Page 51 of Vayn

“Sooo,” I continued. “Let’s stay up. You’ve been away too long. I want to spend some awake time with you.”

“Awake time?” His eyebrow arched.

“Yes.” I wanted to fuck. But I didn’t just want to come out and say, let’s fuck. So, I said, “Let’s talk. Did you learn anything new while you were gone?”

“Talk? You want to talk?”

“Yup,” I lied. He smelled so good. And it wasn’t the scent of his body wash that was appealing. It was him. Vayn. His natural scent. It called to me. I wanted to lick him.

“Soooo,” I said, since he wasn’t saying anything, and to keep myself from licking him. “Did all the Shadow Guardians make it home safely?”

“We did. A few stayed out, still hunting. Some of us came home for a rest. A member of my squad is hunting a shifter who escaped from one of the research facilities a few months ago. She’s registered as a witch/Fallen hybrid. But the scientists experimented on her. Now, she’s presenting as a shifter.”

A witch/Fallen hybrid turned shifter? What were these Changelings trying to accomplish?

“And he’s hunting her?”

“Well, not hunt. More like...”

“Just say hunt. Is she wanted for something?”

“She is. There was a couple killed in the last area she was spotted in. The humans think it’s a rabid animal responsible. We think it’s her. Sabyn Shadow-Fallen has been tracking her. But she’s been hard to catch. He finally got a hit, so he’s gone to check it out.”

“There’s no telling what those scientists did to her. I hope he brings her in safely.”

“I’m sure he will, love. If she’s allowed to attend the academy, the dean will ask you to mentor her. Is that something you’d be interested in?”

“Of course. I’m getting ready to graduate and start working at Shadow Bound Academy. I’d be happy to help her. Though my specialty will be helping those whose powers haven’t manifested, I’m open to helping anyone who needs it.”

Vayn smiled. “Why are you so fucking perfect?”

I chuckled. “I’m not perfect. My imperfections are the reasons I’m willing and able to help others.”

“You’re perfect to me,” my mate told me, making me blush.

I lowered my gaze to his chest. Silence ensued again. I racked my brain, trying to think of a way to subtly ask for the dick.

“I do have something else I wanted to tell you,” Vayn’s voice cut through the silence in the room just when I was about to ask him if he had any eggplant in the house. He would’ve said no. Then I would’ve said check your pants, I’ll take that one. Yeah, it was probably good that he spoke up before I blurted that corniness out.

“Let’s hear it,” I said.

“The dean has been looking into your father. Not just yours. Other students as well. At one facility, we found research that pointed to the Changelings seeking out the descendants of certain Fallen. From that list, Alyk determined that the Fallen he’d thought was your dad isn’t actually your father.”

“Oh. Does he have any other leads?”

“He does. He’s looking into one right now. He’s looking into a Fallen who has the ability to dream walk and is also a mentalist. But there’s also a chance that your abilities didn’t come from your father. Many descendants have new and rare abilities that have never been seen before. They didn’t get them from their parents. So, your abilities may not have come from your father at all. But Alyk is determined to find the parents of our students who are orphans, to see if it's tied to which students get targeted by the Changelings.”

“I still can’t believe I’m a mentalist,” I whispered, thinking about what Dr. Felyx told me I’d done to that research facility. I’d made it implode with my mind. That was some scary shit. I didn’t want to use that ability again until I’d learned how to control it better.

“That’s a rare ability, love. And he only knows two other Fallen who’ve ever exhibited anything close to it. Neither of them has been seen for ages. He’s looking into them to see if they’re related to you. The dean also believes that your Fallen father gave you one of his abilities. Not through genes, but manually, through a process called transference.”

“Which ability did he give me?”

“The ability to see into the shadows. This is just the dean’s theory. But Alyk thinks your father knew he wouldn’t be able to stay by your side, so, he gave you the ability to see the things that hid in the shadows. That makes us believe he was being hunted and wanted you to be able to see the monsters that may come after you. And also, be able to see him if he came looking for you.”

“I thought he’d cursed me. Actually, my father was protecting me, huh?”

Vayn nodded. “We believe so. He was protecting his young daughter in the only way he knew how. And by leaving you, that was probably another way he was protecting you. It’s rare for a Fallen to go to such lengths to protect their young. Whoever he is, I want to thank him for giving you a gift that could protect you.”