24. Creed

CREED

It’s been hours. Fucking hours. I shouldn’t have let her out of my sight. Now we’re simply uselessly waiting and it’s driving me insane. We searched the academy grounds three times, pestered Professor Burton for answers, and waited outside Lyra’s office until we were forced to leave.

All we know is her parents took her off campus. Offfuckingcampus. Who in their right mind allowed this? Not me. Far from it.

I can’t sit still any longer, I’ve been pacing back and forth by the front door for at least the past thirty minutes. I feel antsy as hell. I’ve never worried for someone else’s safety quite like Raven’s, but that’s no surprise with everything life keeps throwing at her.

“I say we find Burton again and demand some answers because this is getting ridiculous,” Eldon grunts, swiping a hand down his face.

“Lyra already told us he left the academy a while ago. We don’t even know if he’s back yet,” Zane grumbles, not liking his answer any more than the rest of us. His leg won’t stop bouncing, even as he braces his arms on his knees, leaning forward on the sofa.

“We have to be able to do something,” Eldon continues, his face reddening with stress and frustration as he starts to pace behind Zane. While Brax… he’s too busy getting lost in his own mind outside in the drizzle. It’s the first time we’ve had any rain for ages and it feels almost too coincidental that it should be tonight when it finally comes.

“We shouldn’t have let her go off on her own to begin with,” I grind out, my hands clenching at my sides as I spin and pace back to where I just was.

“We can’t just wade in all of the time. We’ve talked about this,” Zane states, adding more irritation to the already overwhelming sensation that’s creeping up my spine.

“But if we had stayed with her, she would be safe with us right now. Instead, we have no clue where she fucking is and what danger she might be facing,” I snarl, my worry and frustration twisting into anger as the door slams shut right beside me, echoing as the floor practically vibrates with the force.

I whirl around to gape at the woman in question. My heart races in my chest with relief at the sight of her while my eyes take her in from head to toe. She’s wet, her clothes soaked through and droplets of rain clinging to her lashes. On top of that, she looks worn down, exhausted, and completely ready to drop. Despite that, I can’t stop the words from breaking past my lips.

“Where the hell have you been?”

She looks at me like she knew someone would ask that exact question as her backpack drops with a thud on the floor at her feet. She just hadn’t decided which one of us it would be. “Before you start blasting me, can I at least get a drink? Despite how sopping wet I am, I’m thirsty.”

“Use your magic,” Brax grunts, shutting the patio door behind him as he stalks toward us.

Raven shivers. “No thanks, my magic and I are… taking a minute.”

My brows furrow in confusion as I assess her.

“Is that why you also didn’t use it to protect you from the rain?” Zane asks, still sitting on the sofa. At least his leg is no longer bouncing.

“Wait, I could have done that?” Raven gasps, instantly reconsidering the sudden hiatus with her magic.

“You forget your abilities, Raven. You’re the strongest person I know,” Eldon soothes, producing a glass of water out of thin air and bringing it to her. She softly smiles at him and I’m instantly pissy with his brown-nosing.

Asshole.

I wait a few moments for her to down the water before I push on. “You’re going to need to explain, Raven.”

She hangs her head for a beat, exhaling slowly, as if she’s trying to gather the words. “I know, let’s sit.”

Eldon sweeps her up off her feet and moves to the sofa, dropping her into his lap as he gets comfortable beside Zane. The second she’s in his lap, she’s dry to the bone and she instantly nestles into him. Brax sits on the other side of them while I opt for the sofa across from them.

Raven looks down at her hands as she speaks. “My parents took me to Haven Court to have my magic tested.”

“What the fuck?” Brax growls as my chest clenches.

What the fuck, indeed.

“Right? What’s with these people?” Raven says with a sigh, swiping a hand down her face.

“What did they do to you, Dove?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m gonna kill them anyway.” The snarl bursts from my lips without a care as my knuckles turn white in my lap.

“Maybe,” Raven breathes, casting a soft smile in my direction. “But not right now. They didn’t manage to do anything.” I can’t decide if she’s just saying that to appease us or whether she means it, but the longer I stare into her eyes, the more clearly I see the truth in her words. Why do I get the feeling it was damn close, though?

“How?” Zane asks, like he’s as disbelieving as me.

Raven turns her attention his way, eyes fixed on his as she speaks. “Your father.”

“My… how?”

She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she softly shakes her head. “I don’t know, he was just there and he refused to let them do anything. He must have sensed the panic in me or something. He mentioned something about my mama reaching out to yours to be there to interject, but I don’t truly understand anything right now.”

Why is everything always a mindfuck? Nothing is as simple as I wish it could be.

“What did he say?” Brax asks, breaking his silence as he leans forward to look at our girl.

Her eyebrows pinch as she tries to retrace everything that happened. “He asked if you knew about whatever made me worried, Zane, and I said yes.” She winces as if bracing for a negative response, but Zane places his hand on her thigh.

“Good, go on.”

“Then he asked if my parents knew and I said no. He wanted to know why, not the details, just how I felt inside. Which is the most bizarre thing I’ve ever heard, if I’m honest. People always want every detail, but that didn’t matter to him in that moment at all.”

Zane’s father isn’t like many, and he’s definitely not as cutthroat as other members of the Monarchy. Which makes it very easy to forget who he is sometimes.

“And what did you tell him?” Eldon asks, his lips close to her ear, and I’m instantly jealous of his proximity. I’m half lost in my head over the entire thing and half desperate to press every inch of myself against her so she knows where I am.

“I told him I was fearful for my life.”

“Good girl,” Eldon praises, and she smiles, her eyelashes fluttering closed for a second.

“What happened then?” Brax pushes, and she blinks at him with a frown.

“I don’t really know. One second, I’m standing there with him, and the next, I’m falling through the gateway into Lyra’s office.”

Yeah, that doesn’t make any sense at all. “At least you’re back now,” I offer, tension still coiling my muscles as she grimaces.

“Well, I wish that’s where the drama ended.”

“How is there more?” Zane grumbles.

“Because it follows me around, apparently,” Raven admits with a sigh, and there’s no denying that fact.

“You’re telling me,” Eldon says with a smirk, making her fake glare at him.

“Hit us with it.” Brax shuffles, bracing his elbows on his knees like he’s getting ready for it.

“I heard Sebastian and Burton talking.”

“About what?” I ask, already not liking where this is going.

“About me.” Thankfully, before I start storming for the door to get my hands on the fuckers, Raven continues explaining. “Sebastian is up to something shady, I can sense it, but so is Burton. He threatened to pull him from the academy and the Guild if he was aiding anybody in any unlawful way.” Her eyebrows practically touch her hairline as she explains.

“Fuck. My head is spinning,” Zane murmurs.

“Tell me about it,” she retorts, her body going lax in Eldon’s hold as exhaustion continues to take over her.

Rising to my feet, I cut the distance between us and offer her my hand. “Come on, I’ll take care of you.” There’s so much more I want to say, so many things I’m feeling, but she needs someone right now, and holy fuck, it’s going to be me.

Eldon’s hands flex at her waist but I pull her from his grasp the second she places her palm against mine. Without a backward glance, I lead her across the room to my bedroom and kick the door shut behind us with a finality that tells those other fuckers to back off.

I’m all for her being our girl. I crave it. But right now, she’s mine.

She remains quiet as I guide her toward my bed, stopping short as she scans the room with wide, inquisitive eyes. I can’t imagine what she sees when she looks at my space. When she continues to spin on the spot, releasing my hand to do so, I quickly realize that this is the first time she’s been in here.

How?

Shaking my head, I glance from the navy sheets on my bed to the white desk and nightstands, then follow her gaze to the bathroom and closet. Other than that, there are plain white walls and a gray carpet. Nothing more, nothing less. We’re given creative reign over our personal spaces, but I have nothing to give.

I actually don’t know if the others have put their stamp on their rooms and I don’t care. If I’m not going to be here forever, or might even die in the process, what’s the point? I’m sure I have a dumb way of thinking, but ever since my father died, it’s how I’ve seen the world.

It’s difficult to come back from a loss of that magnitude. It’s even harder to wonder how your death could impact somebody else in that way. But it does. Whether we like it or not, whether I decorate this room or not, we all leave a legacy. We all touch the world in some way like no other has or ever will.

My gaze shifts back to Raven. None of my internal thoughts are plastered across the wall, explaining why they’re blank and void of presence, but she doesn’t push. Another quality about her that draws me in even closer.

You know if you’ve been in her presence, the fact will never leave you, right up until the moment death claims you and you’re left craving one more second of her. One more taste.

Her eyes land on mine, an uncertain lift to the corner of her mouth as she tries to assess me. Without lifting my gaze from hers, I reach for the lapels of her blazer and slowly drag the material down her arms.

“Thank you,” she whispers, her shoulders relaxing as she speaks. I don’t utter a word in response, even though I don’t truly know what she’s thanking me for. My brain is overloaded by my thoughts and feelings, so I reach for the top button of her blouse instead.

As one gives way, I move on to the next, dragging my fingers down her chest as I go until I’m untucking the tail of her blouse from her skirt, repeating the motion again. Satisfied with my efforts, I let the material hang loose at her sides, revealing the perfect hint of her pale-pink bra underneath.

Her chest heaves with each breath, making my heart race faster as I lift the tip of my finger to her jaw and draw an even slower trail down her soft skin. I avoid her tie as I trail through the valley between her breasts, not stopping until I’m back at the waistband of her skirt.

Teasing my way around to her back, I easily find the button and a moment later, the material is pooled at her feet. Finally, I opt to sweep my magic over her shoes and socks so she’s standing before me in just her lingerie and tie.

It’s one thing to use magic to be rid of clothes that are in the way, but it’s something else entirely when you strip one piece at a time. Slowly taking each layer until nothing more stands between you.

Her bra is nothing more than a thin layer of lace covering her pebbled nipples, the deep pink shade of the taut flesh teasing through the light, contrasting material. My gaze meets hers after I’ve drank in every inch of her on offer, and the moment our eyes connect, she shivers.

“Say yes, Raven.” She nods immediately, but no words follow. “You have to say it or I’ll go and turn the tap on now and run you a hot bath. Your choice.”

“Yes,” she breathes without wasting a second, and I take that as control falling straight into my lap.

Reaching for the length of tie around her neck, I yank her forward, eliminating the remaining distance between us as she stumbles forward.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re mad at me?” Her chest brushes against mine as she peers up at me with want and desire still swirling in her gaze, despite the statement on her tongue.

I take a step forward, fist still wrapped in her tie as she stumbles backward, step by step, until the back of her knees hit my bed. Snapping at the lace covering her core, it flutters to the floor far more delicately than it should before I grab the front of her bra and do the same.

She gasps, her chest harshly rising and falling with every breath as I release the tie still around her neck and grab her thighs, hoisting her into the air and throwing her unceremoniously down onto the bed.

Her legs spread as she peers up at me, watching as I crawl up the bed on my hands and knees until my face is centered above her core.

“Raven…”

“Creed…”

“Mad doesn’t even cover it,” I bite before feasting on the pretty pink folds between her thighs.

Nipping, biting, lapping, I take from her pussy like a man starved. Her back remains arched up off the bed as one cry turns into a moan before the tempo picks up, and she’s close to screaming when I stop.

“Fuck, Creed,” she gasps, panting for breath as she tries to settle her dazed eyes on mine.

Pushing her thighs up, I spread her wider before getting my fill once more. This time, I tease two fingers at her entrance, biting back my own groan when I feel just how wet she is. As I take her pussy with my fingers, I lap at her clit as she tries to clench her thighs around my head.

It takes no time at all to have her trembling beneath me again at my touch, and I stop. Once her gaze is locked on mine, I move to crawl above her so she’s looking up at me. I wave a hand over my body, removing my shorts and tee so that not a single stitch of fabric stands between us.

“If you ever deny me the right to protect and defend you again, the consequences will be at your own risk. Do you understand me?” I snarl, letting my true feelings out, and she frowns.

“But I—”

I grab the length of her tie and tighten the fabric so it sits flush against her throat and she gasps.

“Do. You. Understand. Me?” I growl before sinking my teeth into her left breast until she cries out from the pain. I relish the sound, my eyes rolling to the back of my head as I softly drag my tongue over the spot. “Answer me, Raven.”

“I thought I would be fine,” she rasps, her fingers wrapping around mine that cling to her tie.

“But you weren’t. You weren’t fine. Since you’ve gotten here, not once have you been just fine. When will you see that?” The desperation is clear in my voice, my vulnerability on full display, and for the first time, I don’t care.

“Please, Creed,” she whispers, running her tongue over her bottom lip.

“Say it.”

“Say what?”

My throbbing cock nestles against her core as I lean in closer so our noses brush. “Tell me that you won’t defy me like that again.”

“I wasn’t defying you,” she snaps back, her usual fire bursting to the surface as her blue eyes widen, and I grin.

There she is. My Raven. My warrior. My pitch-black silhouette in the fake gold realm we find ourselves in.

I need to feel her. Now.

Envisioning the protection in my nightstand, I sheath my cock without moving a finger from her body, line myself at her entrance, and slam all the way home. Her cry echoes around us as ecstasy clings to me at the feel of her heat.

My fingers flex around the tie in my grip and her eyes roll with pleasure. “It won’t ever happen again, Raven. I swear it,” I promise, whether she wants to hear it or not.

Letting the weight of the situation leave my body, I focus on the here and now, but more importantly, I focus on her. Every thrust of my hips is not enough. Every swirl of desire that feasts on my very being trembles with the carnal need to claim her over and over again.

“Come for me, Raven, come on my cock and make me yours,” I growl, my own orgasm already burning at the base of my spine. Her hands dig deeper into my sheets, her knuckles white with her grip, and my eyes catch on her tits bouncing with every slam of my hips.

“Creed,” she cries, her voice raspy from the tightness of the tie around her throat as she climaxes, drenching me in her release, and I topple over the cliff with her. I don’t stop thrusting until every last drop has been rung out between us.

I magically discard the condom, and the tie from her throat before collapsing on the bed beside her. She rolls onto her side, gently placing her hand over my heart as she hums against my shoulder, planting little kisses in her wake.

When I can finally see straight again, I peer down at her and instantly panic over the red marks around her neck. With the way she’s lying, I can see the finger-sized bruises along her thigh forming, too.

Fuck.

She’s calm, relaxed, and pliant in my arms, and I’m feeling my cock come alive again at the sight of my marks on her skin. Marks she might fucking hate and I didn’t even think to consider that.

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I slip from beneath her, not missing the pout on her lips as I head to the bathroom. I hurry to fill the bath, making sure to fill it with some girly-smelling shit that I saw when I took her dress shopping a few weeks ago.

I stride back into the bedroom to find her exactly where I left her. Swooping her up in my arms, she giggles as she tightens her arms around my neck, letting me lead her toward the steam that’s starting to billow out of the bathroom.

She gasps when I step into the bath and slowly place her between my thighs in the water, but she quickly lies back against me with a sigh. It’s like she’s floating in the water, delicate and calm, a rarity in these four walls at the moment.

Trailing water over her exposed chest, I band my other arm around her waist and breathe her in, dragging my nose over the shell of her ear as I finally speak. “Are you mad at me now?”

A beat passes, then another, and another, until she tilts her head to look back at me with a grin on her lips. “Never. I knew you were unhinged, remember? It was deliriously fucking hot and everything I didn’t know I needed,” she admits, nipping at her bottom lip.

I press a kiss to her shoulder, concealing my own smile.

How is this my life?

How is she mine?

I don’t fucking know, but I’m never letting go.