From the corner of my eye, I see his head snap around as if he’s surprised by my question. “How what?”
“How do I lock the door?” I examine the metalwork on the door, but it’s completely foreign to me.
Ziv mumbles something under his breath, probably commenting on how simple I am, but I’d rather look like an idiot than leave the door unlocked, so I don’t have much of a choice. With purposeful movements, he shuffles me out of the way, takes hold of the iron next to the door, and flips it to cover the heavy wood, then he uses his boot against the door to secure it in place before twisting a rather delicate knob that makes a clinking noise when the iron shifts, digging into the floor and ceiling, effectively barring the door. Without prompting, he twists the knob again, showing me how to unlock the latch. “This isn’t foolproof, but it’s the best the rooms have to offer.”
I take a long look at the weathered metal, wondering who or what is strong enough to make it ineffective, and decide I don’t want to know.
“Next time I knock, answer the door.” He jerks the wood open as if it weighs nothing and ducks under the frame, disappearing like he couldn’t wait to be gone.
I close the door quietly but quickly and have to use both hands to force the latch into place. Thankfully, the knob twists easily, sinking the rod back into the stone floor and ceiling. I spin, placing my back to the door, giving into the temptation to make sure I truly am alone. Satisfied, I pad over to the bed and pick at the remaining food. I hate the thought of it going to waste, but I also don’t want to make myself sick. I have no clue where a privy is or feel the desire to locate one.
I eventually ease myself back onto the bed as weariness weighs on me. It’s surprising I could even still be drowsy after being asleep for what must have been hours, but I am bone-tired. Thankfully, when I close my eyes after staring at the ceiling for a short while, my mind is empty of thoughts, allowing me to fall into the abyss waiting for me.
KAGE
Ilisten to the whispers of the other novices for what feels like an eternity before the final door closes and everyone is tucked into their rooms. The lights in the corridor are dim—perfect for slinking into the shadows when I ease from my chamber. I stride down the hall, heading toward one of the bathrooms stationed throughout the dorms, just in case I run into anyone.
It only takes me a few moments to reach the containment hall. At first, I was surprised when I noticed Ziv leading her this way, but after thinking about it, I’m actually relieved. Not only is the hall mostly vacant of other novices, but the walls and doors are reinforced. Typically, it’s to keep those confined inside fromgetting out, but it will also help make sure no one can get to her either, except me of course. A tiny crack is all I require. It never once dawned on me that there may be a reason he put her into that room, other than her own protection, but when I see the iron cages over the windows in the door and the heavy bolt holding it closed, I start to wonder if there’s more to my creature than I first imagined.
I slip into a corner and watch the hall for any signs that someone—namely Ziv—could still be around. When I’m met with only silence, I dematerialize, becoming a full shade. Clinging to the ceiling, I make my way down the corridor until I find her curled up on the bed, shivering.
It takes no effort to roll across the floor and ease myself under the very bed she’s lying on. The cool stone under my back tells me I’m once again corporeal, but it’s not the only sign. The sudden ache in my groin nearly has me letting out a groan, but I bite my lip to keep the sound from escaping.
My creature’s soft, even breaths tell me she’s sleeping. I think about slipping back into my shade form so I can watch her, but my fingers are already inching down my stomach and into my pants to fist my cock. My teeth sink even deeper into my lip, and the metallic tang of blood touches my tongue.
Knowing she’s within inches of me and having her scent surround me make it impossible to ignore the demands of my body. All it takes is one tight squeeze for a warm drip of liquid to trail down my cock, allowing my fingers to glide even better as I pump my fist hard and fast. My hips jerk off the floor, causing the tip of my cock to brush against the rough material of the mattress she’s on, and the sensation is enough to have me coming in thick ropes. I don’t stop until my skin is almost too sensitive, blurring the lines between pleasure and pain.
When my ass touches the ground again, I realize the fingers of my free hand are curled around the side of her mattress. AsI snap my arm back, fearing I could have gotten too close to her, I hit my elbow on the floor, and it makes a loud thud. My curse that follows is silent, but my breathing is choppy. I just had the best orgasm of my life, but in doing so, I might have unintentionally touched my mate. Mymate… The word echoes in my head with a certain finality, forcing me to accept the truth. No matter how much I would like to think otherwise, there is no other explanation for the pull my creature has over me.
Bitter anger fills my gut, making me feel even more hollow than I did before entering this room. How cruel must the Fates be to curse us with such a destiny? Mates are not exactly rare, but they aren’t common either. They are, however, to be treasured, cherished, and protected. Protection won’t be a problem, since I have the ability to end anyone who dares to threaten her, but forcing us to feel this connection without the ability to ever sate it is worse than brutal. How will I protect her from me and the pain she will be forced to endure because I won’t be able to care for her the way a mate should?
In that moment, I decide to keep our interactions to a minimum in an effort to shield her from knowing what we should be, so that only I will bear the certain knowledge and the torment fated for us.
I will be her silent protector, her personal shadow.
BRIAR
I sit straight up when a loud noise rouses me from a deep sleep. It takes a heartbeat for my blurry eyes to adjust to my unfamiliar surroundings. The events of yesterday come flooding back to me—walking up the mountain, eventually losing consciousness, waking up in the school, Ziv, food, and sleep. Just as I’m trying to skip over everything that happened once he showed me to my room, the loud noise comes again, and I hop off the bed and back toward the wall. I now know where the sound came from—the door. Someone is trying to break it down, or at the very least make me think they are.
I’m tempted to ignore it and pretend I can’t hear the loud rapping, but I have little doubt whoever it is will just give up and go away. I ease closer, grab the chair positioned under the desk, and move it silently over to the door, then I climb up to look out the little window.
The face staring back at me startles me so much, I let out a yelp and scramble off the chair, nearly falling on my butt in the process. Ziv doesn’t look happy. I jerk the chair away, then twist the knob holding the lock in place. The door swings open in the next second, but this time, I’m smart enough to jump back and avoid being clobbered.
“Sorry,” I say the moment he ducks through the door.
He lifts his head and sniffs a few times, as if scenting the air, then his shrewd gaze lands on me. “You had company,” he states, tossing a bundle of things onto the bed. I watch as he does a double take of the mattress, and his lips thin into hard lines.
“No,” I answer truthfully, even though I know it won’t matter much. My father never believed me when I told him the truth. I back up until my shoulders hit the wall behind me, preparingfor Ziv to scream in my face the way my father always did. His silvery eyes miss nothing as he turns his head to assess me. The furrowing of his brow now matches the tightness of his pinched mouth. My heart thunders in my chest. Ziv is easily twice the size of my father and much more intimidating. Try as I might, I don’t think I’m hiding the fact that he’s scaring me. The back of my throat is dry from my quickened breathing, and I’m sure it would only take one glance to see the thud of my heart against my ribs.
“Why did you take so long to open the door, little flower?” His words are spoken softly, yet I don’t feel comforted by that fact.
“I was sleeping. I’m sorry.”
Ziv’s eyes roam over me, and the stiff set of his shoulders eases just the tiniest bit. I don’t trust the response to be genuine. My father often tried to put me at ease right before he lost his shit. The male turns his back to me and flips up the bare mattress, causing it to sail across the room and crash into the wall.
All I can think is thank the gods that wasn’t me. The bundle he tossed on the bed is now strewn about the floor as well. My fingers twitch to clean up the mess, but I can’t force the rest of me to move. I’m too frightened to get closer to him. Hell, I have to remind myself just to breathe because that feels almost dangerous in the moment.
Ziv isn’t even breathing hard, it’s as if the action cost him nothing. I glance at the door, wondering if there’s any chance I could beat him to it and run. I know the answer before the question fully forms. Even if I could get out of the room before him, there’s no way I could outrun him, not even if my life depended on it, and it may. It’s hard to imagine I thought I had a crush on him last night, when today, I’m worried about him crushing me.
