Chapter 127

Damien’s POV

I stared at the mark on Anila’s neck, my eyes wide and confusion flashing over my expression. Anila looked so content; there were beads of blood on her plump lips and it made me want to lick it off. I brushed a strand of fallen hair out of her face as I stepped away from her. We were still in the middle of the spellcasting room in the basement of the academic center. There were no locks on the door so anybody could just walk in and more often than not they did.

I wasn’t sure how long we had been like this. We breathed in sync, our bodies coming down from the ultimate high. She was the first to take the initiative and grab her clothes off the ground. I was still stunned by what happened and I stood frozen for a few seconds longer.

I actually marked her? How was that possible?

This had to have been a dream. I thought maybe I imagined the whole thing, not believing that it could be real. Once she got her jeans on, she grabbed her shirt. She pulled it over her head and then turned to face me.

She frowned when she saw that I wasn’t dressed yet.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, glancing around nervously. “Anyone could walk in, Damien.”

I blinked a few times as if just remembering where I was.

She was right; I needed to get dressed. I grabbed my boxers, pants, and button-up shirt and quickly dressed. Once I was done, I ran my fingers through my hair a couple of times and then glanced at Anila once more. My eyes found the mark on her neck, the fresh mark that I had just done. It was real; I didn’t imagine it happening.

“How is it possible?” I asked, my voice coming out as a breathy whisper.

She reached up and touched the new mark on her neck, a smile tipping the corner of her lips. Her cheeks reddened slightly as she nibbled on her lower lip.

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “But I’m glad it did.”

I nodded, though I was still in a daze.

“Me too,” I told her softly.

“We should practice some more,” she told me.

I blushed at her words.

“W…what?” I nearly choked on my own saliva.

She raised her brows and turned to face me; that’s when I saw she was holding the broomstick. My cheeks flushed with heat once I realized what she meant.

“Broom riding,” she told me, her eyes narrowed. “Is that okay?”

I nodded and grabbed my own broom.

For the next several hours we practiced broomstick riding and other spells. Later, after we said our goodbyes, I went to visit Principal Rapport in his office. I wasn’t really sure who to ask about this, but I knew Rapport was wise beyond his years.

“Damien,” Principal Rapport said, lifting his head from his book. “What can I do for you?”

“I have a question, Sir,” I said, stepping further into the room, and shutting the door behind me. “I’m not really sure who else to talk to.”

Principal Rapport stared at me for a moment, his eyes tracing my face and then it seemed he spotted whatever he was looking for because he leaned back in his seat and nodded for me to go on.

I sat in one of the empty seats in front of his desk. My attempt at keeping a stoic expression on my face failed the second I met the eyes of Principal Rapport. He raised his brows and studied me, waiting for me to continue speaking.

Suddenly, it was starting to feel really hot in this room.

“Tell me, what is going on?” Rapport prompted, narrowing his eyes in my direction.

“Do you believe in miracles?” I found myself asking as my fingers traced the outline of Anila’s mark on my neck. Rapport followed my hand movements, and his eyes clouded over with thoughtfulness for a long while.

He glanced up at the painting on his wall and when I followed his gaze, I was stunned to see the Moon Queen with her 5 mates surrounding her. Each of them held a different part of her as they lifted her into the air. Her smile was radiant and the marks on her neck practically glowed from the illuminating lighting of Principal Rapport’s office.

All 5 of her marks.

5 marks.

“The Goddess had meant you for Anila, along with the others,” Principal Rapport said, his eyes fixed on my face. “Did you really think she wouldn’t help you mark your mate?”

My fingers trembled as they dropped to my side. I wasn’t sure what to say, so I remained quiet as Rapport continued.

“Each of you holds a special part of her; she needs all of you in order to become one of her. She won’t be whole unless she has all 5 missing parts. Now that you allowed yourself to open up to her and claim her, she’s one step closer to becoming the Queen she was meant to be.”

I stared at Principal Rapport with wide eyes, processing what he had said. I glanced at the portrait of the Moon Queen once more before settling my gaze back on Rapport’s thoughtful expression.

“You think she’s the reincarnate of the Moon Queen, don’t you?” I asked, my voice coming out as a whisper.

He nodded, meeting my eyes.

“Yes,” he replied simply. “And think we are going to need her more now than ever. Something is approaching and we need to be on our toes at all costs.”

…..

Anila’s POV

Busses of different sizes and colors were pulled around the front of the school and parked for all the students to see. I and a ton of others stood at the front of the school, waiting and watching as the doors opened and more students from different schools piled out of the buses. Their teachers and trainers are in tow.

Principal Rapport was front and center, ready to greet the students. They were there for the competition which was being held in a couple of days. Almost a week had passed since I marked Damien, and he marked me and everything still felt so new.

I hadn’t heard from the others this entire week and I wondered if they could feel that I was marked by yet another one of my mates. I’ve been spending so much time with Damien this past week, training, studying… and other stuff… that I hadn’t really had the time to check in with anyone.

Jaxon still had me blocked and Zach…. Well, I couldn’t tell what Zach was doing but I was having trouble getting a read on him as well. It made me more nervous than ever, not being able to connect on that level with my other mates.

So far, Damien has yet to block me. Though, I’m not sure he’d be able to even if he wanted to; he would never be able to figure something like that out. He didn’t even know marking and mating was a possibility until recently. Then again, he probably did a ton of research on the subject and knew more about it than I did.

“They look so intimidating,” Penny said from beside me as she eyed the people walking off the bus. There were a couple of strong-looking guys that got her attention the most.

“But Anila got this,” Becca said from the other side of me. “She’s pretty badass and she’s learning fast.”

I’ve not only been training with Damien, but my friends have been helping me as well. I was feeling more confident than I had a week ago and I think I had a pretty good chance at getting far in this competition. I wasn’t too sure about winning it… but I thought I could get pretty far ahead.

“Come on,” Penny said, draping an arm through mine. “Let’s go to the dining hall for lunch.”

I nodded and started to walk towards the dining hall and away from the buses. I had a lot of questions, like where were they going to stay? And, why did they have to come here a few days early?

Just as we started to get a distance away from the commotion, a new one started. Students all over started to rush towards the forest opening, their excitement evident. I paused, frowning in that direction. My nose in the air had a mind of its own, sniffing until it was content with the scent it found.

I knew those scents well and my heart swelled. I started towards the forest with everyone else; Penny called after me but ignored her.

As I reached the forest opening, I could hear Zach yelling at the students blocking their way.

“Can’t you see we are walking here,” he muttered. “Get out of our way.”

I shoved my way through the crowd, and I paused when I saw Zach and Harley standing in front of the crowd, trying to get through.

When Harley’s eyes met mine, they lit up and a smile spread across his lips.

“Anila…” he breathed.

Zach noticed me almost immediately after, but he didn’t smile. He kept his expression stoic, and I wondered at that moment what he was thinking.

Then, Harley stepped aside, and my heart nearly burst when I saw who was walking up behind him. Everyone cheered at the sight of Xaden and when he saw me, he was quick to scoop me into his arms and kiss me for everyone to see.