Page 182 of Caelum

“How do you feel about picking your own birthday? One that wasn’t chosen for you?”

“No one chooses their birthday,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, but it’s fate that decides, not Father fucking Bryan.”

She stared at me for a second, obviously pondering my words. In some ways, she was as sharp as a tack and it showed. “Why does it bother you?”

“Because Stefan hates the Man,” Dre chimed in from behind his tablet.

I shot him a glower, but Eve just frowned. First at me, then at him.

“The Man? Who’s the Man? Father Bryan?”

I had to snicker. “Sure, I hate him, but the Man is different. It just means… authority.”

Another frown, but she shrugged. “Oh. Well, I’ll think about it.” Shesqueezed my fingers. “But we should get going. If there are stairs, it’s going to get dark soon. I don’t want Nestor falling down them.”

Dre snorted and Nestor flipped him the bird—it went ignored.

Watching her fuss over Nestor was both amusing and heartwarming. It made me feel good how she tended to him, showed me the kind of woman she was—as if I hadn’t known that already.

For a set of guys who’d never had an ounce of softness over the age of eleven, I knew we basked in her warmth and affection like a flower did in the sun’s rays.

It was addictive.

Being her Chosen was truly the worst kind of drug.

It was why I could turn my back on Caelum, a place that had saved me, that I’d have given my life for before her. But in the face of something that was born of duty, what she inspired in me overtook it like nothing else could.

She made me feel, and I realized how closed up I’d been before her. Focused on winning, on fighting, on the Pack, and on becoming a soldier.

To her, I was just a boy and she was just a girl.

I hadn’t known how badly I’d needed that until her.

Watching Eve tend to Nestor didn’t get boring, even after we headed outside. The evening was warm, and the sun was low with bright pink shards of color piercing the sky, giving everything a gentle glow.

As we crossed the secondary gate and began the walk to the beach where the bonfire was being held, I appreciated the surroundings more than I ever had before.

This could be my last bonfire at Caelum.

It hit home, resonated deeply, but I had a different purpose now. Nothing was as cut and dry as it had been before.

Heading out here tonight meant us missing out on my working with her Succubus, and though that sucked, a part of me wanted to attend the party more. It was something I’d like her to experience before we left Caelum; a rite of passage we’d never be able to replicate for her once we were away from the island.

Plus, she’d had a full day’s study, had been beaten up by fourteen-year-olds, got into a fight with Samuel, then Chosen Eren… she’d been busy for a birthday girl.

Sucking in a breath that was loaded with the sweet scent of amaryllis, the path we traversed was graveled, and on either side, low palm trees acted as markers toward the different bays that were popular with students. Weheaded down to Cruckshanks, which was the nearest beach, but also the one with the biggest climb.

I’d stumbled my way drunk up the stairs here one time too many, and that was why most of us brought sleeping gear with us when there was a bonfire, because it was easier to pass out on the shore than it was to head back up that steep cliff face when you were fucked out of your skull.

Eren and I carried two sleeping bags each, and I’d grabbed one of the sun tents for Eve so she’d have some privacy. Sure, she’d been sleeping on Nestor’s couch the past few nights, but there was a big difference between that and passing out amid a crowd. She was safe with us, but I’d like her to have her own space.

And if she invited me inside it? Even better.

As we headed down the stairs that were cut into the cliff, I kept an eye on Nestor. Each step made pain flash across his features, but he dealt with it just like we’d been trained to. It was probably too soon, but that was something we were used to—pushing our limits.

Even this high up, the wind buffeted us, making it a little harder as we made our descent but shit, it felt good. The breeze was cold in comparison to the hot night, and the tang of the sea lit me up inside. It also meant that Eve’s shirt whipped against her body, revealing way more than she was used to.

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