Chapter Twenty

Riot

M y firecracker is safe for now. I still wish sometimes that I'd never made that sacrifice to the ravens to get her here. But I'm too selfish to live without her. We all are. I hit the throttle and let the machine between my legs soothe my anxiety. There are many pieces to this puzzle that we need to make fit. One of them is adding another pawn to the chessboard.

As I ride through the forest, my muscles relax. This is my favorite time of day, that space when night starts morphing into morning. The sky is a pale gray, the ravens sleep, and the air is so crisp you can practically cut it with a knife. No one is awake yet except me and my bike.

Well, and the man meeting me in the graveyard before class.

Through the glare of my headlights, I spot Felix Crane sitting on top of a faded headstone, his legs so long they touch the ground. The mist makes his black hair curl even more. From this viewpoint, he looks like an ethereal dark prince reigning over his kingdom of death. His eyes glow like mine. I noticed it that night at Swallow . It was subtle, but I definitely caught it.

The Cranes are also one of the founding families of Ever Graves. Which means they, too, were born with curses and darkness in their blood. But they never wanted to be a part of Nocturnus. The Cranes are wanderers, nomads, not ever craving the comforts of a coven. Yet his power simmers underneath his pressed suits and schoolboy charm. He's a monster, just like us. And I can't have him roaming around causing havoc.

I hop off my bike and stalk toward him. "You're early."

He flashes a toothy grin. "Am I? You didn't really think I'd let you get the jump on me, did you?"

I roll my eyes. "Cut the fucking banter, Crane. I'm in a really bad mood."

He shrugs and slides off the headstone. "Is this the part where you tell me to stay away from your girl?"

I'll give Maureen anything she wants. So will Atlas and Val. What they don't realize is we all need each other. It's not just about making our girl happy; this move is about survival.

I unzip my jacket and pull up my shirt. "See these marks? They connect us to each other and the ravens. They tether us to a source of power so great we don't even fully know where it comes from."

Felix tilts his head. "Go on."

"We were strong before she came, but now, we are nearly untouchable. Each sigil carved into our flesh strengthens the bonds between us. The source no longer matters because the power comes from us instead of to us. Do you understand?"

He crosses his arms. "While this is all very poetic and macabre, I have no fucking idea what any of this has to do with me."

I sigh and point to his face. "Your eyes. Your name. Where you come from. You have power too. It's in your blood. My sigils flare every time you come around. I'm betting Atlas and Val's do too. We could be even stronger if you joined us."

Felix bursts out laughing. "This is not at all how I thought this conversation was going to go… So, you wanna carve me up and boss me around like you do everyone else?"

This man is testing my fucking patience and almost making me regret bringing him out here. "I'm not asking you to be a fucking initiate, Felix. I'm offering you a spot in the coven—as an equal. I'm not blind or stupid. I see the way you look at Maureen. You could help us protect her. I think you want to."

A hint of deviancy flickers in his eyes. "And would that also entitle me to do more than just watch?"

"That's up to her," I grit out. I will never let another man touch her unless he is in this coven. This family. And she agrees. We don't share with anyone but each other.

"Maybe I don't want to do more than watch," he snickers.

Fucking liar.

"Yeah, well, I think you came to Tenebrose to try and do exactly that. You could have taught at Ever Graves Academy or literally anywhere else. But I'm guessing Villette sent you a couple of drunken pics, you took one look at our girl, and the power rushing through your veins did the rest. People like us are drawn to each other."

Felix rubs his chin as he paces around the headstones. "I'm not going to give you an answer right now."

"You don't have to," I bark back. "But don't take too long. The Nocturnus elders, our fathers, have been trying to take her from us for the last four weeks. She's ready to kill them herself. The shadows lurk in her Erebus sigil, making her more unhinged every day. We need more balance. Another source of power to help keep her safe."

His eyes darken. "What do you mean take her ? As in kidnap?"

I nod. Now he's fucking getting it.

The muscle in his jaw twitches. "I need to get ready for class. Either way, I'll be in touch soon."

I zip up my jacket and hop on my bike. "I'll be waiting. What's more fucking poetic than that?" I snicker. As I ride back the way I came, the sunlight starts to peer through the trees, bringing with it a whole new fucking ray of uncertainty.

My pulse kicks up a notch when I see her upstairs in the library, hunched over a dusty book and completely engrossed with whatever she's reading. Her dark hair is tied in a low ponytail, exposing her neck. Her sigils. My stomach flips. She's getting braver about showing them off.

Atlas slips out from between the stacks in the Melancholic Music aisle and pats me on the back. "You're up. I gotta get to class."

I can't take my eyes off her. Dressed in a brown cashmere sweater and plaid miniskirt, she's more beautiful than ever. Her smooth legs are bare underneath, and I'm trying not to wonder if she's wearing panties or not. I'm tempted to bend her over the table and find out.

"Have you told her anything about Felix yet?" I ask as Atlas gazes at her with the same lust and sin in his eyes that are gripping me right now.

He shakes his head. "No. I figured I'd leave that to you. You're much more eloquent than I am. Did he agree?"

I sigh. "Not yet. But I'm confident he will. His sigils will be different, you know? They have to be to ensure the balance."

Atlas swigs from a vial of poison. Tiny swirls of light dance around his pupils. "Maybe he needs to hear it from her…"

My stomach flips. He's right. "I'll tell her before class. She has his first this morning."

He pats me on the back again. "It's all gonna be over soon. I'll see ya tonight, Romeo."

I chuckle and cross the room to her. The second I'm behind her, her breath hitches. Her body knows mine without having to see it. I lean over her and place my hands on the table, boxing her in.

"Riot…"

"Hello, love. Did you miss me?" I breathe in her ear.

The vein on her neck pulses, her heartbeat racing. "I always miss you. Sometimes, even when you're right next to me."

I look down to see her thighs are clenched. "What color panties are you wearing?"

She sucks in a deep breath. "I'm not wearing any."

Fuck.

I chase a bead of sweat on her neck with my tongue, lapping it up before leaving a soft kiss in its place. I chuckle as a few students blush when I catch them staring. "We don't have much time before class. I need you to come with me now."

She closes her book without hesitating, sending a sprinkle of dust up into the air. I scoot her chair back and spin her around. She looks up at me with those amber-colored eyes, and my knees slightly wobble. She has no idea the affect she has on me.

I brush my thumb over her full, pouty lips. "Let's go for a ride, Firecracker."

"Can I drive?" She tilts her head and bats her eyelashes at me.

I clasp her hand and tug her toward the door. "You think you can handle my bike?" I tease her.

She lifts onto her toes to whisper in my ear, "I can handle a lot of muscle between my legs."

My cock instantly throbs.

I usher her out the door and down the steps to where my bike is parked. The thought of her rubbing her bare pussy against my leather seat makes me so fucking feral I almost drag her into the bushes and ravage her like a wild animal.

I glimpse a flash of her taint as she throws a leg over my bike. As I nestle in behind her, I pull up the back of her skirt. Her bare ass presses against my cock with only my black cotton pants separating us.

"Where to?" she asks.

I wrap my arms around her waist. "The graveyard."

She revs the bike a few times before taking off. This is the first time I've ever let anyone else drive, but she handles it like a pro. She's wild and fearless as she shrieks like the wind, increasing the speed little by little as she gets more comfortable.

It's turning me on so fucking much I can't contain it anymore. "Don't lose focus."

"What do you mean? I'm fine," she calls back.

I chuckle as I unzip my pants and pull out my cock. I nudge her forward and pull her hips back, hoping we don't fucking crash. But then again, I'd happily die with my cock inside her.

"Oh, fuck," she cries out. "Are you doing what I think you're doing?" I watch as her grip tightens around the handlebars.

With one arm still around her waist to anchor myself, I fist my cock in my other hand and press it against her entrance. "Watch the road, and don't take your hand off the throttle."

Her juices trickle out and onto my leather seat. Fuck, she's so wet. As I slide my cock inside her pussy, we both gasp. "Oh, baby… fuck."

The bike drifts, and she almost loses control. "Riot… you're a fucking psycho… But don't stop."

I roll my hips forward and almost cum instantly. With the cold wind whipping furiously between us, lashing at our heated skin, every nerve in my body is tingling. My cock pulses inside her core as she clenches so fucking tight around me.

It's hard to thrust at this angle, so I just grind into her in little, short bursts. "Drive faster. I need to fuck you harder," I growl in her ear.

She lets out a deep guttural moan as she hits the throttle, nearly spinning us out, but she corrects, and we thankfully don't go flying off the bike.

"Please… fuck. I need more, Riot."

"Then drive faster." I hold up her skirt and slap her hard on the ass. She chokes my cock with the walls of her pussy, squeezing me so fucking tight.

When we finally pass through the iron gates, I point to a group of trees. "Park over there."

As soon as we reach the spot, she kills the engine, and everything gets dead quiet. I push her forward so she's lying across the bike on her stomach. "Fuck, you did so well. Riding me and my bike at the same time."

She grabs onto the handlebars as I slide out and then thrust back inside her. " Uhhh ," she moans. "Fuck… you're crazy."

I slap her ass cheeks and slam into her again, lifting her hips up and down as I bury myself to the hilt. "Mmm, I'm… fuck. FUCK." I push in as far as I can go. All the blood rushes to the tip of my cock as a wave of spasms rolls up my shaft. My cum bursts out, filling her to the brim.

And it triggers her.

She rubs her pussy against the leather, grinding against it as she stimulates her clit.

I push on her ass, moving it in circles. "Yeah, give me all your fucking violence."

She screams, and the floodgates open. Her juices spill onto my cock like a dam breaking open for the first time. I thrust into her again, splitting her wide open, drawing her climax out until she's raw and broken.

As we still ourselves, our breaths heavy, I smooth my hands over the marks I left on her ass. "We need to talk about something."

She chuckles. "Right now?"

With my cock still inside her, I hold her hips in place. I don't want to leave her warm pussy yet. "We're adding someone new to the coven. Someone who will lend us more power and balance."

She turns her head to the side and fixates on one of the headstones. "Are you asking me or telling me?"

My cock twitches again. Fuck. I cannot get enough of her. "Both. I've already made him the offer, but if you're against it, then I'll rescind it."

"Who is it?"

I shift a little, wanting to thrust my cock again but trying to be a good boy while we have this conversation. "Felix Crane."

She clenches around me, her body going rigid. "Why Felix?"

My cock swells as more of her juices trickle out. "He's from a founding family. He belongs in our coven, Maur. And I think he's just as obsessed with you as we are."

She lifts her hips and slides up the ridges of my cock. "What about this? Will he get to do this?"

I reach around and press on her clit. "Yeah, he will," I rasp as I start fucking her again. "But only if I get to watch."

She bucks at the word, and I lose it. I pull out so I can flip her over onto her back. I yank her legs apart and shove my cock back inside her.

She gazes up at me, her eyes glowing. "Will it make you happy, Riot?"

I cum faster this time, never taking my eyes off hers as I unload it inside her. "Yes, love. It will make us all happy." I thrust a couple more times, milking her. "He can help us take Nocturnus away from the elders."

Her eyes widen, and I feel her pulse kick up a notch. "Good. They don't deserve to be in charge. We do."

"Agreed. Now, let's get you cleaned up." I lick the cum off her thighs like it's ice cream. Any excuse I can get to taste her, I'll take. "There's just one thing…"

She sits up and pulls her skirt down as she waits expectantly.

I slick my damp hair back off my forehead and sigh. "He hasn't said yes yet. We need you to help convince him."

Maureen snickers and hops off the bike. "Well, I have his class in about twenty minutes… Fuck. That's what this is all about. You want me walking in there smelling like sex and cum."

I wrap my hand around her throat. " This was about me fucking my girl while she rode my bike. Does it hurt that he will sense your arousal within seconds? No, it does not. But don't think that I have any ulterior motives to fucking you other than the fact that I crave your pussy around my cock every second of the fucking day."

She licks her lips as she fixates on mine. "Okay."

I kiss her hard, relishing the way she tastes on my tongue. "I'm doing all of this because…" I press my forehead to hers. "Because I fucking love you. I've loved you since that night in the bathroom at Wickford Hollow."

She smiles and clutches my hands to her chest. "Riot… I love you so fucking hard it hurts sometimes."

I kiss her again, softer this time, as I explore her sweet mouth with my tongue. "You're my ruin and my death, Firecracker. And I hate you just as much as I love you."

She sniffles as she laughs. "Right back at ya, psycho."

I hold her to my chest for a little longer before I drive her back to campus. I know she'll succeed in convincing Felix. Maureen Blackwell is impossible to resist. He's only prolonging the inevitable. He knew the second he first saw her that he'd do just about anything for her and anything to be next to her.

It starts as a quiet longing but then quickly festers into full-blown obsession. I almost wish I could be there to see the look on his face when she walks in, smelling of cum and sweat and filth.

I drop her off at the edge of the forest and give Valentin a nod as he arrives to keep watch. "If all goes well, we'll initiate him this weekend."

"Who the fuck would say no to being in Nocturnus?" Val grumbles. He lights up a joint and leans back against a tree.

The shadows inside me flutter. "No one if they know what's good for them."

Val takes a puff off the joint and passes it to me. His cheeks bulge as he holds in the smoke before blowing it out. "Our fathers have no fucking clue the destruction that's coming for them."

Nocturnus is meant to be ours. Not theirs. They're too greedy and sloppy to be in charge. They disrespect the very principles on which it was founded. But their first mistake was fucking with my firecracker.

They crossed a line they can't come back from. So, now they have to face their reckoning.