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  This time, Hunter looked up and met her gaze. “Of course not!”

  Hannah was intrigued by him. She loved his appearance just as much as the feeling that there was something different about him. So intrigued that she was willing to do what she needed to get closer to him, or to get him closer to her.

  Her longing for him like that gave her what she needed. Her voice was softer… more seductive.

  Hunter looked in her bright green eyes and he was suddenly dazed. He felt attracted to everything about her… her brown hair with reddish highlights, her long legs, her curves, and when she spoke again, he couldn’t look away from her lips.

  “You want to kiss me, don’t you?” she asked.

  His heart was trying to fight what his mind couldn’t. Even though he hesitated, he soon moved forward.

  “Come closer,” she whispered. “The little girl holding me in here is strong. There is no getting out. You will be safe.”

  He took a few more steps toward her.

  “I won’t tell anyone… If that is what you are worried about. It will be our little secret.”

  Hunter was now where she could reach him, but she didn’t need to do anything. He wanted to be closer to her. Hunter subconsciously managed to enter the wards put up by Kim. The girl lifted her hand, brushing her fingers up his arm. “If I knew there would be creatures as divine as you and Ethan in this place, I would have broken in sooner! I wonder what else is out there, outside of this room.”

  Hunter held her gaze, spellbound. He had absolutely no control.

  “You are still thinking about kissing me, aren’t you?”

  He nodded.

  She put his hands around her waist, approached him so that her lips were nearly touching his. He leaned closer and kissed her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her even closer while they kissed. Something was telling him that this was wrong. There was something weird about that kiss, but the longer they kissed, the more passionate the kiss became and the quicker he let go of any feelings that what he was doing was wrong.

  At one point, Hannah tried to stop him, but he kept pulling her to him.

  She finally broke away from him. “I like this,” she said. “I really do, and I wish we had more time, but I need you to remain strong. I need you to do something for me. If you succeed, I’m all yours.”

  Hunter, still dazed, nodded.

  “I need you to tell your little friend, Kim, that you got orders for her to put the wards down; that I can go.”

  Hunter hesitated.

  “Look at me. It is just one little favor, and then you can come with me… away from this place.”

  Hunter nodded and tried to kiss her again.

  She put her hand on his chest, holding him back. “Not yet. Trust me, you will be well rewarded for this little favor that I’m asking you to do.”

  She didn’t need to ask him again.

  Hunter stepped out of the room. The faculty member who was to stay with Kim had stepped out. Hunter told Kim that Daniels called the office and he was to escort the girl out of there.

  Kim had no reason not to trust Hunter, so she put the wards down.

  Hunter went back and asked Hannah to follow him, holding her by the arm and leading her out of the building.

  Nothing seemed unusual to Kim, who just went back to Daniels office and waited to hear back from him.

  Hannah’s timing could not have been more perfect. They walked out of the building and instantly laid eyes on Ethan, Daniels, Ashley, the baby, and Clarissa… the fallen angel sent by the other Academy to escort them out. Other Fallen ones waited on the other side of the Academy’s gates.

  Hannah had every intention to send Hunter to retrieve the child and then run. She knew there was some kind of protection surrounding the Academy, but between the energy that she had just taken from Hunter, and the energy from the child, she knew she would be able to get out.

  Once determining that there was no time to send Hunter, and that he was probably not fast or strong enough because of what she had taken from him, she decided she would have to do the work herself.

  Hannah rushed toward Clarissa, who held the baby. Ethan, who was by Ashley’s side, saw her first and moved to where he stood in front of Clarissa and the child, quickly alerting everyone else.

  Daniels ordered Ethan to take Clarissa, Ashley, and the child to the Academy’s church. He shouted questions at Hunter: ‘Where is Kim?… What happened?’ but Hunter just stood there.

  Finally, Daniels and the others started to walk toward Hannah and Hunter.

  Kayla, who had seen the entire scene from her window, ran outside.

  “Hunter! What is going on?”

  Hannah smiled at the sight of Kayla.

  Hunter looked confused as he laid eyes on Kayla, but he then heard Hannah’s seductive voice and it was as if Kayla no longer existed.

  He stood in front of Hannah, protecting her. The Fallen ones looked confused, and Daniels just yelled for him to move out of their way.

  Some other faculty members surprised them by coming from the other side. Two fallen ones grabbed Hannah’s arms, one on each side, but she let them. She knew she was strong enough to have a chance of leaving.

  Even though Hannah knew it took more to enter the Academy then it would to leave, she could see the connection between Kayla and Hunter and that interested her too much to leave right away.

  Hunter turned around to defend Hannah, but she stopped him. She knew of a better way to benefit from the situation and give her a little more energy to leave the Academy.

  “No need, Sweetheart,” she told him. “You did what I asked. You can kiss me again.”

  “Hunter?” Kayla said, the words ‘kissing’ and ‘again’ jumping at her.

  Hunter’s gaze was still locked on Hannah’s. He approached her. Everyone else was too puzzled to even attempt to stop him.

  The Fallen did have a tight grip on Hannah’s arms to make sure she wouldn’t try to leave… at least they thought they did, but they did nothing to stop Hunter, who walked closer and kissed her.

  Kayla turned around, and crying… ran back to her dorm.

  As soon as Hannah stopped kissing Hunter, he fell to the floor. Out of instinct, the Fallen let go of her to stop him from getting hurt.

  That was when Hannah rushed to the gates and ran out of the Academy.

  In the confusion, the Fallen ones who were outside, had moved in.

  Daniels followed her movements, and glanced at Benjamin who stood outside. Benjamin grinned. “I warned you, this place is not as protected as you believe.”

  “Son—“ said Daniels.

  “Don’t call me that!”

  Benjamin turned around, “Don’t worry, Stepfather, we will have our family reunion soon enough.”

  Benjamin and the others left.

  Everything was in even more chaos after that. Hunter had to be carried to the infirmary. Ethan was back by then and helped carry Hunter. Faculty surrounded the Academy, making sure that no one else got in, and Daniels was asked to meet with the ones who had come for Ashley in his office.

  Everyone was shocked by the turn of events.

  Daniels’ main concern was getting the Academy back in order. He was also worried about Kim. He knew Kayla was hurting, but he just couldn’t afford to waste time with a teenage crush when Kim, who was so important to the Academy and to him, could have been hurt.

  Not knowing that Kim was already in his office, he asked Angela to find her, take her to the infirmary to make sure that everything was okay, and then bring her back to his office.

  By the time he got to his office, followed by the other fallen ones, Kim and Angela were nowhere in sight.

  The Fallen in charge of the other Academy, Evelyn, stood across from Daniels. “Well, let’s see…. There is a human girl with a child who is the offspring of a half-demon… a succubus, a child-stealing one nonetheless, inside the Academy, AND an incubus orchestrating everything from the outside. Did I miss an
ything?!”

  Daniels spoke with a calm that shocked her. “These are unusual circumstances. This Academy is just as protected as the others, if not more. I assure you that we have everything under control.”

  “That is certainly not how it looks. Besides, you called for help.”

  “Evelyn, I’ve been running this Academy for years. I assure you that if that child was at your Academy, you would be in the same situation.”

  “I would believe that, if it hadn’t been for the demon outside calling you step-father. Daniels, I know of your history. I know that you have a past with the boy and somehow I doubt that he is here just for the child. There are just too many coincidences.”

  “What do you suggest, Evelyn?” he asked in a firm tone.

  “Your position as the one who runs this Academy puts me in a delicate situation. I will be calling for backup to safely transfer the girl and child to our Academy, but you have left me no choice but to put you on probation of sorts. There will be fallen ones coming from another Academy until we know that everyone is safe. Daniels,” she said in a warning tone, “if things get worse I will have to escalate the knowledge of this problem and look for guidance from others, and I assure you that they will not be happy to hear about this. So, I’m going to ask you again… is there anything else I must know?”

  Daniels nodded. “Yes, my daughter is here as well.”

  “For heaven’s sake, Daniels. Where has she been all along? How did I not know about this?!”

  “She was raised by humans.”

  Evelyn shook her head then met his gaze. “She is the blond girl, isn’t she? The one who left crying?”

  Daniels nodded.

  “I knew there was something about her, but she is able to mask what she is… I couldn’t sense that she is a Nephilim.”

  “She was raised as human, that probably has something to do with it.”

  Evelyn sat down. “A Nephilim… I hope you had the decency of keeping that from everyone. I’m not sure how to feel about this or even how to proceed, but no one must know anything until we have a plan in place for her.”

  “That is handled.”

  “Oh good, at least one thing I don’t have to worry about,” she said in a sarcastic tone, which turned cold as she continued. “I suppose the boy taken to the infirmary will not make it. A kiss like that from a succubus is deadly to any human. Be prepared to do damage control.”

  Daniels dismissed her, deciding not to talk about Hunter.

  “I will determine who will be coming from the other Academy and we will talk again… In the mean time, I assume that you have one of the Fallen rooming with your child. I want that fallen removed and one of mine will be staying with her.”

  Daniels agreed. Also deciding not to mention that Kayla had no roommate.

  Daniels walked her to the door, seeing Kim with Angela in the waiting room, he felt as if he could breathe again. As soon as the Fallen one was gone, Daniels asked Kim to come in and for Angela to go look for Kayla.

  Once in the office, Daniels made sure that Kim was okay.

  “What happened? How did she get out?

  Kim had no choice but to tell him what she knew.

  “Hunter just came out and said that you called and told him to escort her out. I thought he was telling the truth.”

  “Earlier… did you sense the wards being tampered with at anytime before the demon got in?”

  “I didn’t – I’m afraid it may have been my fault,” she said nearly crying. “I was distracted and I think I may have slipped and let it down.”

  Daniels put his hand over hers. “It wasn’t entirely your fault, Kim. We should’ve had a backup in place.” He paused. “Just go back to your dorm and rest. You need it, and please don’t blame yourself for this.”

  Kim felt horrible about not being able to tell him the entire truth, about her purposely putting the wards down to train others, but she didn’t want to get anyone else in trouble.

  She agreed to go rest and left his office.

  Things didn’t go as well when Kayla walked in his office.

  EIGHTEEN

  Kayla

  I didn’t answer the door when I first heard someone knocking.

  “Kayla, it is Angela.”

  I knew she wasn’t going to leave so after a while I finally got up and opened the door.

  “What?!” I had been crying, so my voice was low and weak.

  “Mr. Daniels wants to see you.”

  I turned around and started to walk back toward my bed.

  “Please, Kayla. Don’t make this more difficult than it should be. He just wants to talk. He can probably even give you an update on Hunter.”

  “I don’t exactly want to know about Hunter.”

  “What happened was not his fault, Kayla. I know it is difficult to understand but you should talk to him once he is out of the infirmary.”

  ‘Infirmary?’ I thought to myself, but didn’t say anything. I just followed her out of there.

  When I walked into Mr. Daniels’ office, Kim had just left and he was now on the phone with one of the Academy’s nurses. I had no idea who or what they were talking about because all he kept saying was ‘uh-huh’, ‘okay’, ‘let me know if anything changes’…

  Once he finally hung-up, he took a deep-breath and looked at me. I sat down and listened as he told me that fallen ones from the other Academy were coming to help on a more permanent level. He said that they knew about me and that one of them was going to be my new roommate. Before I could even open my mouth to complain, he stood up, fists clenching, and using a tone that startled me, “Kayla, they gave me no option and you don’t have one either!”

  I felt like I couldn’t speak at first, but then I stood up, copying his posture and frustration for that matter, “Well, if you want me to accept this without giving you problems then tell me the truth. I want to know everything that happened, with you, Benjamin, and my… my mother.”

  “Irene,” he said as if reading my mind. “Your mother’s name is Irene.”

  I nodded.

  We both sat back down.

  “Very well. You might as well know…” He paused. “Who knows? It may help you protect yourself from Benjamin if you ever need to.”

  He sighed.

  “When I met your mother, she was already pregnant with Benjamin. She was 18 and naïve, which is not a good combination, especially when dealing with an incubus. She never stood a chance in getting away from his charm. I was sent to protect her from him as well as to protect Benjamin.

  It wasn’t hard to get rid of the Demon. He started to spend more and more time away, probably…hmm… planting other seeds. Eventually, he stopped coming around all together, but I was sure he would come back when Benjamin was born.

  Your mother was so depressed that I had no option but to get closer to her. She was in her second trimester when I appeared in human form and met her at her work.

  I started out by helping her with simple things. Getting things fixed around her house. Just being there… someone to talk to and who would listen. I fell for her in no time. I fell for her and became a fallen because of it.

  I wanted her to marry me, but she still had feelings for Benjamin’s father. I told her over and over that it didn’t matter to me. That I would marry her and take care of the child as if he were my own, but she always hesitated. One day I was just tired of waiting, tired of the same response. That was when I made my first mistake. I told her about him being an incubus. She freaked out. She could feel that there was something wrong, so it wasn’t difficult to convince her.

  I promised that I could help her save Benjamin… I promised to keep them safe, and told her about what I am.

  What she felt for Benjamin’s father was lust… I knew she wasn’t in love with me, but she did love me. We got married right before Benjamin was born.

  I knew she still hoped that the demon would appear once Benjamin was born, but she didn’t know that my presence there was possibly
the reason why he had never returned… even after Benjamin was born.

  A few years passed. Irene and I got closer. Benjamin was five years old when Irene got pregnant again. That was also when Benjamin’s father came around.

  He didn’t look for Irene… he came looking for me. He ordered me to make a choice, give his son back or he would take you. To him, a Nephilim was far more valuable than his own son.

  I told him to leave and not come back.

  There were other things happening at the same time. Ever since Irene got pregnant, she started to look at Benjamin differently. She was going crazy thinking that he was evil. I had to take care of him most of the time because she was afraid. I didn’t mind. I loved Benjamin as if he were mine…. still do. None of this is his fault…. Well, not entirely anyway.

  One day I was out of the house with Benjamin when I felt there was something wrong. I rushed back to find his father in the house with your mother. I could see the difference in the way she smiled, the sparkle in her eyes. Even knowing what he was, she still didn’t care. She walked over to Benjamin and told him that that was his father and that he had to go live with him for a while. That he longed to meet and spend time with him. She actually even seemed excited for Benjamin to get that opportunity.

  I could see the confusion in Benjamin’s eyes. Everything he knew to be true, falling apart… his world falling apart at such a young age.”

  “What happened then?” I asked. “Did you just let his father take him?”

  “I tried to stop him. In no time, he had your mother in a trance-like-state. He said that I had two options. I could let him take Benjamin with no fight or he would make your mother choose to go with him and then he would have not only her and Benjamin, but you as well. He left me no choice.” He paused. “Benjamin saw everything. I assumed he was too young to understand that was a threat, but he clearly understood when I told his father that he could take him. I could feel it.”

  He looked down, avoiding my gaze.

  “I do think of Benjamin as my son. To this day, I wish there was a way to help him. To get him back and away from his father, but I also have to protect the Academy.”