Celeste's POV
*****
"G–Good evening." I managed to find words after blinking at the mysterious man for what should have been several seconds.
His arms still held my shoulders.
They were... Cold. Yet so strong and steady. Made me feel like he could break me to dust if he wanted.
At the thought of that, I remembered our first meeting in the forest. The way he ripped that Vein beast in half like it was a nuisance. Cold sweat fell down my forehead.
"I... I..." I stuttered, cheeks heating up. Clearing my throat, I tried moving away from him. "I'm sorry for bumping into you. I—"
"Why should you be?" He finally spoke, tone as emotionless as I remembered.
However, it also held a hint of curiosity.
Those eyes. Gods, those eyes were still locked on me like he was in a trance, trying to unravel me and understand pieces of myself I probably didn't.
"Because I bumped into you?" Came my awkward response. "I was... My mind is occupied. And..."
I paused.
Hold up. Why the fuck was I opening up to this man? Someone whom I didn't know?
Suddenly, he let go of my shoulders, hands falling beside him. "Ah. Forgive my manners. I'm—"
"An enigma." I cut in, squinting. "You... You saved me that night. I was going to die and you just stepped in out of nowhere and acted like some... Knight."
His features didn't falter. But his eyes glowed with amusement.
"I am no knight, little miss." He took a step back, bowing slightly. "Azrael Vaelmont. A witch and a new student here."
Silence.
Azrael? As in—the angel of death?
Arching a brow, I gave him a once-over from his head to his toes. His suit was polished, I'll give him that. And that ring around his fingers—I was no expert but it had an aura of magic.
Despite all that—
"You're not a witch." I shook my head, taking a step back. "You... You tore a monster in half!" My voice nearly cracked. "There's no way a witch—"
"Strength augmentation spells." He raised his right hand, giving me a closer look at the ring. "And this ring holds back most of my magic. Hides my witch scent from wolves and other supernaturals."
Strength augmentation... The fuck?
"Why do I find it hard to believe you?" A strained whisper left my lips.
This part of the academy grounds was silent but I noticed a few students moving around the dorms section. A couple even had a moment to themselves, kissing under a wisteria tree with no care whatsoever.
"Believe me or not," Azrael's voice brought my attention back to him. "I mean you no harm."
He paused, eyes raking over my body. Not with lust, like most men might, but with a sharp, calculating intensity, as if memorising every detail.
"The same can't be said about the people in your life though. Can it?" He gently grasped my right wrist, as if handling an egg.
Raising it up, he pointed at a slight bruising around it. A bruising which was left there after Luther grabbed me—when I was about to strike him back in my room.
Flashes of the moment hit my mind like a lightning bolt. The disgust in Luther's eyes. The way he shielded Lysandra from me. The two of them fucking in my own bed!
Biting my bottom lip, I pulled my wrist out of Azrael's grip. "That's... That's nothing. Why are you trying to know so much about me anyway? We—"
His fingers caught my chin, causing a gasp to leave my lips. He forced my gaze—no, guided—to his, leaning down until our faces were inches away from each other.
"I'm not saying things that I don't already know, little miss." That voice that made my legs wobble rolled out of his tongue like a promise. "And about me wanting to know about you... I have a feeling you already have an answer for that."
My eyes widened.
He... Did he know about the mate bond?
Was I even sure it was a mate bond at this point? I had no wolf to make me know but STILL. Me? Four men?! Gods this—
"Celeste?!" A familiar voice cut through the serenity of the night like a blade, coming from the event hall building.
My heart leapt into my throat.
Caelum.
"Celeste? I can smell you, you know?" He continued, voice coming closer. "Wait... Okay, that sounded weird. Girl, just come out! You're in trouble with mom and Dad."
Azrael and I were standing in a corner, shaded by the long shadows from a store building.
I did NOT want to see my family right now.
"Your brother," Azrael muttered just then.
I tried ignoring him, scanning my eyes around. I needed somewhere to hide yesterday.
Suddenly, before I could collect my thoughts, two cold hands grabbed my shoulders. A gasp left my lips. One second we were standing out in the open.
The next, air whooshed past my face and we were standing in a cold, dark alleyway.
"How did you—" before I could finish that, Azrael placed a hand on my mouth, pressing my back against the cold wall of the building behind.
My chest heaved heavily. Breathing felt nigh impossible. How could I breathe when the man in front of me had his body pressed against mine?
"Shh." He hushed. Then he bobbed his head toward some trash cans close by.
I was so distracted by his scent that I didn't notice them.
"Our scents are masked." He continued, voice barely above a whisper. "You want to hide from him. Right?"
A single nod was all I could manage.
"Celeste?" Caelum's call came again. "Gods, you even left your phone off. If you're listening to me, this is not good at all!"
The worry in his voice almost made me give in. Maybe I was being a brat about this.
But then—
"Stay." Azrael's breath hit my face, soft and intoxicating. "With me."
His hand was still glued to my mouth. Body still mere millimetres away from pressing mine into the wall. And then his eyes... Goddess, Celeste!
'You sound so fucking dumb right now.' My thoughts were a chaotic storm. 'Just push him... This is... This is... So right? Fuck, what's happening to me?!'
Eventually, I closed my eyes. I couldn't concentrate with his eyes locked on me.
The sound of footsteps at the entrance of the alley made my body twitch underneath Azrael's hold. Caelum. He was getting closer...
"Last time she ran off after having an argument with that... No good jock Luther." His voice was gruff with frustration. "She almost got killed after that. I swear to the moon, if she does anything dumb because of some guy..."
Embarrassment flushed my cheeks but I resisted the urge to open my eyes. Or move.
So I focused on my heartbeat.
Thum... Thum... Thum...
Breathing slowly came back to me. My heart no longer felt like it was being hammered after drowning. But why—
"Caelum?!" A girl's voice shrieked with excitement far away, causing my heart to stutter.
"Oh, Aisha." My brother didn't sound all that pleased. "Have you seen my sister? She ran off after an argument with my parents."
"You're searching for her, huh?" Aisha asked the obvious.
Was it freshman Aisha or year three Aisha?
"Celeste has always been stubborn." That condescension in her voice—definitely year three Aisha.
"Let's go. I'll help you find her."
With that, the footsteps left the alleyway entrance. When my eyes opened, I almost closed them right back when I met Azrael's gaze glued on my face.
"Can you stop that?" I tried moving away from him, hands on his chest.
But his hands found my waist, holding me in place. "Hold..."
Gods have mercy—I was on my last freaking nerves!
I glared at him.
Why was I angry? Maybe because I didn't understand the effect he was having on me? Or because he's freakishly attractive and I hated myself for knowing that?
My mind was a rollercoaster ride right now—and not in a fun way.
"There." He finally took a couple of steps back, withdrawing his hands. "They're far enough."
Silence.
Standing there for a few awkward seconds, I didn't know what to say or do. All I could do was blink at the man who assisted me in avoiding my family drama.
"Come." Adjusting his outfit slightly, he gestured at the alley's entrance with a nod.
He didn't say anything else. He just walked, shadow stretching over me like a protective shield.
My heart beat was still erratic as fuck. It didn't take long for every other shadow in the alley to seem like beasts out to get me. Could've sworn I saw a glowing red eye peeping from one of the trash cans—Nope!
"Heck no..." I moved fast, waltzing quickly behind Azrael, who was already close to the other side.
When we got out of the alley, he glanced at me. "Afraid of the dark?"
I hugged myself, shaking my head. "More like afraid of being left alone..."
"Yet our first meeting was when you were alone." He said that like it was some ironic punchline.
And Celeste Bloodoak happened to be the joke.
A smile that didn't reach my eyes stretched my lips. "It's a defence mechanism as well as a fear. Being alone. When the world gets too..." The words died in my throat.
Flashes of all the memories I've shared with Luther, good and bad, hit my mind. From my first week in the academy. Me crushing hard on him when I watched him practice in the courtyards.
He was my safe space. I've subconsciously built my life so much around him, and now, all that was tainted by what he did.
"... Overwhelming?" Azrael grabbed my shoulder, forcing me to stop. "I believe that's the word you were searching for. Unless... You have something else in mind."
Moonlight highlighted his features like a painting.
I shivered when his fingers brushed up my shoulder blade agonizingly slow.
'Ask him if he's aware of the mate bond...' my inner voice screamed. 'He should be. Otherwise, this whole thing would be creepy.'
Swallowing hard, my lips finally parted to speak. He tilted his head, eyes burning with expectation. Like he already knew what I was about to say.
But before I could get even a word out—
"Ahhhhh!" A bone-chilling scream tore through the night, echoing around the entire academy like a siren call.
I froze, heart leaping into my throat as we turned our heads in the direction it came from.
The administrative building.
Azrael and I exchanged one look before we both ran toward the building. A few other students did the same, murmuring and asking questions no one knew the answer to.
Getting into the building, our search led us upstairs. To the office of the school's admissions officer.
Miss Benedicta.
The door was open halfway, and there was no one in the dimly lit hallway.
A girl scurried out of the office, tears streaking her freckled face. She bumped into Azrael, yelping and almost stumbling right back into the office.
"Whoa, whoa..." I grabbed her shoulder, steadying her. "What... What happened? Just breathe, okay?"
Ironic how I said that while struggling to breathe myself.
"Blood." Azrael moved past us, pushing the door all the way open.
Sniffing into the air, I caught the metallic stench of blood as well. Fresh. Or maybe a couple of hours out in the open.
The girl was still fidgeting, looking away from me and wrapping her arms around herself.
Gods...
Brushing past her as well, I joined Azrael, who had already got to the black leather chair behind the table of the admission officer. His eyes and expression were stoic.
Yet I could tell he was staring at something sinister.
"She's dead." He mumbled when I got beside him to see what was on the chair.
Or rather... Who.
Miss Benedicta.
Blood stained her white long-sleeved shirt, her eyes still wide open with terror. And her neck—
"Mother of all things unholy..." I held my breath, right hand subconsciously wrapping around my neck.
Because on Miss Benedicta's neck were two markings. Precise. Dripping with blood.
Bite marks.