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The man I’m falling for did this for me.

Chapter thirteen

Teagan

Amber light spills through the blinds. The air inside the room is thick with the scent of pine and something sweet. The digital clock on my nightstand glows 8:14 PM, but outside the window of our suite, the sky looks like it’s bleeding.

Across the room, the door to my bedroom is locked. Beyond it, the rest of the suite is completely silent. Zay and Kieran had taken one look at the sky earlier this afternoon—at the ominous, swollen red circle rising over Creelin—and decided to stay elsewhere. They knew what the Blood Moon did to the monster population on campus. We’ve all been warned.

I’m sitting on the edge of my mattress, my fingers tangled in the hem of my oversized hoodie. My heart thumps against my ribs, loud and fast, but it isn’t fear making my pulse jump. It’s all the damn tension vibrating off the gigantic purple gargoyle standing near the center of the room.

Ryker’s back is turned to me. His wings are fully unfurled, stretching wide enough to brush against the walls on either side of the small bedroom. They twitch, the thick clawed joints at the top flexing instinctively. His long tail lashes behind him like an agitated whip, snapping against the floor.

"Ryker?" I whisper.

He freezes. Slowly, he turns around to face me.

My breath catches in my throat.

He’s stripped down to his dark grey briefs, revealing the wide expanse of his chest, broad shoulders, and thick thighs. His skin, usually a rich shade of deep lavender, looks flushed and darkened under the crimson moonlight pouring through the glass. But it’s his eyes that make my cock grow hard in my pants. His usual cerulean-blue irises are glowing, luminous and primal. Dangerous. And fixed entirely on me.

"Teagan," he growls.

I swallow. Hard.

"How are you holding up?" I ask, keeping my tone gentle as I lean forward. "The lunar energy... it's pretty intense tonight, isn't it?"

"Intense is a fucking understatement," Ryker rasps. He takes a step toward the bed like a predator circling his prey. "It’s like... every instinct I’ve tried to suppress since I woke up ten years ago is screaming at the top of its lungs. My blood feels like molten lava."

He stops a foot away from the bed, his jaw clenched so tightly the muscles in his neck stand out in stark relief. His dark, shoulder-length hair falls around his face, framing two massive horns.

"And what are those instincts telling you?" I ask, entirely unthreatened, despite his intimidating size.

Ryker drops to his knees. Suddenly, his towering height is brought down, putting his glowing blue eyes level with mine. He reaches out, his clawed fingers hovering inches above my thigh. He hesitates, his chest heaving as he fights for control.

Monster gods, help me. I want him to lose control.

"They're telling me to lock this door and never let you leave," he admits, his voice rough. "They're telling me that the stalker package we intercepted... the threat on campus... none of it can touch you if I wrap you up in my wings and never let you out of my sight. My mind is screaming one word over and over again, Teagan."

"What word?"

"Mine," he growls. The single word carries a primal weight that makes me hard. "The gargoyle side of me doesn't understand modern boundaries tonight, Tae. It doesn't care about professional lines. It sees you. The most brilliant, vibrant, beautiful thing in my world, and it wants to claim you as my mate."

A shiver of pure desire runs down my spine. Ever since he moved into this suite, ever since he patched my jacket with his bare hands, I’ve been falling for him. We’ve shared stolen kisses in dark corners, flushed glances across lecture halls, and quiet confessions while running lines. But tonight, the thin veil of restraint he’s kept between us is burning away, thanks to the Blood Moon.

"Ryker.” I shift forward until I press against him. I wrap my hands around the sides of his neck, feeling the heat radiating off his pretty lavender skin. "Look at me."

His glowing blue eyes lock onto mine, wild and hungry. So fucking hungry.

"I don't want you to keep your distance tonight." I slide my fingers into his dark hair, brushing against the smooth, solid base of one of his horns. "I trust you. If your instincts say I'm yours... then, go on, take me."

Ryker lets out a breathless, shuddering groan, his control snapping.

In one powerful movement, he rises off his knees and surges forward, driving me back onto the mattress. His weight settles over me. His wings sweep forward, wrapping around both of us like a leathery canopy, shutting out the rest of the bedroom, the dorm, and the entire world. We’re encased in a pretty cocoon of shadows. Fuck, I love the way he always wants to wrap me in his wings.

"Teagan..." Ryker murmurs against my lips. "You have no fucking idea what you're doing to me."

"Show me," I whisper. “Don’t hold back.”