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A thrill flickered in my veins; the call of dark magic always set my blood pounding. My movements were familiar as I pressed the tip of the dagger to my wrist and dragged it up the centre of my palm. Pain gave way to pleasure as the whisper of the shadows gathered around me. The dagger sang a sweet tune, delighted we’d given it the blood it craved. I could feel its draw, its power demanding I give it more blood, but I pushed the feeling away and passed the blade to Darius.
Dark magic felt like the best drug in the world, but it always wanted more.
I woke up late the next morning, reaching through the sheets in the hunt for warm muscles to pull me close, but when I fully gained my senses, I remembered I was alone.
I pulled my covers over my head and tucked my knees to my chest, brushing my fingers over the places Orion's hands had been, committing every touch and kiss to memory. The wild emotions inside me made my heart feel like it was going to burst. I'd never felt like this about anyone before and I was kind of scared of this powerful storm inside me.
“Who are you fucking?” he demanded. “What?” I blurted, my heart stumbling at his accusation.
“Calm down, babe, your Alpha's just checking in on you.” He stalked closer again. “I always like to know who my pack members are fucking. But it’s usually easier to keep tabs on that as they're either fucking me or each other.”
“I was at Tory's.” “Liar, liar panties on fire,” he purred. “Darius told Caleb that she was with him, and Caleb came to me ready to combust.”
“By the stars, Seth Capella is eating shit!” Tyler shouted, and Seth looked up with a bark of anger as people started taking pictures and echoing what Tyler had said.
“Is your Atlas broken, sweetheart?” he asked, a slight frown pulling at his handsome features. “Nope,” she replied casually, though I could tell she was putting it on. “Why?” “I sent you a few messages and you don’t seem to have replied. And then I find out you’re off chasing around after one of my friends all night. So what am I supposed to make of that?”
“Honestly?” Tory asked, cocking an eyebrow at him. “I don’t tend to date guys who are so needy they send me fifteen messages without a response. So if you’re hoping for me to message you back you might wanna tone back the desperate vibe I’m getting. And secondly, I’m not your girlfriend so I don’t have to check with you about where I spend my evenings or who I spend them with.”
Orion kicked off his shoes and proceeded to unbuckle his pants, giving the whole audience a show. What the fuck is happening? I glanced around and found most of the girls and several of the guys outright staring at him, waking a feral creature in my chest that growled mine.
I was so not a possessive person but something purely animal awoke in me when I was around Orion. And I was kind of afraid of the certainty with which I wanted him.
Someone's arm curled around my waist, dragging me upright and I found myself face to chest with Orion. My hand was pressed to his bicep, and I immediately withdrew, cursing my racing heart.
My hand pressed to firm, warm skin and I looked up, finding Orion right next to me. His jaw was tight, and I gave him a look that I hoped communicated the fact Seth was just baiting me and didn't really know anything.
My mind drifted to the way it had felt to wake up in his arms and how my fingertips had trailed over his sculpted muscles. I wondered what it would be like to trace the lines of all of his tattoos and how he might react to me doing it. I bit my lip as my thoughts started to wander in the direction of where that might lead and I had to curse my luck for the thousandth time that he was such a damn asshole.
My door opened again, and we both looked around as Darius stepped into the doorway. “What are you screaming about in here? I thought you were being murdered.” His eyes took in my wet hair and towel and the fact that I was trying to push Caleb out of the room and a low growl rumbled from his chest. My skin suddenly felt altogether too hot.
“I was just making sure you were alright,” Darius said softly, his eyes on me but the tension in his posture was all for Caleb’s benefit.
My heart was pounding something chronic, and blood was heating my cheeks. There was one thin towel dividing my body from these two gorgeous men and my blood was pumping like mad with a mixture of mortification and something a little less respectable.
Darius’s eyes stayed on me for a long moment, and I couldn’t really do anything but stare back at him, caught in the snare of his gaze.
A deep longing coiled its way through my chest, and I pulled it into my grasp, letting out a soft sigh as I held it. I closed my eyes for a moment, almost feeling like I was in the presence of an old friend, someone who wanted to protect me...
My hand closed on a bottle of pink lemonade just as Darius grabbed my wrist and spun me around to face him. “Hi,” I said innocently as he pinned me in with his huge body.
“What are you doing coming in here with Milton?” he asked in a low voice as he recovered from his surprise. “Are you jealous?” I teased.
“And I made it clear I don’t do as I’m told,” I replied with a shrug, looking up at him while I toyed with the lemonade bottle in my hands. “Are you going to punish me?” Darius growled at me, and I smiled despite the shiver that ran down my spine in warning. “Do you growl at everyone like that, or do I get under your skin more than most people?” I asked. “I find you particularly frustrating,”
“And I think you sometimes forget what lies beneath my skin.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” I replied. “I’m just not going to let you push me around because you’re scarier than me. Trying to avoid your wrath didn’t do me any favours anyway, so why shouldn’t I just do as I please?” “Your smart mouth is going to get you into trouble with me one of these days,” he warned. “Is that a promise?”
“Maybe I don’t enjoy hating people,” I replied. “Maybe I just want to forgive him and move on.” “Do you mean that?” Darius frowned at me, and I shrugged.
“Do you hate me then, Roxy? Or do you still not care about me enough for that?” “Why do you care if I do, or I don’t?” I asked in response because in that moment I didn’t even know anymore. The heat of him was coiling around me again and instead of leaning away from him, I was shifting closer. He was danger and power and the worst kind of temptation, but I almost wanted to find out just how close I could get before I got burned.
Darius let out a breath of frustration, leaning in closer to me so that he could speak into my ear. “We aren’t done, Roxy.” His chest brushed against mine and the rough bite of his stubble grazed my jaw. He started to shift back but I caught his arm before he could, meeting his gaze as he looked at me curiously, barely a breath dividing us. “I know we aren’t,” I replied, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. “Because you still owe me a bike.”
“We have a problem, sweetheart,” he said to me, though he continued to inspect his nails.
“You’re killing me, you know that?” he asked, dropping his hand and pinning me with his navy eyes. “You’re ignoring my messages, you won’t play our games, you won’t visit me when I ask and to make it worse, you’re going on secret dates with my friends.”
“Didn’t she tell you she went out with Darius last night? He took her back to his manor and they got up to the stars only know what,” Caleb said.
“He sent me a picture of them together to prove it if you don’t believe me.” Caleb pulled his Atlas from his pocket and flashed the picture Darius had taken of the two of us around at everyone. I glanced at it and was surprised at how much we looked like a happy couple in the snapshot. I was looking straight into the camera, a laughing smile on my face while Darius pressed a kiss to my head, the corner of his mouth hooked into a grin and his arm wrapped around me.
“I didn’t know you’d become so friendly with the sexy Dragon Heir!” “Did you just call Darius Acrux sexy?”
“Well, I have eyes!” she said defensively. “That’s not to say he’s the most attractive of the Heirs.” “Obviously,” Caleb said cockily. “No. Clearly the title of the most drool inspiring hunk of handsome goes to Max Rigel even if he is a blackhearted fiend. But Darius isn’t a bad second,” Geraldine said, a faint blush lining her cheeks.
“What?” Caleb asked, his brows pinching with irritation as I snorted a laugh. “You’re ranking me third?” “No! Of course not!” Geraldine said loudly, seeming horrified. “Seth Capella would be third.”
“Do you enjoy making me run around after you like this?” he asked. “I don’t entirely hate it,” I admitted.
“Then I’ll be sure not to stop. You might want to watch out for Hell Week pranks tonight - though I could keep you safe if you take me up on my offer.”
“I really don’t think it’s a good idea to follow the urges of some creepy knife.”
“Chiedo al buio di disturbare questo corpo dalla pace e di mettere la sua magia nel mio sangue.”
“You fucking did it.” Orion dragged him into a hug, and I could see the strength of their bond shining from them as Darius curled his arms around him too. A Dragon and a Vampire bound together. And I was sure this was deeper than just that Guardian mark linking them.
Fuck, blood magic felt good. Every time I did it, I swear the high got better. It was focusing that was the problem. Using dark magic was deadly. I could bleed out here before I’d even realised what was happening.
“Focus!” Darius shouted at me, and I looked up to find sheer panic in his eyes, his mind clearly not on anything but the girl in his arms.
“Where did you get the dagger, Blue?” My voice was a deadly soft trap to lure her in and she nervously avoided my gaze, leaning down to check on her sister. Darius hugged Tory to his chest, his eyes shut as he concentrated on pulling her consciousness back to her body, clearly unaware of what we were saying.
I fell still and the shadows writhed and wailed, desperate to have me. But the fire drew me back. I turned, wrenching my gaze from the dark until I saw the flames at my back burning bright and fierce in the shape of an enormous, golden Dragon. My eyes widened as I reached for him, and a breath of pure, salty air tumbled past my lips as the world came crashing in on me again.
“-would fucking break me. So don’t you dare give in to them. I’ll follow you into the shadows if I have to and drag you away from them kicking and screaming. Because they can’t have you. They fucking can’t.”
I exchanged a glance with Darcy and my heart pounded a little faster. Orion looked around like he’d heard it, and Darius pointed an accusatory finger at us.
“Why would I give a shit about that?” I snapped. “Because it might help you understand Tory’s motivations. It’s obvious that you’re more than just pissed off about this because she got one up on you.”
“It just seems like you’re taking it a bit personally,” he replied with a shrug. A fucking shrug.
“I can’t...she drives me insane, you know that? She challenges me at every fucking turn. No matter how thoroughly she’s beaten she still gets back up and looks me right in the eye again. Every. Damn. Time. And she hates me, it’s obvious, she says it right to my face but then every now and then she looks at me like...” “Like what?” Lance asked curiously, drawing a little closer.
“I dunno. Like she’s trying to work me out. Or maybe she wants to. But then she goes right back to calling me names or standing in opposition to every little thing I do or fucking Caleb...” “What does that have to do with anything?”
