Page 31 of A Curse So Cruel
My friend whips around like she’s ready to defend me, but her expression slackens when she sees who’s behind us. “P-professor?”
Strong arms pluck me from the shadows, banding behind my back and under my legs as a familiar sensation of ice and fire moves through my body, and I’m lifted into the air.
“I’ll take it from here,” Galen drawls, giving Kenzie a sensual smile.
My roommate stands there, not sure what to do, and when Galen stares her down, she flinches but still doesn’t leave. “Shade…” she says uncertainly.
“If I wanted to hurt her, I would have done so already,” Galen states casually. “Rest assured, I’ll return her to your dorm soon.”
She still hesitates, but I give her a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine.”
Kenzie lingers for a moment longer. It’s obvious she’s not sure what to do, but shadows gather around Galen and me, and within seconds, she disappears from view. My surroundings change to a haze of dark shadows that wind and twist around us, and the next time I can see, Galen is carrying me through a forest with huge ghostly trees surrounding us on all sides.
The leaves crunch under his boots as he leads me forward, shadows swirling around us, and high above, I glimpse a section of the academy through the tree canopy.
“We’re outside?” I ask softly. I don’t bother struggling in his arms. Mostly, because I’m still pathetically weak and in pain, but also because it feels so good to have him touching me, and it’s taking all my willpower not to bury my face into his chest. Even if he is an ass who just watched Knox torture me.Remember, you’re supposed to be mad at him.In my defense, he smells ridiculously good, but I really need to stop ignoring the red flags. These men are toxic.
“That we are, treasure,” Galen drawls, replying to my earlier question.
“Treasure? That’s funny coming from you.” I didn’t mind his cutesy nicknames before, but that one seems particularly ridiculous seeing as he just watched his friend hurt me.
Galen doesn’t reply, and after a while I ask another question. “Why are we out here, Galen?” Red eyes keep blinking at me from the darkness between the trees, and I shudder.Please tell me those are cute furry squirrels or something.
“We’re out here because you couldn’t help making a mess of things during your first meal,” Galen answers simply.
“I— What?” I bristle. “Knox was the one who attackedme.”
“Mmm yes,” Galen agrees. “After you stood there almost naked, catching us all off guard and flaunting what’s ours. Then you had to go putting things in your mouth instead of waiting like a good girl.”
I’m angry at his accusations, really I am, but why does everything that comes out of his mouth always sound so dirty? My body heats as I try to keep it together. “Firstly,this,” I gesture to my body using a circular motion, “doesn’t belong to any of you. And secondly, making people wait like that before they can eat their dinner is just…just…” I struggle to find the word, losing my train of thought when Galen stares down at me, his eyes hooded with desire.
“It’s what?” he murmurs, his lips quirking up at the sides.
“It’s sick, okay!” I blurt. “Barbaric!”
“Now, now, this is an academy for shadow warriors. How are students expected to follow orders while facing off against dark beings wanting to take their souls, if they can’t even control themselves enough to wait for their dinner?”
That catches me off guard. I hadn’t even contemplated that there might be a strategic reason as to why they make the students wait. Personally, I don’t think it’s a good enough excuse to deprive food, because it’s not like dark beings are going to try and use treats to distract the warriors. Then again, I don’t know that for sure as I don’t know anything about the dark beings. Wait…willthey use snacks as a weapon against the warriors? Because if that’s true, I’m definitely screwed. I peer around, half expecting to see a lure of treats between the trees, and I can’t help getting excited. I’m still hungry, even more so after Knox punished me, and Galen could easily take on a dark being. Couldn’t he?
“What are you doing?” Galen asks.
“Oh nothing,” I reply, a little disappointed when I don’t spy any food. My thoughts sour then, because I remind myself thatGalen would probably just watch the shadow monster devour me.It might feel like he’s my mate, but these men have made it clear I’m mistaken.
“Anyway, it doesn’t matter if dinner was a test,” I blurt. “Okay, so I broke a rule, but you’re all the assholes who stood by and watched Knox try to kill me!” My voice gets a little shrill at the end, but hey, I’m still a little salty about it. “So I guess Knox was right. None of you are my mates after all. Not unless you’re really, really terrible ones. Either way, this,” I gesture to my body again, “does not belong to you.”
Galen doesn’t stop smiling, and it annoys me that he’s not taking me seriously.
“I don’t know what you are, little shadow,” he says. “But I do know you’re ours.”
“And how did you come to that conclusion? Was it a revelation because you enjoyed watching me in pain?” I don’t hide my sarcasm.
His chest falls as he lets out a long breath, and the amusement drains from his eyes. When he speaks again, there’s a lethal edge to his voice. “I came to that conclusion, because when Knox was trying to break you, it was the first time in four-hundred years that I had to stop myself from tearing him apart.”
I can’t breathe. My heart drums a frantic rhythm, because I’m pretty sure he’s serious.
My anger deflates a little. “Tell me what we’re doing out here, Galen,” I say softly before clearing my throat. “Or I guess I should call you,ProfessorGalen. I’d hate to get punished again.” Another lie, because after what Galen told me, I want to be punished by shadow daddy twobadly.If, you know, the punishment involves his hand on my ass and his cock slamming into me.
“When we’re away from the other students, you can call me whatever you like, treasure,” Galen tells me. “And we’re out herebecause we want to do this away from prying eyes.” He cocks his head, thoughtfully. “At least, the eyes we have to worry about.”