Of Beasts and Blood: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Arcane Arts Academy Book 3) Read online

  OF BEASTS & BLOOD

  ARCANE ARTS ACADEMY: BOOK THREE

  ELENA Lawson

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Copyright © 2019 Elena Lawson

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Characters, incidents, and dialogs are products of the author’s

  imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events is strictly

  coincidental.

  1

  My heart thudded wildly in my chest as we moved through the trees in the dark. Elias rubbed soothing circles into the back of my hands. He didn’t try to soothe me with words of reassurance. He was just there, and there was all I needed him to be right now.

  Up ahead we saw where the trees began to thin. The moon cast their long shadows onto the carpet of the forest in strong black bars. Like a phantom cage, waiting to take us into its iron arms and never let us go.

  I swallowed past a lump in my throat and bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself steady.

  I didn’t have the faintest idea what to expect when we arrived. How did an alpha release two wolves from his pack? What sort of process was it? Would they be harmed?

  My skin bristled against the chill of the late hour. It was almost midnight, and the moon was high and full—in a sky clear of clouds. I realized a little belatedly, that I should have done a bit more research to know what I was walking into. But between headmistress Granger, and the visits from the Arcane Authorities, I haven’t had time for much of anything these past two weeks.

  We cleared the outer perimeter of trees, and I let go of Elias’ hand. It’d become second nature—hiding our… well, whatever it was we had from the world.

  The pack camp was quiet. The fire pits spaced around the area were all near dead. Merely embers. And the lamps in the first few cabins were extinguished. Giving the whole space an eerie, miasmal feeling that crawled up my spine to nest behind my breastbone.

  “Where are they?” I heard myself ask aloud.

  Elias tilted his head, listening. “I’m not sure.”

  Atlas already knew I was coming. I’d told Cal and Adrian I would be here for them when they came to visit several days before. I would have come with or without Granger’s permission, but since everything was out in the open now, I thought it better to at least ask.

  She’d relented, but only when I told her I’d agree to bring Elias—er—Professor Fitzgerald with me for protection.

  Elias stayed close by my side as we delved deeper into the camp, listening for the sounds of wolves and men. He was tense. The muscles in his jaw and temple taut and grinding, but damn if the moonlight playing off the planes of his face didn’t make him look like a god on earth.

  I cleared my throat, getting back to the task at hand.

  “Harper?” The female voice threw me off guard and I nearly tumbled into Elias when I jumped at the sound.

  Elias steadied me, removing his hands from my arms the moment my feet were planted firmly on the ground.

  “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

  “Stella?”

  She came out from the shadows of a walkway between two cabins, her long hair swishing back and forth against a simple white shift. Despite what was about to happen to her son, she walked with an air of confidence. Of non-apologetic defiance that made me respect her even more than I already did.

  Stella didn’t quite smile, but her nod of acknowledgment was enough for me to know she wasn’t upset I’d come.

  “And who’s this?” she asked, coming to stand before Elias and me. Her golden eyes glowed faintly as she took Elias in—measuring him as though trying to decide if he would taste as good as he looked.

  “Uh,” I stammered, stepping into her path. “This is El—I mean—this is Professor Fitzgerald. He’s the Arcane History teacher at the academy.”

  “And your bodyguard it would seem.”

  I gave Elias a glance out of the corner of my eye and found him curiously watching the older woman. He really wasn’t going to help me out here?

  “Sort of, I guess,” I tried to explain, wringing my hands in the hem of my blouse. “It was the only way I was allowed to come.”

  “Hmm,” she snorted derisively. “Why? Because we’re the ones who are so dangerous? If I recall correctly, you left here unscathed save for the wounds your own kind inflicted upon you.”

  Couldn’t argue with that.

  “You’re right. But the others are wary,” I acquiesced, turning to Elias while stepping out of my protective stance at his front. “Elias,” I said, gesturing to the sly old crone. “This is Stella. She’s Adrian’s mother.”

  “A pleas—” he started, lifting a hand as though he expected her to shake it. A mistake I also made once upon a time.

  Stella put her hands on her wide hips instead, and somehow managed to look up at him and down on him at the same time when she said, “You won’t be permitted to attend the ceremony. Atlas doesn’t know you from Adam, and neither do I or the rest of the pack.”

  My stomach fell.

  “In the state he’s in, you’d be lucky if Atlas didn’t throw you out on your ass, young man, and only after kicking up a downright awful stink about the whole thing.”

  Stella then turned her attention to me. “He might throw you out, too, just for spite.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. He stays behind, or neither of you comes. I’m too old to play referee.”

  Elias set a gentle hand on my shoulder, drawing my attention back to him. He didn’t say anything at all for an immeasurable second, but the strain in his eyes was enough to speak of his discomfort. Please.

  You have to let me go.

  He nodded as though hearing my thoughts. “I’ll wait just beyond the tree line for you. You’ll be safe?”

  Relief flooded my veins, chasing the magic I didn’t notice had risen back down into the earth. I gave him the most assuring smile I could. “I will. Promise.”

  “Fine,” he said sharply, stepping away.

  Elias ran a fisted hand through his hair and sighed, giving Stella one last appraisal. “I’m trusting you to return her to me safely,” he said to her, and didn’t wait for a response before adding, “If Granger asks, I went with you. I was there the entire time. She can’t know I left your side.”

  “Then she won’t.”

  After unburdening myself of so many other secrets that had been weighing me down, I didn’t exactly want to add anything new to the pile, but judging by the icy look in Elias’ eyes, I knew things would not bode well for him at the academy if I didn’t do as he asked.

  Tearing his gaze from me, he spun on his heel and stalked back into the dar
kness beyond the canopy of leaves.

  “My boys were right,” Stella mused, turning to head in the opposite direction. “You don’t like to follow rules, do you?”

  I flinched, wondering if she realized what was between Elias and I, or if she was simply referring to lying to my headmistress. After a second, I rushed to follow her down the dirt trail, deciding I really didn’t want to know.

  “Wait,” I called after her, and she paused. I noticed then that her feet were bare. And when she turned back to face me, I saw in the blue-tinted light that her eyes were alight, and the shadows beneath her eyes had deepened. I gulped. “Will they—” I started, but couldn’t finish, afraid to hear the answer.

  My blood chilled as her deadpan stare penetrated through me. She sighed heavily. “They’ll be alright. They’re in no mortal danger, but the severing of the bond can be quite painful.”

  My eyes stung with the sudden urge to cry. I didn’t want to see them in pain—not ever again. They’d been through enough. Endured enough.

  “How do you not hate me?” I blurted before I could stop myself. “This is all my fault.”

  “It is,” she said simply, and my heart cracked. A tear fell. “And it isn’t. My boys are just as rebellious as you. Adrian has always been difficult to control. And Cal has the blood of an alpha in his veins. I’ve known it since he was a boy. He was born to lead. This,” she hissed. “Was an eventuality. You merely spurred it into fruition.”

  Some of the awfulness dissipated, and I was able to breathe again. She didn’t like me all that much—I’d known that from the start, but it was clear in that moment that she didn’t hate me either, and that was a comforting thought.

  “Neither you nor they asked for this,” Stella continued, moving in to put a hesitant arm around my shoulders, tucking me into her side. “And how could I ever hate the girl who brought my boys home safe, hmmm? How could I hate the girl they love?”

  My body tensed at the uttering of the word. She was wrong, of course, as mothers sometimes were.

  They didn’t love me. They were bonded to me.

  There was a difference, though I understood how it would be hard to tell the two apart. From the outside looking in, I’d bet they looked similar.

  “Thank you,” I said, relaxing as her warmth soaked into me, forcing my taut muscles to relax.

  “Hush now, dear,” she whispered and released me back to the cool evening air. “Come, let’s go or we’ll miss the whole thing. They won’t wait forever.”

  Stella led me to the eastern edge of the shifter camp, and then into the trees on the other side. Their voices rose to meet us after only a few minutes of stumbling through the dark. Stella biting back laughter at my complete inability to remain on two feet.

  We approached a small meadow and within two steps my feet went from dry earth to long grass, the swishing sound of it swaying in the breeze crackling in my ears.

  There they were. Cal and Adrian stood with the other Endurans in the pack, exchanging hushed words, waiting.

  At the sound of our approach, they turned, and twin smiles lit up two of the most handsome faces I’d ever known. I tried to match their enthusiasm, feeling the tugging of the bond, and the release of tension. The surge of power as their energy shifted to support me.

  I resisted the urge to shiver at the rush of power. Since I did the dark magic locator spell with Stella’s blood, I’d be overly cautious with my power. Working double-time to keep it in check and within my control. Not allowing it to take me over like it almost did that night.

  Blood magic left a stain on the witch who wielded it, and even though it’d been weeks, the stain on my soul remained. Like a tiny little part of me that was just bad now. Rotted. Decayed.

  I didn’t ever want to do it again.

  Cal came to me first, seeming to completely abandon the conversation he was having with a man I knew to be Blake—Atlas’ second in command.

  “Hey—” I started, but before I got more than the single word from my lips, he’d smothered me in an embrace that would put a boa constrictor to shame. The breath whooshed from my lungs, and since he had my arms wrapped up with the rest of me, I couldn’t even hug him back.

  “Can’t… breathe,” I sputtered.

  He dropped me instantly, and I landed on my tailbone in the grass. “Shit,” he cursed, and hauled me back up, giving me a bit of whiplash in the process. I winced.

  “Man. What the fuck? You’re going to break her,” Adrian said, stepping between Cal and me.

  Cal grimaced. “Guess I don’t know my own strength,” he said by way of apology, and cleared his throat.

  Once I got my breath back, I couldn’t help but smile at the pair of them. Was it guilty to think that after today—without their pack holding sway over them? Without Atlas holding sway over them—that they could be mine. Truly mine. They could do as they pleased.

  And I hoped I was one of the things they wanted to do. I mean, well, not do, but you know, like, be around.

  I shook my head.

  “I missed you,” I told them both, and Adrian spun to tug me into an overly tender hug of his own. Pulling back too soon, but not before he got a good handful of my rear and brushed a tiny kiss against the hollow dip in my neck, sending shockwaves coursing over my body—making my thighs squeeze and my stomach flutter.

  Reeling, I regained my footing. Blinking rapidly to clear the haze of desire.

  I hadn’t expected this.

  I expected a horrid evening of stress and other ugly emotions, but they seemed almost… excited. Maybe Stella was right—maybe they’d just been waiting for this to happen all along. Maybe on some deeper level, they knew it would come, and yearned for it.

  I couldn’t be certain. It was just as likely they were putting on brave faces for me, but the thought made me feel a little better.

  “Save the hellos for after the ceremony,” Stella chastised. “And for pete’s sake, have a little decency,” she chided, swatting Adrian on the back of the head.

  “Mom!”

  I couldn’t help it, I laughed, and Adrian growled at the sound. His yellow eyes glinting in the light as his inner wolf reared its head in indignation.

  “And I’m going to break her?” Cal added insult to injury, giving Adrian a little pat on the top of his head. “Down boy.”

  Adrian tackled his adopted brother, changing into wolf form so fast he was just a blur of skin and fur and shredded cargo shorts. And then he was snapping at Cal’s laughing face on the ground.

  I gasped, jumping back from them. What the hell was I getting myself into with these two?

  Cal wrangled Adrian’s wolf, tucking the great beast’s head into a stranglehold all while maintaining a wide smile and a light in his green eyes I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen in him before.

  I tensed as Adrian whimpered, wondering if I should do something. Stop them, or shout at them. Something.

  Just when I was starting to think their play fighting was actually real fighting, Atlas sauntered slowly into the meadow on all fours. His massive black wolf snarling its discontent at what it saw. His deep amber eyes hungry and searching. Even though it wasn’t all that cool of an evening, the breath leaving Atlas’ snout steamed.

  “Boys!” Stella shouted, and the two immediately separated.

  Cal jumped to his feet, going back over to where the others were across the meadow, and Adrian shifted to move into position next to him, his hands tucked behind his back, covering up a fair portion of his tight glutes.

  I resisted the urge to see what was on the other side of him when Atlas shifted back to human form, too. Shoving his long dark hair back from his face. The tattoos on his arms and torso looked like the shadows of the night clinging to his skin. He tilted his head to one side, cracking his neck.

  The gathering grew silent at his approach.

  “Nervous?” A whisper-soft voice spoke next to my ear.

  Somehow, I wasn’t surprised to see him. After all, why wouldn’t a vamp
ire be at a bond severing ceremony for Endurans? Made total sense.

  “What are you doing here, Draven?” I whispered, glad we were so far removed from the main group that I didn’t think Atlas or any of the other pack could hear us.

  He moved to stand beside me and shrugged. “I have some business with Atlas when this is through.”

  I raised my brows at the vagueness of his statement, waiting for him to elaborate. He didn’t.

  Atlas was chatting with his pack—the ceremony hadn’t begun yet. Good. I had time.

  “Well, I’m glad you showed up,” I said despite myself. This wasn’t the place, but I didn’t know when I would see him again, and I needed to know… “Now I can ask you why the hell you were on academy grounds the other night.”

  He didn’t answer me, and a lick of fury inflamed my cheeks. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

  But I already knew the answer. Who else would it have been?

  I’d seen him from my window. He’d been perched on the roof of the west wing of the academy. Just sitting there all menacing and brooding and stuff. I thought I’d imagined it—or maybe dreamed it, but judging by his silence, I had to assume I’d been right.

  “I owe you a debt,” he said after a moment. “With your council denying any witch involvement, you aren’t safe. The witch who burned down the warehouse is still out there, and it’s only a matter of time until they find you.”

  My blood ran cold.

  “You assume they’re looking. What if they’re not?”

  He gave me a look that said really, Harper? You’re smarter than that.

  And he was right. I was smarter than that. Which was why despite both the Arcane Council and the Arcane Authorities denying what I plainly saw, I’d decided to take matters into my own hands.