Institute of Supernaturals: Savage Page 15

  I watched after him, curiosity winning out.

  What could Damien want me for?

  25

  I headed down to the ground floor, heading out the front door and veering left to the garage. A light was on in the large five-bay garage, and I headed to the small side-door.

  I rubbed my arms at the cool night air, wishing I’d grabbed my jacket on the way out. Above me, stars twinkled, a sight I’d always enjoyed, always knew awaited me when the sun went down.

  The time when the inner me felt most alive.

  I peered through the window, my face lighting up as I yanked the door open.

  “My bike!” I gasped, seeing my beautiful black Ninja in the first bay, beside Leon’s Jeep.

  Damien was sitting on a stool by the workbench, rummaging around in a cardboard box.

  He turned to me, a soft smile cracking that normally cranky face.

  “You went and got my bike?” I said softly, my heart soaring at the return of my beast. She was my escape from my life before all this, my ability to feel free and wild.

  “Figured it was yours, and you missed it,” he shrugged, his muscles bulging against his black sleeved shirt. His jeans were a dark navy, and they had a tear in the right knee that didn’t look to be a fashion mark.

  I softened as I smiled at him, striding over and running my hands along the leather seat of my beast.

  “I may have broken into your room too,” he stated, no trace of guilt or remorse evident.

  “Why?” I asked as I ran my fingers over the sleek metal body of my bike. He’d brought her home unscratched too.

  “Figured you might want clothes,” he grumbled as he turned back to his box.

  I spied the large duffel bag off to the side, and decided to pry into his head.

  He’d caught a bus into my hometown, then waited until my brother left the house before breaking in, gathering a crap ton of clothes and finding my bike keys. He’d put in a lot of effort for me.

  “You have a squirrel in there?” I asked, finding the tidbit of information in his mind.

  “Yeah,” he growled. He was not too happy I’d pried into his mind.

  I moved away from my bike, joining him and looking over his shoulder. A tawny squirrel was curled up, and he was feeding it seeds and refreshing its water.

  “What happened to it?” I asked softly, watching with a melting heart as he gingerly fed the small creature. It looked lethargic, but gratefully lapped up the water and then investigated the offered food.

  “Somehow ended up in a dumpster in town. I heard it a few days ago, checked out the squeaks and found him. I’ve been trying to nurse it back to health,” he admitted softly after a few moments.

  The squirrel looked alert but tired. Guess it needed a few days recovery.

  “I’m hoping it’ll be okay to let go in the next day or so,” he said.

  I just stared at him, at this rough looking man who would scowl at you most of the time, and then at how sweet and gentle he was being with the tiny creature.

  This big bad wolf wasn’t all bad.

  “Can you heal him?” I asked softly.

  “I can, he had a broken leg, I fixed that, but figured I’d let him get his rest. My healing works differently to Leon’s, he can heal people, I can heal animals. He can fix almost anything, I’m more limited. I can fix severe injuries, but dehydration and malnutrition need tending to slowly. The last time I tried to fully heal an animal resulted in them passing. I can slowly heal malnutrition, but not immediately. It’s too much for the non-magical beings to take,” he explained, his emerald eyes soft and tender as he put the lid back on the box.

  I perched on the workshop bench, watching Damien with a newfound sight. A peek into his head had revealed he was as tender as they came, he just sucked at communication.

  “Have you ordered your pizza?” I asked.

  “Yeah, Tristan caught me as I was heading out here,” Damien said as he turned on his stool to face me.

  He was frowning, but his eyes were filled with an array of emotions. Interest, intrigue, confusion, affection.

  He felt affection for me?

  “You’re my mate now, it comes with the deal,” he shrugged as he leaned back and narrowed his eyes.

  “You don’t sound enthused by that,” I smirked.

  “No one likes having their life decided for them,” he muttered.

  “Relax, I don’t expect this mating thing to actually be a thing, I’m happy doing my own thing, and I don’t care what you guys do,” I said as I twirled a strand of blonde hair around my finger.

  “But you do,” he said, cocking his head as a smile played at the corner of his lips.

  “What?” Now it was my turn to frown.

  “You do care what we do, deep down. You want loyalty, to some extent, even if you think you don’t,” he stated, and I growled softly.

  “I don’t care,” I repeated, and that smile formed as he stared at me.

  “Whether you want to accept it or not, you now have mates, bound to you for life. No one chooses it, your magic just decided for you. Why on earth it chose us is beyond me, especially considering everything,” he sighed. “And loyalty is a part of that.”

  “Whatever,” I waved it off. How the hell would he know anyway?

  “Because we’re connected now,” he said as he tapped his temple with one finger. “Another rather frustrating thing.”

  “Is it really frustrating?” I questioned.

  “Having the boys you grew up with able to jump into your head at any given time, fuck yes,” he growled, drawing a chuckle from me.

  “They can’t be that bad,” I smiled.

  “Wesley likes to be a prick, he and Tristan have figured out how to project shit into our heads. I’m not fond of seeing Wes’ dick or Tristan screwing Dominic,” he muttered.

  My eyebrows shot up at this.

  “I did wonder if Tristan was an under or top,” I mused, and Damien just grumbled.

  “He does both,” he mumbled as he folded his arms.

  “Huh, interesting,” I breathed.

  But the thought of Tristan having sex with Dominic as the underdog was a rather teasing thought.

  He wanted me to get strap-on and do him. I’d never done such a thing, but maybe I’d find it fun. Making that little hell-spawn my bitch certainly would.

  “You have some of the weirdest sexual thoughts,” Damien stated in mild shock.

  “Well, don’t dig into my head if you’re not prepared for weird shit,” I retorted.

  How did they manage this projecting thing anyway? I wanted to do it. It sounded fascinating.

  I stared at Damien, picturing him slowly undressing.

  Yep, that little sexy bitch inside me was back. She was never kept at bay for long.

  To be honest, my desire had only grown since my supposed mating with the guys.

  I could screw all day.

  “The pizza will be here soon,” Damien stated, his voice low as he cleared his throat.

  My mouth curved upwards.

  Time for me to do some practice with him.

  I could tell he’d withdrawn from my mind, but I reached out, stroking his mind softly as I pushed images to him.

  I wasn’t sure how I was doing it, but I thought of him fucking me hard against the bench here, pushing the thought into his mind.

  The resulting growl that rumbled through him told me it was working.

  “Sex is all you ever think about,” he murmured as he stood up.

  “I’m a kitsune, apparently it’s just a part of my nature,” I said sweetly as I opened my legs, letting him step right up between them.

  He stood before me, staring down at me with burning emerald eyes.

  “Guess the mating thing isn’t all so bad,” he murmured as his eyes rolled over me.

  “Yeah, you get a free fuck buddy any time you want,” I purred as I ran a hand down his chest. So solid and ripped beneath that shirt.

  I’d yet to
actually enjoy him on his own.

  He rested one hand either side of me, his face inches from mine as his nostrils flared.

  The sudden image of pizza infiltrated my mind, and I snorted as Tristan’s laughter filled my head.

  “And he knows how to fucking ruin everything,” Damien’s face dropped as he stepped back.

  I could practically smell the pizza, but maybe it was Tristan pushing his senses onto me.

  Would Damien mind screwing while we ate pizza? Guess that probably was frowned upon at the dining table.

  The mortified look he gave me as I pictured him flipping me on the table and doing me naked in front of the other guys as they ate their pizza was gold. I even went as far as picturing us squishing some of the pizza boxes and getting cheese all over my back as he fucked me hard.

  Those emerald eyes were dark with want, and I wondered if we’d even get out of here to find the pizza while it was still hot.

  I sent him a mental image of something later on tonight, and that seemed to settle him for a moment.

  Yes. I’d happily sneak into his room to experience that thick dick again.

  Without all the magic and arousal in the air like our group sex moment, I was curious as to what kind of partner he’d be. Leon was sweet and gentle, and I was intrigued as to what his dark counterpart would be like.

  26

  I bit into my pizza, my eyes trailing over Damien who sat across from me at the dining table.

  Wesley was on my left, Tristan on my right, and the brothers across from me.

  Dominic was on an errand, still. It seemed Mr Oxley had a lot for him to do lately.

  “You’re not getting too bored here?” Tristan asked as he shoved too big of a piece of pizza into his mouth.

  “No, I can train, read, play guitar,” I said as I took another bite. This chicken pizza was amazing. Marinated and delicious with an assortment of herbs and other toppings.

  “We should do your aura training tonight. Would be wicked if we could get that working for you,” Leon grinned as he reached across the boxes to try a slice of my pizza. We were meant to be sharing tonight, although I doubted I’d try much of the others.

  “Sure,” I mumbled through a mouthful of food.

  “What’s Dom up to anyway? I know Mr Oxley has stuff for him to do, but he hasn’t been here all day?” Wesley frowned as he sipped some of his soda.

  “Errands, that’s as much as I know,” Tristan shrugged.

  “I haven’t heard from Mr Oxley at all today,” Leon’s brow furrowed.

  “He’s busy handling stuff to do with Sav,” Tristan said.

  “I wonder what exactly,” Leon mused as he polished off a slice of my pizza.

  “Guess we’ll find out when he gets back,” Tristan stated.

  I was curious as to what he was doing in regards to my family. My real family. Was he searching for them? Or tracking them?

  A nervous shiver coursed through me. What would they think of me anyway? Of who I’d become over the years?

  I squashed my thoughts down as I focused on dinner, enjoying the jokes and conversation around me with the guys.

  They were so easy-going and relaxed, and I found myself joining in and laughing as Wesley caused trouble by setting Damien’s slice of pizza on fire.

  I hadn’t felt this at home in a long time.

  I closed my eyes, willing my magic and power to come alive, to protect me from attack.

  A snarl broke free from me as Damien knocked me to the floor with a kick to the back of the legs.

  ‘This is ridiculous!’ I growled, my claws digging into the floor as I pushed up and got to my feet again.

  The twins were in werewolf state, not true wolf, while I was in my were-kitsune state. That’s what I was calling it at least.

  Damien’s fur was as dark as night, whereas Leon’s was white with a sandy undertone to it.

  And they had decided the best way for me to awaken my aura protectiveness was to force it to protect me while they attacked me from behind.

  So far, that theory had been shit.

  My legs and back ached from their attacks, I was just grateful they were only light blows.

  ‘You’re not focusing,’ Leon sighed, his ears flicking around as he cocked his head at me.

  ‘Just breathe and draw it forth, now turn around,’ Damien muttered.

  I swear he was enjoying this sometimes, knocking me to the floor.

  I readied myself, focusing on that power swirling inside me, struggling to draw it forth in the way needed.

  I imagined it encasing me, swirling and taking on a mind of its own, deflecting their attacks.

  I yelped as a swift kick to my lower back sent me sprawling.

  Fuckers.

  ‘Hmm,’ Damien mumbled in my mind.

  ‘You saw it too, huh?’ Leon murmured.

  ‘Saw what?’ I grumbled as I got to my feet again. My knees were beginning to ache from falling on them so often.

  ‘Your aura started to encase you, you should’ve waited, dickhead,’ Leon growled as he turned to his brother.

  ‘A real enemy won’t wait for her aura to flare up, they’ll just kill her,’ Damien shot back.

  I ignored their back and forth arguing. It had flared up? Finally, fuck. We’d been at this for about an hour now.

  And I was going to be sore tonight in bed.

  An image of me sneaking into Damien’s room flashed through my mind, obviously a question from the said man.

  I rolled my eyes but sent back an obvious agreement. I would still be keen, if the dick stopped making my body ache so much.

  Leon’s musical laughter tingled in my mind, and a resounding thump was Damien hitting him in the arm. Hard.

  There were no secrets with telepathic communication.

  ‘Again,’ Leon instructed.

  I groaned, but stood at the ready with my back to the pair.

  I better learn this shit soon, otherwise Damien might be out of luck tonight.

  Damien grumbled at this, a low growl resonating within him as I prepared myself once more.

  I closed my eyes, focusing on my power.

  I let all my senses take over, listening for the slightest movement. I could hear the soft breathing of the brothers behind me, their fur ruffling as they made small movements.

  My muscles quivered as they readied themselves, my energy pulsating inside me.

  There.

  A harsh movement behind me as Leon moved forward to attack. I knew I could turn around and deflect him, but that wasn’t the goal of this.

  I imagined my power stopping him, attacking him back as he came at me from behind.

  I pictured an aura version of myself lashing out with clawed hands, intent to harm.

  Leon snarled as he stumbled back, and I saw through his eyes briefly, his mind projecting to my mind.

  My body was encased in pinky white aura, and a clawed arm had shot out of it. It had grazed his chest, leaving claw marks in his fur, but not deep enough to draw blood.

  My eyes shot open as I spun around, proud of my achievement.

  ‘It’s a start,’ Leon murmured as he ran a clawed hand over his chest to check the near injury.

  ‘It’s more than a start, I used my aura!’ I snarled, pissed that he wasn’t more excited for me.

  ‘It’ll come easier the more you do it,’ Damien said as he stepped forward. ‘Again.’

  The night dragged on, and I was eventually fighting them properly, sparring and twisting, dodging attacks as this one clawed arm defended my back. It seemed that was the extent of my ability for now, just one aura arm.

  But with it as well, I was handing their asses to them with ease.

  I shot out with my foot, sending Leon flying backwards into the far wall as Damien launched at me from the side, snarling and baring his fangs.

  I fell to my hands and feet, slinking low as my tails took over.

  I knocked him off balance with one tail, then shot out my aura arm to s
end him hurtling backwards.

  In your face.

  My eyes flicked to where Leon was rushing at me, those golden wolf eyes flashing with frustration.

  I pushed hard off the floor, propelling myself into a flip in the air just as he got near.

  Those eyes look startled as I launched backwards, but I shot out a tail, whipping his legs out from under him as I willed my aura arm to stretch out and grab him by the shoulder, hurling him to the side.

  This aura thing was wicked. It could reach further than I could, like a magical extension of myself.

  I watched as Leon rolled across the floor, grunting as he caught himself in a crouch at the end.

  ‘Goddamn kitsune,’ he growled.

  ‘I thought you guys were big, bad bounty hunters? You’re really not all that epic,’ I scoffed as I stood up straight.

  ‘We’re going easy on you, princess,’ Damien muttered as he headed for me.

  ‘I don’t want easy, show me what you’re really made of. I did kick your asses that first night too, kinda sad, considering you’re supposed to be hunters yourself. Can’t beat one little girl?’ I goaded them.

  ‘You really want us to not hold back?’ Damien asked, his ears flicking inquisitively as he came to a stop a few feet away.

  ‘Yes, go all out,’ I said confidently.

  ‘You heard the lady,’ Leon chuckled.

  Damien’s rumbling chuckles sounded strange in that beastly body, and I moved into a defensive stance, dropping one hand to the floor as I got down low.

  White light lit up the room, and I had to shield my eyes as I snarled.

  What the fuck were they doing?

  I yelped as a heavy blow sent me flying head over heels backwards.

  The wind was knocked from me as I bounced across the floor, my ribs creaking and my body bruising.

  Well, I had asked them to go all out.

  I shook myself as I got to my hands and feet, crouched and ready to go.

  But my confidence wavered as my eyes fell on the two beings before me.

  Holy. Fuck.

  I had not expected them to do this.

  Now we were getting serious.

  27

  The two winged werewolves were standing shoulder to shoulder, their contrasting black and white wings splayed out behind them.