Page 39 of Shattered Illusion

“Well, you know where to find me if you need me.” His megawatt smile makes me gooey, and if I’m not careful, I’ll offer myself up to him on a silver platter.

“I do. I’ll see you later, Luka.”

“Bye, goddess.”

Luka stays planted on the couch as I head toward the main doors, slipping between them and heading back toward my dorm room. It’s then that I feel eyes on me once again, something that was absent in Luka’s presence.

Instead of looking around for where it’s coming from, I beat feet as fast as I can to get the hell away from it.

Because it’s definitely not any kind of attention that I want.

I’ll see you later,Luka.

Fuck yeah, she will.

My first day as acting librarian couldn’t have gone any better. There was no guarantee I’d even see Bailey today, but luck was on my side that she had self-study and decided to come here for it. Even if no studying was accomplished the entire time she was here.

The doors close from behind her as she leaves my little world behind. My heart pitter-patters in my chest like a stampede of raging bulls. I’ve heard from other friends how much your world can change in an instant when you find your soulmate, and damn. They weren’t kidding. It’s been hard as hell to be away from her the past few days, but now that I have basically unfettered access to her, my thoughts are going wild with how else I can get her to come see me.

It would be too damn weird to follow her around for her attention. So hopefully just the little time we spent today is enough to keep her coming back.

Taking my phone from my pocket, I shoot a quick text to Axel.

Me

Hey, fucker. Do you have any books on Curios that Bailey can read? She was just here looking for one.

Nope. Fuck this. I need one more view of my girl to get me through until next time. Yep. I’m a goner already for this girl. My girl. My goddess.

My phone slips easily back into my pocket as I jump off the couch and head toward the main entry. The doors split silently as I pull one open, but instead of looking straight to my girl, my gaze zeros in on the fucker peeking around the corner, watching her. Stalking her.

Not today, Satan.

While the fucker is big, I’m bigger, thanks to my status. A quick wave of my hand makes my scent and any sounds I’d make disappear, and I sneak up on the asshole, who is none the wiser. A subtle whiff tells me he’s a shifter of some kind, and I have to wonder if this is the professor Axel told me about.

The one that hurt my goddess. Broke my goddess. Left her bleeding from puncturing her delicate skin. Then had the brass balls to claim her as his.

It would be easy to use my magic to subdue the guy, but my fists clench with the need to dole out his punishment the old-fashioned way—with sheer brutality.

My muscles quiver in excitement as I sidle up behind the guy, whose eyes are still glued to the retreating back side of my goddess, barely visible now down the hall. The moment she turns the corner, disappearing from view, I jump on his back, my arms wrapped around his neck in a rear naked choke hold.

The bastard bucks like a bronco as I cling to his back, putting more pressure on his throat, waiting for the moment he drops.

An inhuman growl gurgles from his throat as he starts to grow in size, confirming my shifter theory. Massive black claws rip from his fingers, and before I can stop him, he reaches back, impaling me with them.

All he earns is a grunt in return, but I refuse to back down. This fucker needs to know that my goddess is off-limits. And I’ll do whatever I need to in order to protect her. Even if I have to kill him.

His movements quickly turn sluggish, and any hair that started to sprout from his skin recedes until finally, with one last pathetic swipe, his knees buckle, and I jump off his back right before he crashes to the unforgiving ground.

My phone chooses that moment to chime, and I look around to make sure we didn’t draw any attention before pulling it out and checking the reply from Axel.

Axel

I don’t personally have any, but there’s a chance the library in her parents’ estate has a few. I’ll see if I can talk her into going to check it out this weekend.

Me

Perfect. Gotta run.

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