Page 73 of Gift from the Stone

“You okay, princess?” Corentin asks as he kneels in front of me.

“We got a fired-up dragon on our heels.” I smile, hearing his footsteps trampling down the hall.

“What did the two of you do?” The tone of his voice sounds serious, but the softness in his eyes and slight tilt of his lips deceive the fact he finds whatever we did funny, despite having no clue.

“Little wanderer, not cool. You gave me a raging boner in front of the whole class,” Draken says the moment he slams through the office door.

I try to cover my snort with a cough when Corentin’s eyes swing to Draken then to me, the softness gone, in its place, displeasure. I can see the scenarios coursing through his mind now. Draken’s ass busted in here, making it seem like I was feeling him up in front of a whole group of people or some shit.

“It’s not as bad as he just made that sound. I was hiding in the shadows with Caspian, sending lust down the bond. I didn’t truly do anything in front of anyone.”

He tries to hold onto the serious scowl on his face, but the more my mouth tilts up in a smile, his fractures, and when Caspian lets out a surprised laugh behind me, he breaks.

The four of us sit there for a good minute laughing, the noise growing louder as Draken starts reenacting the whole thing for Corentin. Of course his version is more exaggerated and explicit, but it still has us rolling.

“What’s going on here?” Tillman asks, startling us all into silence for a second before our laughter breaks out again over his confused face.

Not liking being left out of the loop, he focuses on one of us, not sure which, and figures it out on his own, his rare, deep laugh bursting from his chest.

“Fuck, I needed that. That’s why I couldn’t find you, Caspian.” He chuckles.

The second he says it, my whole body tenses against Caspian’s, my laughing cuts off, and my smile evaporates. Reality seems to slam back into me with the force of a wrecking ball. The whole reason we even took the trip through the shadows was because I was upset he was leaving.

“Primary,” he says softly.

“I’m fine. It’s okay,” I say unconvincingly. He knows the truth, but he won’t push.

Standing with me in his arms, he passes me off to Draken. Leaning in slowly, he lays a soft kiss to my temple, and I have to force the waterworks back.

I know the bond is causing this rise in emotions, but underneath that, it’s my own feelings it’s feeding off of, so no matter how much I’d like to blame it all on the bond, I can’t. I’m really upset and worried about him going to check on the other shifters alone.

After a quick nod and a shoulder squeeze to Draken, he moves to Tillman then Corentin, who mutters, “Remember what I said.” If I wasn’t fighting with myself not to cry, I’d ask what he was talking about, but as Caspian’s eyes travel back to me, I don’t. I just watch quietly as he gives Corentin a firm nod, then walks through the wall.

The second he’s out of sight, I let the dam burst.

All three of the guys surround me, laying their hands on me, kissing me, and whispering sweet nothings.

“He’s going to be fine, little wanderer,” Draken swears.

“Everyone said that last time.”

“A griffin? A basilisk?” Vince asks for the hundredth time. That last one finally catches my attention.

“Those are real?” I shrill.

Fuck me, I thought that was only in Harry Potter.

“Well, I guess since you didn’t know that, then you’re not that,” he comments, completely ignoring my shocked expression.

“Enough, Vince,” Corentin chides.

“What? Even if I guess, you all won’t tell me?”

After my huge breakdown over Caspian, everyone decided they needed to be here with me for my new shifter class. I’m calling it shifter class 2.0.

“No,” Corentin remarks.

“Will knowing what my animal is improve the way you teach me in any sort of way?” I ask, arching a brow. His curiosity doesn’t faze me in the slightest. I’m just as bad and if the situation were reversed, I’d be doing the same thing.

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