Fall Semester (Omega Wolf Academy Book 2) Read online

  They murmured their agreement.

  “Okay,” I said on an exhalation. I pulled out my desk chair and sat down, then immediately began circling from side to side with anxious energy. “First of all, and I know this one is going to come as a shock, but there is a race of wolves called the Guardians, or the Geliget, who live separately from us and act as watchers, basically, helping guide the flow of wolf evolution from the shadows.”

  Their mouths literally dropped open, and I saw questions begin to form, so I rushed on, just wanting to get the entire story out in one telling.

  “One of them, a wolf named Raphael, craved power in a way their elders knew was destructive, so they refused to give him what he wanted. That would’ve been the end of it if he wasn’t a mad genius who was told of a prophecy regarding the Guardian people.” I puffed out my cheeks and slowly blew out a breath, knowing I was sharing state secrets here, but not having much of a choice. These were my mates. Anything I knew, they would know.

  “Katherine LaFlamme’s husband, Quinn Deschenes, is a Geliget and a dreamer, one of their kind that can connect through dreams with the Old Ones, who are very much real and actually the voices of our ancestors who help guide us.”

  Their eyes widened in shock.

  “When he was a boy,” I said the words quickly, cutting off Lucian’s desperate question. “Quinn received the prophecy that one day their people would be on the verge of extinction and that a woman, like them but not of them, would give birth to the next generation of Guardians. Raphael knew that the time was coming, because there hadn’t been a child born to the Geliget in a very long time and, even though they live much longer than we do, eventually, without children, their race would die off.”

  Chase surged to his feet, shaking his head in wonder. “Lexi, you can’t ask us to stay silent when you’ve just destroyed our entire understanding of the natural world!” Frenetic energy pulsed off him. I understood. It was my life, and it still struck me as impossible at times.

  “I know,” I agreed on a sigh. “But there’s a lot more.”

  He stilled, took a deep breath, and backtracked to sit on the bed. “Okay,” he agreed. “Let’s get through it, then. Although, I’m not sure how you’re going to top that little revelation.”

  My nervous chuckle didn’t help settle the mood. “Oh, you’d be surprised,” I said with a gesture of exhaustion. Unable to sit still any longer, I stood up and began pacing the room. This would be much easier if I didn’t see the looks of shock and horror on their faces as I laid it all out.

  “Raphael decided to find the woman in the prophecy. The Geliget narrowed down her lineage to a particular Alpha family, the LaFlammes. Raphael concocted an insane and elaborate plot to create an offspring of Pierre LaFlamme, without his knowledge or influence. Of course, it didn’t work, because Katherine was the woman from the prophecy, the one Quinn foretold.”

  “Basically, Raphael orchestrated a fire that wounded Pierre severely. While he was convalescing, he collected specimens of Pierre’s…” I turned with a grimace and pointed downwards. “Little soldiers, if you know what I mean.”

  Their faces blanched.

  “It gets worse,” I promised them, not sure how I lived in a world that was worse than what I was already describing. “Raphael kidnapped women, wolves, for years, and artificially inseminated them using Pierre’s sperm. The offspring of that process were raised in confinement and regularly tested to see if they had any of the extraordinary healing characteristics of the Guardians.” I closed my eyes and swallowed hard against the memories of silver blades slicing into my skin time and time again until Raphael was sure that I wasn’t the one he wanted. Mia, he’d called her. The mother.

  Bile rose into my throat, threatening my state of equilibrium. I staggered forward and sank into the computer chair once more, as Lucian, Chase, and Dimitri jumped up off my bed and rushed towards me, worry written across their faces.

  I didn’t want to say it, didn’t want to tell them the final truth of who I was, even though they’d figure it out with just the smallest leap of understanding. The words stuck in my throat, though, as if my very body denied their power.

  But I had a new type of power in my life, now. With them by my side, touching me, I felt stronger, braver, complete. I took a deep breath and confessed. “I was created in a lab and raised in captivity with my sisters, until Katherine, Quinn, and their friends freed us.” I lowered my head, feeling the weight of the truth hang heavy on my shoulders. “I’m unnatural,” I whispered as tears fell.

  For a moment, they were silent, and the only sound in the room was my jagged breaths.

  “Fuck!” Dimitri surged to his feet and threw up his hands, barely containing his fury. It pulsed through the room like a living thing. I gaped, shocked at the rage he spewed in incomprehensible Russian on my behalf. When he flung his arm wide, I shied away.

  Lucian shifted to put himself in front of me, shielding me from his best friend’s anger. “You’re frightening her, Dimitri.”

  I shook my head automatically. “No, it’s alright.” I touched Lucian gently, squeezing his shoulder in appreciation. “Let him feel whatever he feels. We all deal in different ways.” I just wished I understood Russian, but I think we all got the gist.

  Chase rose to his feet and faced Dimitri. “Seriously, though,” he drawled so casually, I’d have thought he wasn’t upset at all if I hadn’t noticed the tightness of his biceps as he strained for control. “Sit down and shut up so we can get the rest of the story. She hasn’t told us how that douche bag, Randall, was involved yet.”

  I blinked in surprise, realizing there actually was more to the story than what I’d delivered already. I licked my parched lips, realizing how thirsty I was, and crossed to my mini fridge to grab a bottle of water. I grabbed four and handed them out, silently amused at the thought that I’d have to start buying in triplicate to keep my men fed and happy.

  Knowing they needed that connection now as much as I did, I sat on the bed this time and let them each touch a part of me; my arm, my leg, something. Instantly, my system calmed, and I could breathe easier. I wondered if it did the same for them as it did for me.

  When we were seated and I’d pulled a pillow across my lap for comfort, I finished the story. “So, Raphael was only interested in testing the female children, since the prophecy was clear it would be a woman. Which left all the boys out in the wind, except Raphael took it upon himself to raise them. He raised an army of soldiers, basically, all deluded and warped, just like him. Randall was one of those boys.”

  “He was your half-brother?” Lucian asked, astonished.

  I nodded. “They all are. Pierre sired an empire that he didn’t even know existed.” A pained laugh broke from my throat. “Sorry, dark humor is one of my coping mechanisms.”

  “I want to kill him,” Dimitri whispered, now barely audible after his vicious rant. “I want to destroy him for hurting you.” He raised eyes the color of onyx, darkened by anger and grief, for me.

  For me.

  “He’s already dead,” I said softly, reaching out to stroke his stubble roughened cheek. “Katherine killed him. But you saved me from Randall. You saved me,” I repeated, and stared deep into his eyes, then turned to smile at each of my beautiful men. “You all saved me.”

  “Looks like you were doing a pretty good job of saving yourself,” Chase murmured, shooting me a devastatingly sexy grin. My heart swelled with emotion for him.

  I fought to keep my face straight. Was that love I was feeling, I wondered? The mate bond was elemental, primal. We had no control over who the fates chose for us. But love… I swallowed butterflies that set to flight in my stomach. I barely knew them. How was it possible to feel so much for someone you barely knew?

  It was a question for another day, I decided. We’d dealt with enough for my first day back, and now I was exhausted.

  “Okay,” I said with a sigh, knowing I was opening floodgates that probably wouldn’t close for a
while. “Hit me with your questions.” I squeezed the pillow on my lap and settled in.

  They bombarded me with endless questions about my life as a child, the horrors I’d seen, and the torture I’d endured. I held nothing back, seeing this as a rip the Band-Aid off type of conversation. We’d get it done quickly, then leave the wound to heal.

  My throat grew scratchy and my eyelids heavy as the hours slipped by. Their emotions ebbed and rose like waves, cresting in moments of desperate fury at what had been done to me and my sisters, and crashing in moments of silence and ragged breaths. Through it all, we touched, so casually I sometimes forgot the wonder of it all. Then, one of them would just look at me a certain way, and my heart would flutter.

  “You’re exhausted,” Lucian murmured, pressing his lips against my forehead before pushing me down onto my bed. “Sleep and we’ll figure out the rest tomorrow. We’ve got the rest of our lives, after all.”

  One by one, they kissed me, murmured promises for tomorrow, then moved towards the door. I watched them through a fog that verged on unconsciousness.

  “I don’t like leaving her,” Dimitri grunted, stopping them as they opened the door.

  Chase shut the door and locked it. “Then, let’s stay.”

  I smiled sleepily and rolled to the middle of the bed to make room. Dimitri climbed in behind me, pressing his back against the wall, while Chase and Lucian lay facing me, each comfortable with the intimacy of touching the other.

  Sleep claimed me, but it wasn’t peaceful and calm. Nightmares plagued me, as they had most of my life, but now the darkness spread to include not just me and my sisters, but my mates. I whimpered and fought against the inky tar of the shadows that crept closer and closer while we slept, curled in on one another. And when the icy claws of the monster that lived in my mind raked terrible gashes in the men who’d claimed me, and who I’d claimed, I screamed.

  Chapter 3

  I bolted up, covered in sweat, and screaming, as shadowy fingers tightened their grip around my neck.

  “Shhh, it’s just a dream.” Dimitri grabbed my hand and tugged me towards him, pulling my head down onto his chest.

  The bed shifted as Lucian and Chase sat up and reached out to touch me, gently stroking my back and hip as I slowly regained my equilibrium.

  “It got you,” I whispered hoarsely, lifting my head from Dimitri’s chest to look at them. “The monster killed you and I was all alone.” The horror of it lingered like a thick fog beneath the morning sun, gradually burning off and leaving my mind clear and embarrassed.

  I sat up, pulling away from Dimitri to press against my headboard. I lowered my face into my shaking hands and mumbled, “I’m okay now. I have nightmares sometimes. I didn’t think to warn you. I kind of figured…” I trailed off, feeling even stupider.

  “What?” Chase asked, reaching out to touch my leg again. I’d changed into shorts at some point during our marathon question period, and the feel of his hand on my skin warmed me.

  A blush heated my cheeks. Old Ones, I thought, get a grip, Lexi. It was the middle of the night and I’d just freaked us all out with a nightmare. The last thing that should be on my mind was the flutter of awareness across my skin, of how exquisite Chase’s fingers would be just a little higher.

  I swallowed and, thankfully, found the ability to speak. “I figured they wouldn’t come with you guys here.” I shrugged. “I just feel so safe when we’re all together.”

  Chase’s fingers tightened on my thigh. He brushed his thumb lightly over my now blazing skin as he murmured, “You are safe with us. We’ll always be there for you.”

  My chest swelled with gratitude and an emotion that made my heart feel as if it would burst if I didn’t ease the pressure somehow. The pulsing need between my thighs hinted at how that could be accomplished.

  I brushed my hand over Chase’s and leaned forward to press my lips against his. His lips parted under mine and a quiet huff of air escaped his mouth.

  It felt so perfect, like coming home, like snuggling under warm blankets on a cold winter night, like finally being safe with my sisters. I had nothing else to compare it to, nothing that even came close to this fullness, this… perfection. So, I stopped looking to my past and shifted forward to climb into Chase’s arms.

  His eyes went wide as I opened my legs to straddle him. I knew the moment he smelled my desire, the moment they all did. Sharp inhalations, followed by a spike in hormones that filled the room with the sweet scent of sex, set my heart racing.

  This was it. We were all together, and I was done pretending I didn’t want all of them. No, we hadn’t had a chance to figure it all out, but none of us knew how this would go. We had no expectations, no limitations. I pushed all thought of rules and boundaries out of my mind and gave into my wolf, who was practically howling.

  I crushed my mouth to Chase’s and took.

  His hands came around me like vices, fitting to the curves of my waist and sliding, instantly, beneath my tank top to find skin. I gasped into his mouth as his clever fingers climbed higher, brushing the curve of my breasts. Flashes of color exploded behind my eyes when the thumb that had started this whole business grazed my nipple.

  I arched back, trusting his hands to hold me up, and offer my breasts for his mouth, exposing my neck in absolute trust.

  The mattress shifted as bodies moved closer and hands reached out to touch. My eyelids fluttered open as Lucian cupped my flushed cheek in his palm and moved in for a kiss so sweet it made tears flood my eyes. His breath was hot as he deepened the kiss, brushing his tongue against mine then murmuring heady words of French that spilled from his soul. I moaned into his mouth as Chase’s teeth closed around my nipple and tugged.

  The sensations were too much. They were everything. My body moved because it had no choice. There was something primal and wild inside me, my wolf, I supposed, who was in control now. I let her free and held nothing back.

  Dimitri’s scent filled my nostrils a moment later, so dark and heavy I nearly lost my breath. I wondered if a person could die from too much stimulation. Then his teeth closed over my bare shoulder and all thought vanished.

  Nearly unbearable heat crackled over my skin, too hot to bear. I writhed desperately, pressing myself against Chase’s very hard, very excited manhood. My fingers dug into his shoulders and unintelligible words spilled from my mouth, begging for more, demanding more.

  “Fuck this,” Dimitri’s growl sent shivers of hope like cool water over my blazing skin. His hands grabbed my waist and pulled me from Chase. For a split second, I mourned the loss of them, then they were on me.

  I fell back onto the bed as they descended like ravenous wolves, each coming from a different angle. Rough hands tugged at my clothes, ripping fabric, while other hands, gentle hands, delved into my hair and tilted my head back to bare my throat.

  I lost myself, floating into a sea of pleasure that came from everywhere. My body arched and sagged, as lips, tongues, and teeth travelled the length of me, finding erotic spots I’d had no idea existed on my body. My skin burned so hot, I barely recognized the slight cool draft when my legs were spread wide.

  A tongue touched the bundle of nerves between my legs at the same moment fingers filled me, impossibly tight, and moved.

  I disintegrated.

  My mind splintered into a million tiny pieces that sparkled and danced with light and love and pure joy. I heard my voice cry out in endless release and blend with the deep moans of my guys in a symphony as they watched me fall apart beneath them.

  My bones melted into the bed, so heavy I wasn’t sure they’d ever work again. As my mind regathered, piecing back together like a languid puzzle, I marveled at what had just happened.

  They’d completed me. They’d destroyed me. Then, they’d put me back together, whole, and fulfilled.

  It really was a miracle.

  I wanted more.

  My lips turned up in a devilish smile that drew straight from the dark recesses of my mind. I
had ideas, dreams, fantasies that I’d been subconsciously tucking away since the moment I’d realized the truth of our situation.

  My body responded to the ideas and gave me the strength necessary to sit up and reach for the closest of my mates.

  My fingers thrust into Dimitri’s mass of dark hair and pulled his lips down to mine. I was hungry, starving now that they’d awakened my hunger. It felt like an insatiable beast lived inside me, desperate for more.

  I rose onto my knees, naked and damp with sweat, and pulled Dimitri with me. Without letting go of him, I reached back for Lucian and Chase, and connected with slick chiseled abs. Driven by lust, I splayed my palm on that firm flesh and moved slowly downwards until I heard Lucian’s hiss.

  My breath escaped in a shocked moan at the size of him, at the velvety feel of him, at the sheer strength of him beneath my fingers. His echoed moan filled me with a raw sense of feminine power. He was my mate, mine, and I would give him pleasure. I would make him scream.

  I would make them all scream.

  They pressed in closer, surrounding me with hot, hard flesh and exploring fingers. Chase fit his mouth to the curve of my neck and traced kisses down over my shoulder, while his hands moved to cup my breasts.

  The air buzzed with lust and need and smelled of sex. My thighs spread for Dimitri’s hand, inviting him to explore. When his fingers slipped inside me, drawing a groan of pleasure from the depths of my core, he growled and pressed his forehead to mine as his tempo picked up.

  Pressure built again, quicker this time, as we undulated together, hands and mouths touching, licking, tasting. My hand on Lucian never stopped, never slowed, as his panting demands for “More!” spilled into my ear.

  My head spun and my sight faded as pleasure rolled through me, building, building, until, impossibly, it crested again, and I screamed.

  Behind me, Lucian groaned, sank his teeth into my shoulder and came.

  I fell backwards, my muscles unable to keep me upright, and slid over Lucian’s chest as his body shuddered. My mind felt fuzzy, sated, and completely liquid.