My brows rose. “We spend time alone in your office every Monday.”
“That's different,” he growled, seeming agitated as he threw a look at the path again.
I needed to work my angle to get out of this. He could bite me any second and I was kinda surprised he hadn't gotten it over with yet. “What would happen if I told Principal Nova about this?”
He gave me a dark stare. “Would you?”
His gruff tone sent a shiver through me and he shifted his hand on me as if he could sense my reaction.
“Try me,” I whispered, quietly knowing I wasn't much of a snitch but maybe the threat was enough to hold him off.
His fingers slid up my arm and a carnivorous look entered his eyes.
I took a shaky breath as his hand slid to my neck. Something about his mouth against my throat right then seemed like a very bad idea. One that made my heart pump too fast and my thoughts fly away on the wind.
Orion leaned in and the mere flutter of his breath on my flesh felt like the most forbidden of kisses. I sucked in a heady lungful of air, tilting my chin up, a small but wilful part of me suddenly aching for his mouth on me.
This.
Is.
Insanity.
Someone cleared their throat and I jolted, spotting Seth at the far end of the path. He didn't approach, just stood there with an impatient expression.
“What's he doing?” I tried to push Orion back, not liking being seen in this compromising position.
“He's waiting for me to bite you,” Orion said, pulling back an inch. “So he can have you back.”
A shudder gripped my spine. “Well get on with it,” I hissed. “Or are you going to continue playing with your food?”
His mouth twisted down at the corner and he leaned in, speaking into my ear. “Stay away from him. Go inside.” Two seconds passed in which the heat of his breath made my belly squeeze deliciously and my heart hammer. I heard him swallow, sensed his lips a hair’s breadth from my flesh, holding a lustful secret within that infinitesimal space.
In a flash of movement, he was gone and I was left reeling from the encounter, unable to believe he hadn't bitten me.
Seth jogged to my side, immediately winding his fingers between mine. “All good?” he asked brightly and I nodded, though I was anything but good. I was shaken to my core and not with fright for once.
Orion's words floated through my head and my forbidden desire gave way to a rush of anger. Who the hell was he to make demands like that? He wasn't my damn father. And that was more than clear by the way he’d just had his hands all over me.
Seth towed me along the path with a mischievous grin and dropped down on a bench under the orangey glow of a lamppost.
He pressed his face into my hair, pulling me flush against his thigh. “What's wrong, babe?” His mouth skated over my ear and my heart leapt at the touch.
“Nothing,” I lied and he leaned back, tilting his head as his eyes trailed over my face.
“Liar,” he teased. “Did Orion hurt you?”
“No,” I said honestly.
A rustle sounded somewhere off in the bushes behind us and a tingle ran across my skin.
Seth brushed his fingers over my cheek, drawing me back to look at him. “If he bothers you, I can get my pack to make him back off. We don't normally take on professors but...” He smirked, leaning in closer, his fingers moving to cup my chin and tilt my mouth up. “You're worth it.”
He leaned in and a hundred thoughts muddled in my brain at once.
I shouldn't be out here alone with an Heir. And I certainly shouldn't be thinking about kissing one.
But Orion had told me to stay away from Seth and that had riled me up something crazy. And as Seth's hand brush my knee, I felt myself giving in. Making a decision that I'd probably regret tomorrow, but right now felt like biting Orion back.
My pulse quickened as Seth's hand slid further up my leg, his thumb painting a delicate circle against my inner thigh. My thoughts scattered to the wind as my body responded to him, heat flooding into the base of my stomach.
I leaned in to meet his mouth.
His lips brushed mine, feather soft, then more demanding as his hands curled around my waist and dragged me against his firm body. I came apart as he drove his tongue into my mouth, the taste of beer and lust overwhelming my senses. He tugged me into his lap and my skirt rode up much too high.
I almost pulled away, but he released a low groan in his throat that had me undone and I tangled my fingers in his shirt as his mouth remained locked with mine.
Dog Boy was a ridiculously good kisser and I was starting to believe that maybe he really was sorry for the shit he'd done. That maybe he really did like me.
Probably shouldn't be kissing his face off right now though.
His hand roamed up to my neck and something cold brushed my skin. I flinched and his free arm suddenly locked around me. Hard.
“Seth,” I yelped, breaking our kiss as his hold became painful.
He snatched hold of my bun then the world stopped turning as he sliced something sharp through it.
“No!” I gasped in absolute horror, shoving him back. But it was too late. He released me and I fell from his lap in a heap onto the path, grazing my knees.
A single lock of blue had come free from the bun he now held in his grip, fluttering down onto the ground before me. I snatched it up in desperation, my hands trembling and tears welling and welling and welling.
My hair, he took my hair.
But it wasn’t just my hair. It was an age old wound and he’d cut it open deeper than before.
Don’t trust anyone. That’s what it stood for. And how fucking poetic that he’d tricked me, made me trust him then taken the one thing which had been meant to warn me against people like him.
A satisfied smirk pulled at his features. “Told you I'd get your hair,” he said, his voice flat and cold and making my heart crawl into a shell to try and hide. “And since Max told me the little sob story behind it, I was even more determined to get my hands on it.”
My lips trembled as tears ran over them, the taste of salt and betrayal running onto my tongue.
Giggles filled the air and Kylie burst out of the bushes alongside several more of her gang, her Atlas held in her hand. “I recorded the whole thing,” she told Seth triumphantly.
Humiliation washed over me and I opened my palm in a flare of anger, willing magic into it but Seth rushed forward, closing my fist as he crouched before me.
“Nothing personal, Vega,” he whispered. “It's the way of Fae. If you don’t want things getting even worse for you, then take your sister and get out of our Academy.” He winked, shot to his feet and slung his arm around Kylie, striding away while their laughter called back to me.
“Let's go to Lunar Leisure, I don't wanna miss the fun,” Seth said and they started moving swiftly down the path, my blue locks still wrapped in his fist.
Silence fell and I reached up to clutch my head, too horrified to do anything but stay there on the ground a minute longer. My throat swelled with emotion as I found the choppy remains of my hair, shorter at the back than it was at the front – and was that scalp I could feel??
My hands started to shake as embarrassment caved in my chest. Tears poured down my cheeks as my heart turned to cinders.
How could I have been so stupid? How could I have thought for one second that bastard could be trusted? Why had I done this after everything I knew about the world?
Get up. Go back to Aer Tower.
But I couldn't make myself move. I just wanted to curl in on myself and hide away forever.
Panic rose in me as I continued to paw at my hair, knowing I had to get up. I had to disappear before anyone saw me like this.
Kylie had recorded the whole thing.
Oh God, please no. Soon, everyone in the school would have witnessed me kissing Seth then him slicing off my hair and taking it like some sick trophy. And me crying on the floor with grazed kne
es and the sky falling down on me.
A hand pressed to my shoulder and I jolted violently, wheeling around and throwing out a palm, desperate to defend myself. A huge crack tore across the path as earth magic left my body in a rush of energy and Professor Orion darted aside before it knocked him over.
My heart steadied despite the fact that my Cardinal Magic teacher wasn't exactly a guardian angel. But he wasn't Seth or his awful friends. I clutched my head, heat coursing across my cheeks as I tried to hide from him. There wasn't much more even Orion could do to me tonight that would break me any further. But he could laugh. And I waited for it to come.
He slowly knelt before me, his jaw set as his gaze swept over my hair. Shame burned a path through my body and I looked down at the ground, unable to bear being seen like this. “Have you come to say I told you so?” I bit at him, trying to cover my pain with rage. But no doubt he could see every one of the tears running down my face.
“Get up,” he urged, taking my arm and pulling me to my feet.
“Why'd you come back?” I choked out, tugging my palm free and wrapping my hands around my head again.
“My spidey senses were tingling,” he said, chuckling and I glanced up at him, my brow creasing.
“Was that a joke?” I asked in utter surprise, my voice raw.
His mouth hooked up at the corner and I couldn't believe he was actually smiling like that. I expected him to be laughing along with the rest of the school, not making jokes for my benefit.
“It was,” he said. “A pretty good one I think.” He tugged me nearer, his expression suddenly serious. “Now the blue is gone, how will I tell which twin is which?”
I tried to stop a surprised laugh escaping me but it broke free of my chest in the form of a hiccup. “You're right, however would you tell?” I sniffed, wiping at my damp eyes with my lacy sleeve. Mascara smeared across my hand and I inwardly cringed, knowing I must have looked like an extra in The Walking Dead right then.
Of all the people to make me feel better though, I would never have guessed it'd be him.
A scream cut through the air that made every nerve ending in my body sting.
Orion dropped his hand, suddenly alert and I started running before he could make any sort of decision.
Tory!
Fear scorched a hole in my heart.
The Heirs were on a war path tonight. And I had to try and stop them from hurting my sister.
DARIUS MARCHED ME straight into the Lunar building and swerved to the left once we were inside, heading for the gym.
“Where are you taking me?” I breathed, failing to keep the fear from my voice.
“We’re going to see some friends,” he said, not offering me any more than that.
We passed by the gym equipment and kept going to a part of the building I’d never visited before. I knew what we were heading for as soon as the warm air and scent of chlorine hit me and I frowned as Darius dragged me through a set of double doors and on through the changing rooms. He didn’t slow his pace or lessen his grip on me and I was powerless to try and fight my way free of him while his Coercion still held me in its grip.
We made it out to the huge swimming pool and my lips parted as I spotted a crowd of people there. Marguerite and her friends shrieked excitedly as Darius dragged me towards them and my heart skittered as I hunted the sea of faces for someone who might help me.
A group of Seth’s wolves started howling with excitement, jostling each other as they drank from bottles of beer and pushed each other close to the edge of the pool.
Darius steered me to the left and we skirted the long swimming pool, heading toward the deep end where a sign painted on the tiles announced that the water was six meters deep. A shiver raced through me at the thought of all that water, memories of being trapped in that car crash surfacing readily.
Three diving boards stood alongside the water and I had to tip my head back to look up at the tallest one. I’d seen divers using such things in the olympics on the TV but I’d never seen one in real life.
Darius kept hold of me, guiding me closer and closer to the diving boards where Max and Caleb stood waiting for us. Max’s face was a picture of excitement and he was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. Caleb’s expression was set in a careful mask and he regarded me like I was someone he barely knew, let alone held any affection for.
I swallowed thickly. It was clear I wasn’t going to be getting any help from him and I hadn’t seen even one person here who seemed inclined to stop whatever Darius had planned.
Darius spun me to face the crowd of onlookers over the water and he slung an arm around me like we were friends.
“A lot of people have been talking about the return of the Vega Heirs like they’re something special,” he called, his voice bringing silence to the excitable onlookers. “But I am yet to see anything impressive about them. This one can’t even fight off basic Coercion.”
Darius tugged me against his chest but I stayed silent, unsure what my best move was here. My gaze kept travelling to the deep pool before me and the memories of rushing water were filling my ears. I’d been trapped in that car, waiting to die as it sank towards the riverbed and I fought against my jammed seatbelt.
My heart was pounding, my tongue heavy in my mouth but I couldn’t let them see my fear. I was powerless here but the one thing I could control was my own reaction to whatever they had planned.
“To rise to the top, we fight against our fears and come out triumphant!” Max cried and the ever watchful crowd cheered in agreement. “So shouldn’t one of the girls who claim to be our queens have to prove that she can do the same?”
I frowned at him. I’d never made any such claim and I knew Darcy hadn’t either. Max stalked closer, holding my eye as he leaned in to speak just to me.
“Thanks for sharing your fears with me,” he purred. “It made planning this so much easier.”
Darius looked between me and his friend and I fought to keep my expression blank. My heart was thrumming in panic and a bead of sweat was running down my spine but I wouldn’t give them my terror. I could see that they were set on this path and I wouldn’t beg them to stop. I knew it wouldn’t make any difference anyway.
Max leaned closer, brushing a finger down my arm and smirking knowingly as he absorbed some of my power laced with my fear.
“Come on then,” Darius said, taking his arm from my shoulder and giving me a push so that I started walking again.
Caleb caught my eye as I passed him and he threw me a smile which was as mocking as it was cruel. A sliver of ice stabbed straight through my chest at that smile. It wasn’t like I’d thought we were embarking on some epic romance but I had begun to believe that he wasn’t all bad. That just maybe he wasn’t determined to get rid of me and Darcy. And if I was being really honest I’d begun to think of him almost like a friend. The coldness in his gaze told me how wrong I’d been about that. He may not have been an active participant in this latest torture but he sure as shit wasn’t going to be stopping it.
Darius walked me past the two lower diving boards and stopped me by the ladder that led up to the high board. A little sign informed me that it was a ten meter jump from the tip of that board to the water and my hands started to shake just a little.
“Come on then, Roxy,” Darius growled, his breath warm against my neck as he leaned close. “Up you go.”
“I can barely swim,” I breathed, making sure he knew exactly what he was about to do to me. “I’ll drown if I jump in there.”
“Are you ready to bow to us then?” he asked. “And leave this school behind?”
I looked into his dark eyes, wondering if there was even a hint of humanity lurking in there. I didn’t glare at him or scowl or throw my hatred into my gaze. I just looked and let him see the girl I was. Let him see who he was doing this to, while wondering if he was even capable of pity or remorse. I wasn’t some long lost Heir come to steal his throne. I was just a girl trying to reclaim somethi
ng that had been stolen from me and figure out my place in this screwed up world.
Darius’s lips parted and something shifted in his eyes. For half a second I actually thought he was going to back off, let me walk away with my tail between my legs and be satisfied by knowing he’d won without forcing me to go through with this.
“Start climbing! All the way to the top!” Max demanded behind us, his Coercion wrapping me in its grasp with firm talons and forcing my limbs into action.
I turned from Darius, kicked my stilettos off and began my ascent up the ladder.
Up and up and up. My palms were slick on the metal rungs and my bare feet felt the chill of them sharply as I climbed ever higher.
The crowd of assholes below me started chanting and it took me a few moments to make out what they were shouting.
“Jump! Jump! Jump!” It wasn’t an encouraging kind of chant though; it was eager, mocking, bloodthirsty.
My long black dress tangled around my legs as I climbed but I didn’t slow as Max’s Coercion urged me on.
When I finally reached the top, I pushed myself to my feet and stood on the long diving board which bounced slightly beneath my weight.
My legs were trembling and in my head I could hear the squeal of brakes, the screams which had torn from my throat as the car careered through the barrier and the swooping sensation in my stomach as the vehicle had dropped towards the river.
I was there again. Sinking, down, down, down and this time no helpful passerby was going to save me.
My ears were full of the terror of my memories but over the top of it I managed to hear another sound. Seth raised his voice in an excited howl as he raced into the room. His wolves howled in response to greet him and I balled my hands into fists to try and hold myself together.
“I was worried I was going to miss the show. I’ve just finished destroying the other one!” he called as he ran to join the other Heirs.
A hard stone dropped into the pit of my stomach at his words. Had he done something to Darcy? Had he hurt her? I wanted to scream at him and demand he tell me but the crowd of onlookers were chanting again and I could barely hear myself think let alone try and be heard from all the way up here.
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening: An Academy Bullymance (Supernatural Bullies and Beasts Book 1) Page 35