Zodiac Academy: The Awakening

AVOIDING THE HEIRS for a whole day had put me in an amazing mood and even after I’d wrenched my ass out of bed at five thirty this morning to make sure I escaped any repeat attempts at whatever hellish wake-up call they’d planned for me, I still felt pretty damn good about it. Of course that was all going to end today because I had my first Earth Elemental lesson this morning and I would have to endure Seth and Caleb’s company throughout.

I hadn’t actually spoken to Caleb since he’d burst into our Cardinal Magic class yesterday, assaulted my teacher and effectively pissed all over me like he was a dog and I was his favourite lamppost. He’d been angry as all hell and I was more than a little nervous about how that interaction would go when I was forced into his company again today.

I could only hope that being segregated into the freshman training with the Professor would afford me a little bit of safety from the Heirs, but I had resigned myself to the fact that I’d be getting bitten either way.

In the meantime I had an errand to run and avoiding The Orb during the breakfast rush meant that I was at least delaying the inevitable a little longer.

I’d woken up to my usual horoscope nonsense which involved something about invoking the ire of a Taurus and an Aquarius but I’d quickly dismissed that in favour of the much more exciting message beneath it. My online order had arrived which meant I was about to claim a little piece of myself back in the form of clothes. I was beyond sick of spending all of my free time in my uniform or sports kit and I was overdue some outfits which actually reflected who I was.

I made my way to the Pluto Offices where all of the admin clerks who organised the school worked. I guessed students’ post was delivered via unicorn farts or whatever their version of a postie was.

The racks and racks of shelves filled with letters and parcels towered to the roof in a room so tall that it must have spanned three floors. I craned my neck, wondering how the hell I was supposed to find my deliveries amongst all of it. There was no labelling system to speak of and the guy on the front desk had been less than helpful, only pointing me toward this room with a single finger and not even bothering to say hi.

“-if you really feel it’s necessary then fine. But I assure you I have it all in hand.”

I swivelled around at the sound of that voice, cursing my luck as I prepared myself for whatever I’d have to face now. The door swung open and Darius eyed me with a faint glimmer of surprise as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the call he was taking. I hadn’t seen him since I’d stalked him in the woods the other night and I had to wonder if I was standing face to face with my potential murderer. My pulse spiked accordingly and I eyed the exit, unsure if I should try to bolt.

“As you wish,” he said, his attention on his call but his eyes locked on me. I half considered slipping out of the room while he was occupied but I still hadn’t retrieved my parcels and I refused to go running for the hills every time I was faced with him or one of his friends. “I’ll get it done. Is Xavier there?… Hello?” Darius shot a look at his Atlas before releasing a breath of irritation and shoving his earpiece into his back pocket. I wondered who had had the balls to hang up on him and silently applauded them for causing that scowl to fill his features. Or at least I did until I realised it was now firmly directed at me.

“Just get it over with then,” I said with a sigh. There was no point in me trying to run and my progress with my magic had barely even gotten started so fighting was out too.

“Is this where you’ve been hiding then?” he asked, ignoring what I’d said as he tapped something on his Atlas.

“What do you mean, hiding?” I asked innocently. I hated that I’d been avoiding them rather than facing them but I hadn’t been wasting my time. I’d devoured everything that Professor Prestos had sent me on Coercion and Shielding and had been giving every free moment I had to trying to build up my defences. If there really was a chance that Darius and Orion were after me and Darcy then I intended to be as prepared as humanly possible to face them. Though as I stood face to face with the guy I suspected of plotting my murder, I began to doubt that that was the case. Here I was, alone and at his mercy and the only thing he’d done was poke fun at me. Hardly seemed like the actions of a serial killer. But then again maybe trying to off me in the middle of the day wasn’t the smartest move.

“I haven’t seen you at the House or The Orb since Tuesday,” Darius replied, his gaze trailing over me suspiciously before he returned his attention to his Atlas.

“I didn’t realise you were so obsessed with me,” I quipped. “Am I expected to run all of my movements past you? Or are you just disappointed that your cunning plans to surprise me when I woke up yesterday with your little friends didn’t work out?”

Darius’s gaze snapped up to mine in surprise and I offered him an insolent smile. “How did you find out about that?” he asked, not even bothering to deny it.

“I’m used to looking out for myself. Not all of us grew up with Daddy’s money keeping us safe and warm at night-”

“You don’t know shit about my father or the way I grew up,” Darius snarled, taking a step towards me.

My heart leapt and I was struck with the desire to run as fast and as far as my legs would take me but I forced myself to hold his eye instead, raising my chin as I looked into his dark eyes.

“Just like you don’t know the first thing about me,” I replied. “I’ve met much meaner bastards than the four of you before and come out swinging. And I’ve learned a thing or two about the way basic bastards like you operate; you’re not very original. And you don’t frighten me,” I said, my tone miraculously level despite my thundering heartbeat. I was lying and it was pretty clear we both knew it. Yes I’d dealt with my fair share of dickwads and biker dudes with a superiority complex but I doubted any of them came close to rivalling the Heirs in strength or brutality.

Darius eyed me for another second before releasing a breath of laughter.

“You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that,” he muttered, before dropping his eyes to his Atlas and hitting a button on it.

The shelves before us suddenly began to move and I looked around at them in surprise as they shifted left and right, up and down, making way for a compartment which had been near the roof to slide down before us. The movement ground to a halt and Darius stepped forward to claim the contents of the shelf for himself.

He flicked through a handful of envelopes before stuffing them into his blazer pocket.

He turned for the door without bothering to do anything else to me and I counted my blessings that he seemed to be in too much of a hurry to torment me today.

I looked back at the shelves before me, frowning in confusion and pulling my own Atlas from my bag as I tried to figure out how he’d just gotten his deliveries to present themselves.

Darius sighed heavily and pulled my Atlas out of my hands. I looked up at him in shock, reaching forward to snatch it back but he ignored me, pulling up an app on the third page and quickly selecting ‘Post Retrieval’ from a list of options. He caught my hand and the warmth of his skin surprised me almost as much as the fact that his touch was gentle.

My traitorous heart fluttered at the contact and I tried to stop my eyes from trailing over the strong line of his jaw and the set of his mouth but failed miserably. He was just too damn good to look at.

“It needs a thumb print,” he explained in his deep voice as I tried to resist his directions. I relaxed marginally, letting him press my thumb to the screen and the shelves beside us started moving.

Darius released me, tossing my Atlas back to me so that I was forced to catch it before it ended up hitting the floor.

A big compartment stopped before us, stuffed full of bags and boxes containing new clothes for me and Darcy.

“Thanks,” I muttered as I pushed my Atlas back into my satchel and stepped forward to claim my hoard.

Darius beat me to it and pulled a box from the top of the pile which was emblazoned with the slogan of a lingerie company.

“Looking to burn even more of my clothes?” I asked, wondering if I was about to watch everything I’d just bought go up in flames.

“I could be persuaded not to,” he replied, his mouth hooking up at one corner and making my heart leap in response. I had no idea what he was going to demand of me but I knew exactly what the answer would be. There was no way I was going to start dancing to his tune.

“Just do what you’ve gotta do, dude. I can’t stop you.” I folded my arms and waited him out. I wasn’t going to beg.

“You’re really sucking the fun out of this, you know that, right?” he asked. “How about you give me a fashion show wearing the contents of this box and I’ll let you keep your new wardrobe?”

I rolled my eyes and turned to leave the room, abandoning my new clothes and resigning myself to ordering all of it again. At least our stipend was stupidly generous; I wasn’t in danger of running low on funding any time soon.

Darius caught my wrist before I could make it to the exit, tugging me back to face him again. My skin flared beneath his as my heart leapt in either fear or excitement and I wasn’t entirely sure which. I yanked my arm out of his grip and he smirked at me.

“Keep your shit, Roxy,” he said in a tone that suggested I was boring him. “Ruining your clothes was last week’s fun. I can do better than that next time.”

He tossed the box of lingerie into my hands before sauntering out of the room like he thought he owned the place.

“Pleasure seeing you as always, asshole!” I called loud enough for it to carry to him before heading back to claim my deliveries.

I stacked my arms up with the various bags and boxes before running them all back to my room. I sent Darcy a quick message, urging her to go on ahead rather than waiting for me. Thanks to Darius, I was running late for my first Earth Elemental lesson and I was going to have to run across campus to reach it, following the directions on my Atlas with one eye while making sure I didn’t fall with the other.

I jogged down a path which skirted the edge of The Wailing Wood before swinging a right and heading along the side of a tall rock face covered in vines and moss.

The path finally led me to the mouth of a wide cave which delved beneath the ground and I hesitated a moment before heading inside. Rough steps were hewn into the stone at my feet and I descended quickly, following the tunnel until I reached the bottom. To my right were the locker rooms and I headed on in, finding it full of girls getting changed and a bag of clothes waiting for me again. Irritatingly, it was still labelled Roxanya which instantly made my mind go to Darius’s stupid nickname for me. I made a mental note to email Professor Prestos about changing it when I had the chance.

Darcy was waiting on the bench, already dressed for class and I muttered a quick hello to her as I tried to catch my breath after my run to get here. 

The Earth class uniform was deep green and consisted of a pair of skintight shorts and a vest decorated with the symbol for Earth. The thick heat of the cave was the obvious reason for the thin outfit and I moved towards the exit to discover what this class would entail.

“Freshmen, gather around!” a soft voice called and I moved towards the girls at the far end of the locker room, craning my neck to get a look at our Professor. She was a short woman with a brown pixie cut and wide eyes which made her seem almost fragile, like a child. “I’m Professor Rockford and I’ll be instructing you on the use of your Earth Element. For today’s class I’m not going to set you up with any specific work. I just want you to explore the cavern and let your magic do whatever comes most naturally. I’ll be observing and assessing but there’s no right or wrong way to wield the power of Earth. By its very nature, our magic grows like a budding plant, so the best way to learn to wield it is to go with the flow. So head on out when you’re ready and let’s see what you’ve got.” She smiled encouragingly as she opened the door and I fell in at the back of the group of girls as they made their way into the classroom.

A huge cavern opened up above my head as I stepped out and I couldn’t help but stare up at the vaulted ceiling in amazement. Intricate patterns had been carved into every inch of the stone and soft green and yellow orbs of light hung all around the space.

More caverns and tunnels led away from the huge central chamber and I noticed lines of precious metals and gemstones sparkling along the rough walls.

“Wow,” Darcy breathed beside me and I turned to her with a grin of my own.

“These people might all be crazy but they sure do know how to make school interesting,” I said as we started walking towards the other side of the cave beneath the glow of green lights.

“Holy biscuits! Your majesties!” Geraldine’s voice caught my ear and I suppressed a sigh as I turned to face her. She was flanked by six of her A.S.S members who were all giving us that creepy doe-eyed look that they reserved just for us.

As a group they all bowed their heads and I exchanged an uncomfortable glance with Darcy.

“We keep asking you not to do that,” Darcy muttered.

“We only want to show our respect to the two true Heirs,” Geraldine said proudly, puffing out her chest. Her eyes were rimmed with dark eyeliner which looked suspiciously similar to the way I did mine, though she’d gone a little too heavy on it. And she’d coupled it with a pale pink shade of lipstick like the kind Darcy favoured which didn’t really match up.

“Well as your rightful rulers or whatever, we’re asking you to stop it,” I said firmly, glancing about to see how many people had witnessed their little act of devotion.

A few girls were muttering to each other on the far side of the cavern and shooting glances our way but luckily no one else seemed to be paying us much attention.

“I’m so sorry if we’ve displeased you, your maj-”

“Don’t call me that,” I snapped before Geraldine could finish her sentence. I was a foster kid from the rougher part of town. I’d never even had dreams of being a princess like the other little girls who put on Cinderella dresses and plastic tiaras as they pranced around the local mall. My dreams had always contained a lot more grease and oil and an open road leading me to freedom. Even as a little kid I’d been more interested in watching Speedway races than Disney cartoons.

“Right. Sorry your… Tory,” she said, lowering her head like I’d whipped her. I knew she was only trying to be nice but I didn’t want a fan club.

I glanced at Darcy for help; she was always the more diplomatic one. My mouth ran away from me with all the speed of an ill mannered gazelle. I tended to speak first and think later and I was getting the feeling that brash wasn’t the best approach for our fan club.

“We just don’t want to be seen any differently to the rest of you,” Darcy explained, saving me. “We aren’t looking for any followers.”

“Oh.” Geraldine’s face dropped and for a moment I was worried she might burst into tears. Darcy caved to that slapped puppy look and hastily offered an olive branch.

“But maybe we could try being friends?” Darcy said with a warm smile.

If a kid woke up on Christmas Day and found out that Santa had brought them their own personal Disney World resort complete with actual real-life talking bunnies, their face wouldn’t have lit up as brightly as Geraldine’s did with that suggestion.

“I would be boundlessly honoured to even be considered as a candidate for your friendship!” she gushed, rushing forward to embrace my sister. Darcy patted her on the back a little awkwardly and I failed to stifle a laugh.

“Perfect,” I said through a grin. “Now that we’re all friends, I’m just going to go for a little explore.”

I backed out of the circle as the rest of the group pressed forward to join the hugathon and smirked at Darcy as she remained trapped in the centre of it. She rolled her eyes at me but her face was set with amusement so I knew I’d be forgiven for abandoning her to the masses.

I crossed the cavern and let my magic simmer to the surface of my skin, trying to do as Professor Rockford had suggested and give it the chance to pick what it wanted to become.

One of the side tunnels drew my attention as a sense of warmth emanated from it and I headed inside to explore.

It was darker down here than in the main cavern, the glowing lights reduced to pin pricks of blue which twinkled intermittently along the high roof. I followed the trail, the warmth growing stronger as I went and my magic rose up inside my chest as though it was soaking it in.

A hand landed on my shoulder and I flinched as Seth Capella pushed his face into my hair, inhaling deeply.

“Where have you been hiding, little Vega?” he asked, the arm around me tightening as I tried to push him off.

“I think we’ve established I’m not of your Order,” I growled as I shoved him away more firmly. “So how about you cut the touchy-feely stuff with me?”

“You know, I could take offence to that,” he said, catching the hand which I was using to push him back and linking his fingers through mine for a moment. “Order shaming isn’t cool.”

I extracted my fingers and managed to pull out of his grip as I offered him a scowl in the dim light. “It’s not Order shaming. I just prefer to keep my body to myself unless I’m the one choosing to share it.”

“Is that an offer?” Caleb purred behind me and I didn’t quite manage to hide my flinch as his cool fingers brushed down my arm.

“No, it wasn’t,” I snapped, sidestepping so that I was no longer stuck between the two Heirs.

They moved to stand side by side, Seth brushing his arm against Caleb’s as the pair of them towered over me.

“What do you want?” I asked, taking a step back warily.

“We’ve been looking for you,” Seth said. “Poor Caleb has practically starved to death without his little lunchbox on tap. You really should have come begging for his forgiveness after letting Orion put his mouth all over you like that.”

“Forgiveness?” I scoffed shifting my gaze to Caleb as he waited expectantly. Did he really think I was going to apologise? “You can be assured that I have zero interest in any Vampire feeding from me but if I do decide to let a man put his mouth on me, I won’t be asking permission from you for it. You don’t own me.”

“Wrong,” Caleb said darkly. “I claimed you. Which makes you mine, we’re bonded you and I. It’s your responsibility to remind any lesser Vampires of that fact if they try to feed from you again. And if you don’t want to agree to that then we could always try out the old fashioned way of marking you as my Source.”

Seth chuckled as my brow furrowed in confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Years ago Vampires would mark their Sources with a tattoo right in the centre of their forehead.” He reached out to poke me between my eyes and I flinched. “It helped them to avoid little accidents like your run-in with Orion. If I can’t trust you to make other Vampires aware of my claim then maybe I should consider it,” Caleb said thoughtfully.

“If you come anywhere near me with a needle I’ll drive it through your fucking eye,” I snarled.

“So can I assume that I have your word to announce my claim to any other Vampires who show an interest?” Caleb pressed, his gaze lighting excitedly.

“Fine. So long as you keep any ideas about permanently marking my body off of the table I’ll tell all your little buddies that my blood is spoken for.” At least until I figure out how to fight you off.

“You do realise that there are a lot of people who would kill for your position, don’t you?” Seth asked as he seemed to sense my continued disgust for this situation. “Being the Source of Caleb Altair is an honour.”

“Well they’re welcome to have it. By all means, find another girl or guy to suck on and I’ll be on my way.” I made a half-assed attempt to sidestep them but they closed ranks, stopping me.

“I own you. I wanna hear you say it, Tory,” Caleb said, his voice rough. “Who do you belong to?”

“Go screw yourself, I don’t belong to you.” I considered the dark look in his eyes for a moment and decided to throw him a bone in the hopes of saving myself some grief. “But the Tory blood-bar is closed for all other business and I’ll pass the message on to any parasites who come my way.”

Caleb grinned at me and I sighed as I resigned myself to where this was going.

“Fine. Bite me then if you have to,” I said, holding out my wrist with the faint idea that he might take it rather than biting my neck again.

“It’s not as much fun if you just accept it willingly,” Caleb complained.

“Well why don’t you find someone else to suck on if you’re looking to get your kicks from fear? And I can assure you I’m not willing, I’m just practical. I can’t stop you so I just have to endure it.”

“You’re making it sound so boring,” Caleb muttered. “But you are right about one thing. You can’t stop me.”

“Yet,” I replied icily and the word hung between the three of us in the silence of the cave for a moment.

“Confident little thing aren’t you?” Seth murmured as he took a step towards me.

I held my ground despite the fact that every fibre of my being was urging me to run. The green glow of the central cavern was still visible beyond them and I couldn’t help but glance that way, wondering if I could make it back.

“I think this little Vega needs reminding who she’s up against,” Seth purred, running his hand down Caleb’s back.

Caleb’s deep blue eyes sparkled with excitement and I half considered yelling for help. Geraldine and the others were still out there with Darcy and the Heirs had waited for me to isolate myself from them before they’d pounced. Perhaps The A.S.S would be able to help me escape this situation but I hesitated before I could form the word. Screaming for help like a damsel in distress was just so not me. I wanted to face off against these assholes and come out on top, I just couldn’t figure out how.

Before I could decide on how much my pride meant to me, Caleb shot forward and wrenched me off of my feet. He tossed me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and raced further into the tunnel as if I didn’t weigh a thing.

I cursed and hit him, trying to make him put me down as he shot along with the unnatural speed of his Order.

We made it into a wide space that glowed with blue and silver light and Caleb came to a halt. I could hear Seth howling with excitement back in the tunnel we’d left behind but Caleb’s speed had separated us from him.

Caleb set me on my feet with a boyish grin that almost could have made me believe he wasn’t a total bastard. Ignore the dimples, Tory, he’s an award winning dickasaurus.

“You’re stupidly strong,” I grumbled as I pushed myself out of his grip and glanced at the cave he’d brought me to. We were standing on a ledge high above a sea of sparkling stalagmites which looked sharp enough to impale anyone unlucky enough to fall the ten meters down onto them. I shifted away from the edge uneasily.

“I am,” Caleb agreed, smirking like that was meant to be a compliment. “And that’s only my second best attribute.”

“What’s your best?” I asked automatically, wondering why I was even bothering to get into a conversation with him.

“That would involve us ditching our clothes,” he said, his voice dipping in pitch suggestively and making my traitorous blood flare with heat for a moment.

I glanced at his broad shoulders and mischievous eyes for all of half a second before I turned away, refusing to be blinded to his asshole nature by the pretty shell which housed it. Why do I have such terrible taste in men?

“Well I won’t be putting that claim to the test,” I assured him dismissively. “Why have you brought me here?”

“I thought you might like a look at the view,” he said, prowling towards me with purpose in his gaze.

I glanced at the dizzying drop of doom beside me and shifted further from it again. “Er, yeah. It’s great, thanks. But I really should be getting back to my lesson.”

“Don’t you want a closer look?” Caleb pressed, closing the distance between us once more.

“I can see it just fine from here,” I insisted, trying to keep my tone level.

Running footsteps approached and Seth burst from the tunnel behind us with a howl which echoed off of the cave walls so loudly that I glanced up at the stalactites which hung from the roof with concern.

“Like the view, little Vega?” he asked, shaking his long hair around his head like a dog driving water from its fur.

I looked between the two Heirs for any hint that they might be about to back off but the excitement which danced between them gave me my answer.

“I think she needs a closer look,” Seth said, stepping forward.

“Yeah, you can’t really appreciate it from way back here,” Caleb agreed.

Holy shit on a starfish.

My mind whirled with some way out of this but before I could think of a single thing, Caleb shot towards me, shoving my chest so that I was thrown towards the edge.

I fell backwards, a scream escaping me as the sea of razor sharp rocks winked at me with promises of my death.

Two hands caught mine before I could tumble to my doom and my heart leapt as my sneakers scrambled for purchase on the crumbling lip of the ledge. They didn’t pull me up but laughed as I hung at their mercy, my back to the terrifying drop below.

“Pull me up,” I demanded but my voice came out like more of a plea as fear sped through me.

They grinned at me with twin smiles of beautiful devils and I clung to their hands with all of my strength as they held me in limbo.

“Solaria has been much better off since the Vegas left the throne to the Celestial Families,” Seth growled. “Since our parents took up the throne that yours left cold, our world has been a better place. We don’t need you to come back here and claim it for yourselves. We don’t want you to.”

“We didn’t ask for this,” I breathed, my heart pounding at the thought of the drop beneath me. “We don’t want it. You can keep your stupid throne and your power!”

“That’s a beautiful offer, sweetheart, but it doesn’t change the facts,” Caleb said, his tone suggesting we were having a casual chat and no one was in imminent danger of death. “Your blood-right means the throne belongs to you so long as you prove yourself capable of taking it. And there are enough people who would support your claim to cause a civil war over it.”

“But we don’t want it!” I spluttered, trying and failing to keep my cool. “How can anyone seriously expect us to rule over a nation we know nothing about? It’s insane!”

It could have been the dim light in the chamber but for a moment I could have sworn that Caleb’s features softened a little. I hurried to continue while there was a glimmer of hope that he was listening to me.

“Look, all we want is to learn how to control this magic inside us and get our inheritance. That’s it. We grew up with no one and nothing. Before we came here we weren’t even sure if we were going to be able to keep a roof over our heads for the winter! I swear we have zero interest in claiming any throne or taking your places.”

Seth and Caleb exchanged a look but I couldn’t read what they meant by it in their expressions.

“I say we drop her,” Seth said with a shrug of his powerful shoulder which made me lurch beneath him.

My grip on them tightened with panic and my magic swirled like a tempest within me. But if I wanted to attempt to use it, I was going to have to release my grip to free my hands and there was no way in hell I was taking that risk.

Caleb’s lips twitched with amusement and panic engulfed me as I began to wonder if they might truly let me fall. No one had seen them take me down here. They could leave and pretend they’d never seen me, let someone else discover my body dashed to pieces on the rocks below.

But I wasn’t going to let them rule my fate like that. I was born a fighter and if there was even the slightest chance that I could get myself out of this then I was going to do it.

I drew on everything I’d learned about Coercion during my practice sessions with Darcy and Sofia. Sure, I’d only managed to execute a handful of simple commands and I’d never even attempted to batter my way past mental defences as strong as the Heirs were sure to have but it was my only shot. And hopefully they wouldn’t even be expecting me to try. I took my fear and helplessness and coiled it into a desperate little ball which I imbued with my utter need to escape this situation. The words pressed against my throat, brimming with power just aching to be set free as I opened my mouth.

“Pull me up,” I demanded, my tone fierce and imbued with power.

To my complete and utter shock, Caleb and Seth heaved me up over the edge to safety.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins and I scrambled away from them as their faces fell in shock at what I’d just done.

“Shit,” Seth muttered, eyeing me like he didn’t know whether to attack or retreat.

“I told you how strong they were,” Caleb growled, his navy eyes glowing with the new challenge I presented.

“Stay away from me,” I said, my tone dark.

They both hesitated, exchanging a loaded look before Caleb’s mouth hooked up to one side.

“Nice try sweetheart, but you aren’t going to slip past our defences so easily a second time.” He shot towards me before I had the chance to respond and his teeth slid into my neck as he drew me against his body.

I tried to pull my magic to me again so that I could fight him off but as soon as he started feeding, I couldn’t lay claim to it. I was at his mercy once more but at least I’d managed one act of defiance against them.

Seth moved closer and brushed his fingers against my arm for a moment. As soon as his fingers touched my flesh, a deep growl sounded from the back of Caleb’s throat and his grip on me tightened.

My heart leapt and Caleb’s fingers knotted in my hair as his other hand gripped my waist, dragging me against the hard lines of his body. My own hands had made it to his arms, the tight press of his biceps unyielding beneath my fingers. It was almost like we were locked in an embrace, if I could just ignore the teeth which were lodged in my throat. Which I really couldn’t. 

“Sorry,” Seth said with a smirk, taking a step back.

Caleb relaxed marginally as he finished feeding on me and finally stepped away.

“Don’t touch my Source while I’m feeding,” Caleb muttered irritably, shooting a dark glance at Seth.

Seth grinned at the challenge in his tone and I felt like a bone being fought over by a pair of dogs. The idea of it made me grit my teeth in anger.

“I’m still here, assholes,” I snapped, though I instantly wondered why I’d thought that drawing their attention back to me was a good idea.

“You know I’m not going to bite her, what’s the big deal?” Seth asked innocently, ignoring me.

Caleb flexed his muscles for a moment and I felt like I was looking at the raw essence of their differences. They may have been bonded like family but rubbing along together despite the differences in their Orders was obviously an issue now and then. I wondered if there was any way that I could use that against them but before I could give it any real consideration, Caleb cracked a smile.

“I just don’t want your paws all over my food while I eat,” he teased, bumping his shoulder against Seth’s in a way that was mostly playful but still knocked him back a step.

“Wanna go finish this lesson with a contest?” Seth asked excitedly, his eyes flashing with a challenge.

“Only if you don’t mind getting your ass whipped,” Caleb countered.

The two of them ran off through the tunnels without even sparing me another glance and I stared after them in surprise as Seth’s howls echoed off of the walls around me.

Somehow I’d managed to escape that interaction fairly unscathed and I could only hope that I could say the same next time.