Page 54 of Black Onyx
“Something has changed between you both since then, he knows you better, and as for Storm, Reaper knows that he would never harm you and that you are never in actual danger no matter how vicious your verbal sparring gets.” He pauses, letting me absorb it all for a second before he adds, “can I ask you a question?”
The curiosity burning in his eyes is a dead giveaway that my answer is important, and it makes me infinitely curious.
“Yeah, sure, go for it,” I reply.
“Are you scared of him now?”
“No,” I reply without hesitation, “not even for a second, and maybe I should be. Maybe I will be later when I really think about it, but I’m not.”
He looks contemplative for a moment as we make our way to the stables, “I had a feeling you were going to say that. Just promise me that you will be careful, his beast is something else entirely, and not even we can calm him when he comes out.”
I nod and then add, my voice sad, “Poor Reaper, that has to be so fucking difficult fighting against a part of you all the fucking time, worrying about what could happen if he can’t keep that control over that part. It must be exhausting.”
Mayhem looks at me, astonished, like he’d never really considered it properly, and guilt quickly follows. I leave him to it as I dismount Revel and lead him into his stall. My mind is still stuck on Reaper, so when I come out of the stable block and see him talking to the others, I immediately make my way over to him. He sees me coming, but it still shocks him when I wrap my arms around his waist; I look up at him as he looks down at me curiously, his arms wrapping around me hesitantly.
“I just wanted you to know that I’m not scared of any part of you. I can’t even begin to imagine how exhausting it must be fighting against a part of yourself, and I think you’re truly amazing, both of you.”
He stills at my words, his eyes widening with astonishment at my acknowledgement and a rumbling purr comes from his chest that seems to shock him as his yellow eyes start to glow slightly.
“My beast liked that you acknowledged him. Little Warrior, that’s the first time he’s not tried to force himself forward or acted in anger.”
My smile widens, and after the emotions, I’ve just shared, I can’t help my snarky reply as I step back, “I’m just that fucking amazing, I guess.”
Loki’s snort of laughter makes me jump as I’d completely forgotten that the others were still near.
“You’re certainly amazing, Darling,” Killian agrees, pulling me closer as we all start towards the main building, his tail wraps around my thigh as we walk and it’s done it enough that it doesn’t making walking difficult.
“Where are we off to now?” I ask, ignoring Killian and making him chuckle.
“We need to give our report to the Headmaster. We do it verbally first and then write up a report too.” Rival explains.
“Well, this should be interesting.” I snark.
We get a lot of looks as we walk the halls, and I hadn’t really considered what we looked like until we got here. We’re dishevelled, dirty, and no doubt looking tired as hell. Eventually, we get to the Headmaster’s office, and this time we’re shown right into his private office, although the receptionist gives our attire a disdainful look.
The first thing I notice is the smarmy and proud smile on his face, which immediately falls as his eyes land on Reaper and me. Seriously, what is that all about?
Chapter Eighteen
“We’re here to give you our report, sir.” Storm says in a barely civil tone.
None of us has bothered to sit down, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. We’re tired, dirty and pissed off thanks to his misinformation. The Headmaster sighs heavily like we’re an inconvenience to him, his mood significantly soured now he’s laid eyes on Reaper and me.
“Very well. I assume it went well.”
“We handled it. However, it wasn’t a level one like the report stated, and the report also didn’t have any of the information it should’ve had.” Storm states bluntly. It surprises me because when I first arrived, he seemed to have a significant amount of respect for the Headmaster. Apparently, I read that situation wrong. It was less respect he was showing and more the need to use his connections to get rid of the Warrior bond.
The Headmaster, of course, bristles at his tone, “There was nothing wrong with the information you were given. Maybe your inexperience is showing through.”
Storm grits his teeth as a muscle in his jaw ticks at the tone the Headmaster is using, his horns predictably sparking, “With all due respect, sir, even if the others weren’t aware of the levels of rouges, Mayhem is.”
I try not to show my surprise at that statement and the fact that the Headmaster seems slightly chastised as he looks at Mayhem for confirmation. There’s so much that I don’t know about them, and I want to know.
“It was definitely not a level one. I’d say it was more like a level eight.” Mayhem says firmly, with no room for argument in his tone.
Storm then retakes the lead in the conversation and explains what happened in great detail. I’m impressed with the amount of information he’s managed to take in whilst fighting. He is only leaving out that Reaper nearly lost control, which considering the Headmaster’s interest in him, is a smart idea. The whole time he’s talking, I focus on the Headmaster, closely watching his reactions to what Storm is telling him.
He should be shocked, maybe even horrified, that on our first mission together, we were dealing with a level eight and not a level one like we were supposed to. He should maybe, even be angry that someone hasn’t done their research correctly and this was allowed to happen. After all, if it was a less experienced team that was sent on this job, then they could’ve ended up a lot worse off than we are.
