Tempting Darkness

destroy any sense of hope I had left.

The bond flared, wanting to go to them. I wouldn't have the slightest idea what my part would be in their orgy or what to do with them. I needed to escape before I embarrassed myself or Darius toyed with my bond and made me do something that would probably "Come here," Darius said, and I shook my head.

"Leave her be, Darius," Kalen whispered.

"Just shut up and s**k my c**k," Darius snapped at him, and Kalen whimpered. Almost agonized, though, the sound was more like a moan.

"Aleera," Darius purred, and I fisted my hands and gritted my teeth. Why does he have to f**k with my stupid bond? He would know this causes me pain. With a glare plastered on my face, I turned around, and the noise that left me when I spotted them was embarrassing. Lycus kneeled behind Kalen before gripping his hips and pulling them close to him while Kalen wrapped his lips around Darius's c**k. Darius smirked like he knew exactly the effect this was having on the bond. My feet moved, and I only just grabbed the dresser by the door to stop myself from climbing on the bed and begging Darius for his power.

"Everything alright, Aleera?" Darius asked, and my nails ached from clutching the dresser.

"F**k!" Darius groaned, and my eyes moved to the bed to find Darius's hand fisting Kalen's hair while he bobbed away.

"Darius, please," I begged, my speech more like a damn pant as arousal flooded me. I needed to get out of there. He growled but flicked his hand toward the door, and I heard it unlock. Darius wasn't even looking in my direction, too busy, lost in the euphoria of what Kalen was doing to him.

Turning, I ripped open the door and dashed into the hall, slamming the door shut. The strange fog from his magic lifted, and I clutched my knees to catch my breath. "Are you okay?" Tobias asked, touching my shoulder.

I hadn't even heard him come into the hall, but he stood in front of me when I looked up. Tobias's eyes flickered, and I knew I was flushed, the stupid bond overriding my brain again. Tobias took a step toward me before shaking himself, and his eyes went to the door I had just come out of.

"I need to go to breakfast," I told him, rushing past him even though the bond was trying to pull me back to the room.

#

My bond played havoc all day. The cramping in my stomach worsened; their energy only made it worse in their presence during class, and I felt sick. Darius was smug in every class I had with him. He knew it was t*****e for me. I would not give him the satisfaction of me begging him, and I knew that was what Darius wanted. No doubt he would be one of those who enjoyed another's discomfort; hell, he enjoyed mine. Though as the day dragged on, something was amiss. My entire body was yearning, and since seeing them morning, it had only gotten worse.

Going to the bathroom to change into my gym clothes, I rushed into a stall and locked the door. We had the obstacle course again this afternoon. Taking my clothes off, I removed my pants and gasped.

F**k!The shredding, I had forgotten entirely about the shredding as I looked down at my panties. I was spotting which wasn't a good sign. Being the only girl here, I had completely forgotten about it and the fact I had never actually gone through it in the six years, careful always to make sure I had my herbs that prevented it.

Horror washed over me. Keeper women went through a phase, shredding every six months when we shredded all our power in a day. It was like what humans would call a period, only vastly different, seeing as fae didn't menstruate. Still, we had our own version of shredding, and it only happened to keeper women. We would bleed for a day, and then the next three days, we would power-shred.

There was just one issue. I had no power to shred, and I knew it wasn't obtainable, nor could I afford to go through it. Shredding happened when most bond power was shared. During a shredding, you could power your mates with enough power to last until the next one, making them more powerful, while I would be at my most vulnerable.

Yanking my pants up, I knew I had roughly a week to find some devil's bane. I needed the damn root. It would stop it, yet if I asked for that around here, it would get me some curious questions seeing as it was poisonous to demons, and Darius finding out could be lethal.

I was debating whether to ask Tobias or Kalen for it before shoving that idea away, but I knew they would want to know why I tried to stop it. There was no way Darius would give me power or allow the others to provide me with energy. While shredding, keepers are at their most potent, our magic at its strongest, though we're also at our weakest because we would literally be throwing off power to our mates. I could not even imagine that horror if I had power.

That explained the agony I had been in this morning, though shredding itself lasted a day. I knew that because I had been holding mine off for six years. I could not afford to lose my power without anything to replenish it. So I knew this would be hell. One, because I had no power to shred; two, because they might find out what I was if I did. I had never gone through it to know if I could even mask my white-fae side.

The sun beat down on my skin as I stepped outside. I looked around the area of this place surrounded by forest, and I knew there would be devil's bane in that forest. It was just a matter of finding it. Chewing my lip, I walked out going to the obstacle course; I internally groaned when I saw Darius was taking over Tobias's class today. He made me run track. As the sun started going down, the whistle blew, and he called everyone inside as a storm was fast approaching. I sighed, excited to rest as I watched everyone head in. Zac walked over to Darius, talking like good friends as they walked back to the castle, and I glared in their direction. Giving the forest a longing look, I turned to head in when I noticed Darius was gone, along with Zac. What I would give to be able to move so quickly, mist where I wanted. But no, I had to walk.