Winter Term

by J. J. Krzemien

  With my wand in hand, I made my way toward Academy Hall. The thing was useless and it was time to return it to Ms. Duinn. I planned to catch her in her office between the end of classes and dinner. It was really a recon mission. I wanted to see the office that I was planning on breaking into with May.

  I tapped on Ms. Duinn’s door as bile rose in the back of my throat. I really hated this horrible woman. That hatred fueled my determination to help May.

  Ms. Duinn opened the door, looking down her nose at me. She wore another one of those gaudy floral print dresses.

  “Ms. Sorrentino, what are you doing here?” She blocked the doorway.

  “Can I come in?”

  She hesitated. “I suppose.” She stepped away from the door to sit behind her desk. The room was the same size as the other teacher’s offices, but that was the only similarity. Bright yellow paint covered the stone walls and wooden ceiling. All of the furniture was upholstered in the same blue, white, and pink floral.

  “What do you want?” Ms. Duinn barked, bringing my attention back to her.

  A massive desk stood in the center of the room, off to one side was a filing cabinet. Which one were the letters in?

  I lifted the wand. “I think I should return this, since I’m not a witch and it never chose me in the first place.”

  Ms. Duinn didn’t move. Her dispassionate gaze held mine. “And now we know why. You may leave it on my desk. I’m very busy.” She bowed her head over the stack of papers in front of her.

  I stepped forward and set the obsidian wand on the white desktop. After one more quick evaluation of the room, I let myself out. Her generally sparse office would hopefully make it easier to search and find May’s letters.

  Across the hall and several doors down, I knocked on May’s office but got no answer. It was about time for dinner with the guys, so I headed for the staircase.

  May opened Jaxon’s apartment door.

  “I was looking for you—” I started.

  May snatched my arm and pulled me into the front room. “What are you thinking? I was joking the other night when I asked if you had a hot date. Do you have any idea how much trouble you could get in?” Her green eyes were alive with anger and concern.

  “The Tromara are not going to find out that I’m having dinner with these guys,” I said.

  “Dinner, dates, sex!” May’s grip on my arm tightened.

  I glanced at Liam and Jaxon who were busying themselves in the dining room and pretending they couldn’t hear us.

  “I won’t live in fear!” I shook her off my arm. “I’ve lived with a shit situation most of my life, and I won’t let it get to me. These guys make me happy, they make me feel wanted. I’m not giving that up just because of some evil bastard who thinks he owns me.”

  May pointed a finger in my face. “You are clueless. King Sebastian Anastos does own you. He owns all of us. We live by his mercy. Until you figure that out, you’re putting us all in danger!”

  I startled, surprised that she’d say such things. She was always bending the rules. She had more of a rebellious streak than I did. What the fuck?

  “Mark my words, Caprice, this is a bad idea. Our lives are not our own.” May stormed out, a sob escaping her throat.

  Liam’s warm hand rested on my shoulder. “I’d like to apologize for my sister.”

  I turned to face him. “What the hell was that?”

  “Our parents came by for a visit last night.” He grimaced. “They have a way of getting to us, twisting us away from who we really are. They found out about her and that human she’s been seeing. They came to tell her, and remind her of ‘her duty to our house and name and the supernatural community’, as they like to put it.”

  “Oh, no. That’s horrible.” I felt terrible that we hadn’t acted in time to save May’s relationship, to keep it secret. “What is she going to do?”

  “She broke it off with him a couple hours ago, and she’s been a mess since.” Liam squeezed my shoulder. “She’s pushing everyone away right now.”

  My chest constricted for her. She was thirty-something years old and her parents still held enough control over her life to make her leave her boyfriend. How was that possible?

  “I should go help her.” I moved toward the door.

  “No. Give her some time. She wants to be alone right now.”

  I nodded. He’d know how she felt better than anyone else.

  “How can her parents force her to do that?” I asked.

  Liam glanced at his shoes. “Besides being the most manipulative people you’ll ever meet, you mean? Under the Truce, supernaturals are not supposed to have relations with humans.”

  “Really? I didn’t know that.” My father had thought my mom was a human, so he’d been breaking the rules. “Why?” I asked. “Why do they care?”

  “It’s just a guess, but I think they don’t want the supernatural population growing too large. As it is, we outnumber the Tromara. Limiting who we can have children with limits our population growth rate.”

  I slowly shook my head. There was still too much that I didn’t understand.

  8

  Caprice

  Angel wasn’t at dinner for the rest of that week. He’d gotten a leave of absence from the dean but no one knew why or for how long. As the sun set Saturday night, I was getting nervous. Would he show up for our date later?

  I hung out in my room, doing homework and trying not to worry. Poor May had basically locked herself in her office between classes. She refused to speak to me or anyone else. I wished she’d go back to being her rebellious self and tell her parents to shove it. But, what would I know, I didn’t have parents.

  As the night wore on, a lead weight settled in my stomach. Angel was a no-show. The disappointment hit me harder than I’d expected. I ran my fingers over the spot where he’d bit me. It had healed quicker than any wound I’d ever had, leaving a white, mouth-shaped scar.

  To distract myself, I headed to the library. They were open until six in the morning.

  Sorrentino Hall was a massive rectangular structure at the back of campus. The library occupied the entire second floor and was filled with people on the weekend. I approached the librarian’s desk, waiting in line behind a student I didn’t recognize.

  There were two girls on duty with badges that read Library Assistant. The one who turned to me was pale with long, straight black hair and almond shaped eyes. She smiled showing pearly white fangs. I bristled for a second, still not used to vampires—especially seemingly friendly ones.

  Last term I’d had a vampire classmate who spent most of her time glaring at everyone. My stomach turned queasy, remembering how she’d been Culled. The Tromara vampire had ripped her throat out.

  “Can I help you find something?” the Library Assistant asked, still smiling.

  I shook off the queasiness. “Yeah, I’m looking for books on mutated genetics.”

  “Really?” Her head tilted to one side. “Why?”

  “It’s for a class project. Mr. Freeman assigned mutated genetics to me.” I took in her curious expression. “What’s the problem?”

  She shrugged. “Books on that topic are in the Obscura Room.”

  “Okay… And where’s that?”

  “Well, obviously it’s the hidden and secure section of the library.”

  I stared blankly at her. Obviously?

  She grabbed a clipboard and placed it on the counter. “What’s your name? I need you to sign here.”

  “Caprice Sorrentino,” I said.

  Her head jerked up. “You’re the Council Queen’s heir?”

  “Ah, yeah. Why?”

  “I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I thought you’d be taller.”

  I glanced down at myself. Isabella was only a couple of inches taller, but at my height two inches made a huge difference. “Who are you?” I asked, trying not to feel offended.

  “Regina Chang. Councilor Chang’s daughter.” She tilted her chin up.

 
So, she was from another ruling family. I bristled, remembering her mother had voted to feed me to the Tromara last summer. Was Regina like her mom?

  Remembering my decision to be more outgoing, I extended a hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  Regina shook it. “You, too. Go ahead and sign here, then I can show you the Obscura Room.” After I signed the paper, she handed me a plastic pass card. “This is your way in and out. Return this when you’re leaving.”

  I followed her to the back of the library and up a spiral staircase that I hadn’t noticed before.

  “Is it true you’re a foster kid?” Regina asked, glancing curiously over her shoulder.

  I didn’t see any reason to lie to her. “I was. When I turned eighteen, I was let out of the system.”

  The stairs took us up to a third floor landing that seemed to be a dead end.

  “That must have been weird, growing up with humans,” she said, turning to face me.

  I shrugged. “I didn’t know anything different.”

  Regina considered me for a moment, then turned toward the solid stone wall. She pulled out a pass card that looked like the one I was holding and shoved it at the middle of the wall. The stone parted in half, sliding open to reveal a large room full of ancient looking books. Wall sconces lit the interior. There were also several single table work stations with brighter lamps.

  The vampire waved me in. “Remember to return that pass when you leave. Also, you can’t take any books out of here, only your own notes.” She trotted back down the stairs.

  I entered the quiet room, peering down each of the aisles. I was alone. Having had a foster parent who was a librarian had given me a greater appreciation for books in general. But, this place—wow. The leather bindings were old but well cared for. Many were hand-painted or tooled with decorations or symbols. I wanted to read every one of them, but even a supernatural wouldn’t live long enough to accomplish that goal.

  A tingling rolled through me as I approached the far wall. My inner dragon stirred, she was curious. I couldn’t tell what the sensation meant or why it attracting me on a primal level. There was nothing but books on that wall. Strange.

  I refocused on my task: Mutated genetics. First stop was to the old style card catalogue, that I only knew how to use because of my old foster mother. I found the section number, then slowly made my way over to it.

  There were four books on the subject. Reading through the table of contents, the topic mostly covered normal and abnormal genetic mutations in shape-shifters. I scanned through the index, searching for dragons, but didn’t find anything.

  With a sigh, I lugged the massive volumes over to a work station and began taking notes. Brody was going to owe me big time.

  I checked my phone messages on Sunday night. Elena hadn’t responded, I figured she was upset that I wouldn’t be visiting over spring break. There was nothing from Isabella either. I sent a quick text to Antonio and Vanessa, letting them know I was doing okay and really busy with school. Which was partly true. This mutated genetics paper was going to take forever.

  That next week, Montrell only took a total of ten points from me. I kept my head down and studied my butt off. After shifter class on Thursday, I approached Brody.

  “Hey, I need to talk to you about our project,” I said.

  “What about it?” He peered down at me with his usual sulky expression.

  “I’m going to have a million notes on it. We’ll need to meet and go through them. I need to get a good grade on this final.”

  Brody let out a soft snort. “You really think Professor Freeman is going to give either of us a good grade? You’re more naive than I thought.”

  I opened my mouth in outrage. “Well, I’m at least going to try—”

  “Don’t worry about it. You do the research and I’ll write up the report,” he said.

  “No.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You don’t care about this assignment. Do you really think I’ll let you write the final report?”

  Brody sighed. “Then what do you want me to do?”

  “Nothing. I’ll do it all myself. Sorry I said anything.” I brushed past him before he could respond. His attitude problem was really getting to me. I didn’t mean to sound insensitive, but I thought I had a lot more to be worried about than he did. I was at the bottom of the Culling list, he at least had a chance to get out.

  I remembered what Liam had said about his first year here. That he wouldn’t have made it out if it weren’t for his friends. Did Brody have any friends? It sure didn’t seem like it.

  I paused outside under a lamp post. Friends did make all the difference. May was still avoiding me and the guys. I didn’t know how to help her, which made me sad and angry at the same time. When I finally figured it out though, Ms. Duinn was in for some payback. Although the real problem seemed to be May’s parents.

  Life just wasn’t the same without May in it. With a hopeless sigh, I headed to my room to drop off my backpack. Tonight I had dinner with the guys. I wondered if Angel was going to be there. What had called him away? He wouldn’t leave the school because of me, would he? I nibbled on my bottom lip, frowning.

  That Sunday was my nineteenth birthday. I woke up to a solid, warm chest against my back. Something hot and hard was pressing against my butt, as well. Heat shot straight between my legs, and I arched my back, moaning.

  Jaxon chuckled deep in his throat. He took my hips, guiding me onto his cock and sliding it all the way in. We groaned in unison. He set an achingly slow rhythm, taking his time.

  The languid pacing was driving me crazy, bringing me close to orgasm but not all the way there. I ground my ass against his thighs, urging him to move faster.

  Instead, he caught my hips to hold me still. “You’ll come when I want you to, not before,” he whispered in my ear. His warm breath sent a shiver through me.

  He moved even slower, burying himself to the hilt, then easing out to the tip before sliding all the way in again. It was excruciating ecstasy.

  Jaxon’s hands remained on my hips, fully in control. I ran my hand along his thigh, which was the only part of him I could reach.

  “Do you like this?” he asked.

  I moaned. “Yes.”

  “Do you want more?” His breath caressed my neck.

  “Yes.”

  Without breaking contact, he shifted us both up onto our knees. “Grab the headboard,” he said.

  I rested my weight on my elbows, clutching the vertical slats on the headboard, curious what he was going to do in this position.

  He ran his fingers over my back, reaching around to cup my breasts and give them a squeeze. He let them go to trail his hands over my sides and stomach, then took my hips again. Tilting my pelvis toward him, he slid his cock in deeper. I moaned with pleasure.

  Jaxon plunged into me again and again—hard and fast. I firmly gripped the headboard to keep myself in place. That familiar tightening sensation coiled in my lower belly as I panted.

  He slid one hand around to stroke my clit and I exploded, shuddering against him. A moment later, he let out a long groan and rested his head between my shoulder blades. Still panting hard, he kissed my ear, then my cheek, and finally I turned my head so he could claim my lips.

  “Happy Birthday,” he said, moving to lay on his side and wrapping his arms around me.

  He gazed at me with that adoring expression again, it was such a stark contrast to his often steely, serious eyes. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked.

  “You’re so different now, from when I first met you.” I brushed my fingers over the blond hairs on his chest. He caught my hand, kissing the inside of my wrist.

  Those grey eyes turned serious. “I’ve never apologized to you for…how I behaved last summer. I’m sorry. I acted like a jerk. And I lied to you.”

  “I know you did it to protect Isabella. You didn’t know me. Still, thanks for
apologizing.”

  Jaxon didn’t meet my gaze, his jaw working. “I mean I lied when I was trying to hurt you—so that I could distance myself from you.” He met my eyes. “I’ve never used sexual energy to get information from someone before. I made all that up. You see—when I rescued you from the Tromara that night, I crossed a line. I knew it was stupid and extremely dangerous, but I was falling hard for you. I didn’t want to admit that to myself though. That’s why I said those hurtful things to you in the bookshop. I’m sorry.”

  I squirmed closer to him. “I forgive you. Try not to be an asshole again, okay?”

  “I promise.” He swept his fingers through my hair. “I want to be the best person I can be for you.”

  Drawing his head down, I kissed him slow and deep. He’d made love to me, said he would be mine for life, but neither of us had said those three little life-changing words. Right now, it didn’t matter. I could feel his love for me.

  “As much as I’d like to stay in bed,” he said, “we have a brunch reservation.”

  I lifted a brow. “A reservation? On campus?”

  He kissed my nose. “Yep. Now let’s shower and get dressed.”

  A thrill ran through me at the idea of showering with him.

  Jaxon strode naked to his bathroom, sending a questioning glance over his shoulder. The water turned on in the shower. I slid out of bed, entering the dimly lit room. He opened the shower door and pulled me inside.

  “I’m not done with you yet,” he murmured against my lips. He filled his palms with body wash, then rubbed it all over me. He started with my shoulders and back, down to my butt and the back of my thighs. Kneeling, he washed each of my legs, my feet. His hands slid upward, over my stomach. When he rolled my nipples through his slippery fingers, I gasped.

  Standing, he positioned himself behind me. Both his fingers caressed down my sides and between my legs. He washed me thoroughly, leaving me panting for more. He took the hand-held shower head and began rinsing the suds away.