Zodiac Academy: The Awakening (Supernatural Beasts and Bullies #1)(111)

I eyed Justin and the other A.S.S members across the dance floor as they chatted together and peeled off to dance. It wasn’t too late to join them but I just wasn’t sure I could take an evening of bowing and gushing voices calling me your majesty or Roxanya in the company of the ass club.

Nope. I wasn’t above drinking on my own and right about now that seemed like a good option.

I reached the bar and ordered myself a double pink gin and tonic as I fiddled with a trailing curl of my hair.

“It’s not too late,” Caleb’s rough voice came from beside me and I turned to find him leaning on the bar as if he’d been there all along. No doubt he’d used his Vampire speed to shoot into the position and I offered him half a smile as I eyed his pristine navy suit which exactly matched the colour of his eyes. He was stupidly attractive in sweatpants and a baggy T-shirt so the way he looked now was beyond words. Memories of his hands on my body, his mouth against mine came pouring in and a little flood of heat built in me.

“Not too late for what?” I asked, taking a sip of my drink which left the rim of the glass stained red from my lipstick.

“To sneak out of here and have some real fun,” he replied, his fingertips brushing against my arm where I was leaning on the bar. The contact made a little flutter of energy run through me and I gave his offer a beat of consideration before shaking my head lightly.

“You’ll have to work harder than that if you want me,” I replied lightly.

He leaned a little closer, his mouth almost brushing against my ear. “I promise you, I’ll work really hard.”

Desire trickled along my limbs and I looked up at him from beneath my lashes.

“Tempting... but no.” I shrugged.

I didn’t want to be seen leaving with him. It was bad enough that Marguerite and her posse thought I was after Darius without me strutting out of here with another Heir on my arm. If anything was going to happen between Caleb and I again then it’d be on my terms and in secret. I’d had more than enough of everyone knowing my business and offering their opinions on it.

Caleb’s lips pursed with disappointment and he opened his mouth to say something else just as Max and Darius appeared at the other end of the bar.

The Heirs didn’t seem massively pleased to see me but then I wasn’t thrilled to see them either.

Darius beckoned Caleb over and he straightened, pushing away from me a little.

“Off you run,” I muttered and Caleb hesitated a moment, seeming torn between going to his friends and staying with me. But we both knew what he’d do and he smiled ruefully as he took a step away.

“I’m not switching allegiances, Tory,” he said in a low voice, sounding resigned. “No matter how good you look in that dress. We still can’t let you take our throne.”

He walked away before I could respond and I watched him go with a flicker of disappointment which I quickly squashed. “I don’t want your damn throne,” I muttered but he couldn’t hear me. None of them ever heard me when I said that.

They’d drawn a line in the sand and insisted that Darcy and I stay firmly on the other side of it no matter how little we wanted to engage in this fight. We didn’t want their throne or their power or anything other than to find our place in this world that had been stolen from us for so many years. Why was that such a crime? Why did our very existence demand that we engage in this stupid war?

Darcy was now nowhere to be seen and Seth was conspicuously absent too. A prickle ran down my spine as I thought about what they might be doing. She was a big girl and perfectly within her rights to make her own bad decisions but something about the Wolf Shifter set me on edge. When he’d been holding me out over that ravine with Caleb, the look in his eye had made me think he really might have dropped me...

I finished my drink and placed my empty glass down on the bar as I turned away from it.

Darius caught my eye for a moment and a little spike of fear hit me at the coldness in his gaze. I resisted the urge to flip him off then thought better of it and raised my middle finger at him before turning my back on him to cement the insult. I wasn’t afraid of Darius goddamn Acrux... or at least that was what I was going to keep telling myself until it became the truth.

I pushed through the crowd, keeping my eyes peeled for a sign of my sister while wondering where else she might be.

Before I got very far, a squeal of excitement caught my ear and I turned to find Geraldine hurrying my way. She was clad in a gauzy pink dress with balloon sleeves and enough ruffles to make her sound like she was wading through a pile of dead leaves at all times.

“Holy jammy dodgers on a diamond encrusted plate! Your maj-”

“Geraldine!” I interrupted her before she could dip her head to me. I was so pleased to see her up and about that I grabbed her into a hug which probably surprised me more than her.

“Oh my!” she breathed and I could tell that my embrace meant a lot to her. My heart softened a little despite myself. The A.S.S were annoying as hell but it wasn’t really their fault that the Vega Heirs didn’t want the throne.

“I’m so glad that you’re alright,” I said as I extracted myself from the layers of taffeta and grinned at her.

“Thank you. It took a while before I could get my magic to start replenishing itself again but I’m finally feeling like my old self.”

More members of the A.S.S had noticed her return and were running over to greet her too. Bows, curtsies and formal greetings were getting tossed my way like missiles and I quickly extracted myself from the simpering group with the excuse of needing a bathroom break.