Rogue Academy: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Academy Romance (Rogue Vampire Academy Book 1)

by Savannah Rose

  “I don’t get what this has to do with my parents?”

  “They knew Boering killed Francine. They tried to bring it to light, to bring him to justice, but because of his power and influence, he was able to turn everyone against them. He falsified evidence, let the world believe that they were planning to commit the highest treason of them all — the assassination of the Grand Master.”

  “What happened to their coven?”

  “They had the option of breaking apart and joining new covens or remaining under new leadership. They chose to stay together, under the leadership of a man named Xander Fremud, who was not afraid to make it known that he thought the exile of his previous leaders was bullshit. He was your parents’ most trusted advisor and they told him of their plans regarding Boering. When he came into leadership, he had the same goal, though he was attempting a different route. He wanted to bring Boering to justice, to bring your parents back from exile, but Boering was now Mid-Grand Master. He stamped the resistance to the ground and threw Xander into a max security prison.”

  I shake my head, hardly believing what it is I’m hearing. “I sent Joe to my old foster home to get information on my parents,” I admit. “He didn’t come back with much, only that during my time there, I was visited by one man. Jameson Buillard.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Reece says, and I get the feeling this information isn’t new to him. “Buillard is one of Boering’s agents. My guess is that he was keeping tabs on you. Which is why speaking to him tonight would have been a bad idea. He would have gone straight back to Boering with the information. They would have tried to trap you, to get rid of you somehow.”

  I can’t stand any longer. On shaky feet, I manage to find my seat as Reece’s words sink in. It’s so much more than I thought it was. So much bigger than me and my own stupid agenda.

  “Why didn’t you tell me this in the first place?”

  Reece comes to my side, sitting on the edge of my desk. I look up at him, meet his eyes. I stare into the sincerity that shines down on me and I know that whatever he’s going to say next, he means it. “I was trying to protect you. That has been my goal since the day I met you. Your protection comes above all.”

  “How … how do you know all this, Reece?”

  He swallows harshly. “My mother was a part of Lanster coven as a donor to your father. I was born in the coven, raised in the coven. When your parents were exiled, I was only a kid. Growing up, I always heard about you, about what your parents had to do to protect you. They knew you wouldn’t have been safe at the coven, that Boering would have tried to kill you and so they sent you away. They didn’t want you to have the life they would have had to live away from the city. They wanted you to be normal.”

  “Yeah, well, plopping a born vampire into a home run by humans wasn’t the best way to do it.”

  Reece lays a hand on my shoulder. “I grew up in the coven that hung to the memory of your parents. A coven that dedicated years to building a resistance against Boering. Though I never met them myself, I grew to love them as much as every one of them did. They were good people, Mariella. They did what they thought was best.”

  I blink away the tears pricking my eyes. “What about the night we met? Explain that.”

  “That was the night Boering and his men brought us to our knees. The night Xander was put in prison. I fought alongside them, but it was a losing battle because we were caught off guard. Xander sent me away before they captured him. He told me to find you. To protect you. And, as if it were fate, I found you that same night.”

  “You stuck by me all that time out of loyalty to my parents.”

  He withdraws his hand, looking away. “And then some.”

  I’m about to ask what that meant, but something else occurs to me suddenly. “You said they left me at the foster home so that Boering wouldn’t find me. But Jameson came to see if I was still there.”

  “Technically, Xander was the one who left you there. They must have found out about it somehow.”

  “So my guess is that Xander is the guy I need to talk to about finding my parents, then.”

  Reece sighs heavily. “You’re not still planning on going through with your search?”

  “They didn’t abandon me because they didn’t care about me. They did it because … because they had to. Because they had no choice. Because they were protecting me. I have to free them.”

  “It’s more complicated than that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your parents were so well loved for a lot of reasons, one of which included their acceptance of everyone. Vampire or not.”

  “You said you grew up in the coven.”

  “Yes, as a human. But there were others.”

  I frown. “Others like?”

  “Shifters. The real underground supernaturals. And Xander was one of them.”

  “I don’t … I don’t understand. Covens can only be led by vampires.”

  “The Lanster coven was made up mainly of vampires, but there were a few shifters who pledged their allegiance to your parents. They pledged their allegiance to you as well. They are your protectors and though you have been living at a foster home for most of your life, they have been there to keep you out of harm’s way wherever you go. Xander gained the respect of the coven members. They didn’t care that he wasn’t a vampire.”

  I don’t have any words. I open my mouth, hoping I’ll find something to say but nothing comes. Protectors? Shapeshifters?

  “Xander is one of them,” he repeats. “The wolf. And Archer, the lion. They are your sworn protectors.”

  “And where are they now?”

  “They have all been taken captive by Boering. Now I stand in their place.”

  I stare at Reece, not knowing what to do or what to say. Whether I should smile and rejoice or be mad at the world, at the fact that my parent’s coven — my parent’s kingdom — has been reduced to such a sad state. Emotions swirl in me, tackle each other for dominance and I’m sure it’s clear as day on my face.

  The one thing I do know for sure is that, no matter what I feel, I will find my parents. Not only for their sake, but for the sake of their coven, for the sake of justice against Boering. I can’t know what I know now and step back while Boering steps into the position of Grand Master.

  Later, I tell myself. Later I’ll sort through these emotions. Pick them apart and decide whether I’m happy about this new truth or not. But for now, I need to act. So I look to the only person I’ve ever trusted with my life.

  “I can’t do this alone, Reece.”

  Reece nods, his mouth set in a tight line. “I expected you to say that.”

  “You don’t sound happy about it.”

  “I know I should be. If we free them, if we band together again, we may be able to take Boering down and bring your parents home again. I’ve been telling myself to tell you the truth ever since we left that meeting. I know I can’t let him become Grand Master, but…”

  “But what?”

  “But … I don’t want to share you. It’s been me and you for all these years. Me and you against everything that’s thrown against us. The connection you’ll feel with them -”

  My eyes grow wide as saucers. Slowly, I get to my feet, but my tongue is as heavy as lead. “Reece…”

  “I’ve been fighting for your heart since the day I met you, Mariella. I’ve loved you ever since then. And, in the beginning, I was … I was okay with it just being sex and friendship between us because that’s all you were willing to give. You didn’t want affection, you didn’t want love. But that changed. No matter how much we both denied it…no matter how much we fought it…”

  “Nothing will change that.”

  “You say that because you don’t understand. The way you feel about them won’t be a choice, Mariella. It’ll be all consuming. And I’ll have to step back and watch it all happen. Watch as you forget me.”

  Reece has always been so self-assured, so confident. Never cocky
, but he knows his worth. Right now, all of that takes a back seat and what I see before me is a man who is afraid. A man who doesn’t need to be afraid.

  “Reece, that won’t happen.”

  “But it’s possible.”

  “No,” I say, with more conviction than I expect. It surprises us both, but I press on. “The past few days have been hell for me. You want to know why?” I palm his face, looking into his eyes. Seeing the raw emotion that lays there and my heart breaks at the sight. “Because it’s always been the two of us against the world. The two of us building a world that’s morphed into so much more than we could have ever envisioned. And all of a sudden, I felt like it was just me against the world and I didn’t know how to handle that. Because if I couldn’t trust you, I didn’t know who the hell to trust. I love you, Reece. You know it, I know it. Nothing, no connection or anything, is going to change that. Okay?”

  He nods. “Okay.”

  This time, when I kiss him, I understand everything. It feels like a cloud has opened up around my heart, revealing the feelings I’ve harbored for Reece all along. Now, it pours out of me like a dam.

  The kiss changes. It becomes deeper, heated, more desperate. He’s clawing at my clothes, tugging as though he can’t get to the skin underneath soon enough.

  With a grunt, he picks me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. He pushes me up against the wall. His other hand wraps around my neck. Not choking, but holding me there, keeping my eyes leveled with his. Forcing me to keep eye contact when he shoves himself inside.

  I nearly crumble, but he’s there supporting me. This time, I’m the one clawing at him, nails in his back, gasping in his ear with each thrust inside me. I scream his name, scream even louder when he bites my collarbone.

  Then I do crumble. We both do. And we fall to the floor in a tangled, sated heap.

  Minutes go by before anyone says anything. My head rests on his chest and I listen to his beating heart slow down to a steady rhythm. “Mariella.”

  “Yes.”

  “I love you.”

  I let the words wash over me. “I love you too.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Hours later, we’ve moved from my office to my bedroom. So lost was I with my thoughts that I’m shocked when I reach over to find the other side of my bed empty.

  “Reece?” I call out.

  “I’m here.” He emerges from the bathroom, towelling his hair. I raise my brows when I see his very naked state.

  He smiles at me. “You should shower.”

  “Are you saying I stink?”

  “You’re covered in cum.”

  I throw a pillow at him. He dodges it with a laugh. I chuckle myself, feeling lighter than I’ve felt in days. With a happy sigh, I crawl out of the bed and move past him.

  “Mariella?”

  “Reece?” There’s a look on his face that I can’t quite decipher.

  “When was the last time you fed?”

  “Not long ago.”

  “What’s not long ago?”

  “Last night.”

  His eyebrow shoots up at that and there’s a small frown pulling down at his lips. But just as quickly, he manages to mask his face back to neutrality.

  I pull a robe from my dresser and slip it on. Reece is silent now. Contemplative.

  “Mariella,” he says again, but this time he doesn’t wait for me to continue, he charges right on. “Why don’t you let me become your donor?”

  I freeze at the question. He says it softly, as if he knows exactly what sort of reaction he is going to get out of me. He’s mentioned this before and I was quick to shut it down. Since then, he’s never dared to bring the topic back up.

  “Why would you want to do that?”

  “It would make sense, wouldn’t it? For me to be your donor. It’s what I was meant to be in the first place.”

  My eyes shoot back to him, confusion settling into place. “What you were meant to be?”

  “My mother was your father’s donor. I was meant to be your donor when you came of age. I grew up thinking that if we were to ever meet, I would be. Of course, different circumstances came in the way of that.”

  “You can’t be my donor.”

  His face falls but he picks it back up a second later. He cocks his head to the side in curiosity, but I know deep down that he’s hurt by my statement. “Why not?”

  “I can’t feed on the man that I love. The bond we’ll have … it’s just too much. I wouldn’t be able to control myself.”

  “I understand,” he says quickly. “You don’t have that bond with Nelson and Hellen, then.”

  “I don’t. I don’t love Hellen or Nelson the way I love you.”

  That seems to comfort him a bit, which eases my heart. It won’t last forever, I know that. Though he’s never said the words aloud, Reece has made it very clear that he doesn’t like the fact that I feed on Nelson and Hellen. At least not anymore. The way they react to it, the intimate yet required act itself.

  “I’m going to take a shower,” I say.

  “I’ll be out here.”

  I don’t look at him as I pass, but I don’t get very far either. Reece grabs my arm, pulling me back to him. He stares into my eyes, a hand snaking its way around my neck, tenderly holding me there. Slowly, he dips his head and kisses me on the lips.

  I can’t help the smile. He doesn’t say anything to me, just allows me to step out of his grasp and turn my back to him. I’m still grinning from ear to ear when I close the door behind me.

  By the time I get in the shower, my smile falls. Now, alone, I can finally allow myself to dwell on what Reece told me. Everything Reece told me. I still can’t wrap my head around it.

  My parents … if what he said was right, they didn’t abandon me because they didn’t care. They did it to protect me. In hopes that I wouldn’t be caught up in the disgusting politics that rules this city. They hoped that I would be living a regular life safe from hardships and danger and even had protectors set up for me. They … loved me.

  The thought of it makes tears prick behind my eyes. I quickly duck my head under the spray of water, hating that I’m crying. But the weight taken off my chest is undeniable. All my life, I thought I was unwanted. I thought I was just a speck of nothing in this great, big city and I would have to carve out a name for myself if I wanted to be remembered in this world. But I had it all along. I was remembered all this time. I was loved. Not only by Reece, but my parent’s coven. They’ve been looking out for me all this time.

  And then, my mind shifts to Boering.

  The rage is instantaneous, all consuming. I clench my fist to keep from punching a hole through the wall. Because of one overly ambitious man, they were exiled, their coven was ripped apart and my protectors were taken captive. Because of one man who just might get what he wants in the end. One man who I know will stop at nothing. Boering is the enemy – not the kind who sits back and stews, but the kind who puts plans into execution.

  Him winning will not happen. It can’t. Instantly, I know that I will stop at nothing to bring my parents back and make sure the Academy is safe in the process.

  I wrap up the shower quickly, eager to get out and start planning. Reece is on the other side of the room, at the small desk I had put there but never used. He’s eating.

  I frown as I approach him. “Takeout?”

  He shrugs, cutting into the pancakes on his plate. It looks and smells wonderful, but one bite of that and I will be throwing up for a week. “Are you going to feed?”

  “I have one bag left.”

  I know he’s watching me as I make my way over to the mini fridge near the desk and pull out a bag of blood. I sink my fangs in, returning to his side. We don’t speak much while we finish eating, but once it’s done, Reece pushes his plate away and leans back with a satisfied sigh. He extends his hand to me and after a moment, I take it. I allow him to ease me into his lap.

  “If you want to start looking for your parents, finding your p
rotectors is the way to go.” He runs a lazy hand up and down my spine. “They’re more likely to know where your parents could have gone.”

  “I need both of them for that?”

  “They worked closely together to protect you, Mariella, but your parents were smart. They knew that they were more likely to be found if one person had all the information on their whereabouts.”

  “So they gave each of them little clues. That’s either very smart or very paranoid.”

  “The smartest people know they should always be a little paranoid,” Reece says with a shrug. “They knew who they were dealing with.”

  “If Boering got them to tell him where I was, what’s stopping them from telling him everything about my parents’ whereabouts?”

  “On that, I don’t know.”

  I don’t need his grim tone to tell me how bad it will be if Boering finds out where my parents are. “He’ll kill them, won’t he?”

  “If he hasn’t already.” He brushes a thumb over my hand. “I’m sorry. I just want you to be prepared for anything.”

  I shake my head. “They aren’t dead. I don’t know how I know that, but they aren’t. I just know it.”

  He kisses the corner of my jaw.

  “So, what do we do first?”

  “We have to find out where Xander is being held first. There are two maximum security prisons located in the city. Once we find out which one he’s in, we need the blueprint. We’ll need to find the quickest way in, easiest and quickest way out.”

  “I can’t imagine breaking into a max security prison is going to be easy.”