Page 10 of A Curse So Cruel (Fated Mates of Shadowbone Academy #1)

Chapter Six

~ Raith ~

I press the little human against me as Kazer and Arizak run in the darkness, claws and hooves pounding on the shadow road that stretches before us.

From the moment Galen first captured her, she has always seemed to be talking, and it’s unsettling that she’s so quiet now.

I don’t know why it bothers me. I shouldn’t care.

She’s a human. Simply another student selected by fate to endure life in the shadow realm.

If she’s lucky, she’ll make it to graduation and take her place as a shadow warrior, but how many have lasted that long? Half the students?

It's not usually somethin’ I worry about. I do my job, and I’m damn good at it, too. No, Thane is the one who worries, takin’ it all on like it’s his damn burden to carry. And Galen, well, as long as he gets all the information he wants to satisfy that brain of his, he’s happy.

But this human… She slides slightly to one side, not balanced properly on Kazer’s back, and instinctively, I band my arm tighter around her middle.

Goin’ by the hard object pushing against my arm, I’m guessin’ she’s hiding a book beneath her shirt, and a grin climbs onto my face.

I have no idea how she managed to talk Galen into lettin’ her keep it, but I’ll get it out of him later .

Fuck, he’d better hope Knox doesn’t find out about it.

Or Thane… Shit, I’m just glad I’m not the one who messed up this time.

Not that I can blame Galen for lettin’ her keep it.

The human’s breathing hitches as I press her harder against me, and her scent reaches my nose, sparks of electricity crawling down my chest. My body reacts, my cock growing even harder for her, and my balls ache.

The little human smells better than anything I’ve ever smelt, and when she adjusts her position, wiggling that little ass of hers, I have to fight back my groan.

How long has it been since Galen and I last shared a female? Weeks?

She freezes like she’s afraid to move, no doubt feeling my hardness behind her, and I can’t help but chuckle darkly.

Because she’s in my grip now, and I have no intention of lettin’ her go.

Kazer was right to protect her. Even if I hadn’t given him a mental command to make Bonfang back off, my lion was already interested in the little human.

He wasn’t goin’ to let Bonfang take her.

Not yet, anyway. He’s as curious as I am.

I think about the response I have to her.

Everything in me hums that this woman is mine, but Thane isn’t wrong.

The four of us can’t have a mate. I call it a curse, Knox calls it duty.

Either way, it’s fucked up, and it’s the reason Knox and I aren’t as close as we used to be.

Galen and I enjoy our share of females, but it’s not the same.

There’s no real connection there. So, what is she?

And why does she feel like my mate? No, not just mine. Ours.

No matter what, the little human is going to be a fun playmate for Galen and me until we can figure her out. That’s if she can survive the academy.

She starts wiggling again, and I lean down to growl in her ear. “Careful now, sunshine, I only have so much control. Unless you want me buryin’ inside you while we’re between realms, you might wanna stop movin’ so much.”

She shivers, bumps creeping over her skin at my words, and my lips stretch wide as she stills again. “Good girl. Last thing I need is to be gettin’ into shit with Knox right now.”

Her tongue darts out as she wets her lips, and I’m surprised when she reaches back and bangs her fist on my thigh.

The hit is pathetic, easily bouncing off my hard muscle, but it makes me pause. “What was that?”

“Oh, so you are real,” she replies simply, sounding a little lost.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing. I was just starting to wonder…”

“If you were dreamin’?” A grin takes over my face again.

She jerks her slender shoulders. “Tell me, are you a smut reader?”

“What’s smut?”

“Mmm, nevermind.”

My brows lower. “You’re a strange one.”

To our side, Galen is watching us intently. I’m sure he’ll have questions later. It must be killin’ him that I’m the one who got to travel with our new pet.

She turns her head, following my gaze. “Why is he looking at us like that?”

“He’s jealous. It’ll be better when we get to share you.”

She coughs, rubbing her chest. “Share?” The breathiness in her voice makes me think about burying into her again. “And what makes you think you’ll get to share me?”

One of my hands travels downward, resting on her thigh. She makes no move to push it away.

“You want us just as badly as we want you, sunshine,” I tell her. “What did you call us? Your mates ?”

“And it looks like I was wrong,” she replies quickly.

Her words aren’t convincing but hearing them still makes my jaw harden. “So you don’t want us to make you scream?” I mutter, bringing my lips to her ear again. “To make you fall apart over and over until you’re not sure if it’s the pleasure or the pain that you like more?”

Her breathing comes in soft pants, and she curses under her breath. “Do you talk to all the ladies like this?”

“Ladies?” I laugh. “In the academy, the only ones who survive are the ones who learn to be as tough as nails. There aren’t any ladies there. We’re all warriors.”

She swallows. “Riggght, warriors.”

I hear the doubt in her voice. Not that I can blame her. As far as students go, she looks weaker than most. Her only hope of survival is if she can master her shadow gifts quickly.

“Well, I don’t know if it’s the academy that’ll kill me, or a certain man in particular,” she comments.

I follow her gaze to where she’s watchin’ Knox up ahead. “You don’t need to worry ’bout him,” I assure her. “Knox isn’t as cold-hearted as he pretends to be.”

She scoffs. “His wolf nearly ate me.”

“If Bonfang had been determined to kill you, I don’t know if Kazer could have stopped him,” I admit before frowning thoughtfully.

Our creatures haven’t ever been on opposing sides like that, even with everything that’s already happened, and I’m not sure I’d want to know the outcome. “He’s just as confused as Knox is.”

“Confused?”

“Keep away from them for now. They’ll come around.”

She mumbles somethin’ under her breath, but I don’t catch it. Eventually, she turns from Knox and stares at where the shadows are like large dark clouds around us. I simply keep holdin’ her tight against me, not sure why it feels so damn comfortin’ having her there.