Page 33 of Wings of Ashes (Wings of Ashes #1)

CHAPTER

T he hair on the back of Nix’s neck rose as she stared at her unlocked dormitory door.

Had someone broken into her room? She knew she locked it every day. She remembered locking it.

Who would break into my room?

She took a deep breath, clutched the two knives she stole from the academy cafeteria at dinner, and brought to mind the few combat stances Ryker taught her.

He had not taught her how to hit or anything useful yet. Still, he showed her how to spread her legs and balance her weight to promote agility and force. She also craned her neck and watched what the other students were being taught while she was forced to run laps and build “strength.”

If I have to, I will fight. Tooth and nail.

She slowly pushed open her door and peered inside. Whoever had broken in was now long gone because the paint was dry.

Over her bed, in red paint, someone had spelled out “WHORE.”

Dried drips of red paint clung to her bedframe. Her white bedsheets were left untouched—other than being shredded and left in scraps over her mattress.

From her desk, someone had ripped out more than half of the pages of Nix’s history textbook. The pages were strewn about the room, some with writing on them, saying things like, “Drop out,” “Stay away from the alphas,” and “Go back to cooking class where you belong, bitch.”

The rage was back.

Nix snarled at the vandalized mess.

Who the hell did this? Why?

All she wanted to do was learn . And someone was trying to intimidate her into dropping out of classes that helped her not rely on marrying an alpha at graduation? Classes to help her gain independence.

Did the other cygnus shifters truly feel threatened by Nix, or was it more than that? Were they so appalled or fearful of her approach to a different way to gain protection—through knowledge?

Do they not realize the cages they lock themselves in?

Didn’t matter. Nix’s belongings were violated and damaged. The smell of paint fumes tainted the small room.

Her other uniforms hanging in the closet had been cut up.

The skirts were left three inches shorter.

Her blouses were turned into crop tops. How scissor-happy did these bullies get?

And what was the logic behind telling a girl to be less of a slut and trimming her only uniforms into provocative lengths?

Motivated yet again to be more than what she was now, Nix fixed another amateur reversal potion with the hyssop she grabbed that day.

She knew her potions professor, Professor Bowen, told her not to, but she had read the chapter. It said nothing about any damage caused by taking more of the potion than needed.

Besides, this would be her last amateur batch, since the ingredients were so hard to find.

Tomorrow, maybe I will wake up looking like me. Maybe then Persius would recognize her.

After taking the potion, she tucked herself under the shredded covers and fell deeply asleep.

“There you are,” Bael cooed as he settled his face between her legs. “I’ve been waiting for you to fall asleep.”

The second her consciousness had fallen into the sleep realm, he dove into it and painted the picture of them on her bed. She wore another thin nightgown that rode up on her legs.

Fuck, those thighs look thick and cozy tonight , Bael thought to himself as he nudged them wide open. I want to use them as soft, plush earmuffs for her screams. The scent of her wet pussy had his mouth watering.

“Bael—” Nix cut off as he began licking between her legs, over her swollen clit hood. “ Really? ” she asked in a high-pitched, needy voice.

“Just relax and let me take away all that tension,” he purred to her pussy, half expecting her to shove him away, but she didn’t.

Smoothing his tongue over the top of her sex, he expertly mimicked the motion again and again. From top to bottom. She squealed when his tongue swept over the rim of her hidden rosebud.

Fuck , he had been daydreaming about eating her perfect pussy all day. Watching her orgasm in their shared vision wasn’t enough.

“You can’t just…” she started.

His finger rubbed over her slickening entrance as he flattened his tongue over her risen, sensitive clit and licked and laved.

“Damn it,” she cursed weakly. She weaved her fingers through his hair and kept his face pinned between her legs.

His horns grew from his head as his horniness skyrocketed. She wants me here. Finally . His jutting dick was full and straining; the incubus had never had to masturbate alone before.

He ground his sizable, erect cock into her mattress as he performed masterful tricks over her responsive pink flesh.

“It’s been a long day,” she panted out as he sped up the laps of his tongue, flicking up and down and around. Up. Down. Around.

“Tell the incubus all about it as he eats you out.”

She rolled her eyes. “I just—I want to forget about it all.” She gasped when he forcefully sucked her clit between his lips. “ Bael .”

He released the suction on her clit with an audible pop . He smiled at how her pink nub rose, swollen and begging for more. “Sweet like a lollipop,” he murmured. “What part of today do you want to forget about?”

“All of it,” she replied and grabbed his horns to push his mouth back to her pussy.

Her grip on his horns, which were more like an extension of his dick in terms of sensual nerve endings, had him groaning loudly onto her clit and thrusting his hips into her mattress.

Bael growled onto her wetness, “Not concerned about your mate anymore?” Good , he thought jealously. I will make you forget all about him.

“I have no mate,” she exclaimed.

That was quick , Bael thought, frowning at her tone of voice. He wanted her to be overwhelmed with lust.

When he shifted up to see her face, he saw…tears.

Shooting up to lean over her, he sneered, “What the fuck is making you cry?” The vengeful wrath that filled his chest at watching her eyes blur with unspent tears…

Someone is going to die tonight .

“It doesn’t matter,” she cried in a hoarse, broken voice.

Bael gripped her chin and pressed his forehead to hers. He maintained eye contact even at the closeness. “Tell me who is making you cry. NOW.” His voice boomed and shook the room like aggressive thunder.

“I-I’m fine.” She pushed him away and covered her eyes so he could not see the salty liquid spilling from them. He could still scent it—and it drove him crazy. “I’m fine.”

A demented and deranged rage overcame him. “You are not fine.” He gently pulled at her wrists, tugging her hands away from her face. He leaned forward and licked a trail of tears from her cheek. “Who is making you cry?” He paused. “Is…Is it me?”

“No.”

Thank gods . Wait, when had the sex demon ever thanked them? “If you do not want me to make you come in class again, I won’t.”

“Everything is just so messed up,” Nix spat out each word between heavy breaths as more tears spilled down her face. “He—He doesn’t even know me,” she stuttered.

“Who?”

“I just want to be me . I don’t want to look like them anymore.”

“Them, who?”

“I don’t want…history to repeat itself. I—I can’t go through it again, Bael. I c-can’t.”

Bael frowned as her eyes began to glow in the dim room of the dream. Instead of blue, they lit up with a fiery bronze. A caramel copper with specks of gold.

“Shhh.” For the first time in his existence, Bael comforted .

He wrapped his arms around Nix’s laying body and cradled her head to his chest. She fit so perfectly against him. Like his pecs and ribs had been shaved down and sculpted to hold her pretty head.

“ Shhh , it will be okay,” he whispered. “Maybe,” he added. “I have limited information.”

He ran his fingers through her hair and massaged her scalp. When he kissed her head, he opened his eyes and watched as her hair turned…

“Red,” he said, confused. “Your hair is…red.”

A bright orangish red, so far from the white-gold or the pink Bael had seen on her before. And he had watched it happen. It was not dye. It was…

She jolted from his chest and asked, “Do you smell smoke?”