by Rachel Jonas
“It’s a … rank thing.”
The explanation made my head tilt when I became even more confused.
“Excuse me?”
Rayen sighed, maybe realizing I was going to need more than that.
“Ori’s our alpha. So, according to protocol, he’s supposed to be with you first.”
My brow tensed, hearing the word “protocol” again. Only, it’d been spoken out loud this time. The whole thing suddenly had a very strong animal dominance ring to it that didn’t sit well with me.
“So, let me get this straight,” I started, shifting to lean against the door. “There’s some archaic rule that actually states Ori gets to ‘mark’ me first?”
Tristan’s reaction to being told I was mated to all four Omegas came to mind, and I envisioned a dog peeing on a chair it believed to be his. In this scenario, I was the chair, and the idea disgusted me a bit.
Rayen’s eyes slammed shut as he adjusted the towel around his waist.
“It’s not like that,” he tried to convince me. “It’s not meant to imply ownership of you. It’s about our place within the hive. Spirit gave us an alpha for a reason, and we’re meant to uphold all the guidelines set in place when we were called as Firekeepers.”
As much as I wanted to be upset, this was another instance of their homeland and mine being vastly different. I recalled being told by a guide upon arrival that the traditions of Sanluuk didn’t have to be understood by outsiders. Only respected.
With that, I silenced that side of me that wanted to give someone a piece of my mind on behalf of feminists everywhere, and instead saw Rayen’s side of things.
As mates, we’d done nothing wrong. It would have been unfair to hold something against him that was out of his control.
“So, what’s it going to cost you?” I asked, not taking my eyes off him.
“I don’t think anything,” he answered, “as long as Ori doesn’t find out.”
I didn’t like the feeling of not knowing how this worked, but we had no choice. We couldn’t take back what we’d done, nor would I if that had been an option. So, for now, what happened with Rayen was our little secret.
Chapter Eight
Noelle
As I lie there, staring at the gym ceiling, I had a moment to reflect on how this practice session had gone so far. To sum it up, I’d just blasted myself with my own magic … again … because I’m so effing smooth.
Before this, I thought the term ‘seeing stars’ was just a saying, but yeah, it was a real thing.
A bright pulse of light had backfired, hitting me instead of my intended target—the black and white bullseye a mere twenty feet away. As I peeled myself off the mat, I tried to shake off the mounting frustration.
Three mother-lovin’ weeks. That’s how long we’d been at it, and my accuracy hadn’t improved even a little. Our instructors this term were none other than our Domain Akaasha overseers—Sira and Claire from the revered Bahir Dar coven of Ethiopia. Knowing they were likely aware of my mother’s lineage having stemmed from theirs, it only added to the pressure. I was supposed to be strong and graceful, not a walking, talking mistake of magic.
Some of our finals were being replaced with Domain evaluations. Hence the reason we’d been challenged to wield our magic in ways only the most skillful witches on the planet knew how to do. The last week of classes would be much more than filling in bubbles with correct answers, we had to also prove that we held a strong command of our supernatural abilities. Unfortunately for me, I had three Domains to impress.
Kill me now.
None of us had exactly nailed this assignment. However, while most of my classmates’ version of a failure looked like dim puffs of magic barely lighting up their palms, mine manifested in the form of a blast so powerful I nearly blew myself right out of my shoes.
Imagining it might have gotten a laugh out of me, if I hadn’t been so frustrated.
On my feet … again, I breathed deep and tried to ignore the fact that I had everyone’s attention. Including hers—Blythe. It was unlikely she’d forgotten what a disaster I was back in the day, so if I had to guess, seeing me fail was like déjà vu.
Her latest stunt—pretending to help my friends at the gate the night I shifted—hadn’t been far from my thoughts. Mostly because her intentions were super vague and sketchy. What could she possibly have gained trying to convince those guards that I was worth the risk of going into the unknown?
Whatever the case, she was up to something.
I just knew it.
“Again,” Sira called out.
She passed behind me as I resumed my stance, and my focus. I couldn’t see her, but felt her judgy stare all the same. Her long, heavy skirt made this unsettling swooshing sound as she paced the mat, back and forth, back and forth, grating on my nerves. Almost like it was just her and I in the room, only my performance under review.
I stared at my hands as they faced outward toward the target like I’d done before. Then, I envisioned myself blasting a hole right through it with a concentrated pulse of energy, just like Claire had done during her demonstration. No, it wasn’t easy, but it was possible. Heck, I’d done it at the orphanage when Janet came at me. Should’ve been a piece of cake, then, right?
Wrong.
Air burst from my lungs when my back slammed to the mat again. Everything ached, and I swear I blacked out for a second. I hadn’t had issues controlling my magic in such a long time, I’d forgotten what it was like to fail at it over and over.
Apparently, since transitioning, I was back at square one. Only, new me, me with the rage of a hybrid dragon inside her, didn’t have the same measure of patience old me had.
Panting and gritting my teeth, I chose not to stand right away. Mostly because something didn’t feel right. I was angry and frustrated, yes, but this felt more extreme than that.
As my fists tightened at my side the urge to slam them against the ground got the best of me and I gave in, feeling like I’d explode if I didn’t dispel some of the rage somehow. The sound ricocheted off the hard surfaces in the room, causing those around me to quiet their chatter. They were probably staring too, but I was so consumed with anger I could have been in that room alone. My skin burned like a million tiny razorblades sliced through it, and that’s when I saw the light.
A turquoise glow that seemed to illuminate the space around me.
My arms, my legs, everything glowed with blue-green sigils that covered every inch of skin I could see and feel. The sight of it made my breaths come quicker, remembering the Omegas saying they’d seen this the night I shifted. I believed it was a onetime event, brought on by the stress of transitioning, but … what did it mean this time?
And why did they show up as the negative energy swelled within me now?
“Look at her eyes!” someone gasped. “They’re completely black!”
What?
Suddenly panicked, I sat straight up just as a figure approached from my right. It was Toni, and her brown skin reflected the bright light I couldn’t seem to control.
“Don’t come any closer,” I rushed to say, unsure I wouldn’t do something to hurt her. If that happened, I’d never be able to forgive myself.
“It’s okay,” she said reassuringly, kneeling beside me as she clutched my hand without fear. The moment I realized touching me wouldn’t instantly kill her, I squeezed.
Because I was terrified.
“Do you want me to get Kai?” she asked, still managing to sound calm. “He was right in the hallway when I went to get a drink.”
“No!” That word flew from my mouth quickly, because I did not want the guys to know things were still not right with me. The entire time I stayed with them at the bungalow, I didn’t have a single weird thing happen, and seeing how much relief that brought them … I couldn’t ruin it by letting him see me like this.
I wanted to be normal.
Wanted them to believe I was normal.
“Has this happened before
?” I peered up when Sira asked. Her expression reflected both her concern and her intrigue as she observed me from a distance.
I nodded. “Only once. When I transitioned about five weeks ago,” I admitted, hating that a crowd gathered around me now.
Including Tristan, who hadn’t had much to say to me since break ended.
“Have you seen anything like it before?” Toni turned to ask.
Claire studied me more closely, and then shook her head. “Never. And I’ve been around a long time.” She met my gaze then, filling me with a sense of dread.
“I … I think I can help.”
The voice that spoke was familiar, and I looked left to confirm it was Blythe who came toward me. Her dark hair rested on top of her head in a bundle while we trained, wearing a Dragon Fire Academy logoed t-shirt and shorts like the rest of us.
She kneeled beside me, just like Toni to my left, but instead of holding my hand, she gripped my shoulder. I stared as her eyes fell closed, and she began to murmur an incantation barely loud enough to qualify as a whisper.
I kept my gaze trained on her—this girl who made my life a living hell, for reasons I still didn’t know—and the longer she spoke over me, the more the rage faded. Her lips stopped moving and my breathing slowed, just as the sigils began to dim and the turquoise glow subsided altogether. I had no idea what she’d done, or how she’d done it, but I was happy to see my skin return to normal.
“I … thank you,” I forced out. It was beyond strange saying those words to her.
The look on her face made me think it was equally as difficult for her to hear them. “No worries.”
Her gaze flitted away from mine and she was quick to get to her feet, already starting to put distance between us as the rest of the class began to whisper. About me, no doubt.
Toni was still at my side, and the way her brow knitted together made it clear she was still concerned, too.
“What the heck was that?” she asked.
There was so much she wouldn’t understand, starting with me having been marked by The Darkness. There was no explanation for why my magic was so wonky, no explanation for why I felt so … off.
“It’s nothing,” I answered, downplaying the truth. “Just a tri-hybrid thing, I guess.” To lighten the mood, I smiled and shrugged it off as I stood to head to the locker room with everyone else.
Toni was a lot of things, but gullible wasn’t one of them. She would undoubtedly have questions, and hopefully by the time she got up the nerve to ask them, I’d have answers.
***
I adjusted the lapel of my blazer, focusing on the three pins situated in triangle formation there, representing that I belonged to all three Domains. Whatever had just taken place in the gym still had me rattled. So much so, I lingered in the locker room long after changing, pretending to only be fixing my hair. When, in reality, I was trying to make sure I wouldn’t cry the moment I stepped foot outside that door. Kai was waiting on the other side of it, and he couldn’t know things had been so hard.
“I need to get to class, but … you’re okay?” Toni’s expression reflected her concern for me, and how much she cared.
Faking a smile, I nodded. “Yup, totally fine. Go. I’ll see you back at the dorm later.”
Even with my permission, she lingered a moment before touching my arm and going her own way. One more deep breath and I decided I could handle going out into the world.
The door opened and shut behind me, and Kai read me instantly.
Of course he did.
“What’s wrong?” The question left his mouth sternly.
I peered up and smiled, pushing my braid behind my shoulder. “Geez! Nothing, Dad,” I teased as I turned to face forward again. “Just a difficult session. They’re really pushing us this term.”
Our steps echoed in the hallway as we neared the exit.
It didn’t surprise me that we halted then, and a set of heavily concerned eyes were now glued to mine. Having his full attention made me uneasy, mostly because I feared he’d see right through me. The pressure brought out a nervous smile.
“I said I’m fine,” I assured him. “What about you? You seem … stressed.”
That was the best word I could find for the extra helping of tension he seemed to carry.
“It’s the Chief. I asked to speak with him and the only time he has open is an hour from now,” he revealed with a sigh.
It wasn’t lost on me that he referred to his father in this way. Not Dad. Chief. It also stood out that Kai had to make an appointment to speak with the man who raised him.
Curious, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Speak with him about what?”
The one and only time I encountered the man was when he denied my right to leave the island.
“He needs to know we’ve found our mate. Technically, we should have informed him weeks ago, but … we had our reservations.”
If by reservations, he meant he didn’t trust the man further than he could throw him, we were on the same page.
“Besides,” Kai continued with a sigh, “I’ve been thinking about what you suggested—that maybe he already knows? At first, we didn’t think it could be, but it’s possible one of his more intuitive advisors could have sensed it and informed him. Honestly, it’s the only reason we could come up with for why he was so adamant that you stay in Sanluuk. Having you complete our hive will strengthen us over time, so maybe he feared what might have happened if you left before we all discovered the truth.”
I didn’t want to speak against Kai’s father, but I wasn’t so sure his motives had been this pure.
I smiled coyly and nodded, deciding against calling attention to his family’s dysfunction. It wasn’t my business, nor was it something I believed he wished to discuss.
“I see. So, what you’re trying to say is that you’re leaving me here to fend for myself today.” My back fell against the bricks as my eyes flickered up to meet his. Most of the other students had cleared that area of the building, so it was just us.
“Only for a bit,” he promised, smiling back.
He was the first Omega to soften and really see me for who I was—more than a princess, more than a burden. But a person. For that reason, our connection was a bit different from what I shared with the others. Not stronger or more meaningful; there was just an ease to it that made it feel perfectly natural when I reached for both his hands, bringing him closer.
We hadn’t kissed since the private moment in the grotto behind the waterfall. Tasting his lips again was both thrilling and familiar. It was also just what I needed to push the disaster in the gym out of my mind.
I placed his hands on my waist before securing mine on his shoulders. Being late to class wasn’t even a concern as I got lost in him. Whenever I was close to any of them, the amount of passion, protection, loyalty, and steadfast devotion I felt was like nothing else I’d ever experienced. I looked forward to a lifetime of sharing those feelings with the entire hive.
Kai leaned in, letting his body settle against mine, locking me against the wall. A flashback of that night with Rayen in the shower came to mind, and I inhaled sharply, kissing Kai deeper. His hand slipped lower, gathering the side of my pleated skirt until his blazing-hot fingertips trailed my thigh.
A breathy laugh slipped from my lips when I pulled away slowly. “If we don’t stop, we’re gonna end up giving this school a show I don’t think they’re ready for.”
There was hunger in his eyes as he lingered with his face mere inches from mine. “As much as I’d love that,” he groaned, “I couldn’t. Not even if it was just you and me.”
I blinked hearing his response, but didn’t speak. That night with Rayen, it was brought to my attention that there was an “order” to things.
“It’s just how our hives function,” Kai explained. “There’s a delicate balance between us and Spirit that has to be maintained.”
“What does that mean exactly?” I asked. Maybe he knew more about this than Rayen
did.
“It means that, with Ori being our alpha, he’s supposed to … establish you as our queen before anyone else.”
“Establish me as your queen?” I echoed with a faint grin. He was practically squirming beneath my gaze. “That’s basically just a nice way of saying he’s supposed to screw me first.” The words left my mouth as more of a statement than a question.
Kai flashed a quick smile that was gone too soon. “I guess that’s one way of saying it,” he answered, “but please don’t be offended by how this all works. It’s not like a … macho thing, or even Ori’s decision. It’s just the way Spirit ordained it.”
“Why?” My eyes were fixed on him when I asked. “What would happen if we … I don’t know … broke the rules?”
I honestly didn’t mean to sound as though I was tempting him, or even suggesting that we went against this unspoken code. However, something came over me and the words definitely left my mouth sounding that way.
I could admit it; I wanted them all. Like, all the time. I’d never been this open, craving any guy to the point of feeling as though I might choose sex over food if forced to pick between the two. But there wasn’t a second of any given day I wasn’t on fire for them. Even Ori, in all his broodiness and buried pain. Regardless of his flaws and emotional walls, he was still mine.
I pulled Kai closer, until there was no space between us. Fantasizing what might have happened behind that waterfall if he hadn’t been called away, very bad thoughts ran through my mind.
His gaze flickered up from where it had just been focused on my chest, and a deep, frustrated breath left his mouth. “I’m not sure,” he answered. “None of the other hives have veered off course, so it’s just one of those things we know not to do.”
As badly as he wanted to, there was a sense of resolve about him that I knew wouldn’t budge. He was steadfast where Rayen and I had both been weak—not that I regretted that weakness for even a second.
“I need to run,” he said against my ear, right before craning his neck to place a kiss against my jaw. “I’ll catch up with you in a few to let you know how things go.”
Disappointed, I nodded. “Okay.”
