Page 52 of Gift from the Stone

Nine

Willow

Damn, I missed her.

We didn’t make it out of the training fields before Oakly and the rest of her Nexus arrived. To my utter shock, she bounced over to Ry and gave him a quick peck before damn near tackling me to the ground.

“Willow, don’t ever do this shit to me again. I feel like I lived nine lives waiting for you to wake up.”

She sure doesn’t look like it right now. She’s fucking glowing. Her purple hair is shiny, skin absolutely flawless, and there’s this sense of pure happiness radiating off her.

A foreign flutter starts in my chest where my bond connects to her, and I gasp the moment I wrap my arms around her.

“Oh my God, you bonded.”

“How the hell did you know that?” Despite her question, she beams at me.

“I can feel the difference in our bond. We have so much to catch up on.”

We give swift kisses to each of our Nexuses and haul ass, ignoring the arguments from them about us not walking alone to Gaster’s. Don’t get me wrong, it turns me on that their protectiveness is so fierce, but come on, it’s campus and if push came to shove, I’m a dragon.

“Spill, we’re out of earshot. Which one?” I question.

“Jamie…” Of course. He’s been amazing to her since they met. “And Nikoli.”

Picking my jaw off the floor, I shoot her a saucy smile.

“No wonder you’re so damn radiant. Tell me everything.”

Taking our sweet, precious time getting to Gaster’s, Oakly fills me in on the very, very busy few days she’s had. She didn’t exactly say it but hinted around to the fact that it hit her guys hard seeing her so distraught over my coma-like state, and my guys losing their minds about it put some shit into perspective for them.

Since that night, they’ve pampered her like a spoiled princess, giving her any and everything she wants, even Ry, and well, one thing leads to another when you feel loved and cherished.

“I have a shit ton to tell you, but we’ll have to wait until we get—” I huff, my words cutting off as someone shoulders me into Oakly.

“Oops, didn’t see you there.”

“Germ.” I’m disappointed to see that Gima’s face is all healed up. I didn’t get to enjoy the sight of the fugly bruises I know I left.

“It’s Gima, you Nexus stealing whore. Watch where you’re going next time,” the bitch shrieks at the top of her lungs.

“You fucking delusional cunt.” I snarl.

Heat surges through my body, and I want to let it flow out. Burn the bitch to a crisp. My fingers tingle with the desire to lay her ass out, but Oakly latches on to me, dragging me away.

“She’s not worth it and she’s just mad you’re a true Primary. Fuck her. Let’s go,” Oakly says loud enough Gima can hear every word.

“Elementra, I could end that bitch,” I growl as she continues to pull me away.

“Yeah, I know. Calm down, your claws are showing, like literally.”

Glancing at my hands, they’re still small and delicate, but silver scales replace my fair skin, and my nails are four inches long, curved, and sharp as blades.

“I hate her. If she goes near my men, she’s fucking done for.” My shifter side must be a little bloodthirsty because that murderous promise calms it enough for me to completely pull her back in.

“Damn, you can be scary. Has that side been giving you trouble?” she asks.

“No, I haven’t had any of the problems Draken’s described, like needing to shift at least every other day, her taking over, or anything like that. That was the first struggle with her pushing so hard. Even when she went toe to toe with Draken, it was easy pulling her back because we both were satisfied once he calmed down, but she was raging just now. I wanted to rip Gima’s head off. Why is she still here?”

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