Defying Destiny (Afterword Academy #3) - Katie May Page 0,14

“Come closer and I’ll tell you all about it.”

“Enough you two,” a less familiar voice growls, and I see the smog monster himself hovering behind Hadley and Auston. “Or have you forgotten what we're here to do, thinking with your crotch instead of your head?”

“At least I have a cock,” I counter, cupping myself. “But you? All you’ve got is smog, polluting my fucking air.”

“Okay, okay,” Hadley says with a raised voice, arms in the air. “Pissing contest is over.”

“Can’t piss without a cock,” Auston whispers under his breath but loud enough for us all to hear. Karston and Preston have to stifle their laughs behind their hands, while mine escapes me.

Storming forward, I snatch my woman and grip her chin, kissing her lips possessively. I want her to remember our time down here together and want it as badly as I do. I want her to remember, for that hour, I owned her body, I decided what would happen, when she’d come, how hard she’d scream.

She was begging me for it in the end.

It was then I fucking fell in love with her, with the woman who saw exactly what I was and loved me back. A woman who didn’t need me to explain my actions, who willingly accepted what I needed to give her in order to show her how I felt.

She saw through the hard façade, the scowls, the cocky actions, to the man I am under all of that. And I’ll love her forever for it.

My tongue dominates hers, and only when the slightest moan escapes her lips do I pull away, glancing down at her with a knowing look before casting my smug grin at Caius.

Fuck him.

If it wasn’t for him in the first place, this never would have happened. And yeah, I know he saved her, but only because his initial actions put her soul in jeopardy.

Scowl firmly back in place, I begin to secure the perimeter. Eyes wide, I scan for any nooks or crannies, any discharge or residue on the walls that would indicate a creature is here, that we’re not alone. But I find nothing.

Time to bark out some orders. “Karston, Hadley, double check the backwall area. Auston and Preston, sneak down that tunnel and see if it has an exit. I’m going to take a look at these fires.”

“Tunnel?” I hear Preston squeak worriedly as Auston pushes him towards the opening.

“What about me?” Caius growls as I head over to the fire.

“Don’t know,” I respond, as cocky as possible. “Do whatever it is that smog monsters are good at. Just leave the soul sucking out this time. I’m already working half empty as it is.”

I don’t look to see Caius’s reaction, but I bet he’s heated. I know I should probably give him a break, but right now, I don’t want to. Maybe Hadley took the part of my essence that harbors empathy. If I’m being honest, I don’t fucking miss it.

This feels more like the real me anyway.

The wall of fires calls to me like an insect to a flame, a burning desire to be near it consuming me. When I finally reach the fires, I extend my arm inside the orange tendrils but don’t notice even a hint of warmth. Crouching down, I try again, this time at the base of the fires where the flames are colorful blues. Still nothing.

An eerie sensation trickles up my spine, causing goosebumps to erupt on my arms. My passive attitude gives way to urgency, and I abandon the fires, rushing back to everyone else.

“Guys! Everyone! Come back!”

I don’t give a fuck that I’m screaming because I am certain that right now, something is coming. The sound of my brothers’ and Hadley’s footsteps returning has relief spreading through me.

“What’s up, Brax?” Karston asks, Hadley’s hand in his.

“Something isn’t right. I can feel it.” I gesture around me. “Isn’t it obvious? Hell with no monsters? Hell with no incinerating heat? Something else is at play here, and I’m betting it’s our old friend Lilith.”

“You think Lilith has something to do with this?” Hadley asks, clearly concerned.

I scoff. “Of course she does. She’s a fucking Fate with more power than she knows what to do with. She knows where your essence is, and she’s planning something. I just don’t know what yet.”

Preston chews on his nails anxiously, spitting one onto the ground. “So what should we do now?”

I shrug. “We have to keep moving. The longer we linger here, the more uncomfortable I’m getting.