Page 44 of Shattered Illusion

“Listen, Marion,” I get the jump before she can, “I just want?—”

She cuts me off with a stern look, pointing her fork at me. “Don’t you dare apologize for what my shithead brother did. That was not your fault. The asshole got what he deserved for it.”

Got what he deserved?

“What are you talking about? What do you mean he got what he deserved?”

“Oh. Oh, man. You don’t know?”

I shake my head, completely bewildered at what she could be referring to.

Marion tosses her head back and laughs, grabbing the attention of the nearby tables. “Dude, someone beat the everloving shit out of him.” My mouth drops at that news, but she isn’t finished yet. “And get this. They used their magic to stop his healing. So the fucker limped his way to my dorm room and begged me to ask my roommate to heal him.”

Holy shit.

“I… I don’t know what to say.”

“Nothing. You don’t need to say anything. He deserved what he got. My roommate heard all about what happened, and she refused. Flat out told him to suffer. Then, we slammed the door in his face.”

A laugh bubbles up just imagining the look on his face as the door shut on him. Leaving him to fend for himself. But she’s right about one thing. I don’t need to say anything. It still doesn’t make what he did okay now, but at least, he got a little payback. Maybe this was Karma rearing her ugly head like Olga said would happen.

Olga. I’ll have to text her later and let her know. I bet she’ll cackle her ass off.

“Anyway.” Marion waves the conversation away, moving onto the next. “What are your plans for this weekend? I want to go into town and do some shopping. It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve laid eyes on a new pair of shoes.”

Shopping. The one thing I haven’t let myself do in years. Too worried about saving money. But that was then. Now, I don’t have the same worries.

“I have something I need to do Saturday, but Sunday is completely free if you want some company.” Holy cow. Look at me making plans. Go me. I figured I’d spend the next few years hiding away until I was comfortable in my supernatural body. But nope. I’m doing it. First a date with a vampire, and then shopping with a wolf.

“Perfect! I’ll drive!”

That’s where the conversation ends as she digs into the heaping plate in front of her. I follow her lead, tucking into the yummies calling my name. The entire time, I wiggle in my seat with excitement coursing through my veins. Something about being, dare I say, friends with Marion seems right. Like we were meant to find each other.

Is that the way things are in this world? Everything just clicks into place, literally? If so, I think I can get used to life on this side of the wall.

The same matteblack sports car that drove me away from the only life I’d ever known idles at the curb out front of the academy. Axel—in all his vampire glory—leans against it, wearing a pair of black slacks, a red button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and dark sunglasses hiding his blood red eyes from me.

The glasses don’t deter me from knowing where his gaze is directed. I can feel it like a physical caress licking across my skin.

His long blond hair is partially up, a small man-bun on top while the rest flies free in the small breeze whipping around the academy grounds. He flashes me fang as his lips spread in a panty-melting smile.

My feet carry me before I’ve fully caught my breath, right down until I’m standing toe to toe with one of the men who has my thoughts in a vise grip. And while I’ve only been around Luka for a short period of time—only twice, in fact—something about him just…feels right. I don’t know how else to explain it.

“Good morning,cor meum.” Axel’s honeyed voice washes over me, sending shivers to all the right places. “Are you ready?”

Is anyone ever really ready to step foot into the house their dead parents left for them? Parents that they never met. Parents that died while you were given to someone else since they couldn’t be there for you. I’m not ready, and I don’t think I’d ever be. But there’s no telling Axel that. He feels I need to see where my roots came from.

At least he isn’t making me watch the video my mother left me. Yet.

“As I’ll ever be,” I mutter, finally answering him.

“It won’t be so bad.” He wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his embrace. I melt under his soft touch, burying my face in his chest.

“If you say so.” My words are muffled by his soft shirt, but with the way he chuckles, I know he heard me.

“Trust me?” he asks as he gently pushes me back, his fingers gripping my chin and tilting my face up. His bottom lip pushes out in an adorable pout, making me giggle.

“If I have to.” I roll my eyes good-naturedly, then pop up on my toes, grabbing his neck and pulling him down to plant a quick peck on his lips. Before he can even think of deepening it into something I’m not sure either of us are ready for—especially out front of the academy—I dance out of his hold and jump into the car.

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