The smell of lavender and sage surrounds me as soon as I step foot into Grim Gate Academy. It’s Monday afternoon, and the school is alive. It’s the lunch hour for the older students, and I stop, standing in the passage that looks into the great hall for a moment. With only a few minutes left before the tables will magically clear, some students rush to finish eating while others practice spells before going to class to be tested on them. The day is going on like normal, with everyone blissfully unaware of how close we are to total destruction.
I get hit with nostalgia anytime I walk through the large double doors to the Academy, and today is no exception. It’s my safe house, the first place I ever considered home, and I know many others feel the same. Binx trots along next to me as we head toward Evander’s office where Lucas is waiting out the sun. Binx a bit of a celebrity around here, and two witches leaving the great hall point to him.
“Is that Binx?” one whispers to the other. “Callie Martin’s familiar?”
“Does that mean she’s—” Her friend cuts off when she sees me. Both girls look like they’ve been caught in the act.
“It’s Callie King now,” I tell them and rest a hand on my stomach, suddenly feeling old. There’s nothing like being married and pregnant to make you feel your age when you come back to your old school, right?
“Yes,” the first girl says. “You got married.”
“I did, and I’m here to find my husband.”
“Lucas is here?” the other rushes out. Her friend elbows her, and they both giggle. Lucas came to the school not long ago for an informative Q&A session about vampires. It was the first time a vampire was invited into the Academy like that, and he had quite the turnout and was especially popular with the female population here. “I mean, is he giving another presentation?”
“Not this time,” I say, knowing how disappointed she must be. “Sorry.”
“I’m Daksha,” she says, holding out her hand for me to shake.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Callie,” I say without thinking and then realize they already said my name. Dammit. “Which you already know.”
“Your ring is really pretty,” the other girls says, seeing it flash in the firelight when I extend my hand. “And I’m Katie.”
“Thanks, and it’s nice to meet you as well.”
Katie looks from my ring to my stomach, curiosity apparent on her face. It’s obvious I’m pregnant now, and my stomach is even more pronounced in these damn maternity shirts. Evander told me I’ve come up a few times while teaching magical history, but I have no idea if the curriculum has been updated to teach cursed vampire sex ed, since it’s not something really anyone else has to worry about.
“When are you due?”
“Katie!” Daksha hisses. “You can’t ask that. What if she’s not—”
“My aunt went to her baby shower yesterday. Lissa Abell.”
“Oh, right,” I say, remembering her from the witches Tabatha invited on my behalf. She’s on the coven’s council…and met my uncle Lucifer yesterday. “And mid-June.” I pat my belly. “She’s still got a while to keep cooking.”
“You’re having a girl? Awww, I bet she’s going to look just like you,” Daksha coos. “Do you have a name picked out?”
“I’m like ninety-nine percent sure we’re going with Elena,” I say, and this moment feels so fucking surreal. And in true Callie-style, a little voice in the back of my head tells me it doesn’t matter if the Horsemen take over, bringing carnage and destruction to the world. “And I think she’s going to look more like her dad.”
“Lucas,” both girls giggle, and I know exactly where their teenage minds are going.
“My aunt said your baby is a magical miracle,” Katie says.
“Considering her father is a sixteen-hundred-year-old vampire, that’s very true, and—ow. That was a crotch shot.” I rub my stomach.
“Is she still kicking?”
“Yeah, she’s doing somersaults, I think.”
“Awwww, can I?” Daksha reaches out, and I nod. Katie puts her hand on my stomach too, and they both gush over Elena moving around. A few more students leave the great hall, and another girl joins us. She’s holding Freya, and I’m not surprised she shadowed ahead and demanded attention. Pandora is here somewhere as well, probably checking out the Academy’s garden so she can come back and give me shit about how bad of a gardener I am. I’ve tried to tell her it would just be unfair if I was a master herb grower on top of having multiple active powers, but since her specialty is making potions, Pandora won’t buy it.
“It’s Callie,” Katie whispers to the girl holding Freya.
“I was right!” The girl nuzzles her head against Freya, and my tabby cat eats it all up. “This is one of her familiars!”
“Oh!” Daksha exclaims. “I felt a kick!”
The girl holding Freya moves in, putting her hand on my stomach as well. I’m at my limit of having my personal space invaded, and I don’t really get the appeal of feeling some random person’s baby moving around.
“Please tell me you’re informing our seniors on the importance of safe sex and how they most definitely don’t want a baby for a few more years.” Ruby comes up next to me and raises her eyebrows, hands going to her hips.
“Oh, totally. Safe sex is hot. Wait, no. Abstinence is hotter.”
“Stop while you’re ahead.” Ruby laughs, and I pull her in for a hug.
“Thank you,” I whisper before letting her go.
“Professor Darrows is friends with you?” Katie asks, and I have to stifle a laugh from her shock. Ruby was a stickler for rules when we were students and is even more so now that she’s a professor. I’m not exactly who you’d guess Ruby would hang out with.
“We go way back,” I tell them. “We graduated from this very school together.”
“As much as I know Callie would love to answer all your burning questions, you three need to get to class.” She looks at her watch. “Which starts in five minutes.”
The girl holding Freya sets her down, and all three girls spend a full minute saying goodbye, telling me how cute I look with a pregnant stomach. I hear Daksha tell Katie she hopes she looks like that when she has a baby.
“If they all get vampire boyfriends over the summer, it’s your fault.” Ruby elbows me.
“At least you wouldn’t have to worry about them becoming teen moms.”
Ruby snorts a laugh. “That’s an interesting silver lining.” She motions with her head for me to follow her. “I’m assuming you’re here for your vampire.”
“I am, and to yell at you all for making me miss the action.”
“It wasn’t my idea,” she says, holding up her hands. “I was under the impression you were coming, though—and don’t hate me—I worry about you too. How you haven’t had a total meltdown is beyond me, and this is the only baby you—” She closes her eyes. “Shit. Sorry. I’m running on like no sleep and meant to say that in my head.”
“You’re right.” I see no point in disagreeing or living in denial. “It’s the only baby Lucas and I will ever have that’s biologically ours. I’m getting into the final stretch of pregnancy and need her to stay put as long as possible.”
“It’s not just that,” Ruby continues. “I can’t stand it when people act like a pregnant woman is suddenly made of glass, but we’d be lying to ourselves if we didn’t acknowledge how important it is to be more careful now that you’re pregnant. I meant that I’m worried about you. Really, how you’re able to hold it together, I’m both impressed and concerned.”
“I just deal,” I say with a shrug.
“Do you?” Ruby’s brows push together. “Look, I don’t want to overstep, especially since it wasn’t that long ago that we, uh, weren’t friends. And I don’t want any of my friends going through a breakdown. Been there, done that, and I know they’re not fun.”
“Shit, Ruby, I’m sorry.”
“I’m good now. My point is, Callie, you have more power than anyone. I’m worried what could happen.”
“That’s fair.” Both Binx and Freya wind around my legs as we walk, and my mind goes back to Lucifer’s words yet again. I’m holding back, afraid to use my power. And I am. I’m terrified of using what’s inside of me and alerting all the cosmos of where I am. My dad and Julian can only throw the others off my trail for so long before I’m caught.
And just like Tabatha said, it won’t solely be me who’s punished.
“Lucas has suggested we go to one of his other properties somewhere far from Thorne Hill for a week or two. I’m still in the okay-to-travel window for another month or so. Maybe I should take him up on that offer.”
“He owns houses all over the world, right?”
“Right.”
“Then get your ass somewhere tropical. Even six months pregnant you’ll still look good in a bikini.”
“Moon-bathing on a warm beach with Lucas does sound really fucking nice.”
“Do it,” she encourages. “You deserve some time off.”
“Yeah,” I say with a forced smile. “Where is everyone else? I got the notes that things went okay, but did it really?”
“The, uh, process wasn’t easy, but it was successful.” Another professor walks by in a hurry, saying a rushed hello to us. “And Noah should recover. He’s in the infirmary with Sister Celeste now. We’re actually lucky the demon sought out a werewolf in an attempt to get to you. A human wouldn’t have survived with minimal damage, and chances are the demon would have jumped before we had a chance to contain it.”
“Yeah, I guess it all worked out.” We turn down another hall and walk in silence.
“I have papers to grade, and then I might try and catch a nap before my next class,” Ruby says, pausing outside her office door. “I’ll see you at dinner?”
I mentally count down the hours until I drop another bomb on my friends. “I’ll be there.”
We part ways, and I continue down the hall and up a flight of stairs. The door to the current headmaster’s office is open, and Binx and Freya run inside to wrestle with Pricilla, the headmaster’s fat white cat—who is one hundred percent just a normal cat and not a familiar.
“Take it easy on the old girl,” I tell my familiars with a laugh. They’ll never admit it, but they love acting like normal cats as well. I watch them tumble around for a minute, and some of the tension leaves me. Knowing I’m just seconds away from being back in my dead lover’s arms helps even more.
Stopping outside the door, I flick my wrist and telekinetically open it. Lucas is sitting at the desk with a large book open in front of him.
“Callie.” Lucas looks up, fangs already drawn, and speeds over. He takes me in his arms, closing the door behind us. Without a word, he puts his mouth to mine and presses me against the wall. My arms wrap around him, and we kiss with fervor.
“You’re really okay?” I pant between kisses. Lucas picks me up, carrying me to the desk. For a split second, everything in the world feels okay. My heart skips a beat as I look upon my husband’s face. We’ve only been apart a few hours and I missed him so damn much.
“I’m perfectly fine, my love. But please, strip me bare and inspect every inch of me if it makes you feel better.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
“That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.” He smirks, making my insides feel all squishy and sending a desperate need for him though my very core.
We kiss again, and Lucas puts his lips to my neck, fangs scraping over my skin. My eyes flutter shut and I rake a hand through his hair, fingers tangling in his dark curls. He puts his lips back on mine, and my entire body goes into overdrive, reeling from both his touch and the very fact that we’re together again. Call me pathetic but I don’t care. Since Lucas and I got married, we haven’t really been apart. I love him with every fiber of my being, and while I don’t need to spend every waking moment next to him, having him near brings me a sense of peace and comfort.
“I was so worried,” I pant between kisses.
“I know,” he growls. “I didn’t like it, but in the end, I agreed it was worth the risk to keep you safe.” He pushes me back on the desk, moving between my legs. I can feel his cock start to harden against me, and the thought of that big thing pulverizing me almost does me in right here and now. “You are everything to me, Callie. Every fucking thing. I won’t put you in harm’s way, and if that pisses you off, so be it. I’ll risk myself before I risk you.” His dark blue eyes search mine. “I refuse to accept a world without you in it.”
“I don’t want to not be in this world,” I say, fumbling over my words. I’m nowhere near as eloquent as Lucas, and I can only hope he finds that part of my charm. “I fucking hate being sidelined, but I get it, Lucas. I do. And I know it wasn’t your choice to kick me to the curb while everyone else partook in a historic exorcism.”
“Fuck,” Lucas chides, hardly able to keep the grin off his face.
“What?”
“Our daughter is going to have your flare for drama and your knack for getting into trouble.” His eyes meet mine, and we both laugh. Resting his forehead against mine for a moment, Lucas runs his hands down my body, tracing the lines of my hips. He grips my thighs, parting them as he drops to his knees.
“Silentium,” I pant, eyeing the door before my head falls back. Lucas curls his fingers around the elastic waistband of my leggings, ready to pull them down.
“No one has ever fucked you in the headmaster’s office, have they?” he growls.
“Technically, this is the assistant headmaster’s office. But no. No one has even come close.”
“Until now.” In a swift movement, Lucas removes my leggings, laying me back on the desk. He kisses his way up my thigh, and my body hums with anticipation. Whatever book Lucas was reading clatters to the ground, but neither one of us pays it any mind. Lucas turns his head, mouth brushing over my core. His fangs bite against my skin, pressing against me enough to cause a little bit of pain but not hard enough to break through my flesh.
Heat floods through me, and I buck my hips, unable to wait much longer, even though we just got started.
“Do you…do you still want me to put on that uniform?” I run my fingers through his hair, urging his mouth to my core again. Lucas moves his head back and straightens up, towering over me. Fuck, he makes me feel so small and innocent beneath him. With a devilish smirk on his face, he extends a hand and helps me to my feet.
“I want you to take everything off while I watch.”
He steps back, giving me room as he looks at me with an insatiable hunger in his eyes. My heart is hammering in my chest. Lucas can hear it, wanting my blood almost as much as he wants my body. It’s empowering knowing the effect I have on him. I can bring this otherwise-stoic vampire to his knees despite feeling inexperienced before him.
“You are so fucking beautiful,” he groans as I look him right in the eye and pull my shirt over my head. I let it drop to the ground in front of the desk and reach around, unhooking my bra. I let the straps fall down one by one, using magic to hold it up in order to further tease Lucas. The way he’s always been able to control himself impressed me from day one, when it comes to resisting my blood as well as taking his time with sex.
I’m a selfish lover and get impatient, needing him now and not thinking I can withstand another second without his lips on mine, his hands around my waist, and his cock thrusting in and out of me. Hooking my thumbs into the sides of my underwear, I slip them down inch my inch until I get to my thighs, which is about as far as I can easily bend over right now anyway. I turn around once they fall, putting a hand on the desk for balance when I step out of them.
Moving with vampire speed, Lucas comes up behind me. He wraps one arm around me, and the other goes between my legs. Lips parting, I rest my head back against Lucas, whose deft fingers are working their magic already, stroking my clit in such a way I could come in a matter of minutes, standing here while my knees threaten to buckle.
He brushes my hair back and kisses my neck, fangs still out. It hurts every time he bites me, but I’ve come to enjoy the rush of pain and the sensation of my blood being sucked out of my body. He slowly moves his mouth down, finding the spot to bite where I won’t bleed out. It would be easy to hit the wrong spot and even easier to nick an artery without meaning to. I’ve never once worried about Lucas hurting me or drinking too much of my blood. Even before I knew I was a Nephilim with accelerated healing abilities, it wasn’t a fear. I’ve trusted Lucas pretty much from the start, even though never trust a vampire had been drilled into my head.
I’m on the brink of an orgasm when he bites down hard, fangs puncturing my skin. He waits a few seconds, letting the blood pool on the surface before he licks it off and then puts his mouth back to me, sucking hard.
“Don’t stop,” I groan, widening my legs. How Lucas is able to feed and pleasure me at the same time is beyond me. Lucas sucks harder and moves his fingers faster. I grip the desk, feeling everything inside me tighten up. My lips part and my breath hitches as the orgasm rolls through me. Lucas slips two fingers inside me right as my pussy spasms, hitting me in the perfect spot to send another wave of pleasure through me.
This time, my knees really do buckle, and Lucas takes his mouth off me so he can hold me up, stroking me and drawing out my pleasure. Blood rolls down my neck, dripping over my collarbone and onto my breasts. Lucas holds me against him, giving me time to recover.
Then he turns me around and licks the blood from my breast, tongue flicking my nipple. I suck in a breath and hook my arm around his shoulder, still needing to hold onto him for support. Slowly, he works his way up to my neck and drinks from the puncture wounds once more, taking in another mouthful of blood. He licks the wounds and puts his fingers over them, needing to apply pressure to help my blood start to clot.
He moves his mouth to mine, smearing a bit of blood on my lips, and kisses me with fury. He picks me up, able to hold me with ease, and lays me down on the rug next to the fireplace. There’s no fire going today, but the smell of burning logs clings to the old stone.
“Put your fingers here,” he tells me, moving my hand to where he bit me. With my heart beating fast like this, the wound takes a bit longer to heal. He licks the blood off his own fingers and undoes his pants, pulling them down and moving between my legs. My body is still humming with pleasure, and we’re far from done yet.
I bring my free hand down and wrap my fingers around his thick cock, pumping up and down, spreading the precum from the tip to the base. Lucas holds himself over me, forehead against mine as I work my hand, and then dives down, kissing me and pushing my hand away. The wet tip of his cock rubs against my clit. Already worked up, it sends another pulse of pleasure through me, and I know it won’t take much for me to come again.
Taking my hand off my neck, I conjure a small string of magic. It twists around my fingers, sparking with electricity. I zap it against Lucas’s chest, forcing him back. He lets out a guttural growl, staring me down with animalistic lust.
Shoving him back, I use magic to strip him of his shirt and then climb on top, taking hold of his cock with one hand and slowly lowering myself onto him. His big cock fills every inch of me, and Lucas holds onto my waist as I start moving my hips up and down. Letting my eyes fall shut, I take hold of one of his hands and put his fingers against my clit.
“Oh, fuck,” I moan, body shuddering as I come again. Lucas pushes me down on him, rocking his hip faster and faster. I lean forward, unable to completely bend to kiss him because my belly is in the way. He comes right after I do and then gently lays me down, pulling me into his arms.
I’m panting, heart racing, and still floating on bliss. I nuzzle my head against him, perfectly content in this moment. He rolls over and kisses me. I can still taste my blood on his lips, yet it doesn’t bother me. It makes me want to taste his blood again, and in the back of my mind, I know that’s wrong. Disgusting, even. Blood sharing is a thing between vampires, something I’ll never fully understand, and something I didn’t know vampires wanted humans to partake in until Lucas stabbed himself and told me to drink from him.
“So, I missed you.” I walk my fingers up Lucas’s firm chest.
“I missed you too, my love.” He props himself up on his elbow so he can look at me. We haven’t had a chance in a while to just lie here like this and be together. We don’t have the time now. I should really get dressed because I’m naked in the middle of Evander’s office. Holy shit. I’m naked in the middle of Evander’s office. Anyone could come in. I cast a silencing spell on the room, making it so no one could hear what was going on, but I didn’t cast any sort of spell to keep anyone out.
“Can you get my clothes?”
“You know I much prefer you naked.”
I grin. “I like you naked too, but we’re in at the Academy in the middle of a school day.”
“Buzz kill,” Lucas jokes and retrieves my clothes for me. We both get dressed, and Lucas pulls me into his lap, sitting on one of the chairs in front of Evander’s desk. “How are you doing?” he asks, and I know that he means it. He wants the good and the bad from me.
“Ruby said something that made me realize I don’t think I’ve been dealing well because I’m not dealing. It’s almost like…like I don’t have time to process things, because if I take the time to let it sink in, the next disaster is going to strike.”
“That makes sense,” he says, surprising me a bit. “You have to give yourself time to breathe.”
“It’s hard to breathe when I’m barely able to keep my head above water.”
“Callie.” He cups my face and turns my chin to his. “We had this talk. I’m a very good swimmer. And I can hold my breath for a very long time. Whenever you need to breathe, whenever you feel like you can’t get enough air, tell me.”
Tears spring to my eyes, and I nod, sliding one hand up Lucas’s arm. “I love you.”
“I love you more than you’ll ever know.”
I rest my head against his chest and sit with him in silence for a few minutes. “I have to tell everyone about the Horsemen. Eliza knows now. We had time to talk while I waited for the transfer to happen. She handled it better than I expected because she thinks I’m going to come up with a plan and swoop in to save the day.”
“You’re doubtful?”
I shrug. “I don’t want to be, but I’m at a total loss on how to beat something not even Lucifer could.”
“Have you ever considered the real possibility that you are indeed more powerful than any of your archangel relatives?”
I give Lucas an incredulous look. “They’re immortal.”
“Immortality doesn’t make you powerful. I don’t age, don’t get sick, heal in seconds, and am much faster and stronger than you, but I’m a fool. If it came down to me or you, you would win.” His fingers sweep over my collarbone as he pushes my messy hair back. “The magic inside of you is stronger than anything I’ve seen before, but you also have another side, and your divinity hasn’t been fully unlocked yet. Your father and Lucifer have powers, but they can’t cast spells the same way you do.”
“When we created the portal to escape Hell, Lucifer gave my witch-powers a boost. It’s what he used to do when witches worshipped him so he could trick us into thinking he was the source of our powers, but that’s beside the point. Maybe…maybe there is some sort of spell I can do. If Lucifer can give me a dark-power boost, then surely my dad can do the same. Well, if I ever see him again.”
“You will.” Lucas’s hand lands on my stomach. “We both know he’s going to want to meet his granddaughter.”
“Her father is a vampire, and her grandpa is Michael the Archangel. Poor kid is going to get a lot of attention when she comes here.”
“Don’t forget her badass mother,” Lucas says with a smile. “Who killed demons, rescued the coven, and saved the world a few times.”
“That’ll make her either really popular or the school freak.”
“Were you the school freak?” he asks carefully. “You’ve always been more powerful than other witches.”
“I think in more ways than I want to admit, but it was out of jealousy. Totally opposite of what went on with the Martins. It’s why Ruby couldn’t stand me for years. I always did better than her, and I was just this random girl with no background in magic, yet I could out-witch her. Felix had issues with it too.” I give Lucas a pointed look, telling him not even to go there and be all jealous about me bringing up an ex-boyfriend. “He was a year ahead of me, and I was the one helping him with homework.”
He grunts, not liking the idea that anyone else had their hands on me.
“We’ll have to see how things are in like seven years.” I move Lucas’s hand to my lower stomach so he can feel our baby moving. “But if we’re still in good graces with the coven, you’ll be able to come to orientation. We’ll have to arrive at night and enchant every window.”
“We’ll figure it out when the time comes,” Lucas says in such a way that makes me think it won’t be possible. Enchanting one room for him to hide out in during the day can go by unnoticed. But enchanting the entire Academy so a vampire can freely walk about? Yeah, that won’t go over well with the parents.
“I’m pretty sure Evander has yearbooks in here from the years we went to school. Want to see them?” I ask Lucas.
“Very much so.”
“Good.” Smiling, I go around Evander’s desk, looking through the bookshelves. “Ah, found them. I’m not in the first few, but we can laugh at Evander’s hair at least. And if we go slowly, this will keep us entertained until sunset and then we can go home.”
“What happened to telling your friends about the Horsemen?”
“I’ll tell them later.” I get all nervous just thinking about it. “I hate ruining their day, and this puts quite the damper on not just today but, uh, forever.”
“Callie,” Lucas says gently. “You can’t keep this from them. In my experience, the longer you wait to drop said bomb, the worse the detonation.”
“I know,” I agree, bringing a yearbook over. He’s right, and the pin has already been pulled from the grenade. Not telling my friends won’t save them from falling victim to the Horsemen’s wrath…if they haven’t already.