by Coralee June
I eyed the wall of oversized, built-in, metal cabinets as Hyde walked over to them. When he snapped open the clasp and pulled it open, my mouth dropped open in shock. “Wait...Tell me that’s not…”
I didn’t even have to finish my sentence because, yep, that was definitely a drawerful of one very dead corpse. My eyes widened in horror as realization dawned. Every metal cabinet was probably filled with more corpses in this makeshift morgue.
“We’re in a necromancer classroom, aren’t we?”
Hyde brushed back his white hair. “Where else would I get a fresh corpse?”
“Right. How stupid of me,” I said dryly.
Yanking open several more doors, he looked at me from over his shoulder. “Well, don’t just stand there. Help roll out the cadavers.”
I didn’t care how hot the dude was, that was not something every girl wanted to hear.
I took a deep breath and walked over, grabbed hold of the cold metal handle, and pulled. I kept my eyes averted, only glancing quickly down at the body bag before moving on to the next drawer. The next three were considerably smaller bags in varying arrangements, obviously animals of some kind.
As soon as we had all the drawers opened, Hyde put his hands up, and red magic flowed out of his palms. It poured out of him, sweeping straight to the dead bodies.
After a few minutes, he managed to resurrect every single body, and soon, zombies were unzipping their body bags from the inside, while the animals were using their claws or snouts to pop them open.
I blinked at the motley crew of undead as they gathered around us. A human granny wearing a paisley muumuu, an overweight dude with tobacco stains on his teeth, and a collection of animals, from an antlered reindeer and a bear cub to a chipmunk and a lounge of lizards. They were all completely zombified, all blank stares and jerky movements.
“I probably should’ve asked this before, but why did you just resurrect two dozen dead bodies?”
Hyde scoffed. “Like I’d ruin the surprise.”
He patted the dead dude on the shoulder, making his collarbone pop through his skin. “Huh. He must’ve been deader than I realized,” he said conversationally.
A snort escaped my throat before I could stop it. “Necro problems.”
“Indeed,” he agreed seriously. “Come on,” he said, turning on his heel. “My magic won’t last long with this many, and we have a ways to go.”
“Umm, seriously, where are we going with all these...things? Someone is going to notice!”
“Stop trying to ruin the surprise.”
He made his way across the classroom, holding the door open, and the zombies filed out in a perfect line. “Hold hands, children. We don’t want to lose anyone!” He called over his shoulder at them before snaking his fingers through mine. I glanced back at them, and sure enough, they gingerly held hands, their vacant eyes staring straight ahead. They were very well behaved.
We passed the buzzing cafeteria, another hallway of shifter classrooms, and went all the way up two flights of stairs to Headmaster Torne’s office. Once I realized where we were, I tried to tug my hand free of Hyde’s, but his grip stayed firm. “What are we doing here?” I hissed.
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid to get caught?” he replied in a louder voice than I was comfortable with. I snapped my head around to check and make sure there wasn’t anyone nearby.
“You realize they’re just looking for an excuse to kick me out, right?” I asked, though adrenaline flooded me from my risk demon cravings. “You’re probably tricking me! You suggested to the other paragons to get me caught up in shit so that the headmaster could kick me out!” I whisper-yelled.
Hyde blinked. “I suggested that before I met you.”
I scoffed. “So?”
“So...I don’t want you to get kicked out anymore.”
My mouth dropped open in shock. Hyde had never really been awful to me, but I didn’t think he thought about me differently than the other paragons. “Wait...what?”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “Stay here with the corpses. I’m just going to grab something real quick.” And with that, Hyde snuck into Headmaster Torne’s office.
I breathed out a sigh of frustration. “Can you believe this guy?” I asked the zombies incredulously. They were all still holding hands, just staring at the wall. The dude beside me had a string of drool running down his lip. “Great. Now I’m talking to not-dead dead people,” I grumbled. I wrinkled my nose. “You guys stink.”
I heard rustling on the other side of the door and held my breath while Hyde did...well, whatever it was that Hyde was doing. I had half a mind to leave him there. I didn’t want to be caught by the headmaster. Just as I’d gotten the sense to ditch this scene, the door opened and Hyde appeared with a...guitar? What the actual fuck?
“Did you know he plays?”
I stared at him with disbelief. “Plays what?”
“The guitar, silly,” he answered before strolling past me and back toward the staircase where we just were. “And they call me unobservant, ha!”
Now I was really curious. “What are you doing with Headmaster Torne’s guitar?” I asked while catching up. The zombies dutifully followed.
Hyde started tuning the strings by ear, adjusting the tone as he hummed along. Once we got to the bottom step, he answered me. “Well, we can’t have a concert without an instrument,” he answered before rolling his eyes.
“A concert?”
“Do you always ask a lot of questions?”
“Do you ever really answer them?”
“Touché, Void.”
He continued to lead his little parade until we were outside, the cool, Washington air brushed our skin as he started strumming a tune I recognized. It was catchy and upbeat. “Now the first rule of necromancy,” he began once we got to the gazebo where Banner and I had practiced unleashing my Void. “Never disrespect the dead. Making them live out your boyband fantasies is a definite no-no,” he instructed. He did some weird wrist flick, pouring out more red magic, and the zombies lined up and started synchronized dancing as he played the guitar. “But zombie river dancing is acceptable.”
“Oh. My. Gods.” My mouth dropped open in shock as the bulky zombie dude started to clap his hands in time to the music. Hyde’s voice sang the lyrics embarrassingly off-key. The zombies were slowed down and off beat, the movements sluggish and disjointed, and their river dancing was terrible. But it was fucking hysterical.
One of the zombies did a little spin before dropping into the splits, and I grimaced at the sound of breaking bones and tearing muscle. Once he crawled himself back up into a standing position, he started limping from side to side with the music, shaking his hips. Even the animals were dancing, twitching their tails, clapping their paws, bobbing their furry little heads. It was...well, it was weird as fuck. But it was fun, too.
Hyde started picking the strings while biting his lip, spreading his stance wide while he rotated his arm and nodded his head. “You gonna dance, Void? This is better than that damn ball they made us attend.”
Hyde set down his guitar and moved over to me, continuing to belt out whatever song he was singing. I was pretty sure it was something from the ghoul band that was popular in the super world. As soon as he got in front of me, he grabbed my hands and spun me around. My ankles crossed, and I felt myself falling, but his arms wrapped around my waist to stop me, and then pulled me closer to him instead. “You’re terribly uncoordinated. This didn’t go nearly how I envisioned it.”
“Sorry to be a disappointment,” I joked while looking him in his silver eyes. Up close, I could see how his nose was slightly crooked and his teeth were straight. I watched, captivated, as his pink tongue flicked out to taste his bottom lip. I couldn’t stop thinking about how he said he didn’t want me gone. Had he been telling the truth?
“You’re crazy, necromancer,” I whispered just as the zombies dropped with a thud on the grass, making me jump at the dull sound. All life had fled their bo
dies. We were surrounded by dead-again corpses, Hyde was still humming and attempting to make me dance, and all I wanted to do was kiss his full lips.
“There’s that smile,” he said in a whisper. “I know the idiots of this school haven’t been welcoming, but I happen to like having you around for some reason.” I scrunched my nose up at his choice of words but didn’t comment on it. Was he like Render? Regretfully drawn to me for some inexplicable reason? “Don’t look so upset,” he added, like he could read my thoughts. “What I mean is, I don’t like anyone. The dead are much more fun to be around. Unlike the other paragons, I happen to think this school could be good for you.”
“Why aren’t you scared of me?” I asked.
“What’s there to be afraid of?”
I was starting to realize that Hyde liked to answer my questions with even more questions.
“Aren’t you worried I’ll take your powers?” I pushed. I needed to understand his motives; were the guys trying some good cop, bad cop routine?
“You can never really steal death from a person, Devicka. It’s an inevitable part of us all, regardless of immortality.”
His words made me pause. He had a different view of the world. “Okay.”
“I drop a philosophical bombshell in your lap, and you reply with okay? I’m pulling out all the stops here. A little swooning would be appreciated.” He chuckled before running a hand through his white hair.
In that moment, my heart swelled. Hyde wanted to make me swoon?
Before I could stop it, I found myself lifting up onto my tiptoes. Then I was leaning in, brushing my lips against his. I’d been with guys before, but this was different, I had the fear of rejection heavy on my back. When my lips touched his, he froze, not moving. Feeling embarrassed and awkward, I quickly pulled away.
“I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t ha—”
My words were cut off when Hyde grabbed my cheeks and slammed his lips to mine. I was so shocked that I didn’t move for a second, but then I gasped in his mouth, my eyes fluttering closed, and he consumed me. His sweeping tongue tasted like the syrup from breakfast, a hint of orange juice still on his lips. He let out a pleasant hum as we kissed, his chest vibrating as he threaded his hands through my hair and pressed his other hand lower down my back.
My heart beat faster and faster as we licked and sucked and tasted each other. I had never felt more alive. It was like all the destructive things I felt about myself were starting to fade away, leaving me with confidence and desire. I could feel how much he wanted me, and it reminded me of how Render had had that same thirst. Gritt, too, when I’d fed from him. These paragons...they left me a jumbled mess of emotions while my body thrived from every connection.
His teeth nipped my upper lip, and he tugged slightly before drifting his hand to find the curve of my ass. Squeezing with his long fingers, he yanked me even closer to his towering body. I could feel his hardness pressing against my stomach through the thickness of his uniform pants, and I lifted a leg up, wrapping my body even more around him.
The movement must have caught him off guard, because he pulled back, leaving us both panting. He stared down at me, looking almost surprised at how caught up we’d been. He leaned down, pressing his lips against my forehead before releasing me. “I’ve never been much of an exhibitionist, Devicka,” he whispered over my skin, and I looked up at him in confusion.
“What?”
Pulling back, he smiled at me before gesturing over his shoulder where the corpses still were. “I mean, I’m down to try anything once, I just don’t think I want the dead hearing you scream my name. And if we don’t stop this now, that’s exactly what will happen.” I tilted my head back and laughed at his serious expression before lifting up to kiss his chin.
“So you’ll make them dance to your terrible singing, but public orgasms are off the table?”
He laughed and then pulled away even further, adjusting his pants as he did. “Let’s get them back before anyone notices, yes?”
“Just please don’t make them dance again. They were awful at it. Your singing could use some work, too,” I smirked.
Hyde clutched his chest in mock outrage. “You wound me, Void.”
“You make me laugh, necromancer.”
“Good. Told you I’d get you to have some fun. I knew you could use more of that in your life.”
“You were right. I never knew hanging out with corpses would be so awesome.”
He grinned. “Stick with me, babe, and you’ll learn.”
Chapter 13
“I need the feral cabin for the night,” a stern voice called out from the shadows of my cabin the moment I opened the door to my shack. I jumped in surprise at the voice, but inwardly kicked myself at my transparent reaction.
I was exhausted. I’d spent all day dodging angry paragons and cruel students, trying to catch up in classes that made an example out of me, or I had to wait in the hall, listening from outside the door, since some of the teachers flat-out refused to allow me inside.
After a week of torture, I just wanted to rest and call Reed. I seriously needed a fucking cell phone. He must be worried sick. I even tried to ask someone if I could borrow theirs yesterday, I’d been so damn desperate. The dude had looked at me like I had three heads before scurrying away from me. I was about to break into one of the teacher’s staff rooms and use one of their phones if I couldn’t figure out something else.
But now, when all I wanted to do was talk to a real friend and relax in bed, I had a freaking intruder in my cabin.
I sighed and shut the door behind me. “Gritt. I’m exhausted and need to sleep. Can’t we play your games another time?” I asked, walking over to my bed and sitting down.
Gritt straightened up from where he was perched on my desk. “This isn’t a game, Void. One of my unbonded bobcat shifters is in heat. She needs to stay here, or she’ll drive all the other shifters crazy.” He looked around the cabin before kicking at the chains in the ground. A shifter in heat was a force to be reckoned with, it only happened every couple of years, but it was like one giant horny beacon screaming, “FUCK ME PLEASE!”
I could relate to the impulse, not that I was admitting that anytime soon.
“So where do you expect me to sleep? Out in the forest?” I asked, crossing my arms. I stood up and started rolling up my blankets, already knowing the answer to that. I’d been camping in the past; maybe I could make a tent and stare at the stars all night. At least I could escape the smell of this moldy cabin. Cheddar jumped from his spot on my pillow and ran down the comforter to get out of my way, brushing my ankle in greeting before heading over to Gritt, who looked scared to death of the undead rat.
“What the fuck is that?” he asked, backing up a step. I had to stifle a laugh.
“My pet rat. His name is Cheddar. Is one of your animals an elephant? I’ve heard they’re afraid of mice,” I joked while grabbing a plastic sack to stuff my outfits in.
“I’ve never heard that. And I don’t fear rats, Void,” Gritt said on an exhale before cautiously stepping back to where he’d been. I laughed again, earning a glower from Gritt. “What are you doing?” he asked as I grabbed my things and headed toward the door.
“What does it look like? You’re kicking me out of the cabin, so I’m going to find a place to sleep for the night,” I answered. There was a slight bite to my tone as I spoke. If he wanted to make me leave, then I wasn’t going to be pleasant about it.
“Teacher Selik isn’t here right now,” Gritt snapped, and I had to stop to gawk at him.
“I’m not running to Banner’s room,” I replied with an eye roll, deciding not to mention that we hadn’t even spoken very much lately. “I’m just going to set up camp somewhere outside.”
Gritt scoffed. “Over my dead fucking body,” he said while standing up, making Cheddar run to the makeshift bed I’d made for him out of an old box I’d found. Smart rat.
I cocked a blonde brow. “Careful, Gritt, you’re starting to sou
nd like you care about me.” I watched as he carefully maneuvered around Cheddar’s home before storming toward me.
“Stop being a fucking martyr, it’s unattractive. We wouldn’t make you sleep outside.”
“Really?” I asked, dropping my blankets and clothes and poking his chest with my index finger. “Because the kitchen staff won’t give me real food. The students keep threatening me, and all my teachers keep kicking me out of class. So excuse me if I expect to get kicked to the curb and have to fend for myself. It’s not like I had a real place to stay anyways. You do realize that this cabin is barely habitable, right?”
Gritt had the decency to look a little ashamed, but the flash of pity on his face disappeared as soon as it came. “Maybe you should start fighting back,” he grumbled.
“And become what everyone accuses me of being? Give Headmaster Torne an excuse to kick me out?” I shook my head. “Nice try, asshole. You can’t get rid of me with mind games,” I said before turning to walk away.
“For fuck’s sake!” Gritt yelled, reaching out to stop me by grabbing both my hips, keeping me steady in his hands. “I’m not trying to...gods, you’re infuriating.” Gritt closed his eyes and started whispering to himself, something about a fucking mate bond and camping outside, exposed to the elements. “I’m just saying that you’re obviously resourceful and smart. Find ways around it all. Stand up for yourself.”
I looked down at his large, rough hands where they grabbed me. He was so masculine and fierce, and there was a possessive gleam in his eye that I wanted to wrap myself in. I knew that the mate bond was driving his protective instincts, but instead of fighting it, I wished that he would be okay with this bond. I wished that he would accept me.
“You’ve really got to figure out what you want, Gritt. One second you’re threatening me, and the next you’re acting like you care. This is all crazy.”