Darkness

EVERETT

We pull up to the pack house a little after midnight.

I’m still a bit on edge after the close call outside of the professor’s office.

I thought Aurora wouldn’t believe my story that I got lost looking for the bathroom, but luckily she had already had a few too many glasses of wine to question it.

I turn to her as she opens the car door and stumbles out, giggling.

At least, ~she~ had a great time.

I thought about warning her and telling her to slow down on the booze—knowing she’ll have a killer hangover in the morning—but she was having so much fun that I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I don’t see this side of my mate very often and I think she’s absolutely adorable when she’s drunk.

On the car ride home, she was bubbling with so much energy, singing ABBA songs at the top of her lungs.

She even managed to convince me to join in for a chorus or two.

But I’m secretly hoping she won’t remember that part.

Aurora stumbles a bit as we get to the door, but I reach out my arm and catch her in time. “Gotcha, little one.”

“Everett, that was so fun,” she says, leaning into me. “You and Xander totally hit it off.”

I steady her with one hand and swing the front door open with the other.

“Yeah, he grew on me,” I say.

“Thank you, Everett,” she says, standing on her tippy toes and giving me a kiss. “Seriously. Tonight meant the world to me.”

“I’m happy that you’re happy,” I say, lifting her up off her feet and into my arms, bridal-style. “But we also had a deal. Since I’ve been good, that means I get my reward.”

“Take me upstairs, ~Alpha,~” she giggles.

I walk up the stairs, feeling my anticipation grow as she plants soft kisses on my neck.

Goddess, I can’t wait to undress my perfect little mate and have her all to myself.

I kick open the door to our bedroom, feeling the bulge grow in my pants at the very thought.

“Now…,” I growl. “You put this tie on, how about you take it off?”

But when I look down at my mate, she’s already fast asleep in my arms.

“Shit…,” I mutter.

For a second I consider waking her up. But she just looks so peaceful in my arms. Like a little sleeping angel.

Plus, she’s been dealing with so much. Between going to school and being luna, she deserves a little sleep.

I lay her down on the bed gently, tucking her in under the covers before giving her a kiss on the forehead.

“Goodnight, little one,” I whisper.

I start to undress in the dark room, feeling pretty exhausted myself.

But then, out of nowhere, that symbol I found in Xander’s office flashes through my mind.

~The eye.~

Even thinking about it, I feel a bit guilty. I know I shouldn’t have been snooping around in his office. I was proven wrong about Xander—he seems like a good guy.

But for some reason, seeing that symbol gave me a strange, uneasy feeling in my gut.

I don’t know much about magic, and it’s probably just something he’s researching on his own. But my curiosity gets the better of me.

I want to find out what that symbol is.

I stand up, quietly slipping out of the room so I don’t disturb Aurora. I walk down the hall toward Lucius’s door.

I know he’s awake because there’s a light under his door, so I knock.

“Come in,” he calls out.

I open the door and step inside to find Lucius lying on his couch, scrolling on his phone. His room is sparse, no-nonsense, and extremely orderly—just like my beta himself.

“What’s up, Alpha?” he says, looking slightly alarmed. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” I tell him. “I just need you to look into something for me.”

I pull out my phone, showing him the picture of the eye symbol.

Lucius looks at it curiously. “What the hell is that?”

“I don’t know. That’s what I want you to find out.”

He nods. “Sure. Where’d you find this?”

“In Aurora’s professor’s office,” I admit.

He raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Then I’m assuming he wasn’t there when you took this picture…”

I shake my head. “And obviously Aurora doesn’t have to know about any of this.”

“Still a bit jealous of Aurora’s professor, huh?” Lucius smirks.

“Just do it, Lucius,” I say, standing up and turning to leave the room.

“You got it, Alpha,” he chuckles. “Don’t worry, my lips are sealed.”

I walk back down the hall toward my room, feeling a bit uneasy about sending Lucius to investigate the professor.

~Maybe he’s right?~

~Maybe I’m just looking for an excuse to not like Xander?~

But I guess there’s only one way to find out.

***

RORY

~Goddess…~

If there’s one way to describe how I felt waking up this morning, it would be ~super-duper-shitty.~

After going through the portal, I shuffle through the quad to class, feeling like a pissed-off wolf is howling inside of my skull.

~So this is what people mean when they talk about having a “hangover”…~

I guess, on the bright side, I can finally say I’ve had another part of the ~real~ college experience.

But I’m not going to lie, I’m feeling a little anxious about going to class like this. Especially considering everything I’ve tried to do so far, I’ve failed at.

I push the door open, surprised to see that the classroom is completely dark aside from a few flickering candles arranged in a circle on the floor.

Xander is hunched over them, drawing magical symbols on the ground with some strange powder.

He looks up when I enter. I know he drank just as much wine as me, but somehow he looks fully rested and perfectly put together—like always.

“Ah, there you are!” he says, beaming. “How are you feeling?”

I smile weakly, throwing myself down on a chair.

“I’ve felt better,” I say with a huff. “I think I might’ve had too much wine yesterday.”

“I’m terribly sorry…I’m afraid that might’ve been my fault,” he says apologetically. “Would you like something for the headache?”

I perk up. “Do you have a spell or something that can get rid of it?”

He chuckles. “Ah, unfortunately not. I just meant Advil.”

I slump back down on the chair. “No, let’s just get started on the lesson. Maybe it’ll help to just focus on something.”

“Of course,” he says, motioning for me to come toward the circle in the middle of the room.

“What’s all this for?”

“Well, today you’re going to go to the spirit realm and enter the realm of the dead,” he says casually.

I gulp.

~The land of the dead?~

That sounds like a little more than I bargained for when I got out of bed and came to class today.

“Are you sure?” I say uneasily. “Why do you think it would work now?”

He smiles reassuringly, placing a hand on my shoulder and guiding me toward the center of the circle.

“It will work because I finally had the chance to meet your mate last night,” he says.

I frown, feeling confused.

~What does Everett have to do with this?~

“Let me explain,” he says. “I finally got the chance to see first-hand what kind of love you and Everett have for each other.”

“I saw how pure it was, how unbreakable your mate bond is. And that’s when I realized—even in the darkness, that love will always be a light.”

I smile, touched by his words.

“Just think of Everett when you enter the realm of the dead, and nothing will be able to hurt you. I promise.”

I take a deep breath, sitting down in the middle of the circle.

“I believe in you, Aurora,” he says. “Now, shall we give it a try?”

I nod, even though the butterflies in my stomach are growing stronger and stronger.

~I’m not sure this will actually work.~

But after Xander’s pep talk, I’m willing to give it a try. All I have to do is think about Everett, and I’ll be fine.

I close my eyes, listening as Xander starts to mutter a magical incantation, one which I recognize from one of the books in Everett’s library. It’s the same spell I used on my own to enter the spirit realm without dying first.

Suddenly, I feel the sensation of my spirit leaving my body.

Gently, I float away, feeling the physical world melt away until all that’s left is mist.

~That’s it! I’m in the spirit realm.~

Last time, it took all of my focus just to stay here. But since Xander is the one casting the spell this time, I feel like I can stay here as long as I need to.

I listen, hearing the familiar whispers of souls.

“Aurora…,” they cry out.

They’re the souls of the dead, calling out my name from below.

~From the place I have to go…~

I focus on them, willing the entrance to the underworld to appear.

And sure enough, the mist parts in front of me, creating a giant hole by my feet.

I look down into an endless blackness. The complete and total blackness of death.

Down there must be the land of the dead.

I can feel terror rise up in my body as I stare into the black abyss. Every part of me wants to turn and fly the other way.

But then, I remember Xander’s advice.

I start to conjure up images of Everett, feeling a warmth spread through my body as I do.

~The way he sang with me on the way home.~

~The way he kissed me.~

~The way he tucked me in as I fell asleep last night.~

All of it fills me with courage, and I allow myself to float downward, into the dark.

But right as I do, I feel everything slip away, and my eyes snap open.

I’m back in the classroom, and the professor is shaking me awake. There’s a look of fear in his eyes.

A deafening ringing pierces my ears. It sounds like some sort of an alarm. I instantly cover my ears, trying in vain to block out the painful noise.

“What the hell is that?” I cry out.

“It’s the security alarm. There must be an intruder on campus.”

~What? An intruder?~

~How is that possible?~

I thought that’s why the university went through all that trouble to keep its location secret.

But if the campus is under attack, that means someone might be hurt and might need my help.

Despite being a bit disoriented from going to the spirit realm, I quickly stand up, running toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Xander cries out, running after me.

“If someone’s hurt, I need to heal them.”

I’m partly expecting Xander to stop me, like Everett always does.

But he just nods understandingly. “Okay, but then I’m coming with you.”

I give him a small smile of thanks, and we turn and run out of the classroom. Xander pushes open the front door of the Divination Building, and we step outside.

But instead of seeing the usual peaceful quad below, what I see is complete and utter chaos.

Screams fill the air as a pack of rogues swarms the campus, chasing students who are running for their lives.

~Oh my Goddess…~

The university is under attack!