Page 42 of Laid Bare

She stays perched on my lap, even after I sit down, holding onto me like I’m the only thing keeping her together. My girl’s tough. Tougher than she’s ever needed to be in her twenty-one years of life so far.

Every bad thing she’s been through has been thrown at her in a few short months’ time, obviously overwhelming her.

So Luka and I will be the glue that holds her together until she feels strong enough to do it on her own.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t know what there really is to talk about,” she murmurs, sliding off my lap, but I clutch her legs, keeping them over my thighs. My hands move on their own accord, rubbing the tense muscles in her calves. A quiet sigh leaves her parted lips, but she doesn’t say anything else. Just sits in the silence, stuck in her own thoughts.

A few minutes later, a familiar presence pops into the library. Luka’s dark onyx locks are disheveled, like he’s been running his fingers through his hair. A lot.

“Goddess.” Luka crouches down in front of her, reaching out and brushing his knuckles against her cheek. She gazes back at him in wonder, but before a smile can touch her lips, she frowns.

“What’s wrong?” How she knew, besides his looks, is astounding.

“I’ve been dealing with two freaked the fuck out demons, who went on a rampage across the academy looking for you.”

Concern flashes across her face—for the demons or the students, I don’t know—before her features contort into sheepishness.

“Damn. I forgot to let them know.” She wrings her hands in her lap. “I just needed to get away and completely disregarded that they needed to know. Are they okay?” Her question answers my previous thought.

“They are. I let them know, and while they are pissed you left without saying anything, they both understood your need for escape. Why didn’t you tell us how bad it was?”

Just exactly how bad is it? I want to ask, but if it’s what I fear, I may be the one rampaging, and no one would be safe from my wrath.

Bailey remains quiet, no excuse coming to her lips for not saying anything. As her mates, we should be the ones she confides in, knowing we’ll have her back no matter what. But this… not letting us know just what she’s been dealing with is unsettling. Does she not trust us? Does she think we’ll believe what’s being said and turn our backs on her?

It’s times like these that I have to remember just how new she is to everything in our world. How little she actually knows about the supernatural society. How being marked mates works. It’s something Luka and I have grown up knowing, living, immersing ourselves in. But my beautifulcor meumwill always be at a disadvantage unless we band together and try to get her up to speed. There’s only so much the academy will actually teach her.

“It’s nothing,” she finally says, waving off Luka’s question.

I’m not buying it, and by the dark look on his face, he isn’t either.

Luka’s navy-blue orbs connect with my blood-red gaze, a silent conversation passing between us. We’ll let it go. For now. But come hell or high water, we’ll get it out of her, and we’ll do what we need to do to make it better.

Before either of us can reply, Bailey’s stomach grumbles, a blush coloring her cheeks when we both turn to her. A small smile lifts her lips as she pants her flat belly, and that’s our cue that it’s time to feed our mate. Because that’s what we do. That’s what our own needs demands. To provide whatever it is she needs.

“Come on,cor meum. I’ll cook dinner.” She lifts a brow, a chuckle escaping her.

“You know how to cook?”

I clutch my chest in mock-indignation. “You wound me. Of course I know how to cook. Don’t go singing vampire stereotypes.” I boop her nose, moving her legs and climbing to my feet. “Go get comfortable with your snoring Pegasus, and I’ll whip something up.”

“I just want to grab something real quick.” She jumps up, disappearing back into the stacks.

“I’ll call Cassian and let him know,” I tell Luka, already pulling out my cell phone.

He stays, waiting for Bailey, as I make my way out. Finding the number I need, the call rings twice before it’s picked up.

“Hello.”

“Cassian, it’s Axel Pennington.”

“Axel, I take it you're calling about our little escape artist.”He chuckles good-naturedly.

Well, at least he’s not pissed, I think to myself.

“I am. We’re actually at her parents’ house. I don’t know the details, but it’s been a hard week for her, and she needed to get away from the academy. It’s my fault for not thinking to let you know the second she messaged me, but I was more concerned with getting to my mate. She knows she messed up not letting the Acheron brothers know, but she’s still new to having bodyguards. I hope you’ll be understanding that she’s still getting used to their presence.” I hold my breath, hoping he doesn’t decide to blow up.

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