Page 39 of Zodiac Hybrids

“No, but I’ve slipped into her mind a few times, and she’s not an idiot. She’s been putting the pieces together at her own pace. She only hasn’t asked because she doesn’t know if she’s allowed to bring up magic with someone who could still be human, so at the very least, you can rest assured that your secret is safe. Though it won’t be a shocking revelation when I do tell her.”

“Un-fucking-believable.”

He gets to out me against my will, but hasn’t had the balls to be honest himself? Typical. I had half the mind to trigger his transformation tonight just to expose him. He’d do the same to me. He’d done the same to me.

Marcus shook a hand through his messy hair, almost looking ashamed of himself. Almost, because he wasn’t capable of shame.

“I have every intention of telling her. I just wanted to warm her up a bit first. Her introduction to magic kind has been a bit traumatic.”

“And whose fault is that?” My eyes narrowed.

“Both of ours.” He shrugged, owning at least part of his involvement. I couldn’t absolve myself entirely for obvious reasons, moon lust or not. I scowled and the corners of his lips lifted. “Aw, why are you so serious? Are you worried I ruined your chances with her?” His teasing only irritated me more. “Look, I’ll be more than happy to share my gifts with her as soon as I’m confident she can handle it. And considering I can read her mind, I’ll know exactly when that is, and I’ll make sure to enjoy all of what that entails. Unlike you, I embrace the perks from both sides of my bloodline. Maybe the sooner you do the same, the sooner you’ll be less of a grumpy asshole.” He rolled as he put his bag in the hotel closet. At least it seemed he had the intention of staying in the room he was assigned.

“So noble.” I scoffed.

“We can’t all be as morally sound as you.” Marcus jabbed with a shake of his head. “You’re literally half incubus. You can practically hypnotize women into falling for you just by finishing in them. If you wanted to win this little spat, you could have Lila under your spell in all of four seconds if you shoved your cock in her pretty little mouth.” He tapped his index finger against his lips, “Four seconds is probably being generous, really.”

“Yes, it’s such a gift to know a woman is only with me because she’s magically enchanted and has no other choice.”

Marcus could never understand what it was like. The obsession, the stalking, the begging, the pleading. Having to watch a woman cry because she’s so deeply compelled to love you—despite knowing nothing about you and sharing no commonalities—was hardly a gift that kept on giving. If all I wanted was an endless string of casual flings, it would be great, but I’d outgrown that bland, empty lifestyle a long, long time ago. It had never been fulfilling even when it was feeding my power reserves.

He, of course, shrugged it off, as he neither understood nor cared enough to try. “Well, either way, I don’t see what the point of this arrangement was if you were literally going to give her a private room, unless your intent was to slip into that room yourself, and you didn’t want me in the way.”

“Or maybe my intent was to give her space, since she’s obviously a bit of an introvert based on how little I’ve seen her socialize with anyone other than you. On her own, she chooses who she allows in her room. Locked in a room with you, who was already happy to mark her in her sleep, without any form of consent, I couldn’t be confident her boundaries would be respected on this school field trip.”

“Ha!” His laugh came out so staccato and sudden, it was clearly involuntary. “You need me to respect her boundaries? You marked her too. You want me to believe you detailed all the rules and implications first? Because I bet you shoved your teeth into her without so much as explaining that humans can’t receive marks at all.”

I turned to start unpacking, not wanting to acknowledge that. He was right, and I was ashamed to say it.

He continued. “Stop acting so high and mighty, Adrian. You’re the one who took her virginity, and you’re the one who left her naked in the cafeteria for any wandering monster to devour. You’re like a feral animal who lashes out at everyone while not understanding your own need for love, and it’s exhausting.”

I winced at the words, before I addressed him again. “You didn’t give me a choice. So I’m going to be keeping an eye on you to make sure you don’t take either of our choices again.”

That made him grin. “Oh, are you worried I might trigger you tonight?”

“I wouldn’t put it past you.” I raised an eyebrow.

“Good.” He paced over to me a placed a hand on my shoulder. I refused to flinch as he gave that shoulder a squeeze, then leaned in and whispered in my ear. “I suggest you stay vigilant if you don’t want to share your little secret with everyone. Because as much as I’d love to take her myself, breaking down that little fortress of your mind is so much more satisfying.”

His taunt sunk in deeper than I’d admit in my body language or expression. I rolled my eyes and shook off his grip.

“Don’t forget that I can do the same to you.” My threat was hollow and he knew it.

“Because that will help in your quest to protect her innocence from me.” He shook his head. “I’m as bad off as you this month, so go ahead. Try me. I’ll take you down with me, and we’ll both be fucked.”

“Mutually assured destruction?” Why that actually made me grin a little, I couldn’t comprehend.

“That’s my favorite kind.” Marcus waved me off with a low chuckle. “Let’s call a truce. I won’t trigger you if you don’t trigger me, and we can continue this little battle in a less volatile situation.”

“Agreed.” I nodded, before I offered him a hand. I partial shifted claws from my incubus half to knick my own palm with my nails, then I waited patiently for him to seal the deal.

Marcus sighed, like he couldn’t be bothered, then he obediently bit into his own palm to draw his blood and gripped my hand in a hard shake. Our blood mixed, and the deal was sealed.

A truce. Let’s see how long this lasts.

As the sun set, everyone met in the restaurant for dinner. To my surprise, Lila sat at the end with Linda and Evelyn, and they all looked to be smiling and sharing a conversation. When that friendship had developed, I couldn’t say, but it was great to see her starting to open up a bit. She seemed so withdrawn and nervous around others. I’d watched more than one of her classmates in Physics try to get her attention, but she was always so fixated on me or her notes, she didn’t seem to notice all of the much more healthy, age-appropriate, and safe options that were trying to catch her eye. I hated the idea that I might have ruined a young woman’s college experience before she’d ever had the chance to find herself.

It was then that I noticed I was smiling in her direction, and it was also then that I shook that away and resumed a professional demeanor. Marcus joined into their little group, and I just sat and listened to everyone talking about how much fun they were having while sharing little personal stories here and there.