Reckless Souls (Saints Academy, #1)(68)

throat.

“Are you nervous to learn what you are?” he asks quietly, but we all still hear him.

Rhea rubs her lips together, and I don’t know how I can tell, but it’s not because she’s considering

her answer, she already knows it, it’s more to do with how honest she wants to be with us. Fuck. That.

“You sealed your soul to our brother’s, we’re all in this together now, there’s no point in keeping

secrets,” I gripe, the anger evident in my voice and likely written all over my face. If my harshness

offends her, so be it.

“I have been alone for twenty-two fucking years, Khaos, excuse me if it takes me a minute to learn

how to not just handle everything alone,” she retorts, and I frown, glancing back at her from my food.

Any other girl in this fucking place, and I’d say it was fake, forced, and all in her damn plans, but

with Rhea, what you see is what you get. It’s as easy as that.

Adonis places his hand on my shoulder and applies pressure, not in reassurance, but to shut me

the fuck up as he glosses over the situation. “We all know Khaos doesn’t have manners, Rhea. What

he means to say is whatever is going through your mind, we’re all a team and we can help.”

She eyes him for a moment before releasing a long sigh. “No, I’m not scared or nervous over what

I might be, but I really don’t like being out of control, and this is just… this whole situation is just…

fucked up,” she states, swiping a hand down her face in defeat. Or is it more in surrendering to the

inevitable?

“For an earthling, you’re handling this better than expected,” Zen says with a casual smile, and the

death glare she gives him makes my fucking balls shrivel.

“Call me that one more time, I fucking dare you,” she hisses, eyes fiery, and he quickly lifts his

hands in surrender.

Doesn’t like the generalized nicknames for humans. Noted.

“We need to research this more, but are we agreed that for now at least, it stays between the five

of us?” Xander asks, glancing at each of us, and we all immediately nod in sync, well except Rhea.

“Us and Harmonia,” she adjusts, folding her arms over her chest like it’ll create a barrier

between us. I guess she needs someone to speak to outside of us, but—

“That’s fine, but no one else,” Zen agrees, cutting off my internal debate, and I roll my eyes at how

easily he gives in to her demands. Asshole.

Silence descends on the room again, everyone eating, when Rhea suddenly drops her fork to her

plate, round eyes flicking to Xander as she seems to realize something. “When you were in wolf form,

you had like a, uh, a red mark on your side. It’s not going to be there when you’re a human, is it?” she

asks, her fingers twitching to lift up his tee to check for herself, but he saves her the trouble and does

it anyway.

“Fuck.”

Gasps and curses fill the table as the stark red mark remains on Xander’s ribcage.

I’d had no idea what she was talking about before, because I was too busy looking into his wolf’s

eyes to notice anything on his fur, but it’s unmistakable now.

It looks like a symbol of some kind. A large ‘Z’ with a line through the bottom, connecting it to an

‘O’ beneath.

“I didn’t see one on my side when I showered,” Rhea murmurs, lifting her t-shirt in the same spot

to reveal her silky soft skin. The same skin I had my hands on a few weeks ago, the memory begging

to be recalled.

“Did you check everywhere?” Adonis asks, a knowing smirk teasing his lips as he wags his

eyebrows at her.

“I wasn’t exactly looking,” she grumbles in response, before rising to her feet and lifting her t-shirt up behind her to reveal her back. “Is there anything there?”

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

There, taking up the bottom half of her back is a huge ‘O’, just like the bottom of Xander’s but

without all the extra parts.

“I’m going to take it by the looks on your faces there’s something there,” she prods when no one

responds, trying to glance over her shoulder or twist her body with no luck.

“We’ll head back now and show you, but it seems to only be the circle of Xander’s, but on a much

bigger scale, like much bigger,” Adonis explains as I rise to my feet, happy to remain silent as my

cock strains after the brief glimpse of her bare skin.

“It looks like you guys are going to have to make sure these marks stay covered at all times,” Zen

explains as we all fall into step and head for the exit.

“That won’t be a problem,” Xander replies, nudging Adonis out of the way to be beside Rhea.

“I’m sure it would be much harder if it was Adonis trying to conceal it,” he adds with a smirk, and I

chuckle under my breath. Rhea looks at me like the sound surprised her. Have I not laughed in her

presence yet?

The look in her eyes holds me captive for a second, rooting me to the spot, before Zen breaks the