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"We only just found out and were heading into the school," he defended. "She wanted a handle on her powers before coming to the academy."
"Our academy has trained every one of you, plus every elite member of our society, and you thought that we'd harm a girl for being rare?" he said, a hint of horror and shock in his voice, properly chastising all three of us.
"Sorry, sir. She just led a shit life and didn't need all of the fanfare that would come from being an urban legend," Lachlan challenged, more of a growl than necessary.
"I see," said the Dean, a slight disbelieving chuckle escaping. "We've got things to deal with that are quite a bit more pressing, but we will come back to this." The promise in his tone had me wincing as he mobilized the guards and they called in a fleet of boats. He doesn't play around.
"Do we have any idea who the men are that took her?" I asked, noting the dark look that came over the Dean's face. We’d already caught him up to speed on the attempted kidnapping and the fight before we were all knocked out.
"I have an idea, which means we need to go... now!" he rumbled, motioning everyone on. They didn't even bother trying to leave us behind, knowing we'd find a way to follow anyway. It's an unspoken rule within our community... you don't get in the way of mates. From the realization in his eyes after Lachlan’s possessive growl, I’d say he knows we’ve already claimed her.
"Let's go get our girl and our brothers," Lach growled, but we didn't need his encouragement. We were already sprinting ahead of the guards and towards the ships.
I'm coming, Doll.
May 5
Morning
Lennox
My body ached from being contorted atop the thick branch I had found, but the search went all night and into the early morning, so I couldn’t climb down yet. The sound of glass shattering had the guards sprinting back to the front of the island, leaving me in welcome silence. I wasn't sure how soon they'd be back, so I took the opportunity to roll over in my spot and stretch my abused limbs. My mind played over every option I could think of to get help, knowing it had been way too long.
The sound of someone running toward me almost startled me enough to fall out of the tree. I barely caught myself and got back into position before I heard who it was. "Lennie?" Tristan hissed, the sound of his voice like music to my ears.
"Tristan," I sobbed, sliding down the branch. My claws didn't extend this time, leaving me to slide down the tree awkwardly and fall to the ground in a heap. "I'm so sorry, I tried so hard."
"Shh, baby, it's okay. Help is coming," Aeson reassured me, but the sound of boots hitting the wet mud told me it wasn't soon enough.
"So is someone else. Close your eyes and take a deep breath," I hissed, using vampire speed to hide their bright hair and bodies with mud. I fumbled at first, but managed to control it in my desperation. This was a better option than shadows after the failed attempt during our kidnapping. "Go!" I hissed, ushering them up the tree with me. We all managed the climb, the guys pulling me up with them as the men came into view.
"Now, we fucking know you're in here, little fishy. I see that your friends are here too. You're lucky Doc has a way to heal, but now he's mad. Don't expect him to go easy on you," the nasally guard called. His voice was imprinted on my memory after the night I had.
"Well, I'd say she has it a bit easier than some. Remind us to take you on the tour," the gravelly guard yelled, their laughter echoing around and sending a shudder through me. How do people like this manage to find like-minded fuckers? Is there a villain's matchmaking site? 'Yes, I'm Brett, and I love long walks in the woods to torture young maidens. Murder count sixty, and I'm a Libra'.
The sound of boats approaching mixed with the sound of the comm, "Evacuate order, 626. Now!" Doc's voice echoed through the loudspeakers before they gave a loud feedback screech and cut off, the drones and lights shutting off with it.
"Fuck, go!" the gravel-voiced guard yelled, both of them retreating. Sounds of gunfire rang out immediately, before the crackling of fire caught my attention. No! There may be others inside! Without a second thought, I hurdled down the tree and sprinted for the building, ignoring the gunfire from the other side as I burst in, throwing open doors and breaking them down when I needed to. I moved so fast the building was a blur, but I found no trace of anyone else. I covered my body in frost before bursting into the thick of the flames, praying I wouldn't find only corpses beyond this point. The building splintered and creaked around me as I ran through the embers, the flames licking every surface ahead of me. Suddenly, someone wrapped their arms around me. I yelled, taking in a lungful of smoke before Evander's voice calmed me.
"I've got you. Let's go," he called, pulling me with him out of the burning building. My lungs ached with every breath I took of the fresh island air. Coughing overtook me, and Aeson jumped into action and pulled the damage from my lungs. Dating a healer has its perks.
"Oh, Little Psycho," Calev mumbled as he collapsed next to me, pulling me into his chest. The broken quality to his voice shook me, my heart shattering as I looked up into the gray, watery depths of his eyes. He didn't seem to care that I was essentially a mud monster, the fire having hardened it against my skin.
"I'm so sorry, Calev," I whispered, before Lachlan tore me away and crushed me in a hug, his bear letting out a low growl as he shifted between his two forms. I whispered soothing words to him until only my man stood before me, not giving any fucks that he was stark naked in a crowd. Evander pulled me to him next, conveying everything he needed to in a hard kiss, his hand resting on the back of my head as he crushed me to him.
An odd noise broke up our little reunion. A group of mages were tending to the flames, manipulating them until they disappeared fully. We all gathered around them, watching until all that remained of the building was a charred pile of rubble. My heart clenched in my chest at the thought of a scared little girl stuck inside, the building burning and falling apart around her.
"There were others," I yelled desperately, trying to make anyone listen as I struggled against Evander's arms. "Let me go!" I screamed, panicking and fighting even harder against him when nobody moved.
"There's no one in there alive, miss," a nearby guard said, his voice reflecting his sadness as his magic glowed in his eyes. His words echoed in my head, a hollow feeling settling in my gut.
"I failed her... them," I whispered, so low that I doubt anyone heard. The guards started to converge on the building, using force and magic to move the rubble and see what was underneath. The fire may have burned bright, but it didn't burn long enough erase all evidence. Of course, there was no sign of Doc and his lackeys. Only portions of the building burned, the other areas still intact, just blackened from smoke. They found the source of the fire quickly; his office, of course.
Refusing to dwell on the fact that he was still at large, I focused only on the moment, helping pick through the rubble and find anything left. The guys finally gave up on trying to stop me after learning just how deep my stubbornness ran. They eventually joined in, but from all accounts, the place had room for only one other victim.With nobody in sight, it meant Doc likely took them with him.
After hours of searching, we were finally called to a stop, the guards and the Dean all ushering us off to the boats to leave. I was itchy and uncomfortable, but also numb, unsure how to feel after living through everything that happened.
