by Ginna Moran
I ease away from Berkeley. “Don’t let me drink more than you can handle.”
Berkeley smirks at me. “I don’t think you realize how impossible that task is.”
“It’s a good thing there are four of us,” Aspen teases, “but why don’t you let me hold her? I kind of like having you around, brother.”
Berkeley laughs as I jokingly squeeze his waist between my thighs, making it harder for him to detach me. Aspen hooks his arms around me and nudges my hair from my neck, extending his fangs, knowing how my body reacts to the thought of taking things somewhere we’re not supposed to under the academy rules. But I hate rules and laws and being told what to do. I was raised as a rebel after all.
“Careful or I’ll ask you to bite me,” I whisper.
“I think we could get away with it. If that’s what you want.” Aspen flips me around to kiss me. “Just a taste.”
“Just a taste,” I repeat.
Berkeley loosens my tie to unfasten a few buttons on my shirt. Shifting behind me, he eases my top from my shoulder for Aspen. Aspen uses his teeth to pull my bra strap down to kiss my tingling skin. Shifting me up higher, he brushes his lips to the top of my breast showing from my bra. I gasp a small breath at the sensation Aspen creates while listening as Berkeley extends his fangs. He bites his arm, and the scent of his blood trickles through the air.
Pressing his chest into my back, Berkeley assures no space between the three of us as he offers his arm to me, caging my head a bit. His other hand glides around my stomach, taking over holding me in place. Aspen meets my gaze with Berkeley’s arm between us. His eyes flash his hunger and desire, sending my heart racing.
“You sure about this?” he asks, his voice deep and breathy with lust.
Just the thought turns me on, and I moan my consent, savoring the taste of Berkeley while yearning for Aspen to savor the taste of me. Tipping my head back, I rest it on Berkeley’s shoulder, stretching my neck a bit to give him a choice of biting me anywhere from my neck and shoulder to the top of my breast.
Berkeley breathes softly near my ear, his heart thumping against my back in an attempt to race mine. “Take a breath and relax.”
I don’t even feel the prick of Aspen’s fangs and only a bit of good pressure as his mouth takes over to suck my blood from a spot on the front of my shoulder. I moan against Berkeley’s skin, the sensation better than any bite I’ve received before.
I break my mouth from Berkeley’s arm and stretch my neck to kiss him. He shifts to stand next to us, watching my face as his brother drinks. From his obvious lust-filled eyes, Berkeley doesn’t care who bites me as long as I enjoy it. Meeting my lips again, he kisses me more passionately than the tease of a kiss he gave me when they brought me into this empty office.
Aspen eases his mouth from his bite. “That was indescribable, Fiona. You’re so—”
“Mister and Mister King,” a familiar voice says.
The door to the small office swings open, and Headmistress Rasmussen stands in the doorway with her hands on her hips. Berkeley pulls from our kiss before I realize what the headmistress caught us doing and rushes to the door. He rolls down the sleeve of his shirt and wipes his mouth. A second later, he disappears from the room with the headmistress.
“Just bring out Ms. King,” she snaps.
“The three of you have some explaining to do.”
Chapter 20
Rebel Destiny
“WE’RE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE, right?” I ask, keeping my voice low.
“We’ll be okay. Don’t freak out.” Aspen’s quick to staunch the bleeding of his bite to button my shirt. He sets me on my feet and takes my hand, guiding me to the door. Voices murmur through the wood, and I hear the headmistress call out Aspen’s name for him to hurry.
Aspen gives me a once-over and rubs the pad of his thumb over the corner of my mouth to assure not a drop of Berkeley’s blood is present. Nerves bunch my stomach at the whisper of my name as Berkeley and Headmistress Rasmussen discuss me.
Aspen straightens his shoulders and opens the door, stepping out first. “Forgive us, Headmistress. Ms. King...wanted us to fulfill part of her contract without an audience, and we didn’t have time to head back to our suite.”
I nearly die at his words and how they can be misconstrued. “He means kiss. I wanted to kiss him.”
“No need to share such details, Ms. King,” Headmistress Rasmussen says, tightening her mouth. “Your relationship with the Kings is none of my business unless you have a complaint or they break one of the rules such as the no-bite policy tied to your contract. Was Mr. King feeding on you or was it something else?”
I drop my gaze to the floor, wishing it would open up so I can get away from her. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to vampire customs. They are far less modest about things than humans. With the way some of the humans looked at me in the dining hall while I was letting Aspen feed me, I had to keep checking to make sure I wasn’t suddenly naked or some shit.
I lick my lips. “Something else.”
“I apologize for making you state the obvious, but it must be done to assure you aren’t being mistreated. I hope you understand.” Headmistress Rasmussen’s words surprise the hell out of me. She almost sounds as if she cares about the donors here. Maybe she does. I don’t know her well enough to be certain.
“I do,” I say.
“Very good. Now, if you will excuse us, I need a moment of the King Coven’s time. You may head to your next class. You are no longer on probation for being a flight risk.” Headmistress Rasmussen waves in the direction of the wing where most of the donor classes are.
“Allow me to walk her, headmistress,” Aspen says. “I’ll be fast.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary, Mr. King. One of the biggest obstacles personal donors face is getting space outside of their keepers. You don’t want to smother her.” She waves at me again to get moving. “It also helps to teach you control, so you don’t fall into a habit of wanting total isolation. You can’t manage a city if that becomes the case.”
I squeeze his hand. “I’ll be fine.”
The soft mumble of voices from the dining hall grows louder as the donor students disperse. Headmistress Rasmussen turns to look at the group of people. “If you’d feel more comfortable after yesterday’s unfortunate occurrence, Mr. Nowak can walk Ms. King where she needs to go.”
Ah, hell.
Before I can tell the headmistress that I’m fine on my own, she motions for Ivo to come in our direction. He doesn’t hesitate, his eyes already on us like he’s been looking for me, and picks up his pace, leaving Rylie with Patrick. Neither of them waits, and they disappear into the crowd. I wonder how much she’s told the future personal donor about me. Hopefully nothing.
“Mr. Nowak, will you please escort Ms. King to her next class? It’s Donor Sex Education with Dr. Abernathy.”
“What?” I ask, turning to Berkeley. “When did this happen? I thought I was taking strength training next.”
“Your misters have the right to change your courses to anything they feel necessary at any time, Ms. King. Expect to bounce around quite a bit this term as your coven figures things out and decides what programs are most beneficial. Now, go along.”
Ivo stiffens, curling his fingers into fists. “Right this way, Ms. King.”
I groan and hug Berkeley, silently swearing into his ear that he’s in so much trouble for changing my classes without telling me first.
“Wasn’t me,” he murmurs. “It’s Aspen’s night. He tailored your schedule.”
Aspen spins me from his brother. “I’ll accept all punishment you find necessary, but I think learning from a lecture before you get your hands on experience will—”
“Shhh,” I say, covering his mouth with my hand. “No excuses.”
“You’ll thank me later,” he says into my fingers. “I saw Berkeley putting together a lesson plan for your time together.”
I scrunch my nose and glare, turnin
g away from them before my mind wanders to anything sexual that could happen between us. Straightening my back, I steel myself to Ivo’s gaze and stride past him. I don’t exactly want to turn my back on him, but I also don’t want to walk beside him. I glance over my shoulder at the now empty hallway, trying my best not to freak out at Berkeley and Aspen’s sudden absence as they disappear with Headmistress Rasmussen.
Ivo picks up his pace to stroll next to me anyway, purposefully getting into my personal space now that the guys aren’t watching. “You okay, Ms. Flamme? Rylie mentioned having a rough day, but she wouldn’t say why.”
“We had a fight,” I say.
“They didn’t hurt you, did they?” Ivo rushes to cut me off to give me a once-over.
His eyes rove from my face to the front of my shirt, and I cringe, realizing I have two noticeable blood spots blossoming on the fabric from Aspen’s bite. Reaching up, Ivo attempts to tug at my collar for a better look. I swing out and smack him across the face, my whole body screaming to kick him in the balls next for trying to touch me without my permission.
“I didn’t fight with my misters. I fought with Rylie,” I say. “And try to touch me like that again, and I’ll break your hand. The blood isn’t mine.”
He knows I’m lying since vampire blood is darker than human blood, but it’s none of his business. “What was your fight about? Maybe I can say something that can help.” I’m glad he doesn’t accuse me of lying or persist to ask questions.
“It was nothing,” I say. “We’ll get over it.”
He steps a bit ahead of me to gaze at me directly again. “Sorry to hear that.”
“Wait, what? You don’t want us to get over it? But you said—”
“I meant I wanted to say something to help you make the right decision to leave her here. You don’t belong here. You’re better off back home. But Rylie? She scored us both positions in an elite household. She is better off here. Maybe the elders wouldn’t hoard so many women then. The elders don’t understand the benefit of creating family bonds in a vampire household. Work contracts pass down to children. We’re talking about growing an army behind enemy lines with people these blood suckers trust.”
Holy shit.
“Plus, Rylie’s perfect. She’s hot, not one of those anti-expand the donor population people, and she can handle herself. I can’t wait for my formal union to her. I know she likes that Patrick douche, but she’ll come around with me.”
This. Guy.
I might be pissed off at Rylie, but there is no way in hell that I’m going to stand listening to another second of Ivo talking about Rylie like the soldiers talk about me. He doesn’t want a partner that comes with a union. He wants to use her to advance his status and secure a future that dooms all of his future heirs.
“She won’t come around to you, because she won’t be here,” I snap, shoving past him to pick up my pace. “I’m getting her out of here.”
“The only one leaving is you,” he says, raising his voice enough to get me to stop in my tracks. “It’s time you stop resisting. You don’t want me to declare you a traitor to the elders now, do you, dhampir?”
I hiss and rush him, slamming into his broad chest to knock him off his feet and onto his ass. Swinging my arm, I punch him in the nose. “Never, and I mean never, call me that again. Are you crazy? Do you want to get me caught and killed?”
Ivo twists his face and spits out blood on the floor next to us. “That would get you to run, wouldn’t it? We have soldiers waiting in the city to take you home. Isn’t that what you’d prefer? Go home instead of getting caged and drained over and over again until some asshole takes it too far and finishes you off.”
Anger rushes over me, and I slap him across the face. “You wouldn’t dare. I don’t even know this place well enough to get out of here.”
“That’s what I’m here for, dhampir!” Ivo shouts, locking his hands to my wrists before I can punch him again. “No one will suspect it’s me to show you. You just ran away. You managed to overpower the guards. You beat the hell out of me when I stopped you. You are a dhampir. You can take on these asshole vampires. That’s what you were born to do!” The narrative he creates could work on a number of people. I’m not exactly docile.
Fear erupts in my heart, tightening my chest. I break free of his tight hold on my arms and swing at his face over and over again, trying to get him to stop yelling my secret.
“You better run, dhampir. I think I hear a guard coming. If they catch you, you’ll be dead.”
I grind my teeth and sock him so hard that his head jerks sideways, but still, he doesn’t stop laughing and yelling like a psycho.
“Run, dhampir! Run!”
I can’t believe this is happening. The last thing I expected was for Ivo to resort to forcing me to leave the academy by giving away my secret. And my burst of fear proves him right. I can’t stay here, not if more people discover who I am. Being considered a donor is bad enough. But a dhampir? They’ll treat me worse than a donor. They’ll treat me like an animal. A mythical creature. But not in the way the Kings treat me. I don’t know what it is about them, but they’re different. They claimed me before they even knew about me. That claim led to a bond, one I can’t imagine breaking.
“Run, dhampir!” Ivo yells again.
Scrambling off him, I get to my feet and stare around the hallway. Voices murmur from all different directions, but they all sound like they’re coming toward me. I dash a few feet away from Ivo and try to open the door to one of the offices. If I hide, one of the Kings will surely find me. They’ll help me. I know they will.
While Ivo might be right about me choosing to run instead of risking staying here to be caged, he’s utterly wrong to think I’d dare run to Blood Rebels. I find both options utter shit and will create a third plan. I did choose the Kings and life with them after all. I intend to see it through.
“What are you doing, dhampir? You can’t hide. You must run!” Ivo pushes me from behind, forcing me to stumble in the direction that leads to the lobby of the donor education wing.
“Hudson!” I yell, hoping that he’s connected to one of the security feeds I know are capturing every one of my moves.
“I put the cameras on a loop, dhampir. The only ones coming for you will be those who hear your yells. They’re probably fighting each other now to get to you first.” Ivo tries to grab the back of my shirt to slow me down.
“Hudson!” I yell again.
“Are you stupid? You don’t think I wouldn’t assure those blood suckers who’ve claimed you would be around to fight in your name.”
Icy dread drips down my back. It’s probably why the headmistress called Berkeley and Aspen away. Ivo knew that they’d hesitate leaving me, so he happened to be there. He knew that since he got a contract, she’d ask him to walk me.
I spin out of his reach and hit my ass on the floor, only to jerk my foot up to kick him in the balls. He drops to his knees like I expect, clutching what I hope is a bruised as hell cock. I kick him again in the solar plexus, making him heave and spit out more blood.
Catapulting to my feet, I dash away from Ivo. All I need to do is reach the reception counter. I can force the receptionist to call one of the guys, and they’ll help me. They’ll protect me against people I might not be able to protect myself from.
I only make it twenty feet away before an alarm blares so loudly that my head spins, my brain feeling like it’ll explode at any second. I cover my ears and bow forward. Something collides into my back, sending me sprawling.
Ivo drags me from the floor, pinning me against his chest. I flail and buck, trying my best to knock him off balance. “You’ve taken too long, dhampir. You might not make it out now. The alarm should give us a few extra minutes.”
The alarms cut off. My ears ring and my head pounds. I can barely focus on the world around me.
“Fiona?” Rylie’s voice cuts through the incessant ringing in my ears. “Ivo, what are you doing?”
&nbs
p; “Get the door,” Ivo snaps. “Hurry. Security’s coming.”
“No! Rylie, don’t. He’s psychotic. He won’t stop yelling that I’m a dhampir.” I kick my legs up, stopping Ivo from forcing me through the door Rylie holds open.
Rylie blocks Ivo from trying again. “Are you kidding me? You’re going to get her killed.”
“Only if she stays. This way she has to go,” Ivo says, spinning and running backward, not giving Rylie a choice but to move unless she wants to get knocked over. “Now, go run ahead. Get the next door. We have minutes.”
Rylie hesitates.
“I have a job. We have a job. The elders gave her a rebel destiny. You don’t want her to get captured and caged, do you? She’ll take us with her. She’ll tell them what we’ve done. It’s bigger than her.” Ivo tightens one arm around me to grab the next door.
“Please, Rylie. He’ll guarantee you never go home. He wants to knock you up and force a lifetime service contract on your heirs. He thinks you deserve to be here,” I say. “Don’t help him. Get the Kings. They won’t kill me.”
“They’ll just cage her once they find out.”
Rylie surprises Ivo by grabbing a dagger off his belt. She aims it at him, forcing him to stop. “They already know about her.”
“What?” Ivo asks.
“They’ve bonded. I’ve seen it myself.” Her soft voice grows stronger. “They let her claim them.”
“Come on, Rylie. You’re not going to stab me. Just move before they find us.” Ivo tries to dodge past her, and she jerks out the dagger, catching it on his jacket.
“No. Let her go,” Rylie demands.
“I can’t. We have a job.”
“She’s not a job. She’s my best friend, even if I don’t understand any of her decisions.” Rylie jabs the dagger again. “Now let her go. If she wants to stay and put her life into the hands of the Kings, then let her.”
Ivo grunts in my ear. “No, you fucking traitor. This isn’t your choice to make. She belongs to the elders, not a bunch of elitist monsters who want her to drop to her knees and bow down to their every desire.”