Page 27 of Starlight Mates

Fuck. Alek calls someone from the crowd forward, and I’m sweating for another reason completely. I can’t let my Nexus out here. The guy is ginger and thin, but under Alek’s command, he quickly shifts into a soft-looking fox with a bushy tail. Alek shakes his head at the fox. I always like seeing the shifts that aren’t the Gods’ forms. I think the cutest one I’ve seen is a penguin. “I want your power, not your shift. Turn back, Howard.”

Poor Howard looks paler when he shifts back. He is fully clothed so at least he can control that part of his Nexus shift and we don’t have to see his junk. Alek taps his foot, waiting. Howard looks around and then leans in, but his voice still echoes. “My power is phasing… I need…”

Alek makes a crossbow appear in his hand, and he shoots Howard five times in quick succession. The arrows simply go through Howard like he isn’t there. Alek looks pleased. “Brilliant gift and very useful. Sit down.” He points at another guy in the crowd. “You. Next.”

Howard comes and sits by me as Alek tests the next guy. I lean in. “Phasing is super cool. I heard when you get powerful enough, you can slip through gaps in time and go into the past for a second or two.”

His gaze shoots to mine, his face covered in freckles. “Thanks. You’re Gwen?” I nod. “Phasing has been in my family for years, and my grandfather could time phase both back and forward in time. He was the last one to do it.”

“Until you.” I wink.

His shoulders move as he silently laughs, and Alek’s shout makes me jump. “Gwen, up here.”

Howard flashes me a reassuring smile that does nothing to make this easier. I can show him the disappearing-blending power he already knows about because of Onyx. Alek waits until I’m right in front of him and cocks his head. “I know your one power, and I don’t need to see it again.”

“Again? You weren’t there.”

“I saw the footage,” he explains and crosses his thick arms. “Dreamwalkers have been known to be powerful enough to day dreamwalk too. Finnegan told me you’ve been in his head, so you can day dreamwalk too. Get in my head.”

“I—I can’t control it,” I whisper, hating that everyone is watching.

“Yes, you can. Get into my head, or we both will stand here all fucking day.” He opens his arms. “You need to remember, and the only way you’re doing that is by getting into my mind.”

Frustrated, I swing my arms out. “My Nexus doesn’t work with me, so I can’t do that.”

“Then let her out.” He moves closer, and I breathe in his scent. It’s addicting. “It’s about time you stop hiding her away from us. Unless you fear that she’s going to suddenly come running to us and we’re going to be mated when you open your eyes.”

It is a worry of mine, but not for the reasons he is thinking. “She isn’t any more interested than I am.”

His laugh wraps around my throat as he lowers his voice, only inches away from me. “It didn’t feel that way when I was kissing you, little liar.”

A few people awkwardly cough, and I take a step back, just remembering that they are here. Sometimes when I’m with my mates, I forget there is a world outside of us. Alek grits his teeth. “You’re failing this class until you get into my head and tell me what you forgot. Get out!”

I don’t need to be given a chance to run away more than once. “With pleasure.”

His very bear-like growl haunts me as I leave the gymnasium, and I don’t stop walking. I don’t know where I’m going, and I don’t want to go back to my room to be alone for hours. As I come out of the corridor, I feel Finn nearby. I feel the pull to him stronger than the others now because of my Nexus’ intense crush, and my feet move of their own accord to a room. It’s one of those doors with a glass square in the middle, and I lean up to look in. Finn is holding a dark-haired woman in his arms. His arms are fully wrapped around her and hers around his waist as they embrace. My heart pounds within my chest. Not him.

My Nexus…she loses it. My Nexus starts buzzing, actually buzzing, and mist starts coating my hands like it’s trying to make me shift. No, no, no, no, no. I start running. I run outside, seeing Onyx’s boring car parked up outside, and the door has been left open. Something crazy enters my mind as I slip into the driver’s seat, finding the key is still in the ignition because he’s cocky enough not to care. I don’t even think about it as I use this new plan to distract my Nexus from Finn. I use my powers to make me look like Onyx as I get to the gates. They open it for Onyx without even talking to me and let me out while I look just like him.

It’s too easy. I drive aimlessly through the city for an hour before my wrists begin to burn. The rune being used. He’s probably worked out I’ve stolen his car and left now, so he called his dad to find me, but I don’t even care. I don’t know where I’m driving until I randomly stop the car and slam my hands on the wheel. I’m definitely getting locked up by Onyx for this. It’s already night out, and I think I’m on the side of the city opposite to the academy.

I lean my head against the wheel. Stupid, stupid. I should drive back, but I don’t trust my Nexus to be around Finn whenshe is a jealous, possessive mess. She’s not happy, and she wants control. “Please stop,” I whisper, digging my fingers into my forehead. “Please, just stop. My life is a ruin because of you already, and I need you to stop.”

My Nexus sinks away until I can finally breathe. Warm green light shines over me when I lift my head, and I turn to see I’m parked right outside a pub. There’s a sign above it, all lit up in green, and people are passing in and out the front door. Alcohol and a busy pub sound like a superb idea until they find me. I just need some money. Onyx has cash hidden in his glove compartment, and I make a mental note to repay him later.

I head inside and go straight up to the bar, and no one so much as even looks at me. It’s kind of relieving. I order myself a double vodka with lemonade, one of my favourites. The old bartender barely even blinks before bringing me the drink over with a sunny little umbrella in it. I down the first one before asking for another, then another, just to drown my wolf out. I learnt at sixteen that getting drunk is a great way to make sure she doesn’t take over.

A handsome thirty-year-old-at-least slides into the seat next to me. “You’re new. Got a mate?”

I look him up and down. “Nope. I have five and they’d probably kill you for even talking to me.”

He leans in. “But you’re not mated to them, so I won’t tell if you don’t. You’re too gorgeous to sit here alone. Let me buy you a drink.”

“Go on then. What’s your name?”

“Jake.” He grins.

I almost want to roll my eyes. The creepy guys are always called Jake. He looks like a Jake too. He is so normal. “So, Jake, do you have a mate?”

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