Page 15

Brenden

I t’s been three weeks since my mate’s sister arrived at the academy. Which means it’s been three weeks since she discovered Nex is her mate, and two weeks since I walked in on him fucking her with his tongue.

He’s barely said a word to her since then and even requested Wraith to stop having her help in his classes. Wraith had denied that request, telling him to man up and get the hell over himself.

Wraith doesn’t like how much Nex is hurting my firecracker. I can admit, I don’t much care for it myself, but I’m trying to give Nex the benefit of the doubt. After all, he’s been dealing with a curse for a really long time.

Audrey told him about Wraith’s belief in a loophole, but he didn’t want to hear it. I’m not sure if he’s being stupid or stubborn. Maybe both.

Either way, I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands.

It’s Saturday, and Audrey is spending some time with her sister. Wren has already been able to call on her magic, much to Audrey’s chagrin, but hasn’t been able to access hellfire. As twins, they obviously have the same father, so Wraith thinks Wren will be able to control it eventually, too. He reminded both of them it wasn’t until after Audrey graduated that her magic changed, but neither of them listened.

Wren is determined to call on hellfire, and Audrey is determined to help her.

That means she spends a lot of time with Wren outside of classes, which means less time with her mates. I’m not a fan of that part of it, so I may or may not have been stalking her when she’s spending time with Wren.

Who am I kidding? I’m absolutely stalking the shit out of her.

I would do it all the time if I didn’t have to teach at the academy, and they’re desperate for teachers.

I never realized just how many teachers they have at the academy, but with a batch of a thousand new students coming in every day, Wraith is continuously having to bring on new teachers. But I also hope he doesn’t expect me to keep doing this forever.

While I don’t mind helping out, I can’t see myself teaching here day after day—and that’s only partially because it keeps me away from Audrey. At least she helps in my classes every other day.

Shaking my head, I glance around to see I’m nowhere near the house where Nex is supposed to meet me. I really need to stop getting lost in my head like this. It had taken a lot to convince the demon to come over to the house. Wren had to confirm that she would be with her sister before he would agree. I can’t remember the last time I had to work that hard to get someone to hang out with me.

That’s probably because I usually use mind control to get them to do what I want. I don’t even know if I can control a demon’s mind, but I figured since he’s my friend, I shouldn’t try. I’m sure if I did, I’d piss off him and Audrey both, and there’s no need for that.

A quick look at my watch tells me I’m a few minutes late, so I put a burst of speed on—thanks to the Fates for making me a vampire—to make it there in mere seconds. Just in time to see Donovan open the door with a snarl.

“Nope.” I boop the hellhound on his nose, stepping between the two of them. “You can go back inside. Nex and I are just going to sit out here on the porch and enjoy the day.”

Donovan opens his mouth to say something, but I don’t bother waiting to find out what. I push him back and slam the door shut before leading Nex over to the porch swing Wraith put in for Audrey.

“You didn’t tell them I was coming,” he says with a shake of his head.

“Nope. I didn’t want him or Wraith giving you a hard time because then you wouldn’t want to hang out with me.” It’s really none of their business if Nex and I are hanging out, anyway.

He hesitates as I sit on the swing, patting the spot beside me. “Just sit your ass down, please. I really like this swing.”

“Fine.” Nex sits down carefully because it’s barely big enough for both of us to fit. I kick off, setting us swinging lightly as I lean back and close my eyes. “Why am I here, Brenden?”

“Because we’re friends.”

There’s a moment of silence before he speaks again. “We were friends. I figured we weren’t anymore when I told your mate that I wanted nothing to do with her.”

“But that’s not really true, is it?”

Another moment of silence.

“I can’t have anything to do with her,” he finally says. “My curse could cause her to be taken away from you, too. From all of you, and that’s not fair to anyone. I won’t do that.”

Cracking an eye open, I turn my head to watch him. He’s not paying me any attention, his eyes on the forest.

He’s so fucking hot. Before I knew he was Audrey’s mate, I considered talking to her about him. She seemed okay with Donovan and Wraith being together before she knew Wraith was her mate, so I wanted to see how she’d feel about me asking Nex out. I decided to put it off until after her final, which turned out to be just a little too long since she found out he’s her mate.

Now, I’m not sure if it would be okay for anything to happen between us. I should probably mention it to Audrey. She probably doesn’t even know I’m interested in him like that. Although, she made a few comments here and there while I was helping in his class before I got my own.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asks, and I realize he’s facing me again.

“Like what?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.

He clears his throat, his eyes dropping to my lips and causing me to smirk. “Like you want to devour me.”

I shrug. “That’s exactly what I was thinking about, so I’m not that surprised.”

He looks stupefied as he stares at me, unblinking.

“I don’t know why that surprises you,” I continue. “I’ve been hitting on you since I arrived.”

“Yeah, but I thought that was just because you were a flirt. Especially since you continued to do so after mating with Audrey.”

I shake my head. “Nope, but that’s not why we’re here. We’re here to talk about Audrey. You’re hurting her, and I don’t like it.”

“Damn it, Brenden.” Nex pushes to his feet and stalks to the railing. “I thought you understood—that you were on my side. That’s the only reason I came over. If I’d known it was just for you to try to change my mind, I wouldn’t have bothered.”

I’m not sure what would have given him that idea.

I slowly stand, joining him at the railing. While he’s facing the forest, I lean against my hip so I can study him.

“I will always be on Audrey’s side, no matter what. It doesn’t matter if she’s wrong or being belligerent, I will always be on her side. That’s what it means to be her mate. Something you should understand and should do because she’s also your mate.” I hold up my hand when he starts to argue. “It doesn’t matter if you want it to be true or not. You are her mate. Sure, you could choose not to mate with her, but that’ll just hurt both of you.”

He clenches his teeth, glaring at me. “I don’t want to hurt her. That’s why I’m trying to stay away, but everyone seems determined to throw the two of us together at every turn. The only thing that can come with her bonding with me is heartbreak. I’m so sick of talking about this. I shouldn’t have to keep explaining myself.”

“You wouldn’t have to if you didn’t want her. If you truly wanted nothing to do with her, we’d leave you alone, but it’s very clear that’s not how you feel.” I shake my head, leaning into him. “You want her.”

“Of course I fucking want her,” he roars. “But I can’t have her.”

I tap his chest with my hand. “Ahhh, but that’s where our opinions differ. Have you even tried talking to Lucifer? Even if he didn’t put a loophole in the curse, it’s not like he can’t lift it once he knows you’ve met your fated mate.”

“No,” he tells me, shaking his head. “I haven’t tried talking to Lucifer, and I won’t because this is what I deserve.”

And there it is—the real reason why he keeps pushing Audrey away.

He feels guilty for what he did, and he doesn’t feel like he deserves her. It’s stupid and completely wrong, but at least it makes a little more sense to me now.

It also gives me a jumping off point on how to convince him to accept her as his mate.

“So you don’t think you deserve happiness? That’s it?” I lean into him further, his eyes falling to my lips once again.

“That’s not what I said.” He shakes his head again. “What are you doing to me, Brenden? Are you trying to control my mind?”

“Who? Me?” I point at my chest, attempting to look innocent—which I am. I already said I wouldn’t try to control his mind, and I’m not planning to change that. “I’m not doing anything to your mind. You’re my friend. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

He can’t seem to tear his eyes away from my lips, and I throw caution to the wind when I lean in to kiss him. He stands there frozen, and I wonder if I fucked up.

But then he kisses me back, and I melt into him. I’ve imagined kissing him before, but as usual, my imagination has nothing on reality.

Nex deepens the kiss, our tongues tangling together as he wraps one arm around me and pulls me against him. My cock perks up as I feel him harden against me.

I wonder if Audrey would be mad if I pulled his cock out and jerked him off. I’d like to see what he’s packing, and I think she would too.

My lips curl up into a smile when I hear her step into the clearing. She walks closer, coming up short when she realizes what’s happening. I catch the hitch in her breath, and I know she’s enjoying the view.

Unfortunately, Nex also notices it and pulls away. He glances between the two of us before shaking his head and hurrying down the steps. He transforms into his demon form and takes off in the air, leaving me and Audrey to stare after him.

“I wasn’t expecting to come home to that,” she finally says, trudging toward me.

As soon as she makes it within arm’s length of me, I tug her into my arms and kiss the shit out of her. She’s smiling when she pulls back, and I like that a lot better than the despondent face she’d been rocking after watching Nex run away again.

“I wasn’t expecting it to happen, either. Are you mad?”

Audrey shakes her head. “About you kissing him? Absolutely not. It was hot. But I am getting sick and tired of him running from me every time he sees me.”

“Understandable, but he’s scared,” I tell her, and she hums.

“I’m aware, but I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t know how to make him give me a chance.”

I make a face that she doesn’t see since she’s laying her head on my chest as we speak. “I don’t know if there’s anything you can do, but I’m working on it. I promise.”

We stand there for a few minutes in silence, just enjoying each other’s company, until she pulls back to grin at me.

“Are there any other mates of mine you’d like to make out with?”

I throw my head back as I laugh. “No, firecracker. Just Nex. At least for now.”

She giggles, and I let out a sigh of relief. It’s been far too long since I heard that sound. She’s been stressing out too much over everything with Nex and Cassian—not that I can blame her—but it’s nice to hear her letting go, even if it’s only for a few minutes.

“Donovan growled at Nex when he answered the door,” I tell her, leading her inside. “But I shoved him back inside and shut the door in his face.”

“You did not!”

Donovan scoffs. “Oh, he did too, and I’m not a fan.”

I shrug. “Too bad, so sad.”

“Oh, that’s it, vamp. You’re in for it now.” I laugh, throwing myself away from Audrey as he launches himself at me. My grin stays on my face as I avoid his grasp while Audrey giggles.

Yeah, this is my favorite way to see my mate. We’ll have to make sure she has more to smile and laugh about and less to stress about.

After all, isn’t that what we’re meant to do as her mates?