Dark Water: A Collective World Novel (Academy's Rise Book 2)

by Lia Davis

  "Hello, dear." She pulled me into a hug, then held me at arms' length, looking me over. "You look terrible."

  Laughing, I put my arms around her and hugged her close. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

  "What's going on?" she asked.

  "Honestly? I've got a lot of weird stuff going on." I explained how I'd been feeling.

  "Well," she said, eyeing me. "You're not pregnant and nobody is in your head. I can confirm that. You've probably picked up some sort of bug."

  "I didn't think that was possible." I looked around, noticing where we were. This time the setting was a desert, all sunshine and dry, shifting sands. "Where are we?"

  "I'm not sure. Somewhere in Nevada."

  "Is the spirit world like an alternate universe to the real world?"

  She laughed. "No, but I can make it look like whatever. I picked a spot, and here it is."

  "Okay, well, I'll grab my sisters."

  I pulled them into the dream with relative ease. Phenex stood with Grandma Tina when we returned. We appeared in time to hear him updating her on our progress. "They need to practice more than anything, I think."

  "Yes, that's often the problem in these situations. We should've intervened years ago, but you know how the ancestors try to stay out of these sorts of things."

  "But we're the only hybrids," I said. "I'd think that would be reason enough for them to break their rules and give us a bit of a heads up."

  "Oh, my dear, you're not the only hybrids." She laughed and shook her head. "There are lots of them out there, but you're the only hybrids that are also the grandchildren of a High Alpha and Lucifer himself."

  Looking at my sisters, I saw they had similar shocked expressions on their faces. "How did we not know that?" Meda asked.

  "I don't know. It was very taboo until recently to mate inter-species. It simply wasn't done in polite society, and could be very dangerous for the offspring. Those children often tried to pass as whichever species they smelled the most like."

  "That's terrible," Ami whispered. "Not being able to be your true self? What a rotten way to have to live."

  "Oh, yes, but the world is changing, thankfully. Now, let's move on to the business at hand."

  She wanted us to demonstrate exactly what we could do. We connected easily, and first we each killed demons with balls of energy and power. She was impressed, which thrilled me. "But you're too slow," she said in dismay. "Have you girls not been connecting like this for years?"

  "It's different," Meda said for all of us. "We've spoken to each other telepathically all our lives, sure, but this feels more physical." Shaking her head, she laughed and continued. "Obviously, we're not actually in each other's heads, but it feels more like that."

  I nodded to agree. When I grabbed their power, it felt like my hands were literally grabbing it and hauling it over to my body, though of course, they weren't.

  "Try this. Think of your consciousness as an octopus. You've got tentacles. Reach a tentacle out and use it to grab the magic you need from your sister."

  We stood in a circle, facing one another. Trickles of Meda's consciousness entered my mind as I reached out a tentacle of my own out to Ami. Grinning, I realized it was easier than I thought it would be.

  My energy ball grew as Ami's energy fed it. Trying to add to it, I also reached out to my surroundings, feeling for energy, but the dry desert had no energy to offer. As I searched for plant or animal life in the ground, my attention faltered and Ami's power snapped out of my grasp. My energy ball exploded in my face, knocking all three of us back onto our asses in the sand.

  "Fucking hell," I muttered, then moaned, pain shooting across my face and hands. Meda and Ami looked like I felt, with red, raw skin and blistered hands.

  Phenex and Grandma Tina stood over us. I looked up at their concerned faces as I waited for my skin to heal.

  Meda and Ami sat up, giving me a clear view of their faces as the skin knitted together, the red turning to pink, and then healthy tissue. The pain in my face didn't let up. I lifted a hand to touch it, and felt raw, sticky, burned skin. "Why isn't it healing?" I asked. "It burns!"

  I called my water to the surface in hopes it would soothe the skin to help it heal, but it wouldn't come. "And now my water won't come."

  Phenex dropped to his knees beside me and put a hand under my head, lifting me up. "Drink," he whispered.

  "Wait." Grandma Tina looked at us. "Claim him."

  "What do you mean?" I asked.

  "You haven't claimed any of your mates yet, have you?"

  I shook my head. The time hadn't been exactly right.

  "I thought not. You need to do so. Right now, I want you three to all claim Phenex. I'll leave you to it. Practice what you started here tonight, and do it as soon as you can. The more you practice, the safer you'll be if Calista attacks."

  Meda and Ami stood and hugged Grandma Tina. She blew me a kiss and disappeared.

  "How do we do this?" I asked, grimacing through the pain of the burns that still hadn't healed.

  "Well, in theory, Phenex's blood will heal you, so you go first."

  "Meda, will I know what to do?" I asked. I was sure I would, since I'd wanted to claim each of my mates every time we'd had sex. My nerves caused me to ask for reassurance.

  "Yup." She smiled at me. "Go for it, sister." Her smile wasn't comforting, given the worried edge it had to it.

  Phenex lowered his neck to my mouth when he realized it was a little more than I could handle to reach over and bite him myself. My fangs descended, eager for sustenance. I tried to remember when I'd last drank blood, but I couldn't. Shoot. Going too long without blood would definitely make a vampire weak and tired. And make us want more human food. I bet that was my problem. I'd been thirsty and in the excitement of the new school, I hadn't realized it.

  Phenex's blood filled my mouth in a delicious rush. Damnation to donuts, this is fucking amazing. I moaned as the rich liquid slid down my throat and coated my stomach. Immediately, the pain in my face and hands lessened. I found myself eager to sit up, to move. Energy coursed through my limbs. I could take on the world again!

  With Phenex at my side, I could do anything. He was mine. My alpha wolf and vampire sat up and paid attention, shaking off the glow of the fresh feed. I still drank, but as I did, I let the part of my inner self that was my alpha nature slip into Phenex's mind. We connected, and I claimed him as my own.

  When it was done, and I'd pulled my fangs from his neck, he kept his arms around me for a few minutes. "Wow." He squeezed me tighter. "That was... Wow."

  "What was it like?" Ami asked. "How do you feel, Tala?"

  I chuckled and pulled away from my new mate. "Like I could take on a demon army."

  Jumping to my feet, I called my water, and it came to the surface, happy and bubbling. Not content to only do that, I sent a little octopus tentacle over to Ami and borrowed some of her air. Turning my face to the sky, I felt for the air and water in the atmosphere and drew it to me. It was very far away, but it heard my call.

  Yelling, I turned in circles as clouds formed above us and rain fell in the desert.

  "Tala," Meda whispered. "That's enough."

  Phenex grabbed my hand, pulling me close. "Tala," he said, iron in his voice. "Look at me."

  I gazed into his eyes, his gorgeous teal eyes. "Hello, mate! That was great. Your blood! It's like taking a drug. So potent."

  "I hear it's wonderful, but you are reacting too strongly."

  "I'll take her back to her other mates," Ami said. "Then come back to finish the claiming with Phenex."

  "I'd love to do that," I said with a laugh. "Let's go."

  Before she had time to go with me, I jumped back to my body, waking up with the energy and stamina of Phenex's blood coursing through my body.

  My mates all three sat up beside me, looking down as I woke "What happened?" Kevin asked. "You cried out, and your skin burned and damaged for no reason."

  "That must've been nuts fo
r you guys." I tried not to giggle, though there was nothing to laugh about. "It's a long story."

  "We were about to go wake up the sentries and your sisters." Randell looked beyond pissed.

  "I've had a long drink of Phenex's blood and it reminded me that I haven't had anything to drink in quite a while. I think that might've been what has been wrong with me."

  "I wish I'd known," Kevin said. "I didn't even think of that. But yes, vampires are affected by blood depravation."

  "I'm coming down a little." My head wasn't as swimmy, and the desire to run naked around the world had left me. "We need a serious conversation, though."

  Fenton put his hand on my knee. "What happened?"

  I explained what Grandma Tina said about the need for me to bond with my mates.

  "So," I said in conclusion. "This is it. You're either all in, or you’re all out." Looking at Randell, I hoped with all my heart that he wouldn't decide me having two other mates would be too much. I mean, hell, if my mom was able to make it work when lycans and vampires hated each other, surely we could work things out ourselves?

  "I told you before, but I'm all in," Randell said. "And you being in the spirit world, but still physically affected? I don't like that. Not one bit." He took my hand. "Whatever you need, I'm here. But you're going to have to accept that I might have times that I struggle with the bond with these guys. That sort of thing takes time. Can you deal with that?"

  Considering his words, I smiled. "It's pretty amazing that in such a short time I went from seriously denying the mating bond to supporting it and looking forward to what's next."

  My claiming of Phenex rested heavily on my mind. A little ball that was the essence of my hellhound rested in the back of my mind. He felt like peace, and I hoped and suspected he would help me overcome and ignore my emotions when they became too much. One day I hoped to not need a wall, because I was capable of processing and handling all the Empath powers. Phenex felt like part of the answer to that.

  "What's next?" Fenton asked.

  I grinned, still pretty energetic and excited about what was to come. "Next is the fun part."

  Chapter Sixteen

  "There are four of us." Shyness overcame me, and I wasn't at all sure how to proceed. Their personalities were so different, and Fenton was the only one of them not dominant.

  Randell looked at Kevin. "I'm all in."

  "Me, too." Kevin shrugged. "How do you want to do this?"

  "I'm not much into sword crossing," Randell said, then held up his hands. "Not that it's wrong, don't take me that way. It's not my thing, is all."

  Kevin nodded. "I'm not against experimenting, but not at first. We can agree to be respectful of each other's space and time?"

  Randell nodded.

  They both looked at Fenton, who blanched. "I still feel like I'm going to be torn limb from limb for fucking my students."

  I fell back on the bed, laughing. "Get that human insecurity out of your head. Mates are mates." Seeing them begin to communicate encouraged me. Maybe we could get this to work after all.

  "At least one of her dads hasn't spent the last decade training you to be head sentry," Randell said. His expression darkened. "He's really going to kill me."

  "Voss?" Fenton shook his head, eyes closed. "You think you've got it bad? Voss hired me. I eat lunch with the man." He rubbed his stomach. "It makes me nauseated."

  "I can think of a way to relieve nausea." I tried to sound innocent and helpful.

  "Oh, yeah?" He smiled at me, eager for my input.

  "Yeah, I've got something here." Standing, I went to my closet. Once inside, I used my speed to strip and change into a black nighty. "I've got something right here," I called from the darkness.

  All three of them watched expectantly as I emerged.

  "Would this help?" I tried not to laugh as three expressions turned from curiosity to lust like the flip of a switch.

  "Yes." Fenton cleared his throat and pulled at his tie. "It would."

  I crooked a finger at him. He stood and looked at his more-alpha companions nervously. "Come here," I whispered.

  When he was in arm's reach, I grabbed his tie and used it to pull him toward me. "Don't worry about them." I'd decided to hardcore wing it. I'd never had sex with more than one person, much less three. And clearly, none of them was going to jump up and figure out whose body parts should go where. So, I would.

  It was okay, though. I liked being bossy.

  Loosening his tie, I spoke softly, my words for Fenton, though of course, everyone could hear me. "I'm sorry for how I acted last time," I said. "Sometimes I get overwhelmed and the only way I can push out the emotions is blocking them off. It makes me a total bitch."

  "I know," he replied. "Over the summer, Voss talked to me about potions to help with your Empathy. I knew emotions would be a problem for you."

  My hands froze, but I pushed my irritation at my father telling-at the time-virtual strangers about my Empath abilities away. Sliding his tie off of his neck, I tossed it to the floor and started on his buttons.

  "I don't want to be your mate because it's fated."

  He cocked his head and moved his hands to my hips, gripping slightly. It was the only outward show that his emotions weren't as steady as they appeared.

  "No. You're hot, too."

  Randell and Kevin, who had settled beside each other, a pillow between them, on the bed, both burst out laughing.

  Fenton grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. "You only love me for my body."

  He said the L-word, and my body reacted. My wolf wiggled her tail and even my vampire acted all coy. Oh, fuck. Was I developing actual feelings for him?

  As I looked him in the eye, Phenex stretched in the back of my mind, reminding me that having my mates back there would feel good, if his bundle of loving comfort was any indication. There was that L-word again.

  Dammit. I was sure I wasn't in love with them. But feelings I had aplenty, even with the wall in place.

  Instead of facing those emotions, I finished unbuttoning Fenton's shirt and slid it off of his shoulders. There was another damn undershirt. "Listen, you don't have to wear these undershirts all the time. They get in the way."

  "I like them. Deal with it." He raised an eyebrow in challenge.

  Oh, I'd deal with it all right. He'd lost an undershirt the last time we had sex. Round two would be no different. I grabbed the shirt with both hands and ripped it off of him, to the consternation of Fenton and to hoots and hollers from Kevin and Randell.

  "I hadn't realized watching could be so fun," Randell said.

  Kevin chuckled and replied, "Agreed."

  "You two hush. You'll get your turn." I stopped wasting time, my hands going to Fenton's belt and swiftly relieving him of his pants. He tugged his underwear down, then once exposed, swung me around so my back was to my other two mates on the bed.

  "You're not the only one that can rip things," he whispered, grabbing my nighty at the breast and pulling. It came apart like a piece of paper, drifting to the floor and exposing my ass to Randell and Kevin.

  "Nice," Kevin said.

  Fenton pushed me until my butt landed on the bed, forcing Kevin and Randell to scoot their feet over.

  We had to get a bigger bed, as soon as possible.

  No foreplay, then. Okay. With three of them to go through, I'd have my fair share of orgasms, I was sure. Plus, probably Kevin would want another bite.

  A-Okay by me.

  I scooted back on the bed enough for Fenton to join me, then cried out as he thrust inside me suddenly. I hadn't expected him to completely forego foreplay.

  I wasn't complaining. It felt amazing to have him enter my body without warning. Always wet enough, my body was made for rough entries and orgasms.

  His head teased me as he thrust in and out. "You used me before," he grunted. "It's my turn."

  "I'll help," Kevin said, scooting down the bed until he was directly behind me. He spread his legs and got closer, lifting me up
into a sitting position. Sliding his arms around my waist, he reached down and played with my clit while Fenton thrust faster and faster in and out of me.

  "I'm coming," Fenton grunted between the movements of his hips.

  "Wait," I gasped. "I'm not quite there yet."

  "Gotcha covered," Kevin said. I felt Randell shift, probably moving so he could get a better look.

  "Bring me your neck." I gasped as Kevin bit into me. "As you come."

  Fenton thrust hard, then lowered his head on the opposite side of Kevin, exposing his neck to me. My fangs elongated, and I sank them into his neck, moaning against his skin as his blood entered my mouth. I trickled my psyche forward and claimed him as I drank, an orgasm overwhelming my body from both Fenton and Kevin as my mind consumed Fenton's.

  When the claiming completed, my orgasm hadn't. I pulled my teeth from Fenton's neck and cried out. "I need more."

  Randell jumped up, putting his hands on Fenton’s shoulders, who was still above me, unmoving, with his head down, recovering from his claiming orgasm.

  "Sorry, Fenton, buddy, outta the way."

  At some point during my time with Fenton, Randell had stripped. His big cock was so hard the veins had popped on it. "Over," he said commandingly.

  Kevin pulled his fangs out of my neck and scooted back. As I turned over onto my hands and knees, he pulled his pants down and shed the shirt, his own cock springing up in my face.

  My orgasm lingered, more subdued, but even without anyone touching me or fucking me, it still ran through me.

  I lowered my mouth onto Kevin, wetting his dick with my tongue, but then another idea struck me. I wasn't sure if it would hurt him or not, but what the hell? He was a vampire. He'd heal.

  As Randell slid into me, his hands on my hips, pulling me into him as he thrust forward, I let my fangs slide out. Turning my head and surrounding his shaft with my lips, I sank my fangs into his dick, eliciting a high pitched squeal from him. Yanking my fangs out, I looked up at him, talking through the thrusts behind me, trying not to give in to the orgasm that hadn't ever really stopped. "Are you okay?"