by S R Watson
“You’re right. And I have work I need to catch up on too. Glad you came by for a fuck-by at least.”
“A fuck-by?” His eyebrows knit in confusion.
“You know … like a drive-by, but with your cock.” I giggle.
“You dirty girl. I must say the potty mouth becomes you,” he teases. “Night, love.”
He goes into the bathroom to turn the shower off before he leaves. I miss his fullness already. I force myself to get out of bed and take that shower that’s been on hold for his sneak fuck attack. Of course there is no more hot water, so a cold shower it is. Nothing can erase this silly grin I’m wearing. I know I need to lighten up and ignore Madison. She wants him, but I’ve had him. And plan to have him over and over again, so she can take a fucking hike. I don’t know what this is between us, but I don’t need a label. All I need are the orgasms he gives me. “Bloodstream” continues to play on repeat, but it definitely takes on a whole new meaning. Elysian is in more than my bloodstream, and I’m no longer denying it.
Chapter Eighteen
Genesis
I startled out of my sleep in a drenching sweat. My bed is soaked, and my body is on fire. I can feel the heat underneath my skin. “Loren,” I choke out.
I don’t know what’s happening to me. I stumble out my bed into the pitch blackness. “Loren,” I call out again, hoarsely. I’m halfway to her bed when she pops up out of her sleep.
“Holy shit! What’s going on?”
She chants a string of words I’ve never heard her use before, but the lights flicker on.
“I can’t breathe,” I flail, grasping at my neck. “It feels like someone is choking me.” Panic begins to set in.
Loren rushes to me and sits me on her bed. “You’re soaking wet. I should get my uncle. Your body is burning up with fever. I thought your body temp was lower than the average human.”
“It is,” I agree between pants for breath. “Elysian is the hot one. Elysian!”
“Elysian, What?” she asks as I jump from her bed.
“We’re connected, remember? I’m not the one being choked … he is. I’m experiencing his stress-induced heat.” I manage to get out the words before I bolt from the room and into the night. The air is crisp around me but does little to cool me down.
Suddenly, I dash—an ability I’ve never been able to bring forth until now. I watch as the buildings begin to blur around me, but somehow, I still know which direction to take to get to his dorm. As I get closer, the invisible hold around my neck loosens, and I can breathe easier. The doors of Wickman’s Hall come upon me fast, and I haven’t given much thought as to how I was going to stop. I brace myself for impact, but instead, I feel a steady vibration pass over me. I open my eyes that I hadn’t realized I closed only to be surprised that I’m on the other side. I’m inside Elysian’s freaking dorms. I don’t have time to be amazed at all this shit I’ve been able to do, though. I need to find him. I know he’s in room 1102, so he has to be on the first floor. I dash for a second time, and I find myself inside his room within seconds. He’s alone other than his roommate in the bed on the opposite side of the room. Then I hear him cry out in the darkness. Only a sliver of light filters through the window, but it’s enough. I go to him just as he tosses and turns, and his body is burning up.
“No,” he yells suddenly.
I grab him, but he bucks me off with so much force that I fly into the air. My back hits the wall over the mini fridge after which point, I slide down the wall and knock down the dishes sitting on them.
“Ah …” I scream out as excruciating pain wracks my body. Tears immediately stream down my face. I can’t move. The pain is relentless, and now my head begins to throb.
“What the fuck?” Brody yells, startled, rushing to turn on the light. He’s a shapeshifter—werewolf.
Now that we’re bathed in light, Elysian sits up in his bed. Confusion blankets his features.
“Genesis?” I’m glad to see that he’s okay, but words fail me. “Babe, what are you doing here?”
He dashes to my side faster than I can blink. The door swings open before I can speak. It’s Mr. Blakey with Loren flanked at his side.
“Is everyone okay in here? Are we alone?” he asks. I have no idea how Loren was able to get him here so fast.
“Okay? Apparently not. I have no idea what the hell is going on,” Brody reacts.
“Me either,” Elysian seconds. “But Genesis is hurt.”
Mr. Blakey takes in the scene of broken dishes and turned over mini fridge around me. He points at the body-sized dent in the drywall.
“What happened there?” he asks, now examining the dent.
“Me,” I whisper between unrelenting pain. “I happened.”
Elysian draws in a sharp breath as he realizes that I hit the wall before landing here. “How? And what are you doing in my room in the middle of the night?”
I try to speak again, but I can’t form the words. Now that the adrenaline is beginning to wear off, the pain is becoming increasingly unbearable. More tears stream down my face.
Mr. Blakey runs a single hand down my body what I’ve come to know as his warlock assessment. “We need to get her to the infirmary now! We’ll figure out what went wrong here later.”
He lifts me into his arms effortlessly and heads out the door, leaving Elysian, Loren, and Brody to follow. We don’t stop until he lays me down on a stretcher in the infirmary. He ominously pulls a curtain around us from overhead.
“Don’t come any closer. You don’t want to see this,” he warns them on the other side of the curtain. Fear rivals the pain. What was he about to do to me that he didn’t want them to witness? “Genesis, listen carefully. You have a severed spinal cord and broke your back at T1. Your spinal cord is unable to heal itself because of the compression against it from the fracture. I need reset it by further fracturing it in the opposite direction. Once the spinal cord is free, it will heal as well as the fractures.”
“Will it hurt?” I ask, scared out my fucking mind.
“I’m afraid so. I could give you something for pain, but like the alcohol, it will slow down your ability to heal yourself.”
“No,” Elysian objects, pushing past the curtain.
“It’s okay. I’ll do whatever needs to be done. Just don’t leave me, okay?”
Sadness reflect in his eyes as his shoulders drop. “I won’t leave you.”
He grabs my hand and squeezes. I nod to let Mr. Blakely know that I’m ready. He gives one last look over at Elysian before he comes to stand at my side. He contorts my body into a fetal position facing him, but I can’t feel anything below my waist. I close my eyes, yet Elysian never lets go of my hand. Mr. Blakely centers his elbow in the middle of my back, and that’s all I’m able to feel before pain, even more excruciating than before, rips through the top half of my body. I scream out in agony, and my eyes shoot open. Elysian visibly tenses, looking more broken than I feel.
“That’s the worst of it,” Mr. Blakely assures.
“Is she going to be okay?” Elysian asks. “I remember having the nightmare. Did I do this?”
“It’s not your fault,” I explain.
“Fuuuuuck!” he yells, letting go of my hand.
“Language, son,” Mr. Blakely warns.
“I’m sorry. It’s just hard to hear that I’ve done this to her for a second time.”
“It wasn’t on purpose, Elysian,” I point out. “You were having a nightmare. When I grabbed for you … you reacted to whatever you were dreaming about. I should have just called out your name to wake you.”
“No. You did nothing wrong. You are not to blame here. How did you even know I was having a nightmare?”
Loren and Brody pull back the curtain. “She woke up in a sweat with a sensation of being choked. She woke me up, and when I felt her, I could feel how hot she was. When I mentioned that it wasn’t like her to be so hot, she realized that she was absorbing whatever you were experiencing. She thought someon
e was here in your dorm choking you.”
All the color drains from his face. “So you came all the way here because you thought someone was harming me?” I nod my affirmation since the pain hasn’t subsided. “And then I break you for your efforts.” He shakes his head in disgust.
“So she was physically hot to the touch?” Mr. Blakely asks Loren.
“Yes,” she confirms.
“Your connection to each other is growing,” Mr. Blakely states. “It’s no longer just sensations shared. You’re affecting each other on a molecular level.”
“I was able to dash here and go through the front door and the door to his room too,” I confess as I grit my teeth through pain.
“She phased? That’s phenomenal. Your powers are definitely growing at an exponential rate that we didn’t calculate.”
“What’s phase?” Elysian inquires.
“Phasing is the ability to vibrate at the same frequency of an object in order to pass through it. Genesis was able to phase through two locked doors. Dashing and phasing are two new powers that manifested for her tonight, not to mention her molecular energy absorbed yours to manifest your heat. It was a beacon to her to signal that you were in trouble,” Mr. Blakely explains.
“But I wasn’t in danger. It was just a nightmare,” he rebuts.
“The threat was real enough to trigger your entangled response. What were you dreaming about?” Mr. Blakely asks.
“It’s a little fuzzy now, but I was at the front of the school. I could see the fountain when suddenly one of the students started choking me. I couldn’t escape his grip no matter how hard I wrestled him. Finally, I managed to come out on top. I was about to land a punch when he morphed into a wolf. I dashed, but I couldn’t shake him. He was gaining on me, and he nearly had me until woke up. That must have been the moment that Genesis grabbed me. I thought it was him—I thought he had caught me. I’m so sorry, Genesis,” Elysian apologizes again.
“It’s okay,” I assure him. “I can finally feel the pain starting to dissipate.”
Mr. Blakely runs a hand along my body once again. “You’re healing,” he confirms. “This is neither of your faults. Something between you two has definitely evolved, and it’s going to take more observation and caution as things progress even more. This a new phenomenon for us all since we’ve never had any half gods at our academy. You two are the learning curve.”
“What happens now?” Loren asks.
“For now, Genesis will stay the night here to rest under observation. We will run labs in the morning to see if your baselines have changed,” he says, looking back and forth between Elysian and I. “I don’t know why you had a dream about a shapeshifter attack, but we’ll dig more into it in the morning. You’re both safe, and that’s what matters.”
“I’m not leaving her,” Elysian insists as he pull a chair from the corner next to my stretcher.
“Didn’t think you were, Mr. Remis. I’ll let your professors know that you’re excused from your classes tomorrow for a thorough workup.” He turns to Loren and Brody. “The two of you are not excused, so get back to your dorms,” he says to Loren and Brody. “Thank you for calling me, Loren.”
He gives us a wave as we watch his retreating back. I have no doubt he is sending another staff member in to observe me for the night. Loren kisses her hand and presses it against my cheek.
“You’ve had a rough night, babe, but I know you’re in good hands. We’ll talk tomorrow when you’re back to yourself, and I can squeeze you. Come on, Brody. Let’s let them be.”
“See you tomorrow, and we’ll talk,” I agree.
She and Brody leave together, but Elysian pulls his chair closer to my bedside.
“You can’t sleep in that chair,” I tell him. “Why don’t you go to your room and get some rest, and I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Not a chance, babe. I couldn’t possibly sleep with you here like this. What does this all mean? What if we are in danger? What if I had been attacked? You have to promise that if you get that overwhelming feeling again that you won’t come to my aid—that you won’t try to save me.”
“Not a chance, babe,” I retort.
“And that’s what I’m afraid of. I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you again because of me. Seeing you like this is killing me, already. Why do you have to be so stubborn?”
“So if you sensed I was in danger, does that mean you would ignore the sensation?”
“Of course not,” he answers, incredulously.
“Ditto,” I shoot back. He lets out an exasperated breath. “I have your back the same way you have mine. We’re entangled for a reason, so you’re stuck with me.”
He rubs the back of my hand but finally acquiesces. He puts his head down on the rail of the stretcher, and I close my eyes. I hear when someone joins us for a night of observation duty, but neither of us gives them an acknowledgment. As the pain fades, I succumb to the blackness behind my eyelids. I can sleep now knowing that the man slowly taking possession of my heart is safe.
Chapter Nineteen
Elysian
Walking across the courtyard, I shield my eyes to filter out some of the morning light. I left Genesis sound asleep back at the infirmary since we only have a couple more hours before we meet with Mr. Blakey and Professor Winters to discuss last night’s ordeal. As I approach the fountain, it gives me pause. This is where all the chaos unfolded in my dream. The hairs on my arm prickle, and a lump forms in my throat. An ominous feeling creeps over me, and my feet become lead. I take in my surroundings, immediately becoming on guard. Nothing. I blow out a breath of ease in reprieve, but it’s short-lived. I feel him before my eyes ever lay eyes on him. Our gaze locks. Tall, blonde, and ordinary. This guy doesn’t look like a physical threat; however, I’m not fooled. This isn’t my first time to see him. I remember very vividly how our interaction progressed. His affect and clothes are identical to our last meeting. This can’t be simply a coincidence. His eyes never leave mine—as if he’s calculating his next move.
Do I let him make that move or do I go on the offense? Students pass by, unaware of the danger in their midst. Time is ticking, the opportunity for the element of surprise running out.
“Can I help you?” the blonde guys ask, challengingly. “Why are you just staring at me?”
“Just trying to get by, man. You stopped first, so I followed suit.”
“Well, you were in my way. I’m waiting for you to move.”
I look him up and down. I could easily bench press this kid, but if my dream last night was indeed a foreshadow, I know that his appearance is a disguise. I need to get back to Genesis, so if giving this dipshit a pass is what it takes, then I will step aside. I take two steps to the left, intent on avoiding engagement, but it’s futile. This ordinary asshat clotheslines me before I make a third step, and now, I’m lying with my back on the ground.
“Too late. I’m sorry, but you don’t get a second chance. Word around campus is that you’re a demigod. I think you need a little introduction to your place here. There’s only room for one alpha here.”
“What the …?”
I attempt to get up and unleash the powers I’ve learned to access on this moron. I’ve seen the future, so I know my wrestling moves won’t be enough. He’s quick, though. He descends upon me within seconds, still in his human form. I tap into the strength that I possess and use both hands to shove at the center of his chest. He flies, transitioning midair. I dash before his wolf form can touch the ground. He never stood a chance to catch me. Vampires are faster than wolves, and I’m even faster. I dash into the infirmary, grab Genesis with one swipe, and continue my speed to Mr. Blakely’s office. He startles at the intrusion. He and Professor Winters are already in discussion.
“Elysian?” Mr. Blakey asks, confused. We have another hour before we were supposed to meet.
“It wasn’t a dream,” I rush out as I set Genesis on her feet. “It was a precognition.”
I start from the beginning. I tell him about the incident in the courtyard by the fountain—how the guy was exactly how I remember him from the dream. I describe in detail what this douchebag looks like. I had the advantage because I knew he would shapeshift into a wolf, so I was able to avoid the physical assault that I knew was coming.
“Oh, dear. We need to review the campus footage to see who this student is,” Professor Winters says.
“That’s not all. He said that everyone knew that I was a demigod, and that I needed a lesson on my place because there is only room for one alpha.”
“I’ll send for Jason. He is the known alpha of the wolves here. His appearance isn’t as you’ve described, but I bet he’ll knows who we’re looking for,” Mr. Blakely ponders. He wastes no time making a call.
“How are you feeling today, Genesis?” Professor Winters asks. With how fast everything happened, I didn’t even take a second to assess that she was healed. She walks over to window to pull the curtain back, so I guess we have our answer.
“Physically, I’m fine. Nothing hurts. It’s still miraculous that I can heal myself this quickly.” She peers out the window, on edge. I can sense her tension. “Mentally, I’m alarmed and unprepared. The word is out on what we are. How many other students are going to come for us? Are we safe here?”
“I can assure you that you are. We will get to the bottom of this … today! This academy is a haven for our students while they learn to control their abilities. There is zero tolerance for those who pose any threat or compromise our mission,” Mr. Blakely snaps. “Jason is on the way.”
“Our powers are growing, but I’d feel a lot better if I knew how to readily access them. Last night I was able to phase and dash, but I have no clue how to do it again. How can I feel confident that I can protect myself … protect us, if I can’t unleash my powers at will?”