Reckless Souls (Saints Academy, #1)(88)
with the utter surprise of everything transpiring, freezing me in place, only to find Marco and Khaos
standing toe to toe in a stare off.
What the ever loving fuck just happened?
“Blood,” Khaos spits, anger deepening the green of his eyes as he glares at Marco. “We need
blood to replenish us, and we take it from whoever and whatever we please. Except. Her.”
I can feel eyes looking between me and the pair in the center, but I don’t pull mine from Khaos.
The anger that radiates from him is indescribable, yet Marco simply chuckles, his teeth retracting as
he swipes his hair back off his face, playing everything off like it was a big joke.
I want to find the words to defend myself, tell this fucker not to lay hands on me ever again, but it
feels stupid and irrelevant now since Khaos already has. The other vampires stare at him in a mixture
of shock and worry.
Khaos doesn’t move an inch as Marco shakes it off, until his eyes wander back to me. “Do you
fucking hear me, Marco?” he grinds out, but before Marco can respond, Professor Fury steps in to
split them up.
“How about you two calm down and go through the skills a vampire inherits while I escort Miss
Harrington to a different group,” he hisses, fists clenched at his side in distaste as he offers me a
disapproving look.
Of course this is my fault. Dick.
I can’t help but roll my eyes at the back of his head as he takes off, but before I step away, I take
one final look at Khaos, wanting to make sure he’s alright, but he waves me off without a word,
reminding me just how much he can get under my skin.
Trailing after Professor Fury, I catch sight of Zen staring between Khaos and me, a questioning
look in his gaze like he wants to make sure everything’s okay, but I can’t give him an answer to that
because I honestly don’t know, so I focus on the shifter group Fury leads me toward instead.
As we come to a stop beside the group, the girl standing in the center stutters slightly under
Professor Fury’s intense gaze. “Please, continue, Farrah,” Fury states with a wave of his hand, and
she quickly clears her throat, glancing at me with a small smile.
I don’t offer one in response, my attention slipping to the guy behind her as he stares intently at
me. Fuck, any other time and I’d be putty in Xander’s hands, but after Khaos’ little show, I feel like
my head is spinning with it all.
His brown eyes trail over me, a cocky grin playing on his lips as Farrah continues with what she
was talking about. “One of the important parts of being a shifter, no matter which form you take, is the
mating process.” I immediately want to die at the topic of conversation, and from the way Xander’s
lips turn up even more, he can sense the truth in that thought too. Asshole. “Does anyone know why?”
“Because males only choose one mate, and even for females, it is a sacred connection,” someone
answers. Xander wets his lips as he continues to stare at me, and I balk at the statement, turning to the
redhead who spouted off the information as Farrah hums in agreement.
“That’s right. The mating process is something uncontrollable, our shifters take over as they claim
what we believe is ours,” Farrah adds, a ripple of noise flowing through the group as I frown in
confusion.
“But, like, what if your mate dies or something?” I ask, not considering if it’s insensitive or not,
but it’s too late to retract it now. My brain is locked onto the fact that Xander and I sealed souls, and I
can only assume that links to this whole mating bullshit too. Fuck my life.
“There’s no one else for us. Ever.” Those words come from Xander himself in a commanding and
final tone, one-hundred percent certainty in his eyes as he speaks, leaving my mouth dry as I process
what he’s saying.
“That’s right. A shifter's mating ceremony is practically a wedding. Til death do we part,” Farrah
explains, and I feel a flush wash over me.
Is she saying I’m fucking married to Xander? What the hell. Of all the times to join this group, it
had to be now. I can’t handle this.
Please for all that is good in the world, let Professor Fury continue our walk around the species
world.
As if answering my prayers, Fury simply begins to walk away, and I waste no time following
behind him as quickly as possible.
He surprisingly doesn’t pause near the demons, moving straight toward the Gods section, but I
manage to overhear a little bit of what the woman is explaining.
“We all know where our magic comes from guys, am I right?” she says with a waggle of her
eyebrows, and it instantly whirls me back to the first time I met Adonis in our adjoined bathroom.
Sex.
They draw magic from sex.
Of course they do.
Adonis catches my eyes, offering me a wink as I pass, and I manage to hold back the eye roll I
want to give him. The memory of yesterday, the way he played my body so perfectly, has my thighs
clenching as I walk.
Is this class over yet? I need a cold fucking shower or maybe four.