Page 11 of Vayn

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Why the hell was I smiling?

More importantly, why the hell was I smiling while standing outside of my charge’s apartment door? Three female students walked by behind me, heading to their apartments. None looked my way. Even if they had, they wouldn’t have seen me. I was cloaked, double-cloaked. Yet, my charge had been able to see me.

My charge. I returned my gaze to her door. Why the hell was I smiling and standing there? I should be home, resting. Not replaying the conversation I’d had with Destiny earlier. It hadn’t been anything special. Yet, I liked that she’d challenged me. She hadn’t been intimidated by commander Vayn Shadow-Fallen.

She hadn’t cowered in my presence. Her words hadn’t come out as stutters when she talked to me. That was rare. She’d responded tit for tat to my not-so-polite remarks. That should’ve offended me. It hadn’t. It had the opposite effect on me. It had me standing outside her apartment like a fool, wanting to talk to her. What the hell was I doing? I wiped the grin off my face.

Go inside, Charm urged me. I can hear the water. She’s showering.

What was it about this little dud that had my shadows acting out of character? Normally, they disliked the presence of humans as much as I did. Why the hell were they suddenly eager to be around this one? Sure, she was attractive. However, there were plenty of attractive Fallens they could desire. I’d even rather take a shifter over her.

My usual choice of companions were vampire females, cursed ones who’d been around for centuries, not a measly twenty-three years. They were vicious little things. But my shadows have never craved any of them. When I fucked, my shadows slumbered, showing no interest in the act.

Many females had wanted to menage with me and my shadows. That was the reason most females craved Fallens in the first place. With us, you got five lovers in one. The four of my shadows had never yearned for that type of connection. Yet, the four of them were begging to get closer to Destiny Porter.

I could feel their desire for her, and it was fueling my own. Even now, I was barely able to hold them back from entering our charge’s apartment. Why now? Why her? What was it about this little cursed descendant that made them yearn to be in her presence? What was it about her that made them go against my orders to make sure she was comfortable?

It’s the same thing that has you standing outside of her door, wanting to go back inside, Charm cooed.

“Shut the hell up, Charm. All these years, you’ve barely raised your head. Now, I can’t get you to quit singing her praise.”

Permit me to leave, and I’ll stick close to our charge for you. You won’t have to watch over her. I’ll do it myself.

“Not happening. It’s time to go home.”

I’d been standing outside her door for far too long. I was starting to feel like a damn stalker. I turned to walk away from her door. A soft sound reached my ears. A groan. Not one of pleasure, but of pain.

Did you hear that? Charm asked. It’s her. What if she’s in trouble? It’s our job to guard her.

Shit. I couldn’t leave without at least checking to see if she was okay. After adding another cloaking spell to the two already shielding me from others, I teleported back into her bedroom. My charge was nowhere to be found. I followed the sounds of her groans to the bathroom. The door was closed. A thud sounded on the other side of the door. Had she fallen?

“Shit!” my charge yelled.

Without giving it a second thought, I teleported into the bathroom. My charge was standing near the shower with one hand on her hip, the other on the shower door. On the floor, next to her feet, was a bottle of body wash. My gaze jerked around the room, searching for an assailant. My shadows were on high alert, awaiting their orders.

She’s alone, Charm whispered. She’s not in danger.

I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. A little of the tension left my body. My fangs and claws retracted. If she wasn’t in danger, why the hell was she groaning? My gaze returned to her just as she unwrapped the towel from around her body and draped it over a rack. A few things happened at the same time.

My charge revealed her naked body to my gaze. My cock throbbed, begging to get closer to her. My shadows left me, all four of them, moving to encircle her. As they stared down at her, I could feel the arousal building in them, something that had never happened before. I was thankful that I’d added another layer of cloaking to us.

Apparently, three was the magic number, because she hadn’t sensed us yet. My shadows were now blocking my view of her. Groaning, she bent down to pick up the body wash that had fallen to the floor.

“Move,” I hissed.

My shadows stepped aside but didn’t stray far from her. I was now able to get a good view of her round ass as she grabbed the bottle. Her groan of pain dimmed my arousal a bit. She was hurting. That didn’t sit well with me.

She’s not healing fast enough, Rage said. I should kill the descendant who she fought with today.

A purplish wound on her thigh was what seemed to be hurting her. There was also a wound on her side and on her shoulder. If she wasn’t a dud, she would’ve healed by now.

Charm looked back at me. She fell earlier. You had a chance to catch her before she hit the sidewalk. Why didn’t you catch her?

I’d wanted to. I’d planned to. But she was a human. I... I couldn’t. Guilt hummed through me. I shook it off. The bruises weren’t from that fall. They were from her training. Training she needed if she hoped to survive in our world, a world full of beings who would not catch her when she fell. Most of the time, it would be those beings who pushed her down. I wouldn’t feel guilty for not coddling her. Coddling her would only make her weaker.

“My job is to keep her alive. She’s alive. Job done. Don’t question me again, shadow.”