Hannah will eventually have to choose one of us to marry, and we all know it will be me. It didn’t bother me so much at first because it saw it as fulfilling an obligation. I never thought that I’d be capable of love, so I wouldn’t be missing out on anything by marrying Hannah.
Now that I know what it feels like to love Eve, it’s undeniable that I’m sacrificing everything. Seeing Eve every day, knowing that I can’t be with her, is going to be the worst kind of torture. There’s no way around it, though.
I popped back into my dorm and immediately felt a strain on the connection between Eve and me. It’s almost impossible to focus on anything else other than her sadness and the physical distance between us.
All I want to do was go back to the warehouse and wrap her up in my arms. My hydra is on board with that idea. He doesn’t understand why I’m putting distance between Eve and me.
After a quick shower, I looked through my texts. I needed to know what was said when Gabriel managed my phone. I have to hand it to him; he did a good job pretending to be me. He made up some story about how I was helping with Eve’s investigation, and Michael invited me to a training session.
Since I was on my phone anyway, I texted Cerberus to see how Eve was doing. I wanted to check on her myself, but I need to give her space. Space will be good for me too.
I guess it’s about time I show my face, so I headed into the common room. Miles smiled and squeezed my shoulder. “Thank gods, you’re back. We were getting worried about you, brother. How’s Evelyn? Is she okay?”
I glanced at my phone to see if Cerberus responded. Of course, he didn’t reply yet. I quickly shot off another text to him before turning toward Miles.
“Yeah, she’s okay. I’m just pissed off that it happened on our campus right in front of us. How have things been here?”
I need to steer this conversation away from Eve before I end up triggering the geas. They all exchanged a look, which put me even more on edge than I already was. “Spit it out.”
Emmett let out a frustrated breath. “Hannah has been on a fucking warpath. She’s been showing up here nonstop demanding to know what’s going on with you.”
Why am I not surprised that she’s been stalking my room? Just then, a knock sounded at the door. You have to be kidding me. My hydra gave me his version of an eye roll.
I leaned my head back and looked up to the ceiling. I can’t catch a break. I’m exhausted, and the last thing I need is to listen to Hannah bitch.
“It’s open!” Cade called out. Hannah walked in as if she owned the place. Her eyes narrowed as she looked me over. “Can we go to your room and talk, Locke?” I gave her a nod as she stormed by me.
I followed Hannah into my room and leaned against the closed door. “Where have you been? You barely replied to my texts, and you never answered any of my calls. You can’t just ghost me, Locke!”
My hydra was begging to torch this girl. “I was helping Archangel Michael and trained with some of his warriors. I couldn’t be glued to my phone.”
Hannah flipped her hair over her shoulder and made herself comfortable on my bed. “I should be your priority. Not some girl who can’t hold her liquor. Where were you, Locke? My Father said that there never was a training.”
Who the Hell made this girl my keeper? I don’t have time for this shit. Shaking my head, I whipped out my phone. “Who are you calling?”
I arched an eyebrow at her. “Archangel Michael oversaw the training, so I’m going to ask him to fill in your Father.” Jumping up, Hannah knocked my phone out my hand. Is this girl fucking serious?
“You can’t just call a council member, Locke! I’ll have my Father check in with him.” Of course, she will.
“I’m your betrothed, Locke. How do you think it looked when you were taking care of that girl at the party? The girl who I absolutely hate.” Hannah yelled, throwing her hands in the air.
She’s so fucking selfish. I can’t believe this is my future. I narrowed my eyes at her. “Her name is Evelyn, and she was drugged at a party in our territory. We were there, Hannah. It could easily have happened to one of us. I’m going to find out who did this and they will pay.”
Hannah pointed her manicured finger at me. “We will not be dragged into this girl’s drama, Locke. You better drop this now. We have more important things to focus on.” She’s delusional if she thinks that I’m going to ignore what went down at the party.
Hannah slowly moved closer, pressing her body against mine. My hydra growled in my mind. He didn’t like her touching me either.
“Enough about that, I think it’s time to show your girlfriend how much you’ve missed her,” she purred, wrapping her arms around my neck.
Yeah, that’s not going to happen. I pulled her hands off of my neck and looked at my watch. “I have class. You can see yourself out.” I grabbed my backpack from my desk, picked up my phone and got the Hell out of there.
I checked my phone, and I still didn’t have any new messages. I’m going to kill that fucking hellhound. How difficult is it to respond? Maybe I should just go to the warehouse to make sure Eve’s okay. I was just about to shoot off another text when I spotted Cerberus in the quad. I stormed over to him.
“Did something happen? Does she need me?” Cerberus let out a humorless laugh and shoved my shoulder. “You need to calm the fuck down, lizard. You’ve been blowing my phone up all day. Eve is hanging in there. She's upset over your sorry ass, but she’s fine.”
I ran my hands over my face in frustration. “I don’t want Eve to be upset. When is she coming back to school?” I asked. He shrugged his shoulders.
“She’ll probably be back tomorrow. Just stay calm in the meantime, and don’t burn the campus to the ground. Oh, Eve’s dad wants you to text him if you need to talk. I’ll text you his number.” He was gone before I could reply.
I sat through two classes but didn't listen to anything the professors said. My mind kept wandering to Eve. As if they could sense my mood, everyone averted their eyes as I walked into the gym. Some of Hannah’s friends tried to approach me, but I just ignored them like I usually do. They’re probably keeping tabs on me for Hannah anyway.
I changed in the locker room and headed for an open treadmill. I need to work off my frustration, so I put on my earbuds and tuned everything out around me. I’m not sure how long I was running before Emmett came into my line of vision. Slowing down, I pulled out my earbuds. “You can’t hide in here forever, man. Go shower. We’re grabbing dinner off-campus.”
I met my brothers on the quad, and we walked to a nearby restaurant. “Big mistake leaving Hannah alone in your room, Locke. It’s probably trashed,” Cade snickered. I shook my head.
“Nah, she was probably just going through my stuff. You should have heard her bitching today. Something is seriously wrong with that girl,” I said. My stomach growled as we walked into the restaurant. A hostess led us over to our usual booth in the back.
I took a seat next to Miles, who gave me a sympathetic smile. “You know she’ll be gunning for Eve once she’s back at school. Hannah’s convinced that there’s something between you two.”
I shrugged. I don’t want to lie to my friends, but I can’t tell them how I felt about Eve. I don’t want them to feel guiltier than they already do for letting me get saddled with Hannah.
Cade sighed. “Listen. You don’t have to say anything, but I’ll only give Eve shit in front of Hannah. I know I lost my cool with her before, but it was just because Hannah was on my case about dating one of her friends.”
I didn’t respond to Cade because we already had words about that night. By “words,” I mean that I beat the shit out of him.
“Maybe you should tell Hannah to fuck off and give things a shot with Eve? It’s pretty obvious that you caught feelings,” Emmett suggested with a smirk.
What I’d give to be a selfish prick and take his advice. I can’t do that to them, though. “Nah, it’s not like that. Nothing has changed.” The lie taste
d bitter on my tongue.
We finished eating and went back to campus. We were chilling in the common room when I felt a wave of fear run through me. I immediately knew something was happening to Eve.
Without an explanation, I popped out of the room. I stormed into the warehouse in my hydra form, ready to obliterate anyone who dared to harm her. My hydra scanned the area for the threat, but only saw the stunned faces of Eve’s family.
I shifted back once I was satisfied that she was safe. I climbed into the bed and wrapped my arms around her. All of the tension that I was feeling subsided as she fell asleep on my chest. My eyes focused on Abaddon as he slowly approached. He looked pissed.
“Care to explain what just happened? She was sound asleep, Locke.” I kissed the top of her head and continued sending her calming thoughts through our connection.
“She wasn’t sleeping, Abaddon. She was lost in her thoughts and having a panic attack. All I could feel was her fear. Let me just lay with her until she falls into a deep sleep.”
His face paled. He was visibly upset. “Thank you for being there for Evelyn. Stay as long as you’d like.” Abaddon looked like he wanted to say more, but he snapped his mouth shut. Shaking his head, he walked back to the other guys.
I got little to no sleep, but it was well worth it. As much as I wanted to stay, I couldn’t be here when Eve woke up. It wouldn’t be fair to either of us. With that thought in mind, I kissed the top of Eve’s head and popped back to my dorm.
15
Eve
It took about two minutes for Penny to show up at my door after I sent a text to her and Jacob. I lost my balance as she launched herself at me, making us fall to the floor. I couldn’t stop laughing. This girl is nuts.
“Oh my hellfire! I missed you so freaking much, Eve. How are you? Are you feeling better? Oh no! Did I hurt you?”
That made me laugh even harder. She’s so tiny. “I’m totally fine, Penny. I missed you too.”
My grin widened as Jacob walked in. I jumped up and gave him a big hug. I missed my friends. “You had me so worried, Eve. Thank Heavens, you’re okay.” He locked his arms around me and buried his face in my hair.
I pulled back from the embrace and smiled up at him. “I was about to watch a movie. Do you guys want to stay?” I really don’t want to be alone right now. “Like you could get rid of us,” Penny scoffed, plopping down on my bed.
Jacob put on Netflix and started scrolling through the movies. “Avengers or Batman?” he asked. I’m a Marvel girl through and through, but the Norse god is way too reminiscent of a certain someone. “Batman.”
We squeezed on my bed and watched the movie in comfortable silence. My stomach started growling as the movie wrapped up, which made Penny crack up. “I would ask if you wanted to get some food, but I think your stomach just gave me your answer.”
I threw one of my pillows at her and stood up. “Let me just change quickly.” I grabbed some clothes and walked into the bathroom. After brushing my hair, I put on a royal blue tee and yoga pants.
I gave myself one last look in the mirror before joining my friends. “I’m ready if you guys are,” I called out, I slipping on a pair of sneakers. They nodded, and we walked over to the dining hall.
I was shocked to see the dining hall so crowded, but then I remembered that it closes early on the weekend. Craving some comfort food, I grabbed a grilled cheese and tomato soup. I put my tray down on the table when someone wrapped their arms around me from behind.
Fear coursed through me. I went completely still as hellfire encased my entire body. The person immediately took their hands off of me.
“Are you a fucking idiot? You don’t sneak up on someone like that,” an angry voice boomed. I felt a hand touch my hellfire covered arm, and a shiver ran through my body. “Locke,” I whispered his name like a prayer.
“You’re fine, little hellion. It was just the incubus. Try to pull back the flames.” Shoot, I really messed up. I nodded my head and willed my hellfire away. Locke already walked away before I could thank him.
I pasted on a smile and turned toward Nick, who was visibly upset. Thank goodness Angelica already healed his hands. “I’m glad I didn’t completely barbecue you, Nick.” I gave him a quick hug.
I could tell that he was about to apologize, so I immediately cut him off. “Nick, it’s not a big deal at all. Just forget about it.” He nodded his head and pulled my seat out for me.
A bunch of people stopped by our table to see how I was doing. It was nice of them, but it was getting really annoying. I don’t know how many times I could slap on a fake smile and say, “I’m totally fine. You know how overprotective dads can be, but thanks for asking!” I felt like a broken record.
Nick was about to ask me another question about last week when Jacob suddenly spoke up. “Head back with me, Eve. You need to finish your Demonic History paper.” I looked at him with confusion but didn’t ask any questions.
Jacob grabbed my hand and was practically dragging me out of the dining hall. I was about to yell something over my shoulder to Penny when I saw it. Hannah was sitting on Locke’s lap. She was running her fingers through his blonde hair and kissing his beautiful mouth.
Nothing could have prepared me for the pain that I felt in that moment. I have to push these feelings aside. Locke deserves happiness.
He drew back from her kiss and made eye contact with me. I need to get out of here. Jacob squeezed my hand. “I got you. Let’s go.”
Jacob kept me company for a while but eventually left to finish his homework. I sat down at my desk and thought about my Demonic History assignment. The professor asked the class to give our interpretation of the prophecy.
I was almost finished with the assignment but decided to start over given recent events. Thankfully, rewriting my interpretation was pretty easy. It was short and sweet. After one more read through, I was satisfied with my response.
Whenever I thought about the prophecy in the past, I always assumed that the princess’s birth was simply a means to an end. It was foretold that the title of True King wasn’t something that could be won through death and war. The title would instead be revealed through life, with one of the kings fathering a female heir. I shortsightedly believed that the princess’s role in the prophecy was completed once she was born. I don’t think that’s the case any longer. She must have been born for a reason. No matter what the princess’s true purpose may be, I hope that she paves her way by staying true to herself. For Hell, I hope she guides. For Heaven, I hope she touches. For Terra, I hope she connects.
It was still reasonably early, so I decided to text my dad and Ab. I picked up my phone and realized that it had been off all day. Ugh! The guys must be freaking out. Actually, I’m pretty surprised that no one showed up already.
I turned on my phone and groaned. I had forty-six new texts, and my voicemail was full. I quickly sent a group text to the guys.
Me: I’m so sorry! Bad news - My phone was off all day. Good news - I’m alive.
Dad: I was about two-seconds from showing up in your room. Keep your phone on, or I’m putting a tracking rune on you.
Ab: Forget to turn your phone on again, and you’ll have a permanent shadow on campus. I’ll make sure he’s a scary one too.
Me: I’m not getting any GPS runes, and I’m definitely not walking around with some ugly bodyguard. You guys promised.
Gabe: What about a hot bodyguard? How about that fallen watcher you lost your v-card to?
Dad: What’s a v-card, and do you need a new one?
Me: FML. Seriously, Gabe?
Ceb: HAHAHAHA
Ab: I need a name.
Me: *rolling my eyes*
Uri: I thought that you had a thing for the dragon? When did you have time to hook up with an angel?
Ceb: It was last year.
Gabe: Do you seriously think the dragon would allow that to go down now?
Dad: Are they saying what I think they’re saying?
M
e: I’m going to kill you both very slowly.
Raphael: I left you tea and vitamins that help with anxiety on your vanity. Drink the tea before bed and take the vitamin after breakfast.
Gabe: You should have just left her some pot brownies.
Uncle Mikey: I think we heard enough from you tonight, Gabe.
Ceb: Text that oversized lizard back before I throw my phone in the River Styx.
Me: I’m going to drink some of Raphael’s pot tea and head to bed. Love you guys.
I deleted any unread texts from the guys and saw that I had a text from an unknown number. It’s most likely from Locke. Why did Cerberus have to give him my number? Part of me was tempted to look at Locke’s message, but I think I’ve had enough torture for one day. Delete.
I made a cup of Raphael’s pot tea and changed into my pajamas. I’m hoping that my teachers don’t flip out because of my absences last week. Jacob was awesome and collected most of my assignments. I haven’t even looked them over, though.
Basically, I’m screwed if we have a quiz on anything tomorrow. Oh well, I guess that will be future Eve’s problem. After finishing my tea, I brushed my teeth and practically fell into bed.
Unlocked (Hell's Throne Book 1) Page 8