Chapter 18

Anila POV

The familiar gorgeous wand flipped over me as if it had jumped off a springboard before spiraling around my legs and up my body.

It swished and flicked above my head, and then twisted down beneath my feet. I wasn’t quite sure if it was happy to see me, or if it was performing a dance, but I didn’t stop the smile from forming on my lips.

Suddenly my body feels heavy, and the magic releases its tight hold on me as I drop to my feet. The wand holds still in front of my face as if assessing me for any damage before whipping around.

It dove straight for Sarah, aiming to take an eye out if she hadn’t ducked out of the way.

She made a surprised yelp as it quickly turned around and came at her again, this time smacking against her cheek. There was a small red line that formed on her pale flesh as her hand covered it, betrayed shock written all over her face.

As the wand readied for another attack, taking advantage of Sarah's hesitation, Damien was quick as he snatched it from the air before it could go in for another vengeful dive. It twitched and turned in his hand, vibrating as if angry that he would dare to hold it still.

I blinked, not really sure what to do next.

But between the look of betrayal on Sarah’s face, and the anger knitted across Damien’s brow, I knew that this was a major deal.

That caused the smile to slip from my face. That satisfied and smug feeling bloomed in my chest at the wand's reactions was quickly replaced by anxiousness.

Sarah’s eyes were round and wide as tears sheened across her light green irises, like moss covered in rain. She looked as betrayed and desolate as Damien had looked only moments ago. When her hand found its way to her mouth, stifling the sob that was trying to come out of her mouth, I found myself with the urge to roll my eyes.

Does she have to be so dramatic?

“Why did your wand do that, Damien? Why did it break my spell and help her? Do you… do you like her?” Her voice trembled with sadness.

Damien sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sarah. I don’t even know the woman besides what the whole damn school knows.”

Does the whole school know about what happened this morning?

Damien was there until Principal Rapport showed up and took us to the auditorium. Which meant Damien was there when the others claimed me as their mates. My stomach tightened as I looked up at Damien who was still studying his wand while Sarah trembled and cried beside him, trying desperately to compose herself.

“Did you talk after you got your wand back?” Sarah asked through her tears.

Damien sighed again, lifting his gaze to meet hers.

“No,” he answered. Then, he cleared his throat and told Sarah the extent of the events from earlier, much to my dismay. “This morning, I had just gotten to class and my wand flew off my desk. It was like it was looking for something. I went after it and ran into Zach Gresham and Harley Burlow.”

He spoke their names like they were bad tastes on his tongue and his face was showing dislike as well.

“I asked if they saw my wand and they said no. But then Anila and Xaden Gresham walked into the room and Anila was holding my wand,” Damien shrugged. “Oh, and it turns out she’s mated to all three of them,” Damien said that last part with his brow arched.

The blood drained from my face as Sarah’s mouth fell open.

“What?” She gasped, seemingly horrified. “Are you serious?”

“I was there when all three of them claimed her as their mates,” Damien said, folding his arms across his chest as his eyes poured daggers into me. “I left right after. But as far as I could tell. It was just a freak accident. I don’t think she knows much about magic and my wand can tell. So, maybe that’s why it chose not to hurt her.”

“But that doesn’t explain why it helped her just now and then turned on me,” Sarah asked, her eyes big and round as she stared up at him. “Your wand has always liked me. It won’t let me touch it, but it’s never turned on me like that before.”

Damien’s face softened as he stared down at her which made my chest tighten.

Sarah turned her eyes to me.

“I don’t believe you are clueless for a second,” Sarah hissed. “What kind of monster are you? A dark witch with knowledge of evil magic?”

The sneer in her voice was like a punch in my gut.

“I told you the truth, earlier,” I said, my voice going soft as I was running out of fight. “I grew up with mortals… I don’t know anything outside of books and TV—”

“Having a mate bond with three wild creatures is one thing, but being able to control and touch Damiens wand? Not possible. There is something foul about you, monster.” She spat at me.

I felt anger running in my veins as I took several deep breaths keeping it under control. I understood why she was so upset, but her words and tone of voice were getting on my last nerve.

“I’m definitely not a monster,” My voice was stern as my eyes met hers, unphased by her blind panic. “I’m just ignorant.”

I fought the urge to laugh, especially when Sarah’s face grew confused and annoyed at my own inside joke.

I wondered how Xaden would have reacted to my sassy statement. From the self-satisfied smirk on my face from my personal joke, Sarah grew angrier and moved towards me.

Damien was quick when he stepped between us.

“It doesn’t matter how the wand reacted. It’s all irrelevant,” He commented, his hand finding Sarah’s chest as her rage started to make her shake.

“Unlike those wild creatures governed by ridiculous things such as ‘mate bonds’, I won’t be controlled by a wand, least of all my very own. I’ll get another one if I must.”

His wand trembled in his hand, quivering at the threat before twisting from him to me, and then back to him.

So strange.

Yet it seemed that the threat was all that was needed to release the tension and anger on Sarah's face. It disappeared like cotton candy being dropped in an eater, erased from existence. However, that scrutinizing look never left her gaze as she watched me with guarded concern.

Damien turned his eyes on me, blank slates that were hard as a rock.

“I advise you to mind your own business, Anila. Don’t meddle in mine.” His tone was frigid, an underlying threat as he leaned closer to me, his breath whispered across my face.

“And figure out your nonsense with those beasts, before they tear the university to pieces with their fighting, and I can go about my life without you on my radar.”

Cold as ice, and just as distant.

I would be lying if I said it didn’t hurt.

I kept my face emotionless, calm, and collected with a sweet smile—all the while there was a storm raging in my chest. I’m not entirely sure why I was so bent out of shape over this whole ordeal, but something about it rubbed me all wrong.

I don’t understand fated mates, nor could I even begin to grasp why I, of all people, would have three of them. This tangled feeling in my chest, these threads that tie me to Xaden, Zach, Harley, and now apparently Damien, were just as foreign and confusing to me as someone speaking Mandarin.

It didn’t change the fact that deep down, I was torn apart by his hard words. Sarah grinned, wide and victorious like she had won some battle I was unaware we were having.

When I felt a sudden fluttering in my chest, an urge to turn around consumed me.

“I would say her situation is handled already, West.”

I could understand now why Penny was so adamant about Xaden being so cold and domineering. Since I met him, all I ever heard were kind words followed by soothing actions. He was warm and gentle with me.

It was nothing like the voice he used with Damien.

Damien might be Cold and distant, but Xaden was cold and jagged, with sharp edges that were designed to push people away. When I turned around, finding that familiar and handsome man staring vicious daggers at the pair behind me, I fought the urge to smirk.

Xaden stood with his arms crossed; his shirt smooth and tucked into his dark slacks. His black hair was slicked back, away, and cleared from his face.

His green eyes narrowed on Damien.

“She has one beast, and it’s me. So why don’t you, manage your wand and your…” Xaden gives a vicious smirk, “What is it, Girlfriend? Friend? Or have you finally divulged into fuck buddies?”