Page 19

POLARIS

M y feet carry me of their own accord away from the main academy building that has been nothing but Hell on Earth since I woke this morning, and hopefully in search of calmer surroundings.

I didn’t think it could get any worse after Bianca, but Juniper, a professor no less, proved me wrong.

If one thing is clear today, despite my poor confidence levels, it’s that I’m done taking people’s shit without pushing back.

I might regret it in the bleak moments that follow, but that’s just my anxiousness over the sudden change rearing its ugly head.

I’m sure I’ll face more consequences for storming from Juniper’s class, but that’s an issue for another day.

Right now, if I don’t want to be in someone’s proximity, then I won’t.

It’s as simple as that. I’m just going to do what I want to do, and not what others want for their gain.

The gentle breeze carries me across the perfectly manicured lawn before the familiar entry to the maze greets me.

Without even realizing it, my subconscious has led me right where I need to be.

I step under the arch and I relish in the peace of being here as I work my way a little deeper into the trimmed shrubbery before I flop down on the grass.

My bag tumbles in one direction as my hair catches on the bush behind me, but I don’t move. Feeling the clipped grass tickle at any exposed skin, I take a deep breath, followed by another until they feel lighter. Pressing my palms into the grass, I hum, letting nature cool my pent-up stress.

If I lie here for long enough, will the world forget I exist? Could I forget that I exist? Or the fact that my problems do, at least?

It doesn’t really matter. Not when the swift breeze of contentment floats over me. The tension seeps from my bones, easing my muscles, and I hum with the sense of relief I’ve been desperately seeking since I woke up in the medical center.

A branch snaps close by, pulling me from my thoughts, and my heart skips a beat. I can sense them drawing closer without my magic. It’s almost like they have a beacon set on me and I shiver.

“Tatum?”

When no response comes, doubt sets in.

Pressing my palms firmly into the ground, I shift to sit up, a few tendrils of my hair still clinging to the bush behind me as my eyes lock on the intruder.

“You,” I grunt, lips tight as I glare at the man now standing in the opening leading to the center of the maze.

Amusement dances in his eyes. “Me.”

His aura shifts the air around us and I scurry to my feet, wrapping my arms around my waist to feel less… vulnerable.

“What are you doing here, Blaze?”

He tucks his hands into his pockets, tilting his head to the side as he assesses me. “I heard you ran off.”

My eyebrows pull together in confusion. “How did you hear that?”

He shrugs.

Just like Wylder does, only his shrugs don’t leave me relaxed and content.

No.

I feel more on pins than ever as he stares into my soul.

“Well, you can fuck off,” I decide, waving my hand at him before quickly wrapping it around my middle again, silently pleased with myself for standing firm, but he scoffs despite my efforts.

“I’ll stay.”

“No, you won’t,” I reiterate just as the sound of his cell phone vibrating in his pocket cuts through the air. He doesn’t pull it out to see the notification, but his jaw ticks an inch higher.

“B is in danger.”

“Wait, what?” I take an instinctive step toward him but stop immediately and he shrugs. Again.

“That’s why I had to leave you at the hospital with the wolves.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Nothing… yet, but keeping him hidden isn’t working as well as I had hoped.”

“I don’t understand,” I mutter, tingles zipping up my arms as I stare at him.

“Neither do I.”

I scoff, disbelief clinging to every rasp. “That makes no sense.”

“It’s all for you,” he states, his hard stare locked on mine as I frown.

“For me ?”

“Why I’m doing this,” he offers, but it does nothing to help me understand.

“You’re giving me a headache,” I say with a sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose, and he huffs.

“And you’re making me hard.”

I gape at him, eyes wide as my cheeks burn, and he grins.

“It’s not funny,” I snap, making the curl of his lips grow.

“I know.”

“Then knock the smile off your face.” I jab my finger in his direction, but instead of taking it as the warning it is, he eliminates the distance between us until the tip of my finger is firmly pressed against his chest.

“Just making sure you’re alive in there, Amica Mea,” he murmurs, tapping at my face, deepening the hue at my cheeks.

I huff, whacking his arm away as I step back, but the second I do, he follows after me, keeping a mere inch between us.

“You can leave now.”

“And if I don’t want to?” he breathes, skimming his finger down my arm, and despite the material of my sweater resting between us, I shiver, goosebumps rising at his touch.

Dammit.

“Then I’ll leave,” I decide. I was finally starting to think straight before he showed up. I can’t let him bring me to my knees when I’m desperately trying to keep my balance.

“And if I follow?”

My breath hitches at his whispered question, my heart racing like a galloping horse.

“I’ll keep running,” I breathe, earning another sinister smile on his lips.

“You’ll only entice the predator in me.”

I gulp and my fingers twitch at my sides. I don’t know whether it’s with the urge to slap him or grab him, but he notices it regardless.

“Do it. Slap me,” he goads, and I curl my hands into fists to stop myself.

“It’s not the same when you ask for it,” I grumble with a roll of my eyes.

“Back. Off. Now.”

Tatum’s voice cuts through the air like a blade and I jolt. Blaze, however, doesn’t seem as surprised as I am.

“Ah, good, Minnie told you,” he states, barely glancing over his shoulder, and I frown.

“Minnie what?”

Ignoring my question, Blaze cups my cheek as he looks deep into my eyes. “Behave, Amica Mea. You can’t be alone right now.”

“Why not?”

“It’s best I don’t say his name out loud, isn’t it?” He says it with a smirk, like it’s a funny inside joke, but the panic that floods my veins is far from it.

“I’m not following,” I state, and he somehow manages to lean in closer.

“I know why you were shot in the chest with an arrow, Polaris. I don’t want you alone, and since I’m apparently playing the heroic vampire who doesn’t unalive your friend, I need to ensure someone else has eyes on you.”

I search his eyes, seeking the words he doesn’t speak, but he’s a closed vault and I definitely don’t have the code to gain access.

“You can leave now,” Tatum grunts, his words harsher than I’ve ever heard, but before I can decipher it, I’m consumed by Blaze as he slams his mouth against mine.

It’s intense, intoxicating, and addicting.

I feel like I’m balancing on the tips of my toes, letting him take everything from me with one simple kiss, but it’s over before it can truly begin, and I’m left trembling in place.

My hand lifts to my lips, imprinting his touch to memory as he stalks toward Tatum. My pulse is thundering in my ears, but I hear his parting words.

“Make sure you pay attention to the fluttering of her heartbeat. Yeah, wolf?”

Confusion coils inside of me, but the dark gaze Tatum snaps my way feeds into my soul and understanding washes over me.

My heart is racing. It was racing before Tatum arrived.

For him.

For Blaze.

I think my face might be on fire as Tatum ignores him and centers his attention on me. His hands curl into fists at his sides as his jaw tics.

He’s mad. He’s trying to hide it, but it’s there. Guilt trickles down my spine as the silence stretches between us.

Clearing my throat, I offer a tight smile. “Minnie sent you?”

He nods, scrubbing at his jaw. “I’d have come regardless.”

I press my lips together, nerves settling in my stomach. “Want to sit?” I offer, and he shakes his head. “Oh.”

My hands wrap around my middle again, my defenses rising.

“I want to wipe him from every inch of your body.”

My heart lurches, lodging in my throat at his revelation.

I step toward him. “Tatum, I?—”

“I’m struggling for control right now, Polaris,” he interjects, the shake to his shoulders certainly from the tension consuming him as his eyes storm.

“Do you need me to call one of them or?—”

“No. I need you not to be so… you.” I feel the color drain from my face as I blink at him, his words hurting more than they should.

“Wait, I… fuck. Not like that. It came out wrong. I’m sorry, Polaris.

I mean…” His words trail off as I worry my bottom lip nervously.

The distance between us shortens, and for the first time since he arrived, it’s not from me.

He closes the space between us, stopping when we’re toe to toe.

“You’re making it worse with that,” he states, swiping his thumb over my bottom lip to release it from behind my teeth.

Satisfied, his hand shifts to my cheek as he searches my eyes.

“Tatum?”

“Tell me to stop, Polaris.”

I shake my head in confusion. “Stop what?”

His hand leaves my face to trail down my side. “Tell me to stop, Polaris,” he repeats, stopping at my waist. His fingers flex, digging into my side, and I shiver.

“But if I like it?”

My words linger in the air as our breaths mingle between us. It’s as if the world stands still. Nothing moves. Nothing but his hand as he slips beneath the waistband of my pants and panties in one swift move.

I hiss as he runs his fingers over my clit, running through my folds until he’s fully cupping my pussy.

“Polaris.”

I gulp as he breathes my name, his hand enveloping my core as he uses his free hand to tap a finger against his cheek. I understand the command instantly, and with his hand locked in place, warming my center, I rise on my tiptoes and do what I’ve grown addicted to…

I brush my lips across his cheek.

The second I make contact, he detonates, his fingers kicking into motion. He plunges deep into my pussy, wrangling a gasp from my lips. I stumble backward, my legs catching on the shrub behind me as he uses his free hand to grab my waist, holding me in place as he fucks me with his fingers.

His touch is all-consuming as I grind against him, my hips moving without prompt as I desperately seek everything he has to offer.

“Please, Tatum,” I breathe, pleading for what exactly, I’m not sure. I just know I need more. Of him, his fingers, his everything.

I feel light-headed.

The last time we were this close, I was on my knees in front of him in Professor Whitmore’s office. Now, the tables have turned, and I was a fool to think that I am ever even remotely in control when it comes to him.

His fingers swirl inside of me, making my pussy clench around him as the familiar tingles of an orgasm zip up my spine. But it’s not enough. I want more.

“I need more, Tatum. I need you,” I rasp, and he shakes his head.

“When you have me, it’s going to be slow, cherished. Right now, I feel too feral for that,” he grunts, grinding his palm against my clit, and I hiss as my eyes roll to the back of my head.

“What if I want you feral?” I look at him through hooded eyes, sinking my teeth into my bottom lip.

“You don’t know what you want.”

“Show me the side of you no one else sees,” I plead, his restraint hanging by a breath as his fingers pause inside of me.

“You don’t know what you’re asking for, Polaris.”

“I do,” I insist, my body trembling with my impending release as he denies me once again.

“Come on my fingers, Polaris,” he orders, ignoring my pleas as he resumes the intense pace of his fingers, and just as he commands, I fall apart at his touch.

I whimper when he slips his fingers from my pants, bringing the dripping digits to his lips.

Wordlessly, I watch, gaping with desire as he tastes me, his eyes latched with mine as he brings his painted fingers to my lips.

“I can see the disappointment in your eyes, Polaris. But there’s no way in Hell I’m fucking you for the first time because I’m trying to remove every trace of a vampire from your thoughts.

That’s not me. That’s not us. When I fuck you, and I will, there’s no denying that it’ll be all consuming because we’re lost in each other, not trying to erase someone else. ”