Page 40 of The Naga

Before I could take my leave, though, he spoke again. "Did you find something to read?" His eyes were still on the books as he spoke, and I wondered if maybe it wasn't that he didn't want to talk to people but just that he had trouble communicating.

"Not really. I found a book about Indian mythology, but there was only one entry I was interested in, and it was pretty short."

"The Nagas, I presume?"

I laughed softly, and I was pretty sure I saw Haruto's lips curve upward. "Yep, exactly."

"I'm sure your mate would be happy to sate your curiosity."

"Yeah, I think he would," I murmured. I wanted to know everything there was to know about Khush, the good and the bad. Maybe later today, I'd ask him a little about his past, about what it'd been like to grow up as a naga.

Haruto opened his mouth, but I had no idea what he was about to say next, because in the next moment, the ground started shaking, and I grabbed the shelf nearest to me as the earth threatened to split apart right under me. What the fuck was happening?

Seventeen

Khush

I walked into HeadmasterMorrigan's office, and settled into the chair across from his desk, scanning his face for any sign he was angry with me.

Headmaster Zephyr Morrigan was a wonderful man. Even though he'd disagree, I considered him to be my savior. Without him, I'd have lived a life of confinement and loneliness, forever treated as the weak, disabled one by my blood and my community. I owed everything to him, and even meeting Dustin had only been possible because he'd brought me here when I was younger. Disappointing him was one of the worst things I couldever imagine doing, which was why I'd done my best all these years to never do it.

"Am I in trouble?"

The headmaster's blue eyes went wide, and he shook his head, making strands of salt-and-pepper hair fall into his eyes. He pushed his hair back with his right hand, then said, "Not at all, Khush. Don't worry."

I relaxed a little, sinking into the chair as he placed his left arm on the desk and started tapping it, his metal fingers making a deep thunk-thunk-thunk sound on the wood. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"I got a call this morning," the headmaster said in a carefully level voice, "from your parents."

I stiffened instantly, my fingers curling against the edge of the desk. "Why did they contact you?"

"They wanted to check on you, see how you're doing."

"They haven't called once in all the time I've been here, and now they want to know? What did you tell them?"

"Nothing," the headmaster said in a tone that implied assuming anything else would be an affront to him. "I told your mother that I'd pass along her message and if you wanted to talk to her, you'd call her yourself."

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm myself. It'd been a long, long time since I had an outburst. Actually, the last one was the day before the headmaster brought me to the Sanctuary. It seemed my blood connections were the only ones capable of bringing it out in me.

"What was the message?"

"She said someone from the city saw you with a human in your snake form, and she rightly assumed he's your mate. She asked to meet him."

"Like hell is Dustin going anywhere near the lot of them," I growled, red flashing before my eyes at just the thought of mysweet, bright mate anywhere near those greedy, selfish assholes. "I'm not calling her."

"And I'm not asking you to," Headmaster Morrigan assured me in a soft voice, placing his right palm over my hand. I realized I'd been clutching at the desk hard enough to leave marks, and I slowly loosened my grip on it. "I just wanted to keep you informed. You don't have to talk to her if you don't want to."

I nodded, keeping my eyes focused on the desk as I worked to slow my breathing. I'd broken all contact with my blood connections—I refused to call them family. The people at the Sanctuary were my family—after I moved here, and I wanted to keep it that way. My blood family had never treated me as anything more than a disappointment, and I wasn't going to let them get their hands on me—or worse, on Dustin—ever again.

Before I could excuse myself and go find a tree to relax in—I was starting to feel a little claustrophobic in this room, and I didn't want to face Dustin with my emotions so all over the place—the headmaster's phone rang. He picked it up off his desk, squinting at the screen—did he need glasses? Hewasgetting old—before accepting the call.

His face went blank as he listened to whoever was on the other hand, and then he took a deep breath. I couldn't hear what the other person was saying, but judging by his expression, it was nothing good. "Mrs. Vasuki," he said, and all the calm I'd managed to gather flew out the window. "I'm sorry, but Khush does not wish to talk to you."

He raised a hand, stopping me when I reached to take the phone from him. His blue eyes were hard now, no sign of the genial, warm man I knew.

"Mrs. Vasuki, this is the last time I'll tell you this, and I won't be accepting any of your future calls. Khush is an adult, and he has the right to decide who he keeps in touch with. He has nointerest in talking to you, and I respect his wishes. So should you."

This time, I heard her reply quite clearly. Her voice was as sharp as ever, with just a touch of hiss that she never could get out of her voice. Suddenly, I could see her, standing there with her arms crossed and that look of utter disappointment and shame on her face as she told me to justtry harder.

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