Dracian Legacy (34 page)

“Christian, get off me.” I turned my head away from him. “You’re drunk and I really don’t want to hurt you.”

“Oh, baby, if you want to hurt me, I’m all game…” He leaned in and kissed my neck. Bile rose in my mouth. “No wonder you have those two wrapped around your finger.”

I pushed him, but he wouldn’t budge. A swirl of red ribbons glistened in his irises. Not like Goarder’s, but still freaky.
What
the…?

“Oh, don’t act so innocent. Although, a sexy schoolgirl outfit might go well with that act.”

He gave me an onceover, undressing me with his eyes. He leaned down and kissed me across my collarbone. I shuddered with repulsion. My stomach churned and nausea rattled inside me.

Why is he so strong?

“The way Dean’s been looking at you… and Axel and that dance. You, baby…”

He grabbed the nape of my neck, pulling me with force. His fingers dug into my flesh.

“Christian, STOP!” I screamed. My heart raced. “Please, Christian.”

“Ren?”
Axel’s fear and anger hit me like a tsunami. He pushed through my mind, almost like he wanted access to my sight. I didn’t know if he could do that.

“Bathroom,”
I responded and squeezed my eyes shut.

If Axel found him like this… the consequences would be horrid. I made a quick decision just as he was about to plant another kiss. It was either he lived in pain for a couple of hours or be permanently castrated.

I thrust my knee into his groin. He fell to the ground and cupped the area of impact, crying like a little girl. I took his weak moment to tear open the door and ran into Axel. Pey stood behind him, her eyes teary. Axel looked into my eyes for two seconds before his unmistakable fury turned to the lump behind me.

“I’m going to kill him.” Axel stepped around me, ready to unleash his wrath. His magic tingled, like fire hammering against my skin. Even his magic felt like fury. This was going to end badly.

“No. Axel,” I called to him. He moved forward with inimitable deadly thoughts.

“Alexander!”
He froze and I knew he heard me. I let out a sigh. “I need you.” I pleaded out loud. He turned around, his anger still flaring like a volcano ready to burst. I placed my hand on his cheek. “
Please take me home.”

Taking a long, deep breath, Axel threw his arm over my shoulder and pulled me gently against him, aligning my body to his. Instantly, I felt him calm down, relaxing me in turn.

“Okay,” he said. “Pey, do you need a ride home?” he asked just as Landon and Dean rounded the corner.

“I got her, man,” Landon said. He looked behind us and his face drained of color. “Did he…?” Landon couldn’t even finish the sentence before he stomped toward Christian. “That son of a …”

I grabbed Landon’s hand, shaking my head.

“Ren, let him beat the shit out of Christian,” Pey said. “It’s not okay to force himself onto you like an animal.”

I flinched. “Nothing happened. I took care of it. He wasn’t
himself
,” I said, looking at Axel and then Dean, hoping they got my drift.

“What do you mean?”
Axel asked through our connection.

“I think I saw red in his eyes. But not like the Goarders. Can humans be possessed?”

“Not that I’m aware,”
he responded. “We’ll see you guys later. I would suggest you leave soon.” Axel’s tone left no room for argument.

Landon and Pey nodded in agreement. Axel put his arm around my waist as he guided me toward the door with Dean and the rest of Dracians in pursuit.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

“How could we miss something this important?” Axel shoved open the door to the study, where Elijah was engrossed in a book that looked older than a dinosaur. I jogged behind him to catch up.

Damn his long legs.

Elijah placed the book on the desk with a thud and looked at Axel. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest and stretching his legs under his desk. The chair creaked under his weight.

“This doesn’t make sense.” Axel paced back and forth, rubbing his hand over his forehead.

Elijah looked beyond Axel, his brows raised. I opened my mouth to explain.

Tyler entered the room, flocked with Dean, Marcus, and Trinity. “Ren found a crucial piece of evidence,” Tyler supplied.

“And I’m absolutely appalled. No wonder we keep getting our asses handed to us.” Axel’s voice vibrated eerily against the walls of the study.

Then everything went pin-drop silent.

A thunderous sound rose in the midst of the stillness, making me jump. I turned toward it, only to find Axel holding a chunk of wood in his hand. Behind him was a hole the size of his fist. I ran to him, panic on the verge of explosion. I took his hand into mine to inspect the damage. Red blistered skin oozed with blood.

“Well, there goes our security deposit.” Tyler pinned us with a comical stare.

“Alexander, it’s not a big deal.”
I ran my fingers over his bloodied knuckles.

“I’m so sorry. The only reason he got close to you…”
Axel grasped the nape of my neck, pressing his forehead against mine, letting out a sigh of frustration. It almost seemed like he needed my touch to help him calm down.

“Shh… I’m okay… Really…”

I held his face between my hands and placed a gentle kiss on the tip of his nose, smiling. He let out a shaky breath, overwhelming me with his scent—earth and a hint of cloves.

“We’ll be okay
,” I said. “
We will
.”

“If you two are done groping each other like wildcats…” Dean started, his jealously lurking under the peak of his voice.

I let go of Axel’s face and turned to our audience. “We aren’t groping, you perv.”

“What’s going on?” Katina, Elijah’s better half, walked into the room with her fluffy purple slippers sliding across the hardwood floor, tugging her pink robe to cover her nightclothes. I only met her once before when she brought over
much-needed nutrition for growing kids
—her words. But during that meeting I was completely taken with her, as she was with me.

“Agh…” Marcus shrieked like he saw a ghost. “What’s that on your face?” He chuckled, holding on to his stomach, pointing at her face.

“If you like having your limbs intact, Marcus, you’ll not point that finger at me,” she said, swatting her hand across his chest.

Katina had huge, pink plastic hair curlers covering every inch of her head and white goo masking her face, giving her a ghostly appearance. She slowly chewed on the cucumber slice she held between her thumb and index finger.

“Sweetheart.” Katina hugged me, rubbing my back. Then she turned to face the emotionally edgy group of Dracians and asked, “What in the ruckus is going on here?”

“We learned Telalians can possess humans,” Trinity said.

“Interesting,” Elijah said, his voice heavy with thought.

“Interesting?
Interesting
?” Axel trembled with vehemence.

“Calm down, Axel. Show some respect,” Katina said in a cautious, motherly tone. “We understand you’re worried about Ren, but we’re still your guardians. Your elders.”

Axel lowered his gaze. “Sorry, ma’am.”

I took his hand into mine, giving him a quick squeeze. Katina might be a petite woman, but she presented a force of her own when disciplining her cubs, so to speak.

“Ren, please brief us on the events that lead to that conclusion,” Elijah requested.

“It was more like an assault.” Dean scoffed with anger.

This was the first time in the last hour I noticed Dean’s anger. As my protector, he must’ve been ballistic with rage about his absence in my time of need.

Tyler sat in the rolling chair, pushing back and swirling in the process. Marcus and Trinity took a seat on the red leather sofa across the room. Dean flopped next to Trinity, shoving her aside, and then turned to place his feet in their laps, earning a shove onto the floor. The room erupted in chuckles.

Axel refused to relax his stance, so I stood next to him and slid my arm into his. “Christian cornered me in the bathroom.”

Axel and Dean growled in sync.

Seriously? Growling?

I squeezed Axel’s hand quickly before continuing. “He was strong. Like, supernaturally strong. I could barely push him away. Then I saw red ribbons swirl around in his eyes…” I thought back to how intense Christian was. “H-he… The thing was, it was like he wasn’t in control, but he was fighting for it. At that time, I couldn’t think straight, but now that I’m thinking back—”

“I’ve never heard of Goarders fighting for control.” A deep voice interrupted, and I looked toward the sound. Dimitri leaned in the doorway, his legs crossed lazily. “Sorry I’m late to the party. I wouldn’t mind tearing the dic—”

“Dimitri.” Katina warned.

“…that laid his hands on you. Just say the word, princess,” he added, winking at me.

“Get in line.” Axel gritted his teeth.

I nudged Axel playfully. “I took care of it when my knee connected with his manhood.”

“Good girl,” Dimitri said with pride in his eyes.

It took a lot of effort not to roll my eyes at him. Over the past few days, after my
anger burst
incident, Dimitri and I came to a silent truce. He understood how far to push me and I learned to communicate better. He was still a badass and I still quivered during training. But we had an understanding that worked well for the two of us.

“What do you mean Christian fought for control?” Elijah asked.

I cleared my throat.

“Um, when he gra… ah, reached for me, his hand trembled like he had too much caffeine. His eyes were glazed like he was on drugs or something.”

“Did you notice this when you first saw him at the party?” Dean asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.

“When he pulled you into the hug…”

“Oh… I didn’t notice.” I looked to Axel.

“I didn’t either,” Axel said, shaking his head.

“I’ve seen Christian drunk before. It did strike me as odd he would grab you in front of m… everyone,” Dean said, fidgeting in his seat uncomfortably.

I jolted in surprise.

“What is it?” Axel asked, and Dean was quick to jump to my rescue.

My face heated with embarrassment.

“N-nothing.” My hand reached into my back pocket, pulling out the culprit. “Phone,” I said lamely.

“Carrying a vibrator around for those not-so-pleasurable moments?” Tyler asked, earning a smack in his gut from Trinity. “Hey, ow… Aren’t we all just touchy today?”

Pey: How u doin?

Me: Like I’m in middle of a war zone.

Pey: That bad? Let me know if u need me 2 play ball. *wink*

I chuckled, shaking my head. She unleashed operation ‘play ball’ when Wade Newman conveniently forgot the meaning of
no
. It was some weird combo of kick, pull, and whack.

When the word got out about how well ‘fragile’ Pey’s defense mechanism worked, it became the new ‘it’ thing for girls. As time went on, it became a sexual reference and an excuse to touch forbidden places.

I wondered when Axel and I would get there, not ‘play ball’ of course, but… other activities involving the forbidden zones.

“You’re not helping, angel,”
Axel said through our connection.

He pulled me to his chest, his hot breath brushing against the sensitive skin under my ear. A visible shiver rolled through me as goose bumps covered my body, top to bottom.

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You’re just making it hard for me not to throw you over my shoulder and get us out of here.”

“Are you prying into my thoughts, Mr. Knight?”

“It’s hard not to pry when you’re practically screaming your thoughts into my mind. Remember, when you’re overly emotional…”

“Oh!” I said, quiet as a wisp, but the whole room heard me. I smacked my head with my palm and groaned.

Axel chuckled.

“I swear, half the time you two look like you’re having mind-blowing sex talk,” Tyler said. When neither Axel nor I responded, Tyler jumped to his feet. “You guys are having sex
up there
.”

“No,” Axel and I blurted at the same time. I averted my eyes, nibbling at my cheek. Axel shifted uncomfortably, a cat’s-outta-the-bag response.

“But you can talk to each other?” Elijah asked, observing our reaction.

Axel responded after a momentary pause. “Yes.”

“Care to elaborate, your high-ass?” Dean asked.

Can he be any more of a jerk?

“Since Ren recuperated from the demon incident, our connection has gotten stronger.” He pivoted me to face him as he looked at me with adoration. “I can feel her emotions and thoughts as if they are my own. It works just like Legions… only better… stronger.”

“But that’s impossible,” Katina said. We turned to her. “What you’re describing is for the bonded
and
consummated. The only reason Legions can talk to each other is because of the ritual.”

“Busted! You guys made whoopie!” Tyler said, his balled-up fist covering his mouth. I was certain my face turned fifty shades of red. This time it was Dimitri that smacked him in the head. “Hey… I’m not liking this moody thing you all have going on here.” He rubbed the back of his head.