Chapter Twenty-Four

Atlas

I use my sight to track Maureen. I see her sitting on the floor between two aisles, a pile of books surrounding her. I hop on my bike and within minutes, I'm blazing into the parking lot of Graves Library. I ignore the stares and murmurs from various groups as I storm past them. Ever since Maureen got to Tenebrose I haven't been able to focus on anything else. I deleted all the random girls' numbers from my phone and ghosted all of them.

My father would keel over if he saw how I've been acting. And all because of one girl. Nah, he'd think I've lost my fucking mind. The Thorn men were not loyal to their women. Not in the sexual sense. Sure, he'd take a bullet for my mom, but then he'd turn around and fuck the first hot piece of ass who offered to nurse him back to health.

While Valentin's father raised him to hate women, mine taught me to love them all. Literally. My cousins, Aries and Libra, had a similar upbringing, but their dad had a daughter to worry about. He eased up on the bachelor for life rhetoric a lot. But I am the only son of Pisces Thorn and he'd be damned if he saw me chasing after one girl.

I lean against the stacks, my arms crossed. "Hey, pretty girl. I've missed you."

To my surprise, she glares up at me. "Fuck off, Atlas. I'm busy."

A snort escapes me. "Oh, we're back to this now, are we? Don't make me bend you over right here and spank you. You know I will."

She scrambles to her feet and starts gathering her books together. "Yeah, I'm sure you'd like everyone here to see that. Since humiliating me is what gets all three of you off."

Fuck.

I run a hand through my hair. "You heard about the breach… we're handling it."

She spins around and gives me a hard shove. "Breach? Handling it? Fuck you. You tell everyone they're not allowed to look at me, but then go around bragging about fucking me to the whole school. I'm tired of your games. Just leave me the fuck alone."

What the fuck is she talking about? I grab her wrist. "We've done no such thing. Who told you that?"

Her cheeks flush and she looks down at the floor. "It doesn't matter. I thought the three of you might be different. That despite all your psychotic tendencies, I meant something to you. Even Riot. I know he hates my family, but I thought maybe he didn't hate me anymore. I guess I am just a stupid slut."

I cup her face in my hands. "You're our little slut. But you're also our firecracker. Our… mate. We would never shame you like that. Someone is lying to you. Tell me who."

This has to do with the breach at Nocturnus. I can feel it in my fucking bones. I can't wait to find this fucker and feed him to my snake piece by piece.

Maureen's eyes well with tears. "I don't know what I am to any of you. I shouldn't care. You, Riot, and Valentin are all a bunch of entitled assholes. The only things that matter to you are power and control."

"That's not true. You matter to us," I quip back.

She snickers. "Yeah, my blood matters to you. Valentin told me you need a fourth for your twisted little coven. You need a Blackwell, so you can get payback. I should have known you were just using me from the start."

I blow out a deep breath. I wish Val had waited to tell her until we were all together. She doesn't understand the significance of the bond. I want to explain it, but she's in no mood to listen. "Come with me, please. I want to show you something. Let me prove to you that you're wrong about us."

She looks at me like she wants to slap me. "Are you for real? I don't trust you."

"You will. I swear it. Just come with me," I plead.

A surge of power shoots through my veins as I gaze into her exquisite, amber-colored eyes. I know she can't resist me, though I feel her trying. But her fate and ours are tied now. We are connected by ancient feuds, bad blood, and now… poison.

"Give me something to believe you," she commands.

I nod. "The poison. It's my family's legacy. And other than them, there are only three other people I've shared it with."

Her breath hitches as she realizes the weight of my words.

I hold three fingers up and count them down. "Riot, Valentin, and you ." I brush my thumb across her lips. "You're the only woman I have ever shared it with. You're not a fool, Firecracker. Look into my eyes and see for yourself if I'm lying."

"Fuck," she mutters. Her resistance is weakening even more as she lets herself drown in my eyes. I have her. I've always had her .

I hold out my hand. "I'm asking this time. No more kidnapping plots."

She stares down for what seems like forever before finally slipping her slender hand in mine. "Okay. But don't make me regret this."

I guide her gently outside and hand her a helmet. She hops on behind me, and I almost melt when she slides her arms around my waist. Her body feels so warm and soft against mine. I can't wait to devour every inch of her. But first, I need her to believe me. We can hate fuck each other all we want but none of this works if we don't have trust.

"Atlas, you said I could trust you. I don't want to see Riot or Valentin right now." Maureen leaps off my bike and throws the helmet at me.

"No one is here. We sent all the initiates away, and I told the guys to bounce as well. It's just us, Firecracker. I promise."

She crinkles her nose toward the house, and I can't tell if it's an aversion to its monstrosity or just the hemlock getting to her. "What are we doing here?"

I grin, satisfied that my pretty little psycho responds so well to me. She thinks I'm the sweet one, and I find that adorable. Little does she know… I lace my fingers through hers and pull her with me. "Come on. I'll show you."

Her shoulders tense when we enter the house. After taking a few lingering looks around, she releases her breath. "I've never seen it so quiet."

I smirk. "See, I told you it's just us. I'm a lot of things. A liar isn't one of them."

Her face lights up upon entering my room. I'm not bothered by the fact that it's cluttered and messy. That's me in a nutshell. I have hoodies and jeans strewn over chairs, stacks of books in misshapen piles on the floor, overflowing candle wax that's stuck and hardened to my bedside table. She scans over it but the thing her gaze fixates on is the island in the center—containing beds of poisonous flowers actually growing inside this room.

I grab a remote to click on my Bluetooth speakers and Arankai's version of Eat Your Young starts to play. I watch as she moves closer to the toxic plants and then stops. She looks around the room again. "I like it in here. It's… inviting."

She's fucking inviting . Fuck. I want to taste every inch of her fiery skin. "I like how you look in here. You fit."

I walk toward her and fondle the belt loops on her jeans. She takes a deep quivering breath when my fingers skim her bare midriff. I lean down and nestle my nose against her neck. "You smell good enough to eat, Firecracker."

The vein in her neck throbs. "What did you want to show me?" She asks nervously.

I love how I can unnerve her. I drag my fingertips up her spine all the way up to the back of her neck. When I get to her nape, I tangle my fingers in her hair. I tug her head back and press a light kiss to her lips. Fuck, so soft. So fucking sweet.

"Do you trust me?" I ask.

She lets out a little whimper after each peck I give her. "No… not yet."

I smile against her lips. "Good. It's more fun when you don't."

I walk her back toward my bed and nudge her onto it. Her eyes blaze with lust and ache as she watches me take off my shirt and pants. A flicker of amusement rushes through me as I watch her eyes widen when she sees my cock. It's been inside her before, but it was from behind. It's much more intimidating when it's staring her right in the face.

I slide my hand slowly down my shaft. "Look how fucking hard you make me."

She licks her lips. "You're so fucking pretty, you know that?"

I chuckle. "No one's ever called me that, Firecracker." I unbutton her pants and slide them off. She doesn't attempt to stop me. "I wanna share something really special with you. But I need you to promise me you'll stay calm."

She arches her eyebrow. "You got a forked tongue or something I don't know about?" She teases.

I almost fall over laughing. "Not exactly." I slide her panties down and the hunger in her eyes turns feral. She's fucking perfect. I love how her appetite matches mine. "Scoot back and open your legs nice and wide for me."

She leans back against the pillows and moisture starts to pool between her legs. It trickles down her thighs like sweet nectar.

"Good girl… You might not trust me, but I need you to know that I won't let anything bad happen to you. Okay?"

Her breath hitches. "What the fuck are you up to, Atlas? You're starting to freak me out with all this cryptic talk."

I place a gentle kiss against her thigh, and she twitches. "I'm going to need you to stay really still, Firecracker. Zeus doesn't like any sudden movements."

"Who the fuck is Zeus?" Before she can fully allow herself to panic, I run my finger down her wet slit. She shudders and rolls her hips. "Atlas… you're fucking insane. But how can I not say yes to your crazy when you touch me like that?"

I chuckle and slide off the bed. "Because you're just as fucking crazy as me, pretty girl."

I go to the center island and reach deep inside the case that hides below it. As soon as I stick my hand in, I feel Zeus wrap around my arm and tighten. "It's okay, killer. It's me," I coo.

When I turn around to face her, she scurries back against the headboard, her eyes as wide as saucers. "What… what the fuck is that?"

I stalk toward the bed with Zeus slithering around my arm, the length of him hangs down to the floor. "This is how we establish trust, Maur."