Hekate’s Bride

“To bring them here, the portal would need to be opened, and for them to leave, the portal would also need to be opened. Can I leave with them?”

“You may, if the portal lets you through,” Chancellor Vesper says, taking quick strides that I can’t keep up with. “I’d advice you not to count on it.”

“Why?”

“If it brought you here in the first place, then it will not take you anywhere else.”

Rune left a couple of seconds ago to attend to royal matters, he had said. His shitty grin remains in my head through, and it absolutely annoying.

“Why host the games now? It is horrible timing,” I mutter under my breath but I can tell that Chancellor Vesper hears me when his shoulders tighten slightly.

I brace myself for a harsh rebuke but instead, he stops in front of his door and cocks his head as he observes me. “What do you think?”

Is he being serious?

I pull at the hem of my blouse nervously as I say, “I don’t know.”

His dark eyes skim over me. “Think out the box, Blackwood. For a royal, you are rather slow. Once you have figured it out, find Rune and visit my office together.”

“Why-Has something happened?”

“The schools receive the attacks simultaneously, and they are not random. Each student that has been killed has ties to the royal family. Ties to you and the prince.”

My stomach lurches with fear and it spreads through out my body, crippling me. “What do you mean simultaneously? Did-” I don’t want to ask the question. I don’t want to know.

But I have to know. I rip the question from my throat forcefully. “Did someone die again at the Academy?”

His expression is solemn and serious-even more so than usual and I instantly know the answer to my question. “Who?”

“Tara Nightshade.”

Oh Goddess. Thorne’s sister? Two years older than me. We were well acquainted, mostly because of her father’s place in our pack, but she didn’t like me much. She believed Thorne was too good for me and went as far as warning me severally to stay away from her brother unless I was ready for something serious with him.

There I had been, picking a fight with Ginevra. It hadn’t even occured to me to ask…

Tears sting my eyes and I clutch at the top button of my shirt, undoing it. I can’t breathe.

Goddess… Thorne. How is he doing? I need to talk to him. “Why is this happening?” I sob, unable to hold back. “Can I-Can I speak to Thorne? Anyone?”

“You know the rules-”

“To hell with them! My friends are dying! My pack is dying. I don’t know who I’m going to lose next. Shall I seat and wait till the year ends and they are all dead?! Had it been Rune who asked you this, would you have turned him away and told him to wait?”

His lips are drawn now and his jaw clenches. “The rules are in place for a reason. The slightest ripple in the portal due to external communications can give away the school’s location to-”

“He already knows where the schools are. Hell, he’s hunting us down-”

“You speak like an infant. Shall I put the rest of the school in danger to fulfil your needs? You ask if I would treat the prince the same way. No. I wouldn’t, because he knows and would never make a request that could jeopardize the safety of his people.”

His voice is hard and commanding, and I flinch, blinking and taking steps away from him as he continues pummelling me with his words. “You are selfish in all of your demands and do not think before you speak. Thus, I will indulge you no longer,” he says and turns his back on me, placing his hand against the door of his office.

“He was in my room,” I whisper.

Chancellor Vesper still and slowly, he turns to me. “He?”

My voice drops into a low whisper and I look left and right before saying, “Hekate. He was in my room last night.”

His gaze stills on me and for several seconds, he says nothing. He just stares and stares.

“Ch-”

“That is a very serious claim, Blackwood, and I will hear no more of it. Return to your lectures.”

He doesn’t believe me. I knew he would not. Thoughts cross my mind like showing him the injury on my forearm but I’m covered in bruises from earlier and he’ll likely say I’m telling another lie. “I’m not-”

The door pushes back from the wall and he disappears behind the huge door.

Bummer. What do I have to do to get him to hear me out? How do I speak to Thorne? How is he? How do I console him? This is shitty. This entire scenario.

*********

“Astrid?” Maya calls out, knocking on my door and I pull out my pen from my mouth.

I close my notepad-I originally got it for studying, but I’ve gone human detective mode, jotting down the names of the dead and attempting to connect the missing dots.

Alaric. Orion. Ashley. Tara. The doors. The Hekate’s lore and why he could possibly target us. Perhaps he seeks to obliterate us first before taking out the other realms. After all, we all are descendants of the people who have contributed to his curse.

*I have come for you*

Shivers race down my spine and I shake them off violently.

Maya knocks again and I shuffle into my flip-flops. “Coming.”

I pull the door open and Maya grins, standing by my door with her body wrapped up in a bathing robe. My eyes dart left and right as I stare at her incredulously. “You walked all the way here… in that?”

She shrugs and tugs at the robe’s rope. It reveals a set of swimming clothes underneath. “It’s Wednesday. The water’s amazing on Wednesdays.”

My eyebrow quirks up. “And you know this on your fourth day of school?”

She laughs, braces gleaming in the light. “My older brother told me all about it.”

I sigh. “I’m not in the mood to swim, Maya. I’m busy.”

She peeks into my room and sights my journal on the bed. “You’re studying?”

“Yes-No. I’m just not in the mood.”

Her thin lips pucker and my heart stops when she makes a doe eye at me. Maya is really pretty. All female lycans are naturally attractive looking. I try not to notice how odd I look walking down the hallways everyday. Maya looks like them and her doe eyes are getting to me. “It’s the first thing on my bucket list, but I don’t want to go alone. I’m scared I’ll get picked on.”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“You think my being there will make a difference?”

She nods, hope filling her eyes. What the heck… I’m actually starting to consider it. I’m the wolf. I’m not sure how I can avoid her getting picked on by lycans but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try. Plus, I do need to unwind. It’s been a long day.

“Give me a minute.”

***********

Seems like Maya is right about the water being nice on Wednesdays. I can’t tell just yet. I haven’t gotten into the pool yet.

It’s that… the pool area is packed. Water splashes on my legs and hands as a couple of girls squeal and jump into the water that’s big enough to house everyone.

Everyone’s in the water or at least have some part of their body in it. A few are doing laps and a few are taking advantage of the moment to get in a few smooches and intense groping. Some are just splashing in the water and tossing it in their companion’s faces while the sound of their laughter rings out.

There’s a reserved part of the pool that isn’t so pack and I nudge Maya in that direction, wanting to avoid most of the crowd.

She suddenly pulls my arm, jerking me to a stop. “No. That area is for the star students! We can’t go there unless they invite us over-which technically never happens-”

“Hey, princess.”

I turn slightly and there’s Darian. Again. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was stalking me. His dark hair is let down and-oh. They tumble down his bare chest. I feel my skin flush at the sight of tanned skin and the gorgeous definition of his abs and muscles.

It doesn’t make it any better that he is wet. I swallow as thoughts assault me. This isn’t good for me. This really isn’t good. My heartbeat has spiked and I’ve grown terribly hot like a mate in heat.

“Oh, Goddess,” Maya exclaims, brown eyes ogling Darian, and I am so glad I’m not the only one who’s feeling hotter than normal.

His golden eyes spark with mischief when he catches me staring at the hair disappearing beneath the pants that hide the rest of him and I bite the inside of my cheek, forcing myself to look away. Focus, Astrid. Focus!

“This… this is Maya,” I say, grabbing her arm before she can slip off the edge of the pool from staring too long at him. “My friend.”

Darian smiles and I swear, I hear sighs behind us. I look back, just to be sure and a lot of girls are staring at us. Him. Can’t blame them. He’s a walking catastro-

Those thoughts die in my head when silver hair breaks the surface of the pool towards the shimmering edge.

Talk about walking catastrophies. Rune’s hair is plastered to his head and as more of him comes out of the water, the harder my heart lurches into my ribcage.

His body is perfect. I mean, I’ve always known that but… bloody hell.

The slick muscles on his shoulders bunch up as he places either of his arms on the edge of the pool and pushes up. As he emerges from the water, droplets cling to his pale chest and abs, glistening in the faint light. The way his muscles flex and ripple with each movement sends shivers down my spine. I can’t help but stare at his broad shoulders, toned arms, and strong thighs, mesmerized by the way he moves with such effortless grace.

I start to imagine what it’d feel like to be held by them and I can almost feel them tightening around me the same way they did three years ago against the door of my closet.

His hand rises to brush back his hair from his face and like he knows where I am, his gaze drifts to where I stand, clashing with mine.

The world empties out.

His eyes darken a fraction, dropping to the trunks I wear that hug every inch of my body. They grace the swell of my breasts that look fuller than normal and drop to the intense dip of my waist, before drifting further to the flare of my hips.

A rush of heat courses through me, spreading throughout my body and causing sinful tingles between my thighs.

Down they go to my long legs, leaving a trail of fire where they touch and up they rise to my face. His nostrils flare and he looks away from me sharply, breaking the geass he has placed on me.