by Emera Rose
“They died a long time ago,” I say.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she says, eyes lingering on mine for a second before she looks back to the screen. Hell, I think she was just genuine for the first time in her life.
“Wow, did that hurt?” I tease.
She sucks her teeth and hits my arm with the back of her hand. “Ugh, I hate you!”
“Doubt it,” I reply.
“Don’t get it twisted, mutt, just because I’m being cordial with you doesn’t mean that I want to be near you.”
“No, you being cordial with me doesn’t mean you want to be near me, but you being turned on does.” Quicker than I thought possible, I lean in to her neck and take a long sniff. “I can smell how turned on you are.”
What the fuck! Why would I say that? When has that ever been a go-to line?
I don’t know why I did that or said that, but it felt natural and instinctual. I pull back and wait for her to slap me. After a comment like that, I expect it and I know I deserve it.
I stare into her confused eyes, but instead of a smack, I hear a slight rumbling sound—a purr. Roxana throws her arms around my neck and attacks my mouth. Her lips are desperate and searching. I’m caught off-guard for a second, but like a dry tinder caressing a flame, I am engulfed with my own need. I pull her close and kiss her back just as hungrily.
“Oh god,” she mumbles as I pull her head back and lick up the side of her neck. I want to taste her everywhere. I have never wanted anyone as much as I want this girl right now. I pick her up out of her chair and just like in my fantasies from earlier, I drop her on my lap, my hard cock pressing angrily against my jeans. She swivels once and I automatically move my hand from her head and slam it down on the table. When my hand smashes straight through, I don’t react, but my brain analyzes it. If I don’t get a grip, I could hurt her.
“No, you won’t. Don’t hold back,” Roxana murmurs against my lips, answering the unspoken worries in my head.
“Oh, what the fuck?” I pant and my hands roam back over her body as we continue to kiss and rock against each other.
More, more, more.
The words in her head echo in mine, and not only can I hear the need but I physically can feel it. That with my own need is just about driving me insane with desire. I pull her thin shirt out of her jeans and my rough hands caress her skin. Roxana purrs again and her little gentle swirls become harder and faster. She’s trying to cum.
The door flies open. “What was the big fucking emergen— oh shit!” Kori screams and turns around.
Roxana scrambles off my lap, landing on the floor before she jumps up, leaving me tense and in need. I drop my hands to my legs and squeeze as hard as I can. It’s painful and I know it will leave a bruise.
“What the fuck is your problem, Kori! Don’t you fucking knock! Jeez!” Roxana screams at her friend.
“Uh, newsflash, I live here too,” Kori replies quickly over her shoulder. When Kori turns around, I can see her face is beet red. “Don’t worry, I didn’t see anything,” she says.
“Great,” I murmur.
That was intense and though Kori and Roxana try to pretend like nothing just happened, I know something did. I catch Roxana’s eye over Kori’s shoulder.
“We’re not finished,” I mouth so Kori doesn’t hear. When Roxana smirks, I know she’s in agreement. I turn back to the computer and try to focus on what I originally came here for. Roxana and I will have our day.
Soon.
Chapter Thirteen
Roxana
Kori grabs ahold of my arm and drags me into her bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind us. “Good god, what in the hell did I just walk in on? You with the mutt?” She smiles devilishly while wiggling her eyebrows.
“Don’t call him that,” I grit, anger flooding through me before I even had the chance to stop myself. Fuck. I don’t . . . I don’t understand why this is happening. Why is this happening?
Kori blinks at me a few times while she processes what I just said to her. “Roxana Grim, I know you’re a bitch, but never have you defended a mutt.”
The second the word passes her lips, I’m ready to ball up my fist and throttle her. This is how I know something is wrong. A painful feeling hits me in the pit of my stomach, butterflies mixed with fear, and nausea rolls through me like I’m on a ship in the middle of a storm.
“Hey, where are Kori and Roxana?” I hear Paola ask Zev through the door.
“They’re in . . . there. Heard you’re the computer whiz though. Mind coming over and giving me a hand?” Zev asks Paola, and I stop eavesdropping on their conversation.
“You had no problem giving him a hand a minute ago,” Kori cackles with a grin.
“And I thought you didn’t see anything,” I snap with widened eyes.
“Oh, I saw a lot . . . I was just being polite.”
Shaking my head, I wipe a hand over my face, trying to breathe through this. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“Say nothing except the answers to my questions.”
“What questions?!” I furrow my eyebrows together, glaring at her.
“These ones. So, when did this whole thing start? How many times have you tickled his pickle, and . . . is he as dangerous in bed as I think he is? Actually, scratch that. I just want to know if you’re in a sharing mood. Sharing is caring after all, Roxana. I mean, you don’t even like the guy, and I’m desperate for a good night of fun.”
My hands begin to shake and before I know it, I’m lunging at her, wrapping my hands around her neck, and have her shoved up against the wall. “You might want to think before you open your fucking mouth. I’d better never hear you say stupid shit like that ever again. Do you hear me?” I manage to rip my hands away from her throat and back away from Kori, who now has her hand over her neck. There’s an obvious red mark and she’s breathing in slowly, processing what I just did.
“Yeah, I heard you loud and clear. Now, do me a favor and get out,” Kori snaps, looking at the door.
I huff, turn around, and shut the door behind me after I’m out in the living area. I hear the sound of her deadbolt being turned, confirming she locked me out. Whatever. She’ll get over it. It’s important she knows her boundaries anyway.
I head over to where Zev was with the laptop and see Paola’s sitting back on one of the couches, alone. “Where’s Zev?”
“He just left.”
“What do you mean he just left?” I hiss out my question, even more angry than I was a moment ago.
“Oh, sorry, if I knew you wanted him to stick around, I would’ve said something. We were able to get the information he wanted and he rushed out the door. He seemed pretty pissed so I didn’t want to aggravate him further,” Paola says, shrugging her shoulders while looking down at her rose-pink acrylic nails so she won’t have to look at me.
“Pissed? Why would he be pissed?”
Paola looks over in my direction for a split second before averting her gaze yet again. “Look, Roxana, that’s not for me to say.”
“Tell me what the fuck happened, now!”
“Roxana . . . you’re putting me in a really uncomfortable situation.” I know what Paola is saying, but I don’t really give a fuck. I want to know it, and I want to know right now.
“Paola, can you just tell me?”
She sighs heavily before speaking. “His family, er, rather his foster parents, the ones he was with the first time, for five years according to the records. They weren’t random people, Roxana. They were distant cousins of his parents, but from what I gathered, they didn’t tell him who they were at all.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Uh, the moment ‘lying bastards’ came out of his mouth, I put it together pretty quickly.”
Shit. I can’t imagine how he’s feeling right now. I want nothing more than to find him, to make sure he’s okay . . . but I still don’t understand these feelings I have for him. While I want to make sure he’s okay, I also wan
t to punch him for leaving like that, for not saying goodbye.
I’m stuck on the fact he didn’t say goodbye to me when I feel moisture sliding down my cheek. Bringing my hand up, I wipe away the stray tear and pull myself together. My emotions are going crazy. I’m a Grim. I don’t cry, ever.
Figuring I’m high on emotion from the events that transpired over the last few days, I decide I should go find Zev later. I need a fucking drink, and I need one now.
Chapter Fourteen
Zev
Those fucking bastards. Why would they do that to me? What the hell could I have done to them to make them act that way to me?
My entire body is shaking, it feels like my bones themselves are actually vibrating in my body. I have never been this mad in my life. In fact, I’ve only felt close to something as intense as this the day that Jasper brought me to the academy, and even then, I was knocked out before I could really do anything.
I don’t have anyone to knock me out this time around.
That girl, Paola, just told me that the very first people that I assumed were just some strangers who got stuck with me were actually my blood relatives. They were cousins to me, meaning they were in some way related to my parents. They never once told me anything about them. They never told me where I was from, or what they were like. In fact, they never even called me by my name. I was only boy.
When I was with them, I was never more than an added field hand. I was up before the sun and I didn’t get to sleep or eat until everything they demanded was done. If I complained or showed any anger, there was a small underground bunker that they would lock me in for days at a time. Finally, when I was of no more use to them. they shipped me away like I was a sack of potatoes. Then it was from foster home to foster home until I couldn’t take any more and decided it was better to be on my own than to wait for some bastard to take care of me. I’d either learn to take care of myself or I’d die. How could they do that to their own blood?
I run my hand through my hair, trying to get rid of some of this anger. It was nights like this I wished I had a habit. Smoking, drinking, something.
I walk toward the courtyard. It’s getting pretty dark so there aren’t many people around. There is one group sitting on the benches passing what I’m assuming is a joint between them. I turn so I avoid them. The way I’m feeling right now, if one of them asks me to join them there is no way I’m saying no. I know I should just go back to the dorm, maybe talk to Jasper and get some shit off my chest, but I don’t know anything he would be able to say to me that would make me feel better.
“Oh, if it isn’t captain save-a-ho.” Someone laughs as I walk by.
I turn to see who it is, and to my surprise, it’s fucking Barrett. I shake my head in disbelief. You would think one beat-down would be enough.
Once Barrett and his friends realize that it’s me, they stand from where they’re sitting and have the nerve to actually try and surround me. It’s five against one.
“Barrett, fuck off. I’ve already beat you down once. Haven’t you learned your lesson?” I ask, making sure I keep the bulk of them in my sights. I wouldn’t put it past them to just jump me.
“Oh, no, you see, you got me when I was drunk and all your buddies were around. But now, there are no witnesses, no friends, just you.”
I snarl at him. “I didn’t need anyone to beat you down the first time, I won’t need any help the second time.”
“Oh, you ballsy fuck. Do you know who I am?” Barrett leans in a little closer. “No, let me show you.”
Barrett swings at me, and I easily block it. I raise my hand to swing back, but one of his friends wraps his arms around my neck and pulls me back. What a pussy move. As I’m trying to get his arms off, Barrett throws a flurry of punches to my mid-section while the rest of his friends throw haymakers at my face.
I lean over and flip the kid at my back onto the ground before I rush Barrett, picking him up by his throat with one hand. I hear myself growl, but it’s not a human growl like I’m expecting to hear. Instead, it’s a monstrous sound that raises the hairs on the back of my neck.
Barrett’s eyes get bigger and the distinct sound of fabric ripping fills my ears. When I look down, I see hair on my body that wasn’t there before. My chest seems to double in width, my fingers are longer, my thighs are bigger and they stretch the seams of my pants to where they almost tear, but I’m still standing on my legs.
What the fuck is this? Oh god, what’s happening? I drop Barrett, suddenly more concerned about the state my body is in instead of fighting him.
I see his eyes go up to the sky and I follow his line of sight. Clear as day, the full moon is peeking through the clouds.
“Fucking werewolves. Let me show you what happens when a mutt tussles with a king.” He cackles and with expert-like precision, Barrett quickly phases right in front of my eyes. He’s huge, at least eight feet tall, and his teeth gleam with moonlight as he growls at me. I try to take a step backward, but my feet have grown and I trip over them. That’s the only mistake he needs.
Barrett jumps on top of me, his razor-sharp claws tearing at my skin. The smell of blood fills my nose and I know it’s mine. I growl loud again and try to push him off, but he’s too big. I push again, and in my desperation, I reach my mouth up and bite at his neck. I don’t draw blood, but he struggles against me. The struggle fans the rage that’s inside of me. He’s no better than me.
I hear bones cracking and popping. The fur grows out of my skin at an alarming rate, leaving my skin raw and painful when it’s done. Saliva pools in my mouth as my teeth elongate and hook deeper into his skin. I hear whimpers and as the first drops of blood hit my tongue, I open my mouth to let him go. I thought letting him go would allow him to back up, but instead he falls down. I was holding him off the ground with my teeth.
As he stands again, I’m the one standing over him. I look around for a second only to see that I’ve turned into a full wolf it seems. I have paws instead of hands and feet. My entire body is covered in onyx black fur, but when I move, an iridescent blue color catches the moonlight. I’m also a good foot or more taller than Barrett.
The second I catch his eyes, a surge of dominance courses through my body.
It feels wrong for him to even lay his eyes on me. This weak pathetic creature in my midst should be down on his belly like the scum he is. I pad over to where he is standing, my long nails clicking against the concrete walkways of the courtyard. When I get in front of him, I growl and glare at him, daring him to make a move. He snarls back, his ego and hubris not letting him acknowledge that he is the lesser opponent.
“Barrett, don’t do it, man! Don’t,” one of his friends calls out from where they’re cowering behind the trees. I turn to look for where he is. Barrett uses my distraction to his advantage. He jumps up from where he stands and clamps his teeth down on my front shoulder harshly. The pain slices through me and I react. I use my own teeth to rip him off and I pounce on top of him. I bite and swipe at him, his blood doing nothing to slow me down. I can hear his friends telling me to stop. I hear them telling me I’m killing him. But the only thing that matters right now is that he stops moving.
“Submit!” I hear someone scream, someone who wasn’t here a few seconds ago. “You’ll die if you keep fighting! Fucking yield, Barrett!”
Barrett suddenly stops trying to fight back. He falls down to the ground and rolls over to his back, showing me his belly. It seems so weak, so open. There is no sport in destroying this part of him. I huff and growl louder. Barrett just turns his face away in shame.
I look to the side, trying to find out where the voice telling Barrett to yield came from. I see a figure walking quickly toward us.
Jasper.
His face is masked with shock and what looks like fear. I look down at myself again. I’m a monster. No wonder he’s afraid. I’m a fucking monster. I turn as quickly as I can and take off toward the other side of the campus.
I get to the far edge of t
he campus, where the open land turns into nothing but trees, and I stay there. I pace back and forth for what seems like an eternity. I transform partially back into human form, but it feels like I’m stuck like this. My legs look like legs for a second, then they turn back into paws. I’m scared I’ll never turn back. What the fuck is happening to me?
“Zev?” Jasper’s hesitant voice calls out to me.
“Stay back. Just stay away.” I hear my voice crack. I don’t know what to do. “Please, I don’t want to hurt you.” I move a little further away. Jasper has been a friend to me even before I knew I needed one. If I were to accidentally hurt him, I don’t know what I would do.
“You have to relax, man,” he says again, taking another step toward me.
I turn to him and the rage I’ve been trying to force back down comes bubbling back up to the surface. “Are you fucking looking at me!?” I yell, my voice coming out in a roar instead of the normal tenor of a man.
Jasper jumps back and doesn’t say a word for a second. I sniff and a distinct smell filters the air. I can’t place what it smells like, but I know what it means—fear.
“You’re scared of me,” I say. I don’t want him to be scared of me. Fuck, I don’t want any of this.
“Of course, I’m scared of you, Zev. I saw what you did to Barrett. Anyone in their right mind would be scared of you right now. I wasn’t dismissing what’s happening to you, but if you want to return to your human form, you have to relax. Every time you get angry, you restart your phasing process and it’ll take you that much longer to get back to your usual state. So relax, Zev. As fucked up as it sounds, meditate or some shit. Think of your favorite song. Think of whatever you have to do to be at peace.”
Jasper has been right for the most part so far since I’ve gotten here to this academy, so I have no choice but to give what he said a try. I’ll fucking meditate.
I think about my happy place, my times on the mountain trails. The trees. The rivers. Nature always seemed to soothe me. I exhale a few times and something soft hits me in the chest. When I open my eyes, darkness completely covered me. Moving my hands, it’s obvious Jasper had turned around while my eyes were closed and threw a blanket at me. I’m naked in my human form and wrap the blanket around myself.