Page 13 of Caelum

TWELVE

STEFAN

As I rushed over to my bud, I knew Nestor and Eren were at my back. But seeing Dre, I realized that he’d been through the wringer more than I’d expected.

He looked like he’d lost about ten pounds, and considering we ate as much as we did and worked out like fiends, those ten pounds would be easily regained, but it was a testament to how bad his concussion had been that he’d lost it in the first place.

His skin was pale and his hair looked like shit. The guy used so much product on that damn hair that I wasn’t sure if it looked limp because it wasn’t coated in gel or if it was further proof of how sick he’d been.

I clapped him on the back when I reached his side. “Dre, what the fuck, man? You look like you should still be in sickbay.”

Dre grunted. “You’re as bad as the nurses. I’m okay. Just tired.”

“All the more reason to stay in bed,” Eren drawled, and Dre flipped him the bird, making me grin.

“I was sick of bed. I need to get back on my feet.”

There were two reasons why he’d want to haul ass. One: because he wanted to beat the shit out of Frazer and Reed as soon as possible. Two: because it would shortly be time to go to the mainland.

Neither was an option. Not with him looking as shitty as he did.

“Why did you sleep so long?” Nestor questioned, his brow puckering. “The nurses wouldn’t tell us shit. ”

“You know they won’t until we’re official,” Dre excused, running a hand over his head so he could rub the back of his neck.

Packs weren’t allowed to be selected until we hit twenty. That was three months away. The second Dre hit that big 2-0, he could declare us his Pack. Didn’t matter that we were still nineteen, that was just the way it worked here.

“That explains nothing,” Eren stated, grabbing Dre’s arm and hauling him over to the sofa. I knew why too. Dre looked like he was about to fall down.

As we crossed the room, I saw Eve was watching us with those big eyes of hers that seemed to see way more than I wanted her to. The orbs were usually molten hot when she looked at me, and I knew she wasn’t aware of it. Wasn’t aware of the silent promise she made me every time she looked my way.

The tight bun she wore her hair in drew my attention to the sharp crests of her cheeks, and I longed to stroke that tender flesh with my fingers, to anoint it with my lips. Because those were dangerous thoughts, I let my gaze drift away. Noticing she wore a pair of black yoga pants that did fine things to her ass, and one of Nestor’s plaid shirts that he wore in winter, I knew I’d leaped straight from the frying pan and right into the fire.

Every part of her set me alight, and it was only the fact that she didn’t know it that forced me to control myself.

Seeing her in Nestor’s shirt, though, I had to hide a smile. I wasn’t sure why she wasn’t boiling hot in the thick plaid, but she seemed to prefer the swathes of fabric. I didn’t mind, mostly because my dick might implode if I saw her tits in a tight shirt, but also because I figured it made sense. Clothes were her security blanket, and I wasn’t about to take that away. Not when she’d already made a huge stride about wearing the pants, which I knew she loathed.

Her features were drawn, her expression fearful as she watched us move toward her, and concern filled me. Why was she scared of us?

The closer we became, the more on edge she seemed until, two feet away, she jumped up and said, “Hello, nice to meet you,” then scurried away.

I almost groaned at the sight of her butt as she moved. She didn’t know she did it, but each step had her ass cheeks squishing together like one of the strippers I’d seen in a titty bar one time. It was like she rolled her hips or something. Either that or it was because she had an ass at all. Most of the women here were honed from years of training. Eve, on the other hand, was soft and gentle .

My hands curled into fists at the thought of having access to all of her at some point, but for the moment, I just had to concentrate on getting her to stop running.

I leaped forward and grabbed a hold of her waist before she could head out and disappear into the library—again. “Where are you going?” I questioned, leaning toward her so my breath would whisper over her ear.

She shivered, and I reveled in her response to me. It was only natural considering who we were to each other, but I knew it put her on edge.

In so many ways, Eve was sensual. Just like all creatures inherently were. But her nurturing fucked with that and made her second guess herself all the time.

Part of me wondered if she’d be on edge until I put a ring on her finger. If that was the case, it was an easy solution, but it was a tie to the past she didn’t need.

Creatures required no ridiculous ceremony, no formal occasions, and no signatures on documents to inherently know they belonged to one another.

“I have some studying to do,” she replied after a few seconds.

“You’re always studying. It’s Saturday.”

She wiggled in my hold. “I?—”

“I know, I know. You worked on Saturdays at the compound, but you’re not on the compound now. Plus, don’t you want to meet my friend?”

“Well, yes, of course, but don’t you want to just hang around him?”

My lips twitched. “Out, Eve. Hang out with him.”

She nodded eagerly, sensing an out. Literally. “Yes. That.”

“Of course, but I want you to hang out with all of us at the same time. How’s he going to get to know you if you’re in the library?”

For a second, she remained tense in my arms, and then she relaxed. “You want me to know him?”

I frowned. “Why wouldn’t I?” Rather than let her reply, I turned her around, and keeping my hand on her waist, began to haul her back to the sofa we’d claimed as ours years before.

As I did, I saw Frazer, Reed, and Samuel watching us, their eyes narrowed as we passed.

My top lip curved in a sneer as we headed back to the sofa, but I saw the intensity on their faces as they looked at my hold on Eve…

Nestor, Dre, Eren, and I were firm believers in keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. That was why we used this room over the others. Before we’d staked our claim on the tan hide sofa on the east wall, those three dicks had claimed the cream leather sofa on the west.

It meant we could keep an eye on each other and know where they were hanging out in their free time to some extent. It wasn’t foolproof, but it was something.

Shoving them to the back of my mind, I hooked my arm over my girl’s shoulder and stated, “Dre, meet Eve. She’s new to Caelum.”

Dre cocked a brow. “She must be. How long was I out?”

Eren laughed. “She arrived the day you were knocked out.”

“Two months after induction?” He cocked a brow. “How unusual.”

“Very unusual,” I replied with a small chuckle. “Eve is pretty unique, aren’t you, babe?”

She wriggled in my embrace. “Well, I wouldn’t say that.”

“I would,” Nestor retorted. Of course, Eve didn’t know all the reasons why she was unique, and we weren’t about to tell her.

She’d already tried to walk out once today. The last thing I needed was her running screaming from the room to get away from me because, for whatever reason, I’d been marked as her mate.

“What’s so special about her, then?” Dre asked, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

We’d all had a teasing tone, but Dre’s? It wasn’t. It was his asshole voice. It came out every now and then until we smacked it into submission.

Our Packs weren’t like a wolf’s. There was no Alpha. No natural leader. Dre forgot that sometimes, forgot himself . Being a few months older than us didn’t mean shit.

If anything, if there was going to be a leader among us, it would be me. No Pack could form without their being either a Sin Eater or an Incubus or Succubus within their ranks. Why? Because they were the only ones who could kill Ghouls.

Eve wiggled at my side and, in a flustered tone of voice, said, “Stefan, I really do have to go.”

Dre, whose eyes were on her as she flushed, didn’t argue with that, and even though I didn’t want her to go, I just murmured, “I’ll meet you in the library later?”

Her cheeks remained red as she nodded, and I let her scurry away. The minute she was out the door, I let loose a punch to Dre’s shoulder that had him wincing—it was the one Reed had dislocated.

“What the fuck did you do that for?”

“For being a dipshit,” Nestor countered, and I was relieved that his usually clinical tone was loaded with anger.

“There was no need to make her feel like crap, Dre. Not cool, man,” Eren ground out.

Though I was pleased at their defense of my mate, it came as a surprise. Their words weren’t token, but heartfelt. They’d come to care for her, and I was relieved about that.

When Dre formed our Pack, when I claimed her as my mate, she’d be enveloped into our fold.

“Since when did you guys give a fuck about any of the girls here?” Dre hissed, reaching up and rubbing his shoulder.

“Since Eve came.” I sent him a measured look. “I need to show you something. Later.”

Dre grumbled, “Sure.”

Eren and Nestor glanced at me, but I stayed focused on Dre. “You want to grab something to eat?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’m fucking starving.”

“Okay. Well, we’ll get you something to eat and then you can go back to your room and get some rest. We can tell you what’s been going down since you’ve been down for the count.”

I knew Dre wasn’t happy about being ordered around, but tough shit. That was on him.