by Luna Pierce
I shove his jeans down, and he fumbles behind my back to unsnap my bra. He tosses it to the side, and a second later, he wiggles out of his shoes and we’re stark-ass naked together.
I scoot closer to him and look into his golden eyes. His wolf instincts shine through in a fucking magnificent way.
He merges our mouths again, only pausing slightly to take his index and middle finger and slip them into my mouth in the most seductive way ever.
He reaches down, sliding the same hand between my legs, running it up my thigh slowly, slowly, slowly, until I shift myself forward, nearly begging for the touch.
He lightly caresses me, gradually twirling his digits around my entrance.
I extend my arm, taking him into my hand and nearly gasping at his rock-solid size.
Panic and excitement take their turn on me.
I encourage him toward me but stop with him practically in place, bracing for what comes next.
Cautiously, he inches himself nearer, until finally, he breaks through my barrier.
I bite down on his lip when he enters, breathless and full of him.
He continues to move unhurriedly, our bodies melting into each other.
“You okay?” he says against my mouth.
I lace my hands through his dark hair. “I’m great. Are you?”
He stiffens his arm around me, lifting me off the sink top and carrying me into the still-running shower. The hot water pours down all around us, and we lose ourselves in each other.
Pink and gold sparkles rain down and glitter against the droplets in a beautiful symphony called us.
Chapter Four
Despite having a—let’s call it mind-blowing evening—with Deghan, I slept like complete dog shit last night.
Once we had both finished, we sat and stayed in the shower until the water ran cold. It was the perfect romantic closeness post-sexual bliss.
But night finally came, and all I did was toss and turn, never able to get comfortable enough to fall into a deep sleep. I was either too hot, too cold, too something. A constant distraction, the floor creaking or wind rattling on the window, one thing followed by another, keeping me awake for hours on end. It was as though I was having growing pains, my body aching constantly.
And now, standing in front of the mirror in my bathroom with freshly brushed teeth, I can’t help but observe the dark circles under my eyes. Great, that’s exactly what I wanted on the first day of the new term. Fresh classes, first impressions… and I want nothing more than to crawl back into bed for the next seven to three hundred hours.
Coffee calls to me something fierce.
I yawn widely and stretch, the black oversized t-shirt sliding down my shoulder. I run a brush through my hair. That’ll have to do.
Grabbing my bag from the table, I make my way to the door. I head straight for the teachers’ lounge, desperate for something stronger than the java they supply us in the dining hall. Maybe some espresso and sugar will kick my ass into gear.
I jog down the stairs, waving to Ruby when she smiles at me from across the foyer.
Sydney’s sights land on me. “You look rough, Willow.”
“You’re telling me. I didn’t get any sleep last night.” I motion to the elaborate machine next to him. “Make me something potent?”
He immediately turns and gets to work. “Of course.” Sydney takes a carton of milk from the fridge, pouring some into a metal cup. “You sure you’re down for first period?”
“What do you mean?” I drop into a seat nearby.
“We have Walker and Abigail during first for this term. We’re supposed to be working on the shadow realm repair.” His last few words are quieter than the rest. “Have you even gone over your schedule?”
“Uh… not really.” I fumble through my bag in an attempt to find the paper. “I’ve been a little mentally preoccupied.”
The sound of the brewing heaven fills the room, along with the glorious aroma. Damn, I freaking love coffee.
“They’re optimistic that we might be able to start regular lessons by the end of the week. And that the other supernatural students can, too. Our classes will be a little different, though, because we’ll have to spend two days a week maintaining the realm and making sure it’s solid. It will be a constant effort, but I think we can do it.” With his back to me, he continues making my drink and talking. “They think we have something special together. The way our powers mix into each other, it’s out of this world.”
I shuffle between a few notebooks. “I can’t find it.” I let out a huff.
Syd places the steaming cup on my desk, plopping a few ice cubes into it and putting on the lid, taking extra care to make sure it’s secure.
We don’t exactly need another repeat of yesterday.
“You have Walker first, then stats, speech, lunch, marketing, and intro to management.” He rattles them off one by one without hesitating.
I sit there, basically jaw-dropping in response to him having this memorized.
“I’m not sure if I should be impressed or creeped out.” I hold the steaming cup between my hands, blowing through the small hole and taking a blisteringly hot sip. The warmth alone manages to wake me up a little.
“Do you want to get breakfast or head to class?” He puts on his backpack and then grabs his own drink, his shaggy hair toppling down onto his forehead, his emerald eyes glowing radiantly. He tucks a thumb into one of the straps.
“Yeah, I could use a muffin.” I weave my fingers through the handle on top of my bag and stand, the entire contents spilling on the floor. The stitching completely ripped out, and because I hadn’t zipped it all the way closed, it threw my books haphazardly. “Seriously?” I mouth, kneeling to pick up my stuff.
Sydney gathers the few writing utensils that managed to make their way over to him, and hands them to me. “You’re having a pretty bad time lately, aren’t you?”
“I’d say so.” I let out an exasperated sigh.
“Hmm.”
I shift to look at him. “What?”
“Could this have anything to do with your curse?”
I continue to study him. “You can’t be serious? I’m just having some bad luck.”
“You’re not wrong. But it seems awful sudden, doesn’t it?”
I shrug. “I think it’s me, not the curse. Or maybe Mercury is in retrograde. I heard that’s a thing.”
“I’m familiar.” Sydney’s gaze wanders aimlessly like he’s lost in thought. “Anything else weird happening? You fell down the stairs yesterday, and then dumped that coffee on you, now this.”
“And I slept bad, lost my schedule. I’m going to assume there aren’t any blueberry muffins left, either.” Something is going on with Silas, too.
“This is serious, Willow. We have to stay on top of any changes and prepare ourselves for whatever your next curse is. We need to be vigilant. This could very well be the precursor to something much bigger.” He steps forward, using his free hand to lightly tap my arm. “I care about you, okay? I’m not going to let something else happen to you. Never again will I be so foolish.”
He still blames himself for what happened with his parents, and I can’t say I wouldn’t either if I was in his position. He didn’t know what they were up to, but that doesn’t mean it sucks any less for him that he fell right into their trap and put me in danger.
How fucking strange is it that they’ve made no attempt at contact with him, though? The whole blindside happened, and he came back here, as did Silas and I, and he hasn’t heard a word about them or what they’re doing.
For all we’re aware, they’re scheming other weird bullshit and using their son like a pawn in whatever game they’re playing.
At least he managed to steal the stone. Now we can use it to find my mom and dad. Well, once it’s charged and ready to go again, the passing minutes dragging by while we wait until the time is right.
“Let me carry your coffee. I don’t want you to burn yourself if a freak acc
ident happens again.” Sydney grasps the cup without letting me protest.
“Thank you.” I shove the fabric handle into the bag and put the backpack over my shoulder gently in case it decides to burst open once more.
We arrive in the dining hall, and Remi waves us over.
“You go ahead and sit. I’ll see what the muffin selection is.” Sydney places the drinks on the table and slides his bag near my feet.
I lower my head into my hands and rest my elbows on the table.
“Listen, girl, I’m all for the natural look, but if you need some concealer, I gotchu,” Remi says from her seat a few chairs down.
“Is it that bad?” I sigh.
“No, I’ve seen worse. You feeling all right? You’re not getting sick, are you?”
Kyra glances up from her phone where she was using the front camera to apply a coat of red lipstick. “She’s not wrong. Maybe you should see the nurse.”
“I’m not sick, I didn’t sleep last night. You two act like I’m dying.” I lean up, scanning the rest of the crowd. “Where’s Lills?”
Kyra points, and I follow her finger to spot Lillian and Ethan flirting with each other near the food.
They really are so damn adorable together.
“Bad news,” Sydney says from behind me. “You called it. No blueberry.” He holds out his hands. “Banana nut and apple are your choices.”
I take the former, and he tugs the wrapper down on the latter, biting into his breakfast and sitting next to me.
Deghan and Cameron stroll out from the door to the kitchen and come toward us.
“Morning.” Deghan’s tanned skin blushes.
My mind flashes to last night, my body pressed against the wall of my shower by his, water cascading down our intertwined bodies. I have to blink to get my vision to clear, and this time it’s my cheeks that get rosy.
“Hi.” I peek around the room even though I’m certain Silas isn’t here, his presence not filling the space whatsoever. Where could he be, and why is he being so distant again? Maybe he’s not as okay with me and the other guys as he lets on. I have to get to the bottom of it, so it doesn’t drive a wedge between us. If he wasn’t okay with it, he shouldn’t have told me that he was. That only leads to confusion and unfair expectations.
Sydney tosses the remaining part of his muffin into his mouth. “You want to get going? You can eat in the room.”
“Sure, yeah.” I stand, getting my things and waving a weak goodbye at everyone. “See you guys later.”
Once inside the north wing room, Sydney leads me to a place to sit and have my breakfast.
Ten minutes later, Abigail and Walker arrive, chattering to each other about nothing I can comprehend.
“How’s everyone doing today?” Walker asks from his spot at the front of the room.
I glimpse at Sydney out of the corner of my eye.
“Great, we’re great.” Sydney answers. “How are you?”
“Good to hear. I’m just peachy.” Walker pulls a notebook from his bag. “Now, excuse me for getting right down to business, but if our calculations are correct, we should be nearing a stable shadow realm. What do you think, Abby, another session or two and we can experiment with crossing over?”
She studies her own pad of paper. “I’d say that’s accurate. We’ve made wonderful strides. You two are something else. We couldn’t have done it without you.” Her red hair is in beachy waves today, and it really brings out the blues in her eyes.
“You wouldn’t be in this mess without me, either.” I rip off a piece of my muffin. “I’m glad to help.” I toss it into my mouth, hoping it fuels me to get through this day.
“Actually, Willow, the accident only brought to light what weaknesses the shadow realm did pose. So, if anything, you did us a favor. I’m only sorry that it put you and your friends in danger in the manner in which it did.” Walker leans on a desk. “Whenever you’re ready we can get started.”
I ball up the muffin wrapper and brush my hands together. “I’m good to go.”
Taking the headphones from Abigail, I slide them over my ears.
Sydney drags a chair over and holds his hands out toward me.
I place mine onto his, like we had done in the past, allowing my magic to flow into him and his into me.
The surge is electric at first, the connection vibrating and pounding, then calming into a steady stream of sheer power. Crackling shades of green and pink orbit us, but I don’t dare take my eyes off of Sydney’s, not wanting to weaken the connection and make it any more difficult for Abigail and Walker to do their thing.
“Hey,” Sydney’s voice floats into my head.
Chapter Five
The realm repair goes exactly like all the rest.
Syd and I sit, hand in hand, gazes locked, nearly oblivious to our surroundings as we hold a conversation in our heads.
It’s romantic and fun and honestly a nice break to focus on him and the power we create together.
Although, the topics of our chats do vary.
“I missed this,” Sydney says.
“Me, too.”
“I know it’s going to take you some time… but I hope you’ll trust me again someday.” His eyes sparkle, and his energy is wholesome.
“Have you heard from them?” I ask.
His head shakes faintly.
“I hope they’re okay at least…” Regardless of what they did to me, they’re still Sydney’s parents.
“I don’t.” He says it so matter-of-fact.
My eyes widen. “But…”
Sydney cuts me off. “But nothing. Their actions are inexcusable. I can look past how they’ve treated me, I always have. They screwed up putting you in danger. I won’t ever forgive them, or myself, for letting that happen.”
“You’re going to have to realize that wasn’t your fault. If you want me to be able to move past what happened, you should work on forgiving yourself, too.”
He nods. “You’re right. I’ll do a better job. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop worrying about you. I don’t think any of us will.”
“Until I break this curse and then you guys are going to have to acknowledge that I can keep myself safe.”
“We’ll see when it happens. Speaking of, are you making any progress?”
“Not really, no.” I force away any rampant thoughts that attempt to give away what’s going on in my mind. It’s not that I don’t want to talk to him about every single detail I learn, it’s that I hate not knowing the things fully before involving someone else.
“What aren’t you telling me?” He reads me like an open book.
Without me getting a chance to reply, a wave of nausea hits me. I rip my hand away from his and grasp at my mouth, dissolving our magical connection. I frantically look at Walker and Abigail, who pause with their hands near the ceiling.
“What’s wrong?” Sydney says out loud.
Jumping up, I run for the door, desperate to get to a toilet so I don’t puke everywhere.
I jog down the north wing hallway, the sound of Sydney on my heels, and bust through the foyer and into the girl’s restroom to find the nearest stall. Once inside, I quickly hug my newfound best friend and empty the contents of my stomach.
“Willow,” Sydney calls through the door. “I’m coming in.”
Oh God, no no no. Please no.
I can’t even object when another surge takes hold. I flush in an effort to lessen my embarrassment.
Creaking fills the space, and I know for sure it’s too late.
Hands weave through my hair, pulling it back and away from my face.
“I got you.” Sydney clutches my hair in one hand and rubs gently on my back with the other.
I am absolutely mortified.
It’s one thing for him to see me take on a demon, or almost die… but to witness me puking up my guts is a whole new level of humiliation.
He sits with me for a few minutes until the heaving stops and I can relax against th
e wall.
“You coming down with something?”
Is that his sly way of asking if I’m pregnant? Because that would be a definite no. Silas is a vampire, and I only slept with Deghan yesterday. It would be nearly impossible.
I did just find out fairies are real, though, so I guess I shouldn’t totally rule anything out. Especially with the whole Bella and Edward honeymoon fiasco. Wouldn’t that be some crazy shit?
“Probably food poisoning,” I finally mutter.
“Willow.” Silas’s voice rings through the bathroom.
Can this get any worse?
“Are you in there?” he says loudly.
“Yeah, she’s in here.” Sydney answers for me.
Not a second later, Silas rushes into the area. “What did you do to her?”
I weakly put my arm up in protest. “Stop always blaming him. It was a bad muffin.”
He reaches my side, scooping me into his arms without letting me or Sydney protest.
“What are you doing?” Sydney asks.
“Taking her to her room where she can rest privately.” Silas continues on his way out.
“I’ll bring up some tea.” Sydney follows us.
I lose track of him while Silas carries me up the west wing stairs. I take in a breath and relax into him, willing myself not to hurl all over his extravagant leather jacket. “I can walk.”
“And I can carry you.”
We reach my room, and he turns the handle without setting me down.
Inside, he lays me on my bed and goes to the bathroom, coming back out a moment later with a damp rag and a wastebasket. He places the cold cloth on my forehead and tucks my blanket around me.
“I’m not staying in here. How long until second period?” I ask with my eyes closed.
“A little over an hour.”
“That should be plenty of time. I’ll take a quick nap and be golden.”
“Fat chance.” His voice is stern.
I peek through one lid at him. “You’ve been different lately.”
He repositions his body somewhat. “How so?”
“I’m not sure… but something is off. I can feel it.”
