Page 46 of Demon Reform Academy, Term 3

46

HUNTER

I pushed open the door to my office with my heart about to beat out of my fucking chest with fear.

This last attempt on my fated mate’s life had shaken me more than the others.

Aspen Drakonus had been sent to kill her. Aspen was a legend, and she was only twenty-two. An icedrake. Incredibly powerful. She was the top mercenary in Blezen’s Mercenary Guild. Her mother was its leader. She never let a target live if they deserved it, but she was the only one I knew of that actually cared about the truth of the matter. The rest of the guild just killed whatever target they were assigned. She could sense the truth. I didn’t know if she had a special power or if she was just good at reading the situation.

All I knew was that Pandora was so fucking lucky it was her they sent.

I couldn’t let her see my fear, though. I couldn’t let anyone see the raw fucking terror coursing through my veins.

I needed a moment to breathe, to get my head straight. But the second I walked in, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Death sat at my desk. His long, shadowy figure was draped over my chair, feet up on the corner of my desk, and in his hand was a file—Jenni’s file.

He flipped through the pages like it was his personal entertainment. “Well, well,” he mused, his voice deep, with a hint of dark amusement. “Delusional for loving me, huh? Interesting choice of words.”

My mouth went dry. I had, indeed, written that Jenni was delusional for being in love with Death. I hadn’t exactly anticipated him actually being her mate or reading through her file, though.

I forced myself to stay calm.

Death grinned. “She would find this hilarious, you know. But I don’t think you fully grasped the nature of her… feelings for me.”

I cleared my throat. “Obviously I didn’t know she was your mate. Her feelings make all the sense in the world now.”

His entire demeanor changed. The lighthearted amusement vanished in a heartbeat, replaced by an intense seriousness. “What happened? You’re sweating. Is Pandora okay?”

I stiffened. “She’s okay, but there was another attempt on her life?—”

Death got up and ran out of the door. One second he was there, the next he wasn’t. Just an empty chair where he’d been sitting, Jenni’s file left half-open on my desk.

I let out a long, drawn-out sigh. Great. Now, Death was on another fatherly rampage. That was just what we needed.

Reaching for my tablet, I dialed Rowan Clearwater.

He picked up on the second ring.

“What happened?” he asked, his voice tense.

“There was a mercenary from Blezen’s Guild here to kill my mate,” I explained, rubbing my temples. “Aspen Drakonus came to kill Pandora. She stopped and figured out that Pandora wasn’t the mastermind behind the dark magic plague, but we need to make sure they don’t come back.”

“Blezen’s mercenaries? That’s a new one. I know the leader of the guild,” he said. “She’s the daughter of some old friends. I’ll talk to them and brief them on everything. Aspen probably already explained, though.”

“Thanks.”

Rowan let out a thoughtful hum. “No problem. I’d lose my mind if my mate was being hunted like yours. Keep me updated. We’ll handle things from our end.”

We hung up, but something was gnawing at me.

I could feel it through the matebond, a knot of an emotion I couldn’t place came from Pandora. Stress? Panic? It had to be from the assassination attempts.

I couldn’t blame her, not after everything she’d been through.

Before I could focus on it any longer, my phone rang again. This time, it was my dad.

“Hunt, listen, there’s been an attempt on my life,” he stated in a panicked tone.

My blood ran cold. “What?”

“I’m fine,” he said quickly, but I could hear the strain in his voice. “I need to lie low for a while. I’m already in contact with the Supernatural Council. They’re advising we shut down vengeance operations until this dark magic plague blows over.”

I sank into my chair, running a hand over my face. “Pandora was almost killed today too, Dad. What the Fates is going on?”

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and when he spoke again, his voice was softer. “Is she okay?”

“She’s alive, but I wouldn’t say she’s okay.” Frustration licked up my spine, and my vengeance power simmered low.

“I’m sorry, Hunt.”

“I don’t like any of this.” My voice cracked. “First Pandora, now you. This isn’t just bad luck.”

“It’s not,” he agreed. “But we’ll figure this out. In the meantime, shut down our business. It’s not safe to operate. I took a case today, and that’s how I was nearly killed.”

“Okay. I’ll take care of it.”

“Good. And stay close to your mate.” He paused. “Protect her, Hunt.”

“I will,” I promised, feeling unease cover me like a veil. “You stay safe too.”

We said our goodbyes, and I hung up.

As much as I wanted to go after Dark Veil and Sybil Shaw for putting a hit out on my mate, I couldn’t. Not yet. We had to bide our time, but that was the last thing I wanted to do.

One thing was for sure—this wasn’t over. Something dark was coming, and it was coming fast.