Page 73 of Forged in Blood

The professor’s tight grip on my arm snaps me back to reality. “Ophelia!” he gasps.

I suck in a deep, soothing breath, allowing the cool air to fill my burning lungs. No longer held in place by the intensity of his gaze, I look down at where his hands are wrapped around my arms in a bruising grip. Heat radiates from the place where his body touches mine, blooming beneath my skin. My knees tremble.

His tongue darts out over his lips, and I get a glimpse of his fangs. Unconsciously, I tilt my head back, exposing the skin of my throat, and I only realize it when his eyes drop to where my pulse flutters like butterfly wings. A growl reverberates in his chest, and I gasp.

He dips his head, bending enough that his lips graze my ear and his warm breath dances over my skin. “Youare notmyconcern,” he repeats.

I blink back the tears that sting my eyeballs.

He releases my arms, and with a final snarl, he stalks out of the room. I stumble backward, dropping into the chair again, unable to stop the tears racing down my cheeks.

Axl presses my knuckles to his lips. Xavier crouches beside me and tucks my hair behind my ear. “Don’t cry, Cupcake. You’re killing me. Don’t you want to stay with us? We sure as fuck want to keep you.”

I shake my head. At this moment in time, I cannot imagine my life without them in it, but that’s beside the point. “You took away my choice.”

Axl brushes the tears from my cheeks. “We’re sorry, princess.”

I sniff. “Why are you both being so nice to me?”

Xavier chuckles, and Axl gives him a withering look. Redirecting his attention to me, Axl winces but answers my question. “Another side effect of the bond.”

More side effects? Just how much of my life is going to change because of this bond?

“We’re incapable of harming you, Cupcake. And when you hurt, we hurt.”

Well, that’s an unexpected development. Malachi mentioned being incapable of hurting me, but I assumed he only meant physical pain. “So you can’t hurt me?”

Xavier grins. “Well, it depends, I guess.”

My brain is fit to burst with the onslaught of new information and all my unanswered questions. “On?”

“On how you feel about it.”

I shake my head. “Stop being so confusing. What does that even mean?”

Axl sits down beside me and pulls me onto his lap. “It means, princess, that we can hurt you if you want us to.”

“Why would I want that?” I whisper.

“You don’t ever fantasize about having your feisty ass spanked?” Xavier flexes his palm. “Because I think about it all the damn time.”

Pleasure coils in my core, and heat sears between my thighs. They both laugh, and Axl presses his lips to my ear. “Yeah, she does.”

A flush creeps over my cheeks. “Okay, I get it now.”

“Yeah, you’re gonna,” Xavier mutters.

I wipe the tears from my cheeks and melt against Axl’s chest. “It also means we’ll always protect you from harm. You’re ours, princess, just as much as we are yours.”

“You are?” I’ve never fit in anywhere before, and despite my difficulty processing my new reality, I can’t deny that this feeling of belonging, though unfamiliar, is something I’ve always dreamed about. It’s like being wrapped in a warm blanket after spending hours in the cold.

Having never had a family of my own, I always consoled myself with not being able to miss what I never had. But I did miss it. There was always a part of my soul that yearned for connection and acceptance, not just because of the human condition, but because it knew a part of me was missing. A hole that could never be filled.

But now I know, without a doubt, this is what family feels like. This is what home feels like. And these boys are home to me. Perhaps that is simply the magic of the bond speaking, but for now I’m going to bask in the happiness and blissful contentment it offers me.

Chapter

Forty-Two

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