Page 74 of Shattered Illusion

Screw it. Only one way to find out.

Me

Okay. Be there soon.

Yummy Vamp

I can’t wait.

Me either, vampy. Me either.

Butterflies riotin my stomach at what I’m about to do. And it’s not because I’d be leaving the academy. I can take a portal there easily.

It’s because it’ll be the first time I’m in his space—and I don’t mean his office. I’ll be in the place where he lays his head down at night. Where he’s most comfortable and can be himself.

Luka and I mated last week, and I still haven’t been to his home. So this… this feels like a really big step.

Not that it’ll stop me from going, though.

After healing my busted ear drum, freshening up, and changing into something a little more date-like, I stand in the middle of my living room and clear my thoughts. Clearing it of everything except him. My vampire. The man who still doesn’t know that I’ve mated Luka but is okay with me being in a relationship with both of them.

Is that what Axel and I have? A relationship? I know Luka and I do. We claimed each other carnally. We gave each other mate marks, signifying we belonged to each other. Once Axelrealizes that, will he send me packing? It’s one thing to have whatever we have going. But it’s completely different when marks and mating are involved.

Nope. I refuse to overthink it. If Axel has a problem with it, then it’ll be his loss. Not mine.

With that thought, I focus inward, eyes wide open, and my magic comes to me in an instant, no longer needing to coax it or beg it to do my bidding. It seems almost… excited to see Axel. But that can’t be possible. Or is it?

I have no time to debate the subject as the portal fully forms in all its pink glory. With a deep breath and a whole lot of prayers that Axel won’t turn on me the second he finds out, I step through, coming out on the other side into what can only be best described as a vampire’s lair.

If I thought his office fit the motif perfectly, I see now how wrong I was. So very, very wrong. On so many levels. I’m almost surprised there isn’t a coffin smack dab in the middle of the main room.

Everywhere I look, black covers every surface. And I mean every. Single. One. Candles illuminate the space, casting flickering lights against the dark walls, and there are no windows from what I can see, darkening the room even further. I swear if it weren’t for the candlelight, I wouldn’t be able to see my own damn nose. The partial lack of sight makes me wonder if there’s a possibility that I have a night-vision rune. I mean, how freaking cool would that be? I’d be able to sneak in anywhere and never have use for a light switch. Hmmm, I’ll have to ask Thaddy when he’s not dealing with a pissed-off girlfriend.

My fingers brush over the pristine surfaces as I walk around, tracing the glittery veins I didn’t notice before. Every little piece he surrounds himself with screams privilege, but the vampire himself has never acted like he’s entitled to the finer things in life.

“Cor meum, is that you?” Axel’s voice calls from another room somewhere ahead of me, down a darkened hallway.

I may not have been keen to use it to eavesdrop on the fight brewing between Thaddeus andRonnie—bitch—but it doesn’t stop me now from flooding my rune with magic, tuning into my heightened sense of sound. It feels easier this time using it, almost like muscle memory after using it only once.

If all of my runes come to me this fluently, I may not be attending Stonewell for as long as I originally suspected. Which works for me just fine since that will put distance between Hudson and me.

My throat warms with the essence of my magic before it shifts beneath my ears, every sound coming through ten times louder. I grit my teeth as I grab hold of my power, stopping it from turning the level up too high and blowing out my eardrum. Again.

0 out of 10, would not recommend.

The clacking of a keyboard can be heard in a far-off room, and I follow the sound down the hallway I knew his voice had come from prior, releasing my magic as I find him in a less pristine office than the one in his city building. Papers are stacked high on his right and look to be ready to topple over at the slightest breeze.

Axel’s blond hair falls around his face in disheveled waves, a scowl on his handsome face as he pounds the keys before him.

“Hey, vampy,” I murmur from the doorway, leaning against the frame.

“Cor meum, you’re a sight for sore eyes.” He pushes away from the desk, crossing the distance in a flash to pull me into his arms before he dips me low, making me giggle. His lips capture the sound, replacing it with a moan as he sucks my bottom lip between his teeth. He nibbles the soft tissue for a moment, and then he rights us, leaving me gasping for much-needed breath.

Tease.

“So whatcha working on?” I ask breathily, my knees wobbly beneath me. “You looked kinda pissed, and I thought your computer was going to explode with the death glare you were giving it.”

Axel chuckles, a sexy, raspy sound I feel deep in my bones. “It’s just a stupid case that keeps getting more ridiculous by the second. But you didn’t come here to hear about my work. Let me give you a tour of the place.”

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