Page 27

The rest of my week was uneventful, to say the least. I haven’t seen outside of my now-larger dorm since Tuesday when all the bullshit happened. Headmaster rock bird came by on Thursday and decided on his own that it would be best for me to resume classes on Monday instead of returning earlier.

Not that the prick shared what’s been going on with the situation.

Nope. He’s been tight-lipped about it, but I can assume things haven’t been progressing the way he hoped if I’m confined until Monday at the earliest.

So, the past few days have been spent practicing my magic and hanging out with the twins.

Yep. Freaking twins. Mind-blown.

I didn’t even know that’s what they were. Brothers, yes. But, honest-to-Lucifer, twins? I had no freaking clue.

Thanks, Zane, by the way, for my new phrase.

Everything is Lucifer this, Lucifer that. But my absolute favorite one I’ve heard many times over the course of confinement so far is Lucifer’s balls. It leaves me cackling and doubled over every time he yells it when something doesn’t go right.

And that happens a lot.

It’s now Saturday morning, and I’m waiting on pins and needles for Axel and Luka to get here. Their surprise has been what’s kept me going all week, and knowing them, I know I’m going to love whatever the heck it is.

From what I was told, it took a lot to convince Councilman Cassian and Headmaster Stonewell to allow this to happen, but they both relented when Axel finally gave in about the twins coming too.

It was supposed to just be the three of us, but our party of three has turned into five.

Not that I’m complaining, not really, but part of me feels like Luka, Axel, and I will never have alone time again if we have to keep bringing them wherever we go.

But semantics, I guess.

Since the guys never gave me any details, I decided to dress out of my normal realm of comfy clothes. My joggers were traded in for dark-wash jeans, and my hoodie is long gone, replaced with an oversized soft gray sweater that hangs off my shoulders.

I should be embarrassed by the over display of my runes, but I’ve started coming to terms with them and the fact that everyone can see them. Now they’re just another facet of my body.

The heels of my black ankle boots tap a rhythm across the floor as I pace back and forth, nibbling the skin around my nail.

Gods. I’m so nervous. And I don’t even know why. I’m just going out with my mates and my bodyguards.

Hell, I wasn’t even this damn nervous before we went to the gala.

My mood visibly deflates at the thought of the night that fucked up my life.

“Nope. None of that.” Bane pulls my hand away from my mouth, rubbing his fingers over the red and torn skin around my nail. “Whatever you’re thinking about, throw it away. It doesn’t exist. Especially on a day like today.”

“Do you know where we’re going?”

“I do, and so does Zane. You’ll enjoy it, I promise.”

“And if I don’t?” I raise my brows. I’m goading him. I know I am, but the shock on his face makes me smile. “How are you going to make it up to me?”

Damn. Where the hell did this brazen side of me come from?

“Uhh… well…” He flicks his eyes away from me and back and flexes his wings. “Oh look, they’re here.”

“Wait… what?” A knock thumps on the door, and Bane takes off at the sound, throwing it open and ushering my guys in in a bid to avoid my question.

Lucky fucker. Saved by the door, literally.

Luka’s the first to reach me, cupping my cheeks and tilting my face up to his. “Damn, goddess. You’re a vision today.” His lips descend on mine, all tongue and teeth, nipping, licking, and sucking like he’s been in the desert for forty days and I’m the first drink of water he’s had.

Warmth pools in my belly, and I clutch his navy shirt, dragging him closer until there’s not a single inch of space between us. He’s all solid muscle and hard planes, and I can feel every ridge of abs against my peaked nipples.

A throat clears in amusement, and Luka pulls away, resting his forehead against mine. “Gods, I missed you.”

“I missed you, too, Lu.”

“What about me? Did you miss me too?” Axel’s words make me giggle.

“Always, vampy.”

“Mmm, just what I like to hear.” My vampire clutches my wrist and pulls me away from my demi-god, dragging me against his lithe body, finishing the scorching kiss Luka started.

By the time he releases me, my skin is flushed, my panties are damp, and I’m seriously considering canceling whatever outing they have planned for us and continuing this in my bedroom.

Before I can put that suggestion out in the world, Axel checks his watch with a grimace. “We need to get going or we’ll be late. Do you have everything?”

“I think so. I have no clue where we’re going, so you’ll have to tell me.”

“As long as you have your ID, you’re good.”

“Check.” I grab the little black bag from the coffee table and put it on my shoulder. “What about my clothes? Am I overdressed? Underdressed? Godsdammit, this is why I don’t like surprises,” I grumble, tugging at my sweater.

“Don’t let her fool you,” Zane interjects from the doorway of his room before they can say anything. “She’s been excited all week; it’s just now that it’s time to go that she’s worried.”

Zane shoots me a smug grin, not reacting to the double birds I flip him for giving away my excitement.

Stupid demon.

“You shush, or I’ll tell them about the air fryer.”

Horror overtakes his features, his dark eyes darting back and forth between me and my mates standing behind me. Then he shrugs his shoulders, like it’s no big deal.

“Go ahead. It’s your word against mine.”

“Mmm, but will your brother corroborate with me or you? That is the million-dollar question.” I tap my chin, waggling my eyebrows.

“Why you…” Zane rushes for me, throwing me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “We don’t want to be late. Let’s go.”

He leaves Luka and Axel to trail behind us with Bane taking up the rear of our group. I share wide eyes with mates through the break in his wings, wondering what the hell the demon thinks he’s doing.

“Wait. Where’s Aero? Bane pauses, looking back toward our dorm. But Zane doesn’t stop. He continues on, leaving me to yell down the hallway.

“He’s staying in the dorm today. I didn’t want to bring him since I don’t know what we’re doing.”

What no one knows, though, is that Aero is hiding underneath my hair, a spot he’s made his own since our trip to Councilman Cassian’s office. There’s no way he’d actually let me leave him at home, and I wouldn’t feel safe leaving him behind.

“Lucifer’s balls, Zane, put me down. I can walk, ya know.” I wiggle on his shoulder, hoping he’ll relent.

A deft slap to my ass stops me immediately. I gasp, jolting up and scrambling for something to hold on to. My hand connects with one of the horns on top of Zane’s head, and I grip it tightly, praying to the gods that I don’t fall.

Zane stumbles, and Bane stifles a laugh, but no one says anything. If only I knew now just how much me touching his horns affects him.

The hallways are blissfully empty, which is actually quite shocking for being a Saturday. But at least my mates don’t have to witness the crude remarks and whispers the other students throw at me.

Monday worries me, though. I know what they’re going to call me. And I don’t know if I’m ready for it.

Because it’s a given that they’re going to call me a murderer.

It’s just another false persona they plan to label me with. Just like whore, mistress, and homewrecker.

But I digress. I shouldn’t even be worrying about that right now. Monday is still two days off, and right now I have a surprise to figure out.

A shiny red SUV rests outside the doors to the academy, the vehicle extremely different from the matte black sports car Axel usually drives. It’s also larger than any SUV I’ve ever seen. But given the size of the demons playing my bodyguards, they’ll need room to be comfortable.

Zane pulls me off his shoulder, sliding me down each and every inch of his body until my feet are planted firmly on the asphalt. Then he steps away, leaving me wondering if he’s just as affected by that display as I am.

His gaze scans the horizon and the grounds around the academy. It’s the first time I’ve seen him do it, and it reminds me of the fact that he’s actually my bodyguard, and he’s doing what he’s been hired to do. Protect me.

Bane disappears around the other side of the vehicle, doing the same, if I have to guess.

“Alright, goddess.” Luka steps up to me, his large frame engulfing me in his shadow. “For this surprise, you need to be blindfolded.

Axel produces a black piece of fabric from the inner pocket of his suit jacket, dangling it in front of my face.

“Are you brave enough to let us surprise you, cor meum ?

I raise my brows at the blindfold. This is starting to feel more and more like a kinky kind of surprise, given the greeting I got when they arrived.

Fuck it. You only live once, right?

* * *

The SUV slows to a stop, the motor idling as Bane and Zane’s conversation cuts off. We’ve been on the road for a while now, and I have no idea where the heck we are. My sense of direction isn’t the best in the first place, but the blindfold has made it completely impossible to gauge what direction we traveled in.

“Are you ready, cor meum ?”

“As I’ll ever be, vampy.”

Luka chuckles, and there’s a scratch of clothing against the leather seats. I’m assuming they’re moving around or doing something. All I do truly know is that we haven’t driven any further.

“Go ahead, Bane.”

Soft fingers brush against my hair, and the blindfold that obscures my vision is untied, leaving my eyesight blurry as I try to adjust from the darkness to the bright sun shining through the windows of the SUV. It takes a few blinks to chase away the black spots clouding my eyes, but the second they clear, my breath hitches.

Directly in front of us lies the gates separating the supernatural sector from the human one. The very same one that my adopted parents live in. I know that like I know the back of my hand. There’s nowhere else Axel and Luka would take me if not here.

Excitement courses through my veins at finally being able to see them. Not that I’ve been the best daughter since the day I left, but I plan to make up for it now. If they’ll let me. They may turn me away because of what I am.

“Axel.” I reach between the seats and grip the sleeve of his suit. “Do they know? Do they… want to see me?” There’s no hiding the child-like fear in my voice at being rejected by the two people who raised me.

He looks over his shoulder at me, his fangs peeking through as he licks his lips. “Of course they do. They love you, Bailey. They’ve felt horrible about lying to you, but what you are has never changed how they feel about you.”

Goosebumps pop up on my skin at words. “Really?”

“Really, goddess,” Luka murmurs, shifting to look at me in the back seat. “Axel and I came out here last week to see them and ask if they wanted to see you. They asked so many questions about you, wondering how you’re doing, how you’re handling being a supernatural. They even asked what you are so they could research it.”

My lips part, but no words escape.

Tears gather in my eyes for the two people who’ve loved me unconditionally. And even still, when I’ve been nothing but a shit daughter to them, they still want to know about me and my life.

I swallow thickly, vowing here and now that things are going to change. No more blocking them out. No more being mad over something no one could change.

From now on, I’ll be the same daughter I was before, just with a few new decorations and a couple of son-in-laws for Mom to spoil.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”