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“What the hell was that?” Oscar asks, eyebrows practically touching his eyebrows. I expected his outburst, he lets his emotions rule him a lot—what I’m not expecting is Dylan’s sharp words.
“You can’t be serious? She was passed out an hour ago, and we don’t know what’s going on with her magic—we can’t leave her alone.” His voice is low and controlled, but the dangerous edge below that false calm is intriguing. He’s usually so unemotional and removed from situations that it’s surprising that this is what’s getting an emotional reaction.
My eyes flick between theirs and I stand up straighter. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to. What we can’t do is crowd her when she asks for space though,” I say steadily.
Oscar snorts, a strand of pink hair falling in his eyes as he shakes his head. “So you stalking her every night is better?”
Damn, I must be getting sloppy if he knows about that. He must read it in my expression because his lips quirk, cocking an eyebrow knowingly, and slowly shaking his head, confirming that he knows exactly what I do every night.
Dylan’s expression relaxes though. “I knew about it too. I’m fine as long as I know she’s not being left alone.” His sharp blue eyes float between us before he dips his head. “I’m going to head back to my dorm. Give me a call if anything happens, I’ll keep my phone on me.”
I nod and he vanishes around the corner, but the moment he’s gone Oscar rounds on me. “Seriously, did you think we weren’t aware of the stalking?”
I growl, my primal side lurching forward at his dominance, even though he’s only a B-class monster. “I knew you’d both find out eventually. It keeps her safe, and it satisfies my monster half.” I don’t bother trying to deny it, holding the angry Troll’s eyes so he can see I’m not hiding anything from him—or at least nothing when it comes to this.
His shoulders droop and he steps back. “Sorry, I just want to make sure she’s okay.”
I nod, my mouth a grim line. I know he meant nothing personal by it. “It’s no problem. I’ll keep an eye on her and let you know if anything happens.”
“Good.” He meets my eyes once more before heading down the hall in the direction of his dorm.
Letting out a breath, I shift so I’m invisible. Time to get this show on the road. Flexing my fingers, I walk through the building, my mind distracted. Hopefully I won’t have to kill anyone in front of Nessa tonight. That might not be the best impression. She made it sound like she has a date tonight, but I’m pretty confident—with how much I know about Nessa now—that is not what she’s doing tonight. It seems more likely that she’s going to get some information about something from someone shady. Possibly ideas on why her powers went haywire today. It seems like something Nessa would do. I’m not sure how I feel about her not talking with us about things like that, but I also know it’s not fair to expect her to be fully honest with me when I’m not doing the same for her.
My primal side vehemently disagrees, purring at the thought of gifting our mate with the body of someone who is a threat to her—maybe… No. I’m not doing that. Shaking my head, I haul myself up the tree outside Nessa’s window and settle in on the thick branch that gives me a perfect view into her window. This really is a safety hazard. Good thing I’m here to protect her.
She spends most of the afternoon napping before she gets up to an alarm and my eyes narrow. The crazy woman leaves her window open at all hours for her familiar, who is out by the looks of it.Maybe I can find her an auto locking earth-realm cat door?I snort, imagining the expression on Unicorn’s face at being asked to wear a collar.Hah. Nevermind.
My attention is drawn back to the window when Nessa darts past in only a towel. My throat closes up and my eyes flare, taking in her lean curves and short wet hair. I bite my cheek, suppressing a smile when I realise she’s talking to herself. Gods, she’s fucking adorable. I mean hot as fuck too, but adorable as all hell.
Wrapping her hair up in a separate towel, she shuffle-slide dances around her living room before dipping back into the bathroom, coming back with a toothbrush in her mouth. She must have a soundproofing barrier up around her apartment because I can’t hear her or any music playing, but it’s amusing no less.
After brushing her teeth she disappears into her room to get dressed. My mind drifts, doubts creeping in. If she is going on a date tonight, why wouldn’t she tell us about it? She’s been secretive about some things, but her withholding something like that doesn’t make sense with what I know about her so far. I shake my head. No, it seems more likely that it’s what I thought earlier. She’s meeting up with someone to get information.
When she comes out of her room, my eyes narrow at her outfit. It’s completely black, covering her from neck to toe and when I reach my magic out, I find them drenched in spells and runes. She’s taken a lot of time to deck these pieces of clothing out in a tone of magic so she’s virtually undetectable when she’s wearing it. Her hair is also pulled up in a messy bun, face make-up free—but then again, it almost always is anyways.
“Where are you going, Love?” I whisper to myself as I get to my feet. She shoves a few things into her pockets which must be spelled—before climbing out of the window and easily strolling along the branch until she’s almost touching me. She freezes when my eyes land on her and she drops to her haunches, scanning the area as though she can sense me. Sucking in a slow breath, I inch back until she has room to walk by me and my eyebrows draw down at her ability to sense me.I wonder if it has something to do with us being mates?
After another thirty seconds, she shakes her head and pushes to her feet. “Imagining shit, Nessa. Goddess. Get your head together,” she mutters under her breath. She climbs down the tree with ease, then shoves her hands into her pockets as she walks towards the forest.
My eyebrows practically touch my hairline as I climb down the tree with caution. Gods, I hate heights. At least I know the tree is stable, so it’s nowhere near as fear inducing as the carnival rides I went on with Nessa.
I follow her until we’re deep in the forest and she climbs another tree. My brows furrow in confusion until she opens a fucking portal with ease, like a pro. My eyes widen and I scramble up the tree as she goes through, diving in behind her before it can close.
Thanks to my invisibility and fast reflexes, I manage to land next to Nessa, rather than on top of her and give myself away. I roll, then pop up to my feet, intentionally kicking a bin so rodents go scurrying to make sense of the scuffing sound my clothing against the cobblestone made. We’re in some kind of dark alley and I shake my head to myself. Alright, what the hell is my girl up to? And how did she go through the Academy’s barrier without being fried? It has to be something to do with her magic, otherwise I would be fried too.
It’s yet another thing I file away to analyse later, and I focus on following Nessa.
I follow her through the streets and up onto a rooftop where she settles in, and I choose to settle a few feet behind her. Luckily I brought my own set of binoculars so I find the target she’s locked onto and jerk back in surprise. It’s Kristen, the fucking leader of the local Drákon group.What the hell is Nessa doing stalking her?Well I suppose I can rule out Nessa being part of their group, and I really need to speak with Ezra about her. This is the final deciding factor. If he agrees to it then the guys will need to be brought in as well. But that’s a choice they’ll just have to make, because Nessa’s too good for our organisation to pass up. My mate is fucking amazing. And apparently a woman of many talents.
Shaking my head, I realise that while I was lost in my head, she packed up.Where are you headed now?She scales down the side of the building and I follow, keeping my movements as quiet as possible. She slips into the flow of supes walking through the street while I hang back, leaning against the wall as I watch her. When she gets close to the cafe Kristen is at—the one we were watching—my breath stalls in my chest and I tense.What the hell is she doing? Was I completely wrong about her?
When she steps over the threshold of the street cafe’s seating area her demeanour completely changes. Her shoulders curl inwards, chin touching her chest as her hair hangs over her face like a curtain. She takes a seat at the table behind Kristen and the people with her, then she pulls out a thick novel. My heart stutters for a moment when she takes one look at her. Thankfully she decides she’s not a threat, her eyes canvasing the rest of the seating area again before returning focus to the group.
My thoughts grind to a halt as I contemplate their interaction. I suppose I can rule out her being part of her group for the moment, she had me fucking worried for a second there. Goddess, she’s insane. Sitting right beside them to try and listen in on her conversation. She’d have no reason to use a barrier to mute their words in a place like this. It’s not busy enough to warrant it and she doesn’t view any of the people around them as a threat. That’s her first mistake. A tiny grin curls my lips and I dig my phone out of my pocket. I think it is time to give my boss a call.
I hit dial, making sure to keep my eyes on Nessa. Should anything go wrong, I’m going to have her back.Crazy fucking woman. Gods, she’s perfect.
“Corin,” he says in greeting and it refocuses my thoughts.
