The Following Morning...
Eve Chambers...
Waking up this morning with a huge smile on my face and the sense of being well rested wasn't something that I was used to. My brain always seemed to be working – never truly giving up the control that I held so rigidly over my life. I can't actually remember a time when I haven't had something that I needed to get up for at an unGodly hour.
Work.
Caring for my dad.
Housework.
School.
It always appeared to be something. Now, I have weekends to myself, a small pocket of time where I didn't have to contemplate what I had to do next to keep life ticking over. It was a surreal feeling, not something that I am sure I will ever truly get used to.
I know that the guys want to continue working on my training and I am cool with that, but they had left me to sleep this morning and when I opened my eyes to see it was almost midday, I had felt a pang of guilt.
Were they waiting for me?
Would they be mad at being kept waiting?
I felt a slight pang of disappointment that Andrei wasn't still by my side which evaporated when my eyes landed on a mug of coffee that he had placed in a travel mug to ensure it stayed warm and a small, folded piece of paper with my name scrawled on the front.
Eve,
Sorry I couldn't be there when you wake up, but I have a standing soccer game every Sunday with my fellow shifter's. Please know that last night was amazing. I can't wait to kiss you more. You are amazing. I will be thinking of you. If the others aren't pushing you too hard today, come over to the field, I would love to see you there.
Kisses.
Drei.
Xoxo.
It was ridiculous the true surge of excitement that flushed through me at his sweet words. Last night was amazing. Holy sinner but that man could kiss – he had made my damn toes curl with pleasure and a pulsing need to erupt deep inside of me. I guess his reputation as a player is something that I am able to take advantage of, because there is no way that I won't be kissing him every chance that I could get.
"So, what's going on?" Sage asked me as we traipsed through the forest towards the main campus building which had the soccer-field behind.
"What makes you think something is going on?" I asked, pulling my cigarettes from my pocket, and offering my friend one which she accepted eagerly.
"Because your aura is all shimmering and vibrant, more vibrant than it normally is-" ok so that was something that I wanted her to elaborate on later because now it was time for girl time.
Never having had a girl-friend before, I was still getting used to the rituals that all girl-friends seemed to have. Girl time. Girl talk. Sharing secrets. Encouraging one another in what we wanted and needed. Helping one another when the other was struggling or unsure of themselves. Give each other a dose of the truth if the other needed to hear it.
If I am being honest, I am drowning a little over everything that happened in the past twelve hours or so.
The scene with Noah and whatever that had been. Was it possible that I had astral-projected?
When Andrei and I had finally come up for air, we had talked for a couple of hours, and he explained what the theory had been when I had collapsed after seeing what I had in Noah's house. I never would have imagined that astral-projection was really a thing, but I guess I really should try to stop being so surprised with everything that goes on around here. I am a part of this world now.
Had I really pushed my soul to Noah's house?
Had I really dragged Kevin along with me?
If I had in fact done that – how had I done it?
Was this a new power of mine?
Andrei said that astral-projection was considered especially hard, so hard that a lot of supe-beings never mastered it. Some believe that it might actually be a specialist power. If that was the case, did I have more than one? I guess they have to throw out the rule book when it comes to me. And there was something about that that definitely didn't fill me with the warm, and fuzzies. I didn't want to be different. I have spent almost my whole life being different and an out-cast because of it. I wanted this to be different.
I didn't want to be special, not in the way that they have been trying to convince me since I arrived here. I just wanted to be me – the me I have always been.
I want to go back to being an extra in my own life, or at least that was mostly what I felt like, and it was the way I wanted to keep it but unfortunately my lineage wouldn't allow for that. Not now that I know where and who I come from.
An honest to goodness Goddess.
From all accounts 'the' Goddess. Freyja. I had made a mental note to look into the literature surrounding my mother. I wanted to know about her in ways that I haven't felt the need to before. Maybe because my dad just never seemed able to talk about her, almost as if the mere thought of her hurt too much to talk about. I stopped asking when I was around eight-years old when he yelled at me one night when I asked him to tell me the story of how they met as my bed-time story. Yes, it had hurt at the time because I simply couldn't understand why he would be so angry, but as I grew older the easier, I could understand his reluctance. So, I learned to just bury what I wanted under all the other crap that I had to deal with. It was best not to rock the boat after all. Or at least that was what my dad had always told me.
"So, you gonna tell me or not?" Sage asked, hooking her free arm through mine as we trudged our way through the forest.
"Honestly, there isn't much to tell. Andrei and I kissed last night...well this morning actually," I admitted. It felt so good to have a friend that I could share this with.
When Noah and I started dating, I had ached to have a girl-friend that I could confide in on the big milestones that come in relationships.
First compliment.
First date.
First kiss.
First intimate moment.
First time we had sex.
I had never had that. Not even through high-school. Definitely not when I left school because dad had me working for him where there were no other women around and then he had his accident and I had to find another job. The diner had worked out for me and the hours that I needed to work. I liked to be home before ten most nights, especially in the immediate aftermath of my dad's accident.
Now here I am at this academy, and I have a sense of freedom that I have never had before. I am truly on my own here. No dad near-by to demand I do this and that for him. No responsibilities other than to study and get good grades while trying to ensure that I am strong enough to keep myself alive. There is a sense of vibrancy in those small things that I feel more blessed than I ever have before.
"Are you kidding me? Why am I only just hearing about this now?" Sage demanded, giving me a mock look of hurt to which I couldn't help but laugh and she fell apart just like I was.
Goddess, it felt so good to just laugh and be a normal twenty-one-year-old woman. Embarking on a new life. Sure, it was a little old to be attending an academy at this age, but I wasn't exactly surrounded by youngsters. Most of the people I have met are either my age or older than me. I liked that more than I thought that I would if I am being honest.
"Well because-"
"Because?" She pressed, "oh God's, was he terrible? Was it an awful kiss?"
"What? No, of course not, he was amazing. Maybe the best kiss I have ever had-"
It was true. When Andrei asked to kiss me earlier this morning; I had been so nervous, I mean the guy had a reputation and while I am no blushing virgin, I didn't have a whole lot of experience. I guess a part of me worried that I wouldn't be what he liked, or expected but the moment our lips touched, it was as if the whole world slipped away, and it was just me and my fated-mate wrapped around one another.
"So why the secrecy?"
"No secrecy, just a little embarrassed!"
"Why?" My friend asked as we cleared the forest and stood to the side of the witches-dorm where we had once lived.
"I had a thing-"
"A thing? Like a kink?"
"What? No. Nothing like that," I sighed because I didn't want to make a big deal of this but from what Andrei had told me last night, it was a major deal. Looking around, to ensure that there was no one within hearing distance, "Kevin and I were working on the mind-control last night-"
"Oh, did he do his usual and tell you to close your eyes and build up your favourite memory from the ground up around you?" She asked, smiling.
"Yes! He did this with you too?"
"It's one of his favourite ways to ease students into the whole mind-control thing, so what happened?"
"I didn't exactly manage it-"
"What do you mean, didn't manage it?"
"I kind of astral-projected instead!"
"Holy-fucking-shit!! Do you know how amazing and rare that is?" She gushed, moving to stop in front of me, blocking us from moving closer to the soccer field at the back of the main campus building.
When it happened last night, Andrei had told me that it was a rare trait and that there were much older supe-beings who had never been able to master the technique. I had thought that maybe he was just blowing smoke up my ass – trying to make the new girl feel less like an outsider. But now, Sage was having the same sort of reaction and I find myself wondering if maybe this was something that I should feel proud of achieving.
One thing I know for sure is that I never want to astral-project to Noah ever again. Seeing what he was doing to that woman last night was an image that will forever be seared in my mind.
Sage Prescott...
I'm not sure if the others can see it but Eve is struggling with the whole fated-mates term. I mean, it might have been different if it was just one but to have three with possibly more, she is overwhelmed by it all.
Some say that because of my affinity with Earth that I am part empath, but I don't know if that is true so much as it is just intuition. I can just tell that all that she has learnt the past week has taken a toll on her. On anyone else I would be overly concerned but Eve is clearly strong willed and resilient when it comes to life. So, I have absolutely no doubt in my head that she will work through this. It may take some time, but she will come to accept her new reality and quite possibly end up thriving because of it, she just needs time to work through it at her own pace.
It's obvious to me that she is attracted to her men, I think it is just the idea of dating all three that has thrown her. I get the sense that she is just unsure of how it all works. Her men are good men though and I have to admit that I am a little envious in regard to her relationship to Kevin. Our professor. I am more than certain that most of the girls will be jealous because of the simple fact that he is the only really good-looking teacher we have. Most of the girls have had a crush on him at one point or another. But I am happy for her; not jealous like those other girls will undoubtedly be.
I like Eve. I have from the moment that she served us at the diner. There is just this kindness about her, regardless of what she is, she just oozes acceptance. Open-minded is what I would say – look at the way she has just opened herself to all of this new reality! Not many people would be able to just accept and embrace the way that Eve has. It is a true sign of a being who has the ability to adapt which means that whatever powers are coming her way, she would find a way to work it. "Andrei told me that it was rare-"
"Beyond rare; it's classed as one of the most difficult abilities to get right, it's so difficult that they don't even begin to teach it until our third year here!" I gushed excitedly; astral-projection is one of the powers that I am desperate to get right – it is an extremely useful power to have.
"Sage, can I tell you something?" She asked looking around, I guess to ensure that we are alone. I have noticed how guarded my new friend is and it's something that I can relate to.
"Hit me!"
"I'm scared-" heat blasted her cheeks at her vulnerable confession. Honestly, it is the first moment that I am seeing her as anything other than an incredibly powerful being.
This world is hard to manoeuvre even when you have known of it your whole life but I can't even begin to imagine how difficult it must be for Eve, going from thinking that she was nothing more than human for the first twenty-one years of her life, accepting that the world was not a place for someone of lower class and without much options I can almost imagine that she must have felt trapped and then one night, boom, she has a surge of power that she herself admitted she had thought were nothing more than stories and made up powers by talented authors. I think she could even be forgiven if she had a little moment of an ego – I mean she is more powerful than any of us are but I don't think that she has a superior bone in her body, at least not mentally, she just isn't that type of woman and that was one of the reasons that I liked her as much as I did.
"Come on, Andrei is going to have to wait to see you, we are going to grab a hot chocolate from the cafeteria, and we are going to talk this out!" Linking my arm back through hers, we changed direction and headed towards the main campus building where the cafeteria is situated. The good thing about this academy is that the cafeteria and other amenities are open twelve hours a day, every day, no days off unless the school is closed for any reason and that is not something that has happened since I have been here.
We quickly claimed a table near the window that looks out over the field where she can at least see her man and the way she lets out a little growl at the sight of Kristy cheering for Andrei is maybe the most adorable thing that I have ever seen. "Why does she do that?"
"From what I know about her – she has a demanding family; they are constantly on her back about marrying into a powerful family!" It's not an excuse for the way she acts but I can certainly understand the pressure of family expectations.
My own family are amazing most of the time, but I know that they are expecting me to finish my studies and fly back to New York and integrate myself back into the coven. It's not really something that I have ever wanted. I always wanted my own coven and now that I have met Eve and the others, I just know that this is where my family is. My chosen family and I don't want to leave them. Our little coven is absolutely not normal. A mating-coven is almost always only the woman with her harem, but Eve has accepted both Jensen and I into hers so effortlessly that it feels natural. This is my home.
"Yeah, but why is she such a bitch?" Eve pondered trying to make sense of the things around her, I guess that's just who she is – it's not normal of supe-beings to be so analytical when it comes to understanding. We tend to just go with the flow and accept without questioning too much.
"Oh, she has been after Andrei since the beginning of term, it was almost as if she set her sights on him and believed that she could get him, at least she became more intense about him after the incident with Kevin-"
"What incident?"
"If rumour is to be believed, she came onto him one night when there was a party that got out of hand-"
The first night of the term and we had a party out by the woods, it was an academy tradition – a party on the first night of the term, but it had gotten out of hand fairly quickly when everyone was trying to show off with their powers and a small fire had started, the faculty had come to break it up and the rumour was Kristy had stayed behind to help with the clean up since her power is water and once it was all under control she had made a pass at Kevin but he had point blank shut her down. Once I finished explaining all of it to Eve, she was looking paler than I had seen her, "she is going to have some sort of mental breakdown when she finds out about me and them, isn't she?"
"I think that is a fairly safe bet, sorry!"
This school is beyond competitive and some of the students are way too enthralled by the powers they possess. It's a powder-keg just waiting to go off and I have a bad feeling that Eve is going to be the focus of some angry and jealous students.
I had to put my faith in our coven though – we would find a way to ensure that nothing could come between us. The loyalty that should be present is already there and that is a good foundation to build on, because not only will she have all of this school politics to deal with, but she has the actual devil coming for her too. I can only hope that we are strong enough to keep her safe. For now, I push all those thoughts aside and we launch into what is making her feel so scared, or at least the immediate fears that she has because the main fear is very obviously the elephant in the room.
The Devil.
We are going to have to come up with a plan in regard to him but the rest of it is easy to fix for her.