He pushed me against the wall, cold under my bare shoulders, and kissed me until my knees turned to water. When his tongue ran over my lips and moved down to find my achingly hard nipples, I remained where he wanted me.
Air hissed between my teeth as he grazed each diamond-hard nub and slid down my stomach, leaving trails of burning ecstasy where he touched me. I was more grateful than ever for my obstaculum charm when he hooked his fingers in the elastic band of my shorts and panties and pulled them down over my hips.
I felt his rumble of satisfaction when his tongue slid between my already-wet lips, curling over my clit. My hips jerked against him and he dug his fingers into my thighs, holding me in place as he suckled the hypersensitive flesh until my knees were shaking.
Every sinew in my body tensed and relaxed in waves as he brought me close to the edge, then slowed the swirls of his tongue until I drew back.
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. “I need you, Shane.” My voice was a breathless gasp that made him growl again, his eyes lighter than ever as he looked up at me. I watched the velvet pink of his tongue slide through my folds, his full lips playing over my clit, and my knees wobbled under knee.
Shane was on his feet in a flash, holding me upright. I fumbled his jeans down until his cock sprang free, and then he cupped my ass and lifted me against the wall.
The masculine grunt of satisfaction he made when he speared me was unbelievably sexy, the sound of pure carnal need.
A ragged cry ripped out of me as my inner walls stretched around him, taking him to the base. He buried his face in my neck and I wrapped my arms and legs around him, holding on for dear life as he pulled out and thrust back in.
Every stroke rubbed against my clit, the heat and wet building to a crescendo that wiped out my mind. I clenched around him when I came, biting into his burly shoulder to stop my hoarse screams from escaping.
It didn’t work. He pushed hard, plunging deep and pinning me against the wall. “Scream for me, Lu,” he panted, his teeth grazing my collarbone and shoulder. His hips undulated, bringing on another wave of sheer pleasure that was even stronger than the first, and I obeyed.
He bit my lower lip when my scream became moans, driving against me until his hips tightened. His cock hardened before he came, and he gasped against my lips when he released himself inside me.
Shane picked me up and carried me to the bed, where we collapsed in a limp, tangled heap. I stretched myself out over him and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. His smile was faint, but he pulled me close, holding me trapped in an iron grip.
“Talk to me.” I propped myself up on an elbow, shivering when he ran his fingers over my collarbone and around the curve of one breast, his thumb gliding over the pink, swollen nipple. “What had you all tense?”
I didn’t really want to dwell on Bloom anymore, not while I was lethargic with afterglow, but I trusted Shane’s intuition. Maybe not his visions, given that he Saw Roman with me and didn’t account for his twin treating me like trash, but even in his human skin his therianthrope senses were heightened.
Shane frowned, but his fingers kept running over me while he contemplated. “I don’t know,” he finally admitted. “There was something I didn’t like about her.”
“Well… she’s related to Gilt, which is an offense in itself. Do you See anything?”
He shook his head, the corners of his mouth pulled tight. “No, but my visions tend to be focused on my actions, not those of others. I See what my brother and I need to do.”
I settled my head on the crook of his arm. Most diviners had limitations- one person would go insane if they Saw everything.
“I’m not worried about her.” I didn’t sound convincing even to myself. “Or Dominic.”
My heart ski
pped a beat, belying that thought.
Shane suddenly rolled over, trapping me beneath him. His eyes were ice framed by dark lashes, but they were never cold. He only ever had pure heat in his gaze when he looked at me, and my body was already responding to it, every inch of bare skin pressed against mine like a fiery brand.
“Bambi, no matter what happens, you always have me,” he said fiercely, cupping my face. “No matter what my brother does, or what Steele does- I’m here.”
I wrapped my hand around his wrist, his slow, hard pulse beating against my fingertips.
“I never thought you wouldn’t be,” I whispered.
A frightening feeling welled up, pushing through my anxiety over Dominic and twining through the warm afterglow. I ran my fingers over the scars on Shane’s face, tracing them down to his throat and chest.
His breath hitched under my touch and he leaned closer, until his lips were just touching mine.
“I love you, Lucrezia Darke.”
The blue of his eyes was veiled under dark lashes, but that didn’t hide the heat or total conviction in them. My heart pounded in my throat, filling my entire chest like a roar.
“I love you, Shane Frost.”
My lips trembled, but a sense of relief and vindication filled me. It was true, and I didn’t have to hide it.
He let out a soft breath and kissed me, and I realized he hadn’t known if I would return those feelings yet.
I twined into the kiss, trying to put everything I felt for him into it. It didn’t matter if he Saw us or not. Even without his visions, I still loved Shane’s steady, serene heart.
His lips grew hungrier, rougher, and something sharp jabbed my lower lip. Shane drew back instantly, tensing above me.
“Sorry.” He looked sheepish. “It’s… the urge to place the mating bite on you. It’s hard to hold back.”
I touched one sharp incisor. It was thick, clearly more canine than Locke’s sharper, thinner incisors.
“What if I want you to?” I asked, my finger leaving his fang and tracing the pillowy curve of his cupid’s bow. “If we love each other, then you should put your mark on me.”
Shane’s gaze was shadowed, and he looked down. “It’ll hurt, Bambi. And…”
“And what?” I prodded, but a surge of apprehension made me feel like I knew the answer.
“I’d wanted to wait until… he came around. So we could both do it.” That was why he looked away. He still thought there was a chance Roman and I would make up.
There was no way in hell.
My heart was still fluttering from Shane’s confession and my own desire to be bonded to him in some tangible way, but I wouldn’t entertain the notion of his brother taking part for even a second.
“Only you.” He pressed his lips to my palm in acquiescence. “How… where will you do it?”
Shane dragged his fingers over my shoulders, finding the gentle slope of my trapezius. His fingertips tickled the sensitive spot, then moved over my breasts.
“I don’t know. I think it’s one of those things that happens the way it will. According to most of the accounts I’ve read, it can be pretty painful, Lu. It’s not something I’d do to you on a whim. And once the bite is placed, therianthropes can get a little territorial. I’m struggling a little with those feelings already.”
I wanted to tell him to do it anyway, but something in his eyes stopped me. Shane wasn’t lying about how much it could hurt, nor that he had a hard time reining in the more animal side of his nature. I didn’t want him to struggle any harder with himself, or fight with Steele, when they both owned me.
He enveloped me in his arms when I acquiesced and snuggled against him. “Fine.” I sighed against his shoulder. I could be patient.
“Don’t get me wrong, Bambi. I’m definitely going to mark you.” His lips pressed against my hair and he inhaled deeply. “My god, you smell so good. I love you and you’re mine. I don’t need to place the bite on you to prove it when I already feel it in the marrow of my bones.”
But he sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than me.
“I feel it too,” I whispered. As much as I craved the physical marking, I also felt it in my core. Shane Frost was an indelible part of me.
Chapter 3
Shane
I never thought the approval of one girl would mean so much to me.
My heart was in my throat when I confessed to Lu what I felt for her. It shouldn’t have been possible- she’d only been living here in Cimmerian for a month. No sane person fell that fast for someone else.
But there was no denying that every fiber of my being needed to be around her. Only the inherent therianthropic urge to run the forest kept me from locking the door of my bedroom and pinning her to my bed for days on end.
The overwhelming protectiveness I felt for her was so much stronger than I could’ve believed. My fangs itched every time we fucked, my inner beast driven to mark her, and it was even worse when we slowed down and took our time.
That was when I felt more possessive than protective, wanting to permanently shout to the world that Lucrezia Darke belonged to me.
But not me alone. Steele had her heart too. What if I marked her, and the territorial aggression pissed her off and drove a wedge between us?
The last thing I wanted was to destroy what I’d built with her before it even had a chance to start.
And, if I was being honest, I did harbor a hope that someday my twin and I would both mark her. It could be painful, but if it was meant to be, the lore I’d read said it wouldn’t hurt so much.
I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that, in case it was wrong, and she ended up in agony.
She had enough on her plate as it was, and I was learning Lu’s little tells, the way she messed with her hair or worried her lower lip when she was anxious.
We walked into Conjure and Exorcism together and her hand immediately went to her hair. Professor Naomi Gray stood at the podium, flipping through an enormous textbook that looked soporific before she’d even begun reading.
A cloud darkened Lu’s pretty face as she sat down. I rested my arm on the back of her seat and she curled into me. The way she glanced up at me with her big, stormy eyes full of worry had me on edge. “There’s a good reason, Bambi,” I whispered. She just shook her head and immediately began organizing her notes in her small, neat script.
I didn’t know Steele well, but I knew people. It was one of the more convenient aspects of being in touch with my inner primal nature.
Steele wasn’t the love ‘em and leave ‘em type. He looked at Lu with the same possessive ownership I felt, like he was bound to her. In a way, he was. He’d slowly started becoming clearer in my visions, one of the four guardians surrounding Lucrezia Darke.
Whatever games he was playing had Lu on edge. I didn’t like the smell of the new Divination professor, and I knew it hurt Lu to have to keep up their charade in public. Ivy Bloom was trouble waiting to happen.
I was going to have to keep an eye on her.
I’d keep an eye on Steele, too. If my intuition turned out to be wrong, I’d be the first to rip his throat out for wronging my Bambi.
Professor Gray droned about shadow people for two hours, during which time I ended up staring at her raspberry-covered dress in a daze while Lu studiously wrote down almost every word she said.
At the end of class, Lu hooked her fingers through mine when we followed everyone else out to lunch. She was openly scowling now.
“You can skip class with me for the rest of the day.” I loved the way she looked at me like I’d suggested she commit a horrific act of blasphemy.
“I’ve already skipped a bunch of classes,” she said, her hip brushing me. “At the rate I’m going, I’ll never earn a mastery.”
“Nobody earns a mastery here, Lu.” I held open the door and turned to see her staring at me. “What?”
“I need to earn one.” Her eyes flashed with something more than irritation. “That was t
he Tribunal’s conditions. Once I achieve that, I won’t need a conservator anymore.”
Hurt underlaid the irritation. She must’ve been thinking of Bloom’s snide little quip this morning.
“You have us,” I said, but she looked down.
“Even if we get out of here, the Tribunal’s sentence was very clear. As long as I don’t have a mastery, someone will always have legal guardianship over me. I’m a grown woman, Shane. I don’t want to be living under someone else’s thumb forever!” She took a deep breath. “They’d send the Wardens after me. I have to make it through these classes.”
I bristled at the thought of a cold, determined Warden dragging Lu away from me forever. They’d have to take me down before I let one lay a finger on her.
“We’ll figure it out. I was just joking about skipping class,” I assured her.
She followed me in, and we found a deserted table in the back. Lu sat under a spill of ivy, dumped her satchel in the chair beside her, and filled her plate with a salad and grilled trout.
Rabbit food. “Steele would help you.”
Her lips tightened just a fraction. “I hope so.”
She took a bite of salad and chewed, then slowed and lowered her fork. “Shane…”
I stopped loading my own plate with every kind of meat they had. “What is it, Lu?”
Bambi looked pensive about something, but a transparent sort of determination crossed her features. I thought about the quiet moment in bed this morning, how soft her eyes had looked when she told me she loved me too, and everything around us seemed to fall away.
There was only us.
She opened her mouth, that determination hardening into resolve, but her gaze flicked over my shoulder and her face hardened, becoming cool and remote.
There was no need to ask who had just walked in.
I turned around to tell my twin to fuck off back to the woods and was hit with the Sight.
It was like the room was suddenly full of a thick white mist, obscuring the walls, the tables, and everyone in the room with me. Even Lu. All was silent.
I took a breath, riding out the vision with a pounding heart.