Hillcrest Academy

by Cassie Pierce

I try to sleep, but sleep evades me. I eventually give up, tossing the covers to the floor with a groan. I throw my legs over the side of the bed, decision made before my feet hit the floor. I walk over to my closet, throwing on my black leggings, boots, and an off the shoulder gray sweatshirt that mom got me for Christmas last year.

  I scoop up my cell phone, throwing it into the pocket of my over-sized hoodie. I almost laugh as I stare at the pink sparkly device. Months ago, I never went five minutes without checking my status or talking to someone, but now.....

  Now I barely ever use the thing.

  Still. I feel better having it with me. You never know when you are going to need to call 911. Not that they would be much help against supernatural creatures, but hey...old habits die hard.

  Satisfied that I have everything that I need, I head toward the door, leaving the safety of my down room behind.

  Creeping my way down the deserted hallway, Jaxon’s warning about not being out at night momentarily filters through my thoughts. I ignore it. They never gave me a reason why it isn’t safe to go out after curfew. I guess I always just assumed they didn’t want to get busted.

  Well....I have never been afraid to bend rules. Why start now?

  Maybe I should have asked them why the big deal about not going out in the dark. You know....since I am about to do it.

  What can I say? My life is fueled by carbs and bad decisions.

  I make it to the stairwell un-detected. I finally take in a deep breath when I make it into the dimly lit corridor without setting off any alarms.

  I keep my steps light as I make my way down the three flights of stairs that lead to the outside world. I never go this way, usually opting to use the front entrance. I just thought sneaking out would be a lot easier using the back door. There is less light out here, and no one guarding it.

  It is almost too easy.

  I slide silently into the night, smiling when the cool autumn air hits my cheeks. I made it! I actually made it!

  Ninja stealth skills on point.

  I don’t know why I was ever worried.

  “Stop!”

  Awww.....hell!

  I freeze.

  In my mind I am trying to formulate a plausible excuse for why I am out after curfew. I could always tell her the truth. That I was going to see Jaxon. After witnessing our little make out session in the garden that time, she wouldn’t question it.

  Busted! I am so busted!

  I turn slowly, accepting defeat. Except.....when I do, no one is there. Her voice sounds again to my left, and I realize that it is coming from off of the path. In the cover of the trees.

  Indecision flares within me. It would be so easy to walk away. The perfect cover actually. She is busy. She would never even see me. Then the other voice reaches my ears, and every muscle in my body locks in place.

  “Shut up!” The voice sneers, and the icy hand of fear wraps around me, stealing my breath. Taking my oxygen. Freezing my blood. Bile rises to the back of my throat, and it takes everything that I have to resist the urge to vomit in the bushes.

  That voice......

  Why is he here?

  I had always assumed that since the Divine ran this school that he would never come here, but that was a dumb assumption on my part. Hell...plenty of Fallen attend this school. His own daughters attend this school. Why wouldn’t he be here? It makes sense. Except...parents aren’t allowed inside the gate.

  Or...was that just my parent?

  Because she is human.

  King Xavier says something else to the head mistress, and I try to push my fear down and listen. I doubt that he is here on legitimate business. Nothing legitimate takes place in the woods after dark.

  I silently creep closer, trying to get a better look. I take cover behind the swinging branches of a weeping willow tree. I take a few more steps so that I can get a better view. Xavier has Wanda around the throat, pressing her back into a tree. Her face is an odd shade of purple, but her eyes do not show an ounce of fear as she stares down the Fallen king. She wears the same icy expression that she always does.

  “Remember your place woman,” he sneers before lurching forward and smashing his lips angrily into hers. My eyes widen as she grips the collar of his white button up shirt, pulling him closer.

  Holy hell! She....she is kissing him back! What in hades is going on here? Aren’t they supposed to be mortal enemies or something? Damn.....I really should have paid more attention is ancestry class.

  I strain my ears as their conversation picks back up, already deciding to scrub my eyeballs when I get home tonight. If there is one thing that a teenager shoulder never have to see, it is old people kissing.

  Yuck....

  “Relax my king,” Wanda purrs, playing with the collar of his shirt. “I have everything here under control. No one suspects a thing love.”

  My king? Love? Ok...I know I did not pay attention in class, but I do know one thing for certain. Xavier is not her love or her king. He is the king of the Fallen angel race. Gabriel...Gabriel is her king! The triplet’s dad! Not him!

  “You better, because we will not get another chance. If we are going to kill him then we have no room for error. Those step sons of yours.....” he starts, but she is quick to cut in.

  “Will be taken care of as well. Nothing will stop us my love. Absolutely nothing.”

  I suck in a sharp breath. Either I am still back at my dorm and this is a really awful dream, or......

  Wanda is sleeping with the enemy.

  Why oh why didn’t I just stay in tonight? See...this is what happens when you break the rules. Karma makes you her bitch.

  Knowing that I need to see Jaxon, now more than ever, I slowly start to back away. I focus on taking silent steps as I make my way back to the trail.

  Two more steps....just two more steps until I am back on the trail. Then I can find the brothers and tell them what I heard here tonight. They will know what to do.

  One more step....

  Crack.

  I freeze, saying every curse word that I know inside my head as I slowly pick my boot up off of the now broken branch that just echoed like cannon fire through the otherwise silent night.

  “What was that?” Xavier snaps, and my internal cursing picks up as the sound of breaking branches and stomping feet grow closer.

  I don’t give myself time to think. I take off, my feet eating up the path just as the headmistress and the Fallen king spill out onto the trail behind me. I hear Xavier curse as footsteps begin to pound after me.

  I don’t look back. I just run. I run faster than I have ever run before as branches slap me in the face, and my feet slip on the muddy trail. If my memory serves me, it is about a mile to Jaxon’s house.

  I’ll never make it a mile. They are too fast. I whip around a bend in the trail, my eyes locked on the soft light in the distance. My boys. I am so close to my boys. I can do this. I can....

  “Ahhh!” I scream, as a hand reaches out, pulling me into a hard body and clamping over my lips. I bite down, slightly satisfied when the metallic taste of blood fills my mouth. A curse sounds from behind me, and the hand over my mouth tightens. A hard body steps into me, and I stiffen as his breath washes against my neck.

  “Would you stop biting princess. I am trying to save your life,” he grumbles, and all of the fight leaves me in a rush of emotions at the sound of his voice.

  Jaxon.

  This time, when he pulls me back, I let him. We disappear into a shed of some sort, just as Xavier and Wanda round the corner.

  “Where did they go?” Xavier booms, and I feel Jax stiffen behind me. If he thinks that is bad...just wait for this.

  “They couldn’t have gone far. It could not have been one of us, or they would have shimmered out. Let’s split up. We will find them.” Wanda’s voice echoes through the night, and I can tell the moment that Jaxon puts two and two together. Except this time, it does not equal four. It equals what the hell.

  He pulls me closer
, his warm breath barely a whisper upon my neck. “Hold on Princess. I am taking us home.”

  Then we disappear into the light of the shimmer, leaving the darkness behind.

  ∞

  We land on the same balcony that we landed on the night before, when Jax took me flying. The second my feet hit the ground I turn on him, and every emotion...every fear that I have felt since I woke this morning to find him gone comes tumbling out of me in the form of rage.

  He just left me, all day like it was nothing! Like I was nothing! No reason...no explanation. Nothing!

  I shove him, so hard that for a moment I worry that he might stumble over the balconies edge. Until, I remember the asshole has wings. He will be ok. So, I shove him again. His hands come up, catching mine in a loose grip as confusion plays out over his handsome face.

  “Woah there princess. Not that I don’t like it rough, but do you want to tell me why you keep hitting me? Hitting isn’t nice,” he teases.

  “You know what else isn’t nice you....you jack canoe!” He raises a brow at my stupid insult, but I keep going. My blood is boiling, and now that oxygen has hit the flames it is unstoppable. “Leaving me! You would think that after everything I have been through...you would know not to just leave me without telling me why! Everyone leaves me Jax....” I finish, shoving him again, and mad when this time a sob comes out. A broken sound that I hate. It makes me feel weak, and inferior, and less than.

  “I am going to kill them,” he sighs, stepping closer to me and cupping my trembling cheek in his hand. My tears wet his palm, but I don’t have the strength to care. I hate that he does this to me. That I can’t just stay mad at him.

  “Princess.....I did leave, but Ryker was supposed to tell you where I went. It wasn’t a secret. I just didn’t want to wake you. Did you know....” he whispers, placing a soft kiss to my forehead.

  “That you are so damn beautiful when you sleep. How could you ever think that I would just leave you? I would never leave you if I had a choice,” he shudders against my skin.

  More tears fall, and I let them. I think that because it isn’t hard to believe. He is this beautiful, perfect thing, and I am just me. A half-breed whose own mother can’t love her. Whose best friend was forced upon her. A stray that no one wants to take in.

  Can’t he see? I believe it, because it is believable.

  “Because everyone leaves me,” I whisper brokenly, pulling away from him. I hate crying, and I think that I have cried more since meeting Jaxon than I have in my entire life. Two steps. I make it two steps before Jaxon’s hand lashes out, catching me around the arm and spinning me into him.

  His lips claim mine in a searing kiss that breaks apart my fractured soul and rearranges it. He is everywhere. In every part of me as our lips move in perfect rhythm. His lips are soft and hard at the same time, and I moan as his tongue flicks across mine. This...this is more than a kiss. It is a promise.

  “I am not everyone,” he growls, pulling my bottom lip into his mouth and biting down. “I would die a million deaths. Have my wings ripped off one feather at a time,” he growls, spreading said wings out and wrapping them around us. Cocooning us from the world. “I would never see Paradise again, if it meant staying with you Maci. That....that is who I am. Never doubt that. No matter what....” He says, slowing our kiss so that it is a soft exploration. His fingers trace the lines of my sides, and a shudder leaves me as the weight of what he is saying settles in.

  “Yes,” he whispers, having already read my mind. I know he said it once before, but this seems different. More somehow. “I love you. Every stubborn, beautiful inch of you.”

  Then I am lost. Lost in his kisses as his wings wrap around me. I reach up, remembering what he told me about how sensitive they are. I stroke his feather with my finger, biting my lip when a shudder works its way through him.

  Then we are moving. I gasp as my back hits the mattress. Somewhere between kisses our clothes disappear, until I am laid bare before him. His eyes drink me in, like he is thirsty, and I am the water that he needs to survive. A smile graces those beautiful lips of his as he reaches behind his back.

  “Since you like my feathers so much,” he smirks, and my eyes widen as he holds up a single white feather. His smile turns downright wicked as he uses his other hand to bring my hands above my head and hold them there. With sinful precision he takes the tip of the feather, slowly tracing it below my jaw. His lips follow the feather’s trail as it glides softy over my sensitive skin. I squirm below him as the feather works its way lower, running lightly over my neck and collar bone.

  “Jax please,” I beg, having no idea what I am begging for. I just know that I need something...anything....to extinguish the slow burn that he has started within me.

  He laughs, just as the feather circles the sensitive skin on my nipple. I cry out as the warmth of his mouth replaces the softness of the feather, and when he bites down, I nearly jerk off of the bed.

  Sweet angel babies everywhere! What is he doing to me?

  “Please...” I beg again, and this time I am answered with a searing kiss that drowns my words and my moans as the fire that started low in my belly turns into a blazing inferno of want and need. A fire that I have never felt before. A fire that I would almost sell my soul for Jaxon to put out.

  My fingers beg to reach for him, but his grip remains, locking them in place above my head. Friction....I need friction. Unable to use my arms, I push my hips up. This time it is Jaxon who lets out a breathy moan at the contact.

  “Easy Princess...” he growls into my ear, pressing his weight into me deliciously. “I only have so much restraint.”

  “Being restrained is overrated...unless you are talking about in the fun way,” I laugh, and then he is everywhere. His lips crash down on mine with a hardness that leaves zero doubt that he was holding himself back before. I smile as he lines us up, releasing my hands. I dig my nails into his back, running my fingers over the ridges of his shoulder blades and down.

  To where his wings would normally be.

  “Is this what you want?” he pants, and I gasp as his wings explode from his skin. My fingers find the velvety soft feathers, gripping them gently as I reach up, placing a kiss to his solid chest.

  Somewhere in the back of my mind I realize that everything is moving way too fast. That this isn’t me. I am not the type of girl that just sleeps around, but at the moment, I cannot find the strength to care. Not when I am below him, and I can feel his want for me solid and ready between my quivering thighs.

  Even if I wanted to stop, I am not sure that I could. Jaxon is my destiny. Being with him just feels right.

  As essential as taking my next breath.

  His eyes lock onto mine, the question there. I don’t have to be able to read him to know that he is asking permission. He wants me. That much is abundantly clear, but he also loves me. He would stop if I wanted to, no questions asked.

  I smile, nodding my head. Ready...so damn ready to feel him inside of me.

  His eyes shine with a million emotions, but the main one is love as he positions himself at my entrance. I get ready, closing my eyes. Waiting.........

  KNOCK....KNOCK......KNOCK.....

  “Ummmmm Jaxon.”

  I freeze, and Jaxon lets out a very colorful string of curses as Braxton’s voice echoes hesitantly through the door. He pulls away from me slightly, chest heaving as he stares at me.

  So close..... So damn close!

  “GO AWAY BRAX!” Jaxon shouts with annoyance.

  I can hear heated whispers from the other side and my cheeks redden when I realize that not only is Braxton outside of the room, but so is Ryker.

  “I’m sorry bro, but no can do. This is major. So.... tell Maci that we are sorry for interrupting your naked time, but you both need to get down here! NOW!” Ryker’s voice this time.

  Jaxon presses his forehead to mine, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss there. He ignores his brothers, focusing those beautiful thunderclou
d grey eyes on me. He is always doing that. Focusing on me when he should be focusing on the world around him.

  “That is because you are my world. My destiny. My love. Nothing else matters to me more than your happiness. I’m sorry about this,” he says with a sigh.

  I should be mad about him for poking around in my thoughts again, but I have come to accept it. Loving Jaxon means having him in my head. There are worse things.

  “I love you too,” I whisper, pulling him in for one more searing kiss before pushing him away with a chuckle. “Now, let’s go see what they want before they bust the door down. I do not want them seeing me naked.”

  A sour look crosses his face. “Me neither, because then I would have to kill them. Come on,” he laughs, pulling me to my feet. His eyes start at the top of my head, slowly raking over my very naked body with a groan.

  “Uhhhhh.....” he shouts. “I am going to kill you guys. This better be important!”

  I hear a chuckle through the door, that I immediately recognize as Braxton’s.

  “Is the king of the Fallen standing in our living room important enough for you brother?”

  Oh shit...Xavier!

  How did we forget about him?

  ∞

  ~ Chapter 20 ~

  I get dressed quickly, having an internal freak out the entire time. Xavier being here cannot be good. Does he know that it was me who spotted him in the woods with Wanda? Is he here to kidnap me again?

  My hands shake as I try to slide on my boot. My nerves visible. Jaxon gently brushes my hands away, taking my shoe from me and sliding it easily on my foot. He rests on his knees between my legs where I sit perched on the edge of the bed. His large hands go to my knees.

  “Princess. I am not going to let anything happen to you. I swear it. You are safe here. He cannot harm you. He will never harm you again. Do you trust me?” he asks, and I nod my head.

  I do trust Jaxon with my life. This isn’t about trust. I have seen the evil that Xavier possesses, and I just caught a small glimpse of it. Evil like that is hard to predict, and even harder to defeat.