by A. J. Macey
After a while, I shifted in Cam’s lap, my jeans growing increasingly uncomfortable. Finally, I couldn’t handle it any longer and let Cam know I was going to change. As I stood up, I had to bite back a chuckle as I noticed wayward tears on the guys’ faces as they watched. So cute. I smiled to myself as I stepped into my room and over to my closet.
When I was changed, I decided to quickly double check my materials for tomorrow’s classes in case I fell asleep. I had just emptied some random trash out of the bottom of my messenger bag when I saw a corner of something poking out under my notebooks. I pulled it out, my smile falling into a frown. An envelope? Did I get this from one of my classes when I wasn’t paying attention? I opened the flap and noticed a small stack of photos. I slid them out, instantly feeling my chest tighten.
“Guys?” I croaked. “Guys!” I called out, my voice slightly hysterical in my growing panic. They were 4”x6” photos in color of me from the last several weeks. A few from me in my room, working in the library, studying, walking across the quad, coming down the stairs in the Administration building waving at Jonathon, in classes, a couple even from getting our piercings done and shopping with Sadie and Benji for our dresses. He’s known since before the dance. He saw Justin’s attack, I realized, eyeing the photo of me pinned under the giant wolf.
One of my guys was talking to me, but I couldn’t process what was being said. I couldn’t even breathe as my stomach seized. I dropped in front of the trash can next to my desk and lost my dinner. Rough hands pulled my hair back quickly as I continued to dry heave despite my stomach being empty. When my tremors subsided, a tanned hand held out an open bottle of water. I took a few sips before moving to stand, my lightheadedness making me stumble.
“What happened?” Cam stood next to me when I got my bearings. I held out the stack of photos that had gotten slightly crumpled during my bout of sickness. Cam took the photos, his face growing hard while his lip curled back in a harsh snarl. He handed the photos to Hudson and the rest of the guys after he flipped through them all. His hand pressed against his mouth almost as if he was trying to keep in his reaction as the guys got their chance to look through the photos.
“He was here,” I whispered, my throat still raspy from throwing up. “He was here when Justin attacked me.” I felt my stomach roll painfully at the thought, knowing he would have enjoyed seeing it.
“Why didn’t he help?” one of the guys asked quietly, probably not even realizing they had spoken out loud.
“Because he probably got a kick out of it. He wouldn’t have given a shit if I was getting hurt at his hand or someone else’s. As long as I wasn’t killed…” I trailed off, raising a shoulder slightly before letting it drop. I looked around my guys, their eyes burning with fury as they stared at the photos, lips thinning into tight lines. “Can someone hand me my phone?” I asked as I went to my windows to make sure they were locked. Dante caught on to what I was doing and went over to Sadie’s room to check the window. Landon jogged out of the room at the same time and jogged back in right after, my phone in his hand. I hadn’t memorized Alex’s number yet, so I scrolled through my contacts until I found it.
“Were they here in your room when you found them or in your bag that you brought in?” Nik asked as Grigori was shuffling about the desk.
“It was on my desk under my notebooks for classes tomorrow.” I watched Nik lean down and sniff the desk.
“No chance that it was slipped in last week and you didn’t see it?” Hudson asked as Nik straightened, but before I could respond Nik shook his head.
“No. Does Noah wear cologne?” he asked. Looking toward me with his glassy eyes, it was hard to remember he couldn’t physically see me with his own eyes.
“Yeah, a spice scent. I don’t remember the name, but he wore it every day.” Nik nodded.
“Thought so, he was in here when he left the photos.” He turned back toward the desk and waved his hand at the top.
“How do you know?” Logan’s brow furrowed.
“I can smell the cologne on the chair, around the notebooks, the uh…” he stopped, glassy eyes flickering to me before whispering, “bed.” Oh, god. My hands started shaking. I finally clicked Alex’s name, and ringing sang through the earpiece.
“Hello?” I heard something banging in the background, like cooking pans. I interrupted his dinner. I winced at the thought.
“Alex?” My voice wavered, my nerves fraying.
“Lucie? What’s wrong? What happened?” The banging stopped as his worry bled through his quick questioning.
“I found an envelope of photos on my desk. Nik said he smelled Noah’s cologne here around my room.” I had to throw my hand over my mouth when I dry heaved again. I heard Alex talking, but my phone was pulled out of my hand.
“We’re all here,” Landon said, then another pause as he listened to Alex’s response. “I agree, what about changing locks?” More silence from our end of the call. “Security guards?” Landon directed the question at me. I shook my head. I didn’t want any more attention right now. “No security guards, we’ll keep her safe, and if it looks to be getting worse, we’ll call you and security.” There was one final bout of silence before Landon said goodbye and hung up. I didn’t want my phone back in case there were any texts or emails. I didn’t even want to be in my room anymore, the sense of safety tainted knowing Noah had been in here. So, I shakily pushed out of my group of guys into the living room and collapsed onto the mattresses on the floor.
“What did he say?” Hudson asked Landon as he came to sit next to me, his hand rubbing gently up and down my back after he got situated. Cam sat to the other side of me, his hand holding mine. Finally, Nik sank into the chair behind me before rubbing my shoulders gently.
“Starting tomorrow you’ll be working on self-defense with us. Some of the guards, Troy and Bill, will be on call.” I nodded, glad to be working with someone I knew. “They’ll be changing the lock to your door tomorrow and only you, Sadie, us, and a select few necessary people will have it. Let’s lie down, Lemon Drop,” Landon suggested as everyone got comfy in their spots. We had been rotating who would sleep on the mattress each night, and I would usually try to make it to my own bed so more of them could fit on the makeshift bed on the floor, but tonight I needed to be with my guys. Once we were all bundled up together, Dante turned off the light, and with the heat of my guys surrounding me like a warm blanket I lulled into a dreamless sleep.
7
November 6th
Tuesday Afternoon
Lucienne
My sneakers squeaked on the gym floor as I walked with Cam and Hudson. Nik and Dante were busy grabbing pads at the other end of the room where the floors were covered in folded mats. The twins were still in their Energy Manipulation class for the next hour and a half, with plans of meeting us over at the dorm buildings when we were done here.
I had missed my workout clothes; the comfortable, wicking fabric of my tank rubbed against my torso while my leggings gripped my legs tightly. I hadn’t gone for too many runs this semester, especially not after the All Hallow’s Eve Dance due to the wrap on my chest. Dr. Ingress didn’t want me to go for runs until it was healed. Apparently a crazy ex-boyfriend overshadowed that suggestion. Not that I’m complaining. I had been getting too restless without my outlet.
Glancing around, I noticed Dante was wearing only a pair of basketball shorts and his tennis shoes, his caramel torso on display under the gym lights. Memories of his tanned shoulders between my legs shot through me, waves of desire building the longer I thought about his gentle caresses. I swallowed hard watching his back, muscled from years of Kohl, bulge and shift with his movements. Moving my attention away from the handsome Kohl captain, my eyes landed on an equally handsome Nik. He was wearing a tight black tank top and sweats, his lean arms flexing as he helped Dante lay out mats. He might have had less bulk than most of the guys other than Cam, but they both had cut muscles that bulged deliciously when they moved. I felt my j
aw drop as I watched them work.
“Like what you see?” Hudson asked quietly. We were still far enough away that Dante and Nik didn’t hear his heated question. Cam, on the other hand, chuckled at my blush.
“Yes, you’re all hot,” I responded haughtily, refusing to be embarrassed. I gave him a big smile and bumped his shoulder to try and get him to focus on something else. Cam burst out laughing at my blunt response which caught Nik and Dante’s attention.
“What is so funny?” Nik’s rough gravelly voice called out as we neared them.
“Lucie was just admiring the view; she thinks we’re hot,” Hudson half quoted with a teasing smile. Dante and Nik turned to look at me, matching smirks and eyebrow raises on their faces. Nik’s face turned a light pink with a blush. That’s so cute. I gave the same response to them that I did to Hudson, a wide smile showing off my dimples.
“I can’t admire my boyfriends?” I questioned, trying really hard not to laugh, my lips twitching at my effort. Nik shot forward and lifted me up with ease, his lean muscles strong enough to prop me up on his shoulder. Unfortunately, my upper body rubbed against the hard planes of his back and I winced a little at the contact. Nobody noticed and I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. He was so playful, and I didn’t want to ruin the moment, but blood rushing to my wound and my head was disorienting. “Put me down, Nik!” I tried to keep my voice light and cheery despite the throbbing in my chest. Chuckling echoed through the gym.
“What? We can’t admire our girlfriend?” Cam parroted back in a teasing tone as Nik smacked my ass with his free hand eliciting a gasp from me. The sting melted into a strange wave of pleasure, and a shiver worked its way up my spine. What the hell was that?
“You can, but we have shit to do, guys,” I stated matter-of-factly in an attempt to distract myself from my body’s odd reaction and the increasing ache in my upper body. Nik slid me down until I was standing, and I winced as my chest ran against his shoulder. This time he noticed, a tiny frown curling his lip.
“Did I hurt you, Lucie?” I waited until the dizziness passed and then popped up on my tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. I inhaled sharply when I realized what I had done but a bright smile met me as I lowered my heels back to the ground. The happiness on Nik’s face eased my worry, my pain fading into the background.
“No, I’m fine, Nik,” I reassured him, the throbbing lessening with each passing moment. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and led me to the mat while the rest of the guys followed behind. No negative reactions, no jealousy. Huh...
Once we all gathered on the mat, Dante took over the beginning of our training. “All right, Firecracker, we’re going to start with the basics. Do you have much experience in self-defense or fighting?”
“I have a bit, but it’s been a while. I did most of it over the summer just to have some self-defense skills,” I responded, swinging my arms around to loosen knots in my shoulders.
“Let’s just start with some punches and blocking to warm up before we get into some more fighting.” After I put on the MMA gloves Dante had tossed me, we started going back and forth, warming up with some light punching followed by running and stretching. Once we were warmed up, we went through some different techniques to get out of holds with a small amount of grappling. By the time we were done I was dripping in sweat and huffing in short breaths. Damn, I am out of shape, I thought, hunching over with my hands resting on my knees. My chest throbbed painfully at the amount of exercise I had done during practice, the twisting, turning, ducking, and other movements aggravating the puncture wounds and bruises that littered my pale skin.
“All right,” I huffed, “I’m out. No more. I’m too out of shape for any more today.” I straightened up. “I haven’t gone for a run in almost two weeks.”
“You run?” Logan was walking across the gym with Landon by his side. I was too busy trying to catch my breath to notice them come in.
“Yup.” Popping the p in a very Sadie fashion, I circled my head around to check out my twins as they came toward us. “I love to run and do yoga. I meditate sometimes, but I haven’t done that since the beginning of the semester.” I started my stretching, being careful to not increase the pain I felt gripping my torso as the guys wiped down mats and put away the pads.
“We’ll have to go for a run sometime. Oh, I know!” Landon clapped, emphasizing his exclamation. “You should come play on the Kohl team next year!” I side eyed him as I moved through another stretch.
“Hell no,” I drawled out. “I might like to run, but hell will have to freeze over to get me on that field.” Landon and Logan clasped their hands in front of their wide chests, pouted out their bottom lips and giving me puppy dog eyes, all in a synchronized display with one another. I shook my head, a smile creeping on my face as a laugh escaped. They’re so adorable. I chucked my messenger bag over my shoulder as I walked toward the doors with my guys. I made sure to discreetly hold the strap away from my chest so it wouldn’t rub against the wrapping around my ribs and chest.
“I thought you two were meeting us at the dorm?” Dante directed his question at the twins.
“We figured we’d come here; never going to pass up an opportunity to see Lucie all hot and sweaty.” Logan winked at me, his lip twitching slightly with trying not to smile, but he didn’t do a very good job as I saw it quirk up.
The cold air cooled my sweat coated skin as we stepped outside, the other guys fighting their own eye rolls and chuckles at Logan’s response. I dug into my bag to grab my jacket, hat, and gloves before pulling them on as fast I could with my sore muscles. I heard my phone start to ring right as I adjusted my second glove. I was apprehensive to check it, anxious that it could be Noah again, but he hadn’t contacted me today, and it ended up being Char.
“Hey, girl,” I greeted cheerily, “how’s it going?”
“Lucie, I have some shitty news, boo.” I stopped walking, the guys turning to look back at me with concern etched on their handsome faces. Please be okay. “Noah showed up at UW today and tried to talk to me.” That fucking bastard.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” I turned, hurrying toward the Administration building, my guys following behind me.
“I’m fine, you know very well I’d beat that boy into the ground if he came after me. Pretty sure he just wanted to scare you by coming here. I was heading to class, so he couldn’t corner me,” she explained as I pulled open the glass doors to the building. Jonathon immediately picked up his desk phone. At this rate, I should just move into the building.
“As long as you’re okay. Is he still there?” I could feel my muscles straining on each step after the almost two-hour workout.
“I don’t think so. I notified the security on campus about him and gave them a picture so they’ll be on the lookout if he comes back. I scoured the parking lots after my biology class and didn’t see his truck anywhere. I think he left when I went into class.” She sounded calm which helped keep my anxiety down. When I reached the fourth floor, Alex once again opened the door right as we stepped up to the top step. How does he do that?
“All right, Char, let me talk to the dean here. I’ll let you know what he says, okay? Stay safe, love you, girl.” She returned the sentiment and we hung up as I plopped into my usual chair. I knew the guys were worried, I could see it on their faces.
“What happened?” Alex jumped straight to the point, leaning back behind his desk.
“Noah went to UW and tried to talk to my human best friend Charlie.” Still feels weird making that distinction. “She said he tried to talk to her when she was on the way to class, so he didn’t get a chance to really say anything.” I explained everything else that Char and I had discussed over the phone to Alex, each additional detail making his frown more severe.
“Would she be up for coming to campus this weekend to talk to our security team?” I shot a quick text to Char, thankful that she responded almost immediately since she wasn’t working tonight.
�
�She works Saturday, but she can come Sunday. She said she could be here at ten.”
“And what do we do in the meantime?” Logan hissed, the whites of his eyes blackened into his daemon eyes as he questioned Alex.
“Mr. Anson, I understand you’re upset…”
“No, I don’t think you do, Dean Renaud. Lucie is just a student to you, but to us she’s everything,” Landon interjected, his eyes also black as night, a hazy ring of red replacing the crisp burning coal irises they usually held.
“Gentlemen, I think you are forgetting yourselves. What Lucie needs is calm heads right now, not Daemon twins ready to burn the campus down.” His voice was stern but understanding.
“Dean Renaud, we mean no disrespect to you or your efforts, it’s just that they seem a little lax given the danger he currently presents,” Hudson supplied calmly. I could feel something flowing from him which seemed to affect the twins a little. Their tense shoulders eased, and their fists uncurled. After another few moments, Logan and Landon’s eyes shifted back into human looking eyes, the black receding until they looked normal.
“Do you give permission for a little leeway? Not a lot, just enough to make it possible for us to do what we see fit should the need arise?” Dante took over the direction of the conversation. Alex seemed to be considering his question scrupulously before nodding his consent.
Alex and I spent the next little while working out the rest of the details before giving Char and Alex each other’s numbers so he could coordinate with the head of security.
“I am having Bill and Troy sent over to walk you back to your dorm. I know you’ll all be staying together, but I want them with you guys since it’s now dark. The locks were changed this afternoon, so here’s your new key. They already gave Sadie hers.” Alex handed a small gold key to me. I dug out my key ring and hooked it on there after taking off the old tarnished one. He took the original key and put it in the top drawer of his antique desk. After a few minutes had passed, his desk phone rang once. A very short conversation followed upon answering it before he returned it to its cradle. “They’re in the lobby, Lucie, boys. Go get some rest and keep an eye out. Have you memorized those numbers yet?” I shook my head.