Zodiac Academy 3: The Reckoning: An Academy Bully Romance (Supernatural Bullies and Beasts)

by Caroline Peckham

I pressed my magic into her body, expecting the fight she’d put up when we trained together but to my surprise, her power welcomed mine like greeting an old friend. The surge of excited energy I felt when power sharing with her zipped through me but this was even more intense than usual because she wanted it. On some base level, at this moment in time, she fully trusted me.

  I tried not to focus on how good that felt and shifted my attention to helping her reshape her magic instead. I had to fight to pull her away from her water magic which clearly wasn’t helping anything right now but she started to writhe in my arms, looking for an outlet for this panic that gripped her.

  My natural inclination was to encourage her towards fire but if she managed to overwhelm my control with that Element then it could be disastrous. I’d had a little practice with the other Heirs in power sharing and had managed to help them wield the Elements I didn’t possess more than once even though it wasn’t as easy. Essentially as I wasn’t the one shaping the power, it was doable, so all I had to do was encourage her towards it. I decided that Earth magic was probably the safest bet while she was so out of control and fought to push her towards that.

  My grip on her tightened and I ground my teeth as I twisted my power in the unnatural direction but all of a sudden, Roxy grabbed onto my suggestion and I felt the magic flooding from her.

  I opened my eyes, glancing around to find the entire Orb springing to life with flowers of every colour imaginable.

  I kept my leash on her magic intact as she slowly relaxed in my arms and released a juddering sob. She pressed her face to my chest and my heart leapt a little as she leaned into me like I was someone who could protect her.

  Once she relaxed completely, the flood of magic stopped pouring from her and I pulled my own power back, releasing her hand.

  Her hand shot out and caught my arm, her fingers gripping my bicep as I tried to pull away.

  “Don’t leave me,” she begged and I cleared my throat as I looked down at her.

  Her eyes were still closed and she was pretty much unconscious. I very much doubted she had any idea who was holding her. If she did she would likely be telling me to get the hell off of her. But she asked me not to leave and I found that I didn’t want to. Besides, she’d only had that nightmare because of what me and Max had done to her in that swimming pool. So maybe I owed her my help with this if that’s what she wanted.

  “I won’t,” I replied as I shifted her against my chest and scooped her into my arms.

  I stood and headed for the exit. The Orb was absolutely filled with ice and flowers and I guessed that the faculty wouldn’t be overly impressed when they had to come and clean it up tomorrow so I couldn’t just leave her here to get caught. Besides, she’d be easy prey for a Nymph in this state too and even with the extra security in place after the attack we couldn’t be sure one wouldn’t slip past the defences. I hadn’t spent the last few weeks trailing her around campus to protect her from them just to quit now and leave her vulnerable. If the Nymphs managed to get hold of a power like hers it could be disastrous. And that was the only reason I’d admit to for getting her out of here. The way my heart was beating as I held her close had nothing to do with it.

  Her friends had been forced to retreat all the way to the door by the onslaught of magic but they moved forward as they saw she was alright.

  “I can take her now,” the boy said firmly.

  I eyed his scrawny arms and raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief. There was no way in hell he’d be able to carry her any distance.

  “Not necessary,” I replied dismissively. “I’ll take her back to our House. You’re not even from Ignis anyway so why don’t you trot along home?”

  I made a move to pass them but Sofia stepped into my way, squaring her shoulders as she prepared to argue with me. I vaguely knew her from around the House and seeing her with the Vegas but her power was practically irrelevant to me so I’d never paid her much attention. She was also barely over five foot tall which meant I was looking down on her by over a foot and a half but she still didn’t back down.

  “Thank you for your help but Tory wouldn’t want you to be holding her like that,” she said firmly. “Diego and I will manage to-”

  “I said I’m taking her back to the House,” I replied flatly. “Diego and you can try to stop me if you think you can.” I snorted dismissively and tried to sidestep her.

  She shifted right back into my way and her skin began to glow a glittery pale pink as her Order tried to push its way from her skin with her anger. She had pretty big balls for a low powered Pegasus, I’d give her that.

  “What is it you think I’m going to do to her?” I asked. “I’m not a goddamn monster.”

  Sofia scowled at me like she didn't agree with that statement and I released a breath of frustration before pushing past her anyway.

  I set a fast pace back towards the House and their footsteps followed close behind me, punctuated with hissed fragments of conversation as they tried to figure out what to do. As we closed in on the glass building, the boy declared that he was going to seek out Darcy and left us, his feet hitting the path at a thumping pace as he ran. I ignored them both and kept going all the way back to the House, taking the stairs two at a time before striding through the common room.

  I received several curious glances as we passed but most people had headed to their rooms already and the look I threw the others was enough to stop them from taking photographs or asking questions.

  I made it to my bedroom door before Sofia caught up to me again and she was even brave enough to grab my arm to halt me.

  “What?” I asked, lacing my voice with a bit of threat.

  Sofia blanched at my tone but didn’t back down and I found myself equally surprised and impressed by the devotion of this nothing little Fae to the girl in my arms.

  “Why are you taking her to your room?” she demanded. “I’ve got her bag right here with her key and-”

  “And while she’s in this state she could lose control again and burn the whole House down,” I replied. “I’ll have to stay with her tonight until she sleeps off the alcohol you watched her consume.” There was more than a hint of accusation in my tone but the girl didn’t even flinch this time.

  “And that’s all you’re going to do?” Sofia demanded. “You’re not going to play some trick on her or hurt her or...” She didn’t finish that accusation but her gaze flickered to the point where my hand was gripping Roxy’s bare thigh as I held her.

  “I’m not a fucking rapist,” I snapped. “I can have any girl I want in my bed any night of the week, why would I want to molest an unconscious one who hates me?”

  Sofia backed off instantly, seeming satisfied by whatever she’d seen in my eyes as her shoulders sagged a little.

  “Okay, I didn’t mean to imply...just...look after her,” she said, frowning at Roxy again with concern as she passed me her bag and backed up.

  I made to turn away from her then an idea occurred to me.

  “Wait…Sofia, right?” I asked, trying to sound vaguely friendly. It wasn’t something I attempted often and the frown she gave me said I was terrible at it.

  “Yes…”

  “I er, have this… cousin. Third cousin actually, who just emerged as a Pegasus…”

  “Good for her. Why are you telling me this?” she asked suspiciously.

  “It’s a him. He’s called…Phillip.”

  “Phillip?” She looked at me like no one in the world was actually called Phillip and I had to admit I’d never met one. Dammit. Why did I pick that fucking name?

  “Yeah. Well, as you can imagine in a family of pure blooded Dragons, Phillip isn’t coping so well with the shame of-”

  “Shame of what?” she asked, a clear challenge in her eyes for me to dare to finish that sentence. And in hindsight implying her Order was shameful probably wasn’t the best way to get her to help me.

  I shifted Roxy in my arms and sighed, wondering if I should just abandon thi
s idea. But this girl had impressed me tonight despite her weakness and I didn’t really have anyone else to ask so I barrelled on.

  “I’ll level with you. Me calling your Order shameful is about the closest to a compliment he’d get from a member of my family on the subject. He’s been locked in his house, hidden away from the world, his father has actually considered killing him to conceal his true nature. He’s…alone. And he could really use someone of his Order to talk to…” My throat felt tight, I didn’t know if this was a terrible idea but Xavier had sounded so broken on the phone earlier, so desperate, I just wanted to try and help him. And maybe having another Pegasus to talk to would help him see some good in what he was.

  Sofia just stared at me and I shook my head, turning back towards my door as Roxy mumbled something against my chest.

  “Forget it,” I muttered, my gut twisting as I failed him again.

  “You know,” Sofia said softly behind me. “Everyone says Darius Acrux is heartless and cold blooded just like the Dragon he turns into. But you’re not, are you?”

  I gave her a flat look over my shoulder but she carried on anyway.

  “You actually give a shit about other people, don’t you? You want to protect them, look after them…” Her gaze fell on the unconscious girl in my arms like that was proof and I growled at her.

  “Is there a point to your inaccurate analysis?”

  Sofia had the nerve to roll her fucking eyes at me. “I’ll message you my number. You can tell Phillip to message me whenever he likes.”

  I raised an eyebrow at her in surprise and she threw a final look at Roxy in my arms before turning and heading away from us.

  I unlocked my door awkwardly while still holding her and headed inside, kicking it closed behind me as I dropped her bag and crossed the wide space towards the bed.

  Roxy’s head lolled back against my shoulder and her hair hung over my arm. She was still soaking wet and I hadn’t realised how much she’d been shivering as I’d walked here but now I could feel the tremors of her body where it was pressed to mine. I quickly used my water magic to pull every bit of moisture from her clothes and hair then pushed some warmth from my body into hers.

  She drifted near to consciousness as she stopped shivering and shifted in my arms, mumbling something incoherent as she pressed her cheek to my chest.

  My heart thumped a little harder than usual and I cleared my throat uncomfortably as I lowered her down onto the bed. Her brows pinched and she started mumbling something again as I released her.

  I pulled her shoes off and tossed them on the floor and she kicked out at me, forcing me to step back.

  “I can do it myself, Darcy,” she muttered, still slurring. “You shouldn’t have to look after me like this.”

  Before I could stop her, she lifted her hips up, pulled her skirt off and threw it at me. She still hadn’t opened her eyes and I didn’t think she was really awake at all. The gold panties she wore matched the bra which I could still see as her buttonless shirt had fallen open.

  I tried not to stare at her, I really tried but I couldn’t stop looking at her bronze skin, her narrow waist, the swell of her breasts as they rose and fell in time with her deep breaths...

  Fuck it’s like someone picked apart my deepest desires and brought every fantasy I’ve ever had to life.

  Why did it have to be her? Why did I have to lust after one of the only people in the whole of Solaria who I could never have? I knew I was going to have to marry a Dragon Shifter one day but that didn’t stop me from having other women. But this one would never be mine in any way. She hated me more viscerally than I thought anyone else ever had. And I couldn’t even blame her. I’d hate me too if I was her. What we’d done to her, what I’d done... it was necessary but I still didn’t like it.

  I was supposed to be working with the other heirs to get rid of them and instead here I was protecting her like I'd lost my fucking mind.

  I took a step away, pulling my sheets over her and intending to take a position in the armchair by the fire for the night but she caught my hand before I could leave.

  I looked at her in surprise and found her eyes open, her gaze locked on mine.

  “Don’t go,” she breathed, her grip tightening.

  “I don’t think you really-”

  “Please don’t leave me alone,” she begged and the vulnerability in her voice broke down any further protests I’d been going to make.

  She sat up a little and tugged on my arm, trying to pull me down into the bed with her. And I couldn’t really deny the fact that I’d thought about getting her in my bed more than once before. Not that I’d lay a finger on her in her current state but even seeing her here, surrounded by gold and half undressed was sending zips of turbulent energy right through me.

  She pulled on my hand again and I gave up trying to talk myself out of it as I kicked my shoes off and got in beside her.

  She smiled at me and it wasn’t sarcastic or taunting, the difference that made taking my breath away for a moment.

  I settled back against the pillows and she rolled against me, pressing her nearly naked body flush to mine. I could feel myself getting hard just from that small amount of contact. I tried to prise her away from me but she wriggled closer, pressing her full breasts against me and giving me a clear view of them trying to break free of the confines of her bra.

  “Fuck, Roxy, I cant sleep next to you while you’re dressed like that,” I said, rolling her away from me more forcefully.

  She blinked up at me in confusion for a moment before pushing herself upright and looking down at her undressed state.

  “Oh, sorry,” she mumbled before pulling off the unbuttoned shirt and throwing it to the floor. “Better?”

  My mouth dried up and a growl escaped me as the Dragon writhed beneath my skin.

  “You need to be putting more on, not taking things off,” I said tersely.

  She huffed like I was the one who was being ridiculous. “Give me your shirt then,” she demanded, reaching out to pull at my black t-shirt.

  “I don’t think it will help if I start taking off my clothes too,” I said, catching her wrist to stop her.

  “You’re so fucking bossy,” she muttered, a bit of her usual fire rising to the surface. “Just do as you’re told for once.”

  Before I could respond to that, she shoved my hand aside and moved to straddle me in one quick movement. I was so surprised that for a moment I couldn’t even react as she yanked on my shirt and pulled it over my head.

  My hands found her waist, my thumbs brushing against her hip bones as she looked down at me with her dark hair tumbling around her shoulders and that sexy as sin underwear begging me to touch it.

  She laughed as she waved the shirt at me triumphantly, doing a little victory dance which meant she was grinding right against my hard-on and sending my body haywire.

  Before I could say or do anything, she pulled the shirt over her head and covered herself with it. I was so much bigger than her that it fell right down to pool around her thighs, trapping my hands beneath the material where I still held her.

  Her gaze locked with mine and for a moment it was like none of the shit that had passed between us had ever happened and we were just us, alone...in my bed.

  “Do you want to know a secret?” she breathed, her voice lowering seductively.

  “What?” I asked, wanting to hear anything and everything she might ever want to tell me.

  She leaned a little closer and her long hair tickled my skin.

  “I think,” she breathed slowly. “That I’m going to puke.”

  She leapt off of me so quickly that the bed bounced beneath me as she darted to the en-suite.

  My dick was straining so hard against my fly that I thought it might actually burst and I had to rearrange myself before I could follow her.

  By the time I got there she’d already emptied her stomach contents into the toilet and she flushed it before stumbling towards the basin where she
washed her mouth out. She proceeded to steal my toothbrush like a goddamn animal and I leaned against the doorframe as I watched her, trying not to look at her ass too much as she bent forward over the basin but I was clearly failing at that.

  I should have been pissed at her for intruding on my space like this but somehow I didn’t mind at all.

  When she’d finished, she sauntered back towards me, pushing a hand into her hair as she fought to walk in a straight line. She failed.

  I caught her as she almost face planted into the tiles and hooked her into my arms before returning her to the bed again. She tugged me down too and I was past the point of protesting.

  The moment her head hit the pillow her eyes fell shut but she turned towards me, draping an arm across my waist.

  I flicked the lights off and the room was only illuminated by the fire which was burning low in the grate.

  “You’re unbelievable, you know that,” she mumbled.

  “In what way?” I asked, wondering if she just might be about to admit that she felt this heat between us too.

  She shifted nearer to me and I pulled her close as she laid her head on my chest. My heart was hammering wildly and I couldn’t quite believe the strange turn of events that had led us here. For the longest moment she didn’t speak and I began to wonder if she’d fallen asleep but then she carried on.

  “You have the biggest goddamn jacuzzi I’ve ever seen in your bathroom,” she said and I couldn’t help but laugh at the way that conversation had gone.

  “Do you like it?” I asked.

  “No. It’s just unbelievable. Like you. You’re just... such... a dick.” Her breathing grew heavier and I was sure she’d passed out again.

  A smile pulled at my lips in response to her comment. It might have been nice for my ego if she’d started declaring how attractive she found me, but in all honesty she just wouldn’t have been herself without her smart mouth.

  And I was beginning to realise that I might like that, and a few other things about her, just a bit too much.

  When I was a kid I used to have the same dream over and over again to the point that I could almost convince myself that it was real. It wasn’t anything special by most people’s standards. I just used to imagine myself curled up in bed between the loving arms of my mom and dad. The parents I’d never known. Warm and safe and loved. It had been a secret I’d never even shared with Darcy because I didn’t want to admit to her that I’d believed we were missing something in our lives. Having a twin was a blessing which meant I’d never been truly alone but growing up without knowing you had people there to love, nurture and protect you no matter what was hard on a kid.