Escaping Hallow Hill Academy: A Supernatural Prison Academy Romance (Dr. Hyde's Prison for the Rare Book 1)

by A. K. Koonce

  Silver dribbles from his ears and stains my sheets, but that’s the least of my worries. His whole body wracks with shivers, and I can feel his soul slipping away in my chest.

  “Sekar—” He breaks off on a gasp. I know the silver is still being injected into his blood, keeping him under control. He trembles out a laugh, as if anything about this situation is funny. “What a fucking way to go, eh?”

  My knees press into the mattress, and I find myself straddling his waist. As if on instinct, his body curves up against mine, but I press him down against the bedding with firm determination.

  “You’re not fucking dying,” I tell him from between gritted teeth. Like if I speak those words to the universe, it will listen. “I won’t let you.”

  His plump lips curl into a smile that flashes fang. “You do like me.”

  “Fuck you and tell me how to heal you.”

  His hands reach up and skim across the sensitive flesh of my wrists. It’s not the time, it’s the worst possible timing, and yet my pussy floods with arousal at the single touch from his fingertips.

  Warmth electrifies my senses, and I press down harder, feeling his thick bulge press against my core through the clothes that separate us. His hand encircles my wrist, and I marvel at how delicate I look against his frame, how his rich mahogany skin contrasts with mine.

  I don’t fight him as he slowly brings my wrist up to his mouth. I hold my breath, knowing what’s coming, bracing myself for the pain that doesn’t come.

  Instead of biting, he presses the softest kiss against my skin. My breaths come out in shallow pants. I can feel that kiss through my whole body, and it makes my heart betray me with wild fluttering.

  “Relax,” he whispers against my skin, and the sound of his deep voice is erotic all on its own. I find myself groaning and grinding softly down onto him. His other hand touches my waist. He’s warm all over, and I wonder if this is nothing more than a fevered dream that I’ve made up in my confinement. But he’s real. This is real.

  He spreads my thighs wider, palm pressing onto my inner thighs and pushing. The slightest bit of pressure has me arching. He’s seductive and alluring and every movement is deliberate, bent on salacious promise. Never in my life have I wanted to sin so badly.

  “Let me take care of you, pretty Sekar.”

  My heart nearly stops. That . . . that scares me more than anything else ever could.

  “I don’t know you.” Not really. I know nothing beyond flirtatious fanged smiles and teasing words. He’s an Ancient One: one of the oldest of vampires in supernatural society. An original. Born, not bitten. “I don’t even know why you’re here.”

  His eyes blink slowly, and he takes his bottom lip between his teeth. I see the hint of white fangs, and I imagine them pressing into my flesh. Fuck, that’s hot. I wonder if he’s contemplating what to tell me, how honest to be.

  In a place like this, it’s not safe to be vulnerable. It’s dangerous to show anyone your weaknesses, because they can use them against you.

  “I’m not here willingly.” The confession seems to pain him. “They sing the Academy’s praises, claiming they’re here to help the rarest supernaturals, to save them from the black market or from being hunted.” His breath fans against my wrist, and his hand still grips tightly at me. He’s drawing strength from me by tightening his hold on me. “It got me during the day. We’re at our most vulnerable during the day, you know. One of those monsters attacked me. Wrapped a collar around my neck like a fucking dog.” He scoffs. “I’ve been waiting for the perfect chance to escape. I never found the opportunity. Until now.” His gaze is piercing, and I feel it press all over my body with a single sweep.

  “Why now?”

  His tongue darts out and traces the pattern of my veins. “Because of you.”

  My whole body trembles. “M-me?”

  “I cannot escape Hallow Hill Academy on my own, little Sekar. You’ve seen how weak this makes me.” His chin dips as he gestures at his collar. “They will not even let me out of these walls like they do you because they don’t trust me. I am well and truly confined.”

  I feel his sadness through the bond we share. The hopelessness, the frustration. Everything raging like a storm inside him mirrors within my own body. And it’s in this instant that I feel closer to him than I’ve ever felt with anyone. Even the Sekar, who shares Lady Death’s blessing and heritage through our veins. It’s Rue who truly understands what it’s like to feel trapped, tricked, who desires his freedom as much as I do.

  I cup his cheek and stare deeply into his eyes. For the first time since our souls conjoined, I open up to him instead of pushing him away. I let the phantom touch of his psyche invade my own personal thoughts. He’s gifted me with a bit of himself; now it’s my turn to match him, vulnerability for vulnerability. It’s as terrifying as it is thrilling.

  I feel the ghost of his consciousness push against my own as I convey the matching feelings deep in my soul to him as well. It’s as close as two supernaturals can ever be, and it doesn’t repulse me as it did before. It doesn’t anger me. It . . . it feels surprisingly nice.

  His dick hardens beneath me and rises, until I can feel it straining through his uniform pants. His dark eyes look into my face, searching silently for permission.

  In response, I press my wrist tighter against his mouth. He licks and suckles against my skin, igniting a fire inside me that burns so hotly, I can’t control the groan that tears through my throat. It’s everything. It’s a kaleidoscope of sensations as his teeth graze across my veins. I shiver in anticipation, and I feel . . . aroused. Like my own sensations and his are mingling together in a dance that’s so potent because it bounces back and forth between the two of us.

  I feel every little flicker of desire and hunger that threads through his body as if it was my own. It makes me hungry, and my thighs ache for him. I rub against him, creating a friction I so desperately need. The hand on my hip tightens and travels until he’s cupping my mound. I ride against his hand, and his lips are slow, moving across me.

  Then I feel his teeth, and the bite comes. I can barely feel the pain as a river of pleasurable fire courses through my very system. It triggers something deep inside me, shoving me rapidly to that crest of desire until I’m falling, plummeting into nirvana. My orgasm is a slamming, vicious sensation, and I relish in every bit of it. The heel of his palm drags my moans and cries out as long as possible.

  My own mind is a mess. I do nothing but feel, my hips rolling faster and faster against him until the sensation ebbs, and he pulls his teeth from my flesh. The tip of his tongue slides against the wound, and I watch with a bit of fascination and breathlessness as it knits itself closed.

  Oh. My. Holy. Fuck.

  My cheeks flush with embarrassment. Just a little grinding is all it took for me to—

  I take a long inhale and count to ten.

  “How do you feel?” I whisper on the weakest breath. I figure it’s best to pretend like none of this just happened.

  “Revived.” His cock is still hard against me, and even though I just came, a tingling spreads up my clit at the pressure there.

  “Good,” I squeak.

  We sit for a few more moments, gazes locked. He looks better, refreshed. If a few mere swallows of my blood made him change from dying to healthy as a fucking horse, then I’m curious to see what draining the blood from a victim looks like.

  Is that morbid? Am I weird?

  My palms press against his chest, and I want to push myself up and away from him. I really do, but he has me hypnotized in his gaze.

  “Thank you.” Blood red bleeds over black pupils.

  “It’s my fault you were in that situation. I should have been more careful.”

  He presses his palms against mine, firmly over the beating of his heart. “You don’t make me do anything I don't want to do.”

  “Still. I work alone for a reason—”

  “The Sekar are dead, and you’re used to being al
one.”

  I grit my teeth at his blunt honesty but nod my head.

  “There are a lot of things I’m comfortable with. Helping you is one of them.”

  I fight to look away, but I can’t. “You shouldn’t want to.” Sekars bring death. He knows that as well as I do. We are blessed as much as we are cursed; it’s why there are only two of us left. Our Lady has claimed us for her own.

  His fingers lift to push into the roots of my hair. “How about this. Whenever we feel uncomfortable about something—in any situation—we use a safe word?”

  That sounds so ridiculous, I can’t hold back my snort. “A safe word?”

  He smirks. “Yeah. Something totally ridiculous like whale dick.”

  Laughter bursts out of me.

  “No? What about rat snatch? Beef curtains? Dilly stick?” he asks.

  My whole body is shaking at the ridiculousness of this whole situation. We were nearly murdered, and he’s throwing out random safe words that sound like they came straight off a porn site.

  “Oh, I know. What about kumquat cock?”

  Before I even get a chance to reply, Styx lets out a whine. I turn in time to see his whole body explode into a tuft of dark fur and blood. It splatters the walls. It rains down against my hair.

  I gape and scramble off of Rue just as the storm of fur clears, and where Styx was sitting, there is now a massive, crouching man.

  Muscles stack upon muscles on his wide frame, and even from his crouched position, I can tell he’s tall. Dark hair is plastered along his forehead, and the man is completely, wholly naked.

  My feet barely touch the floor before the man crawls over to me and grips the backs of my thighs with warm hands. He finally looks up, and I jolt at the wide, innocent green eyes he has.

  “Styx?”

  “After all this time, I have finally found you.” His voice is a deep rumble, pleasant, and it comes from somewhere deep in his chest. “My alpha.”

  Son of a kumquat cock.

  Chapter Ten

  Alpha. That word sizzles in my chest with heat and emotion, and I’m sure I’ve heard it a thousand times in my life. But it’s never had a feeling attached to it.

  Until this bizarre naked man uttered the title to me.

  “Styx?” I whisper once more.

  He nods, and I can’t help but notice how tight his Academy metal collar is around his thick neck. “Call me whatever you want, alpha.” It’s a rasping tone of devoted lust and . . . love.

  It’s fucking alarming, is what it is.

  Even if my wet panties have a different, delusional reaction to him.

  I turn to look at Rue, thinking maybe he can give me moral support during this confusing time somehow. His eyes are wide and on Styx, but he doesn’t seem surprised, and I can’t tell if just nothing fazes him or…

  Wait a minute.

  “You knew,” I whisper to Rue. “You knew what he was.”

  Rue shrugs and his smile is full of mischief. “I could practically taste the curse that was placed on him when he stepped out into the hall. Shifter’s have a distinctive smell, especially omegas.”

  I just shake my head and turn back to Styx. I can’t even find the energy to be upset with Rue for not telling me.

  My palms jut out and press a safe amount of distance between me and the naked man getting a little bit too comfortable between my legs. He looks up at me with sweet puppy dog eyes, and my heart pangs to life at the similarity between the man and the pet I’ve confided in for the past few weeks.

  “I—I’m not your alpha.” I don’t know much about alpha-omega relationships except the few taboo Naruto-Sasuke fanfiction holes I’ve dug myself into on the internet. It wasn’t much information, but I know alphas . . . they knot. Last time I checked, my vagina doesn’t have a knot, or whatever the fuck omegas need, thank you very much.

  So . . . yeah. No. That’s not a thing here. Sorry.

  My hands against his smooth shoulders are no longer a pressing force but a gentle touch. A skimming of fingertips against hard skin. An exploration of his perfect, perfect body.

  A bad, bad decision.

  The quiet hum of a whimper slips from his lips as his lashes close slowly just from the press of my hands against his skin.

  Holy Lady of Death, has no one ever been kind to this man before?

  What fucked up things has life put him through?

  And why? Why would anyone hurt something as innocent and sweet as my Styx?

  Wait. Push the breaks, Emmera. He isn’t your anything. He is a STRANGER.

  And I confided in him for weeks, thinking he was a pet, when in reality, he was a man the whole time. I poured forth my every secret desire and fear to him without actually knowing.

  Oh. No. I was naked. He’s seen me naked. And I cuddled him!

  Because he’s been my closest friend.

  My mind says one thing, while my fingers continue to draw lazy lines along the defined edge of his collar bone. Another contented sigh leaves his full lips.

  “You are my alpha. You felt it, too. When you healed me. You scented it. Don’t tell me you didn’t. Even now, your scent is so strong . . .” A whimper escapes his throat that sounds desperate and demanding. “I wished I could be in this form. To hold you. I wanted to be here for you. It would have made our bond fall into place, but I couldn’t. No matter how hard I tried.”

  He keeps talking about scents, about claiming, and something inside me trembles. I want to deny it and question it, because I don’t understand a single thing, but I recall that moment in the shower. The moment he’s talking about, the seizing feeling that he belonged to me.

  Even now, having him so close, I feel a pulse, a thread pulling me towards him. It’s not exactly as alluring as Rue but different. Like I need to protect him. I want to protect him as much as I want to keep him. Is this what it means to be an alpha, like he claims me to be?

  “What happened to you, Styx?” I ask quietly before I can stop myself.

  Stop. Stop talking to him like that. Stop drenching your words in kindness, and for the love of all fuck, stop stroking him like he’s your favorite vibrator!

  My hand slides lower, and the rapid slamming of his heartbeat drums against my palm. I slowly sit at the edge of the bed, but I still can’t stop touching the warmth of his body. It’s just like when he was my pet. I still want to find comfort in knowing he’s close.

  I can’t explain it.

  “I was brought to Hallow Hill Academy a long time ago—”

  “How long ago, shifter?” Rueren cuts in, his tone hard and no longer filled with that lustful sound he had earlier. It’s hard, but not angry, exactly. Calculating. Demanding.

  “I don’t know,” Styx says, his brows pulling together hard as if his entire life is missing and all he has left is me. “There was a man. There was a room . . .”

  “A man in a room. You’re really quite the detective, huh?” The vampire behind me sneers.

  “Stop.” The look I toss the tosser is enough to get him to shut up.

  Or so I think.

  “What’d the man look like? Where’s the room? Hell, I’d settle for knowing the color of the walls at this point.” Rueren slams the words out one after the other, and I’m starting to feel a little like the tree both of my pets are pissing on to claim a piece of uncharted territory.

  “What color were the walls? Gray. They’re all gray. I’m color blind, you flying rat fuck.” Styx’s gaze is so glaring, I almost see death shining in his eyes. It’s the first sign of a temper I’ve seen from him.

  It still doesn’t stop the quiet laughter from shaking out of me.

  “I’m not a flying rat,” the vampire defends lamely. I laugh at the completely offended expression he wears.

  Big warm hands wrap around my calves, and then Styx’s head is in my lap.

  And I swear my heart stops.

  “All I know was I was cursed. Cursed into silence in the form of my beast.” His hold on me tightens with a
bit of pressure of his nails digging into my flesh as every muscle in his body tenses with hard lines and solid strength. “Time drops away when I’m in that form. When I’m all wolf, days are like years. It all felt like a pressing cage. Until I met you, alpha,” he whispers, his breath kissing my skin in a way that has me shifting in his hands. “And you broke that curse by speaking those magical, key words.”

  Kumquat cock were the magical words? I bite my lips to keep from giggling at the ridiculousness of it. I suppose it makes sense, though. No normal person goes around screaming those words. Whoever cursed Styx is a genius. An evil genius that will feel my blade through their balls—or ovaries, I suppose—but a genius just the same.

  I feel the gaze of the man behind me. Rueren lets the smallest amount of time pause between the three of us. And then his cool fingertips graze along my throat. My hair is pushed away, and his erotic words take their place against my skin.

  “Want to help the little pup forget his past?” Lips press against my skin just faintly. Just enough to make my lashes shutter to a dazed and lustful state. “You’re his alpha, Sekar. Show me you know how to be an alpha.”

  “I’m not an alpha,” I argue weakly. “Not in the way you think I am.”

  Hurt flashes in Styx’s eyes as he lowers them to the floor. I hate that I’ve put that look there.

  “You are,” Rue says. “Everyone has something in them. You’re a natural born leader and the power to dominate this little omega lives inside you, if you’d only show us.”

  Styx’s attention snaps to me in an instant. His big emerald eyes are watchful as he stares up at me. Waiting.

  Waiting.

  Waiting.

  “Please,” he whimpers in the softest tone that cracks my heart in two. Then I feel a fierce wave of protection wash over me. The fierce need to dominate. To show him, to show them both, that I’m the alpha here.

  What is wrong with me?

  Absolutely nothing.

  My index finger scratches sweetly up the shifter’s throat, before roughly taking his chin in my hand and forcing him to stare into my eyes at a much closer proximity.

  “You want me to make you forget, puppy?” Sensual breath is all my voice is made of.