Void Read online

  “Did you pack me breakfast?” I asked. “How thoughtful of you.”

  “No?” Gritt replied. I noticed a card on top and picked it up to read the pristine script inside:

  Devicka,

  I was called away on council business. I left Gritt instructions on what to go over. Give him hell and see you soon.

  Always in your corner,

  Banner

  I opened the basket and grinned at the various fruits and breakfast items. Maybe my little talk with Banner last night had been good after all.

  “What is it?” Gritt asked.

  I passed over the instructions Banner had left for him. “A gift from Banner. He won’t be here today,” I replied. Despite everything, I didn’t actually want to torment Gritt with our failed bond. I couldn’t blame him for hating to be stuck with me. He was a paragon after all, destined to do great shit that I wanted no part of.

  “Of course he packed you breakfast,” Gritt muttered while reading the slip of paper. He dropped it as soon as he finished reading, and then started digging through his backpack. He pulled out a large textbook and sat down at a desk, motioning for me to sit next to him. “He left us a shit load of stuff to read.”

  Gritt opened the textbook and grabbed a pencil from his pocket, nodding at the chair beside him before putting his shaggy blond hair up in a bun on top of his head. I settled into my seat, my uniform riding up my thighs as I twisted to look at the book in front of Gritt. It was almost amusing to have him as a study buddy. He didn’t exactly scream studious. With his huge muscles, tanned skin, and handsome face, he was much more the cocky jock.

  “What’s on the lesson plan, Nitty Gritty?” I asked before tapping my pencil on the edge of the desk. I was still mad at him, but I was also mad at myself. I wish I didn’t let him get under my skin so easily. I wish I didn’t feel this pull toward him.

  Gritt rolled his eyes. “The origin of Voids. You’ve got an entire chapter dedicated to your kind.” My mouth dropped open in shock, and I scooted my chair over to get a better look. My entire life, I’d been curious about my abilities, and Banner had found a book about my kind. I didn’t know where he’d gotten it, but I was grateful.

  My fingers greedily inched toward the textbook. Gritt flipped through the pages, and once he got where he wanted, he shoved it toward me. “Read.”

  He might as well have been a caveman for all of his single word grunts he tossed my way, but I didn’t care. I was too engrossed by the picture on the page in front of me. A man surrounded by black smoke looked back at me, right alongside a chapter-long list of warnings.

  “The first recorded Void was all the way back in the thirteen hundreds,” I said, more to myself than anything.

  Gritt grunted but made no other noise as he picked at his claws.

  “Capable of draining immense power, all Voids have explained their ability in similar ways, describing it as an endless hunger. There have been testimonies of a Void consuming hundreds of powers at once, and it still being capable of draining more. There is no known limit to the amount of power that they can pilfer.”

  My words died in my throat as I stared. I knew that my power was extreme, but I had no idea that it was limitless. Just how many people could I steal powers from until I had to stop? Would the Void ever be satiated? According to this, I had a lifetime of starvation to look forward to. That thought didn’t sit so well.

  “Who was he?” I heard myself asking, my eyes still trained on the page.

  In my peripheral, I saw Gritt look up from his claws. “Theodore Rhodes,” he replied in a bored tone. “Last known Void to exist. There used to be more thousands of years ago, but they were gradually killed off, as well as information surrounding them. He died about a hundred years before you were born. Leveled an entire shifter compound. A horde of vamps took him down.”

  I swallowed thickly. No wonder Gritt had so much animosity toward me. Voids had a deadly history of killing his people. “He grew up in a human orphanage, but when he came into his powers, they moved him to a super city. He had a fancy amulet, just like yours. But it failed. The temptation was too much for him. And the more power he ate, the more he craved. He didn’t just take their powers, he took their lives, too.”

  My heart thudded in my chest. This right here, this was my biggest fear.

  “I don’t want to ever get to that point,” I whispered, drawing Gritt’s attention to my fearful expression. I stared him in the eye, wordlessly telling him everything I was feeling.

  “You wouldn’t,” he said with certainty.

  “But if I did...just, promise me you won’t let me ever do that. You and the other paragons—you’re strong enough. If I ever lose control like that, promise me you’ll stop me. Whatever the cost. I don’t want to be a mass murderer.” Tears filled my eyes, dread filling me, given what I was capable of. I’d always known it, but now that I’d actually seen evidence of it, it sobered me with stark cold terror.

  He studied me intently, and I ignored the buzzing need in my amulet just to stare back at him. “I won’t let you get to that point,” he said quietly, and there was an unexpected tenderness in his tone that made my breath catch.

  I breathed out a shaky sigh of relief. My biggest fear had always been to lose total control. To become a mindless Void and forget all about Devicka. “Good,” I said with a nod.

  I resumed flicking through the pages. Aside from the warnings, there wasn’t much information in here. Just a lot of awful accounts of what Voids had done to supers in the past. It wasn’t a pretty picture. Gritt coughed and started tapping his pencil on the desk, observing me as I thumbed through the pages.

  “None of this talks about any Void transferring powers or even being able to do partial feedings,” I observed. “In fact, most of these pages just talk about...putting Voids down as soon as their powers came out, or locking them up.”

  My Void churned inside of me, feeling hungry and uneasy. Hundreds of children killed, all because black smoke came out of them one day. It was fucking awful. If I’d been born a few hundred years earlier, that would’ve been me. Murdered at ten years old for no fault of my own.

  My amulet started buzzing harder, and I looked down at it with a wince. The skin where it sat had turned red like the amulet was burning me. “Fuck. Can you take me back to the cabin? The Void is hungry again, and since Banner is gone today...I don’t want to risk losing control,” I admitted. I made a move to stand, and Gritt jerked his hand out to stop me.

  “You’re hungry,” he said, his green eyes locked on my face.

  “Yes,” I replied, feeling suddenly nervous under his intense expression.

  “I can feel it.”

  I frowned. “You can feel my hunger?”

  He nodded slowly, and I noticed that his pupils had dilated. Was he...aroused? The bond wasn’t breaking. If anything, it seemed to be growing stronger.

  He stood up and grabbed both my wrists, pulling me up to stand. “We’ve already done this twice. We’ve proven we can handle it.”

  His hot breath feathered down my skin, trailing lines of heat along my face as my lips parted. Up close, I could see the stubble on his chin, the slight dimple on his right cheek. My tongue darted out to lick my lips, and his eyes followed the movement in rapt attention. “I-I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I stumbled before taking a step back.

  “Are you sure?” he asked with a pout. I wasn’t sure what to make of his sickly sweet, tempting voice.

  “Positive,” I choked out, even though my necklace was buzzing, my heart thudding, and every damn cell in my body was demanding that I take off the necklace and mold my body to his, eat him up like the decadent treat he was.

  His flirty expression faltered and a smirk replaced his pout. “What if I said I wanted you to feed from me?” he asked while stalking even closer.

  My forehead was just a kiss away from his chin. I tilted my head up, hating him for tempting me if he was just going to change his mind again, but also cur
ious about what he meant. He was acting like happy Gritt again. Like the Gritt I’d woken up beside.

  “You don’t want this,” I reminded him.

  “Maybe I do.”

  I sighed angrily at him. “Well, maybe I don’t,” I snapped. “Maybe I want to give you emotional whiplash.”

  He wasn’t deterred. “You mean, you don’t want me to do this?” Gritt challenged in a low, husky voice as he took another step forward and placed his hot hand around my neck.

  Yes. “Definitely not,” I sputtered, backing away again, only to be blocked by the desk behind me.

  “And you don’t want me to do this either?” He took the necklace in his hand and slowly started to unclasp it.

  My Void knocked against my skin, begging to be let out. Yes, Yes, Yes. “Nope.”

  His smirk widened, like he could hear the truth beneath the lie, but after he had the clasp undone, he kept the amulet pressed against my chest. He leaned in, and I was sure he must be able to hear how fast my heart was racing. “Admit that you want to feed from me.”

  “No,” I said on a breathy sigh, my eyes fluttering closed.

  His other arm wrapped around my middle, letting his large hand press against the small of my back. I automatically arched into him. His scruffy beard scraped against my skin as he ran his cheek against mine. “Liar.”

  I couldn’t resist him for a single second longer. I didn’t want to. My new mantra was to take what I wanted, and I was starving for him. My lips crashed to his, so fast and aggressive that it caught him off guard. But he only paused for a second before he met me—lips to lips, tongue to tongue, teeth to teeth.

  “Say it,” he growled against my mouth.

  “You first.”

  He trailed the amulet down my skin, until it was pressing between my breasts. At the same time, he moved his mouth down my neck, making chills erupt from the sensitive spots that he started to lick and nibble. The amulet was almost vibrating now, which only made my body even more aware of all the sensations that Gritt was wrenching from me.

  He was right. I wanted him. I wanted this.

  I reached down between us and let my hand rub against his hardness. He groaned and bit into my skin.

  “I want to fuck you,” he admitted. “I want you to feed from me. I need both of those things like I need to fucking breathe. I can’t lie anymore. I can’t fucking hold back.”

  Hearing him say it out loud made my need for him soar even higher.

  “Then do it,” I told him, my eyes finding his.

  His throat bobbed, the muscle in his jaws clenching. “You want me to fuck you, Void? Right here in the classroom?”

  I whimpered in response and started stroking him more, but the hand at my back moved around so that he could grip my wrist, stopping me. “Then say it.”

  I looked up at him. “I want you.”

  “What do you want?” he pressed. I clenched my teeth. The asshole wanted me to say everything.

  “I want to feed from you...and I want you to fuck me, right here in the classroom.”

  He hummed in approval. “That’s right. And that’s what I fucking want too. Because you’re my godsdamned mate.”

  His hand over the amulet released, and my Void shot out of my skin, coalescing from my pores. The smoke wrapped around us until all I could see was my body pressed against Gritt’s. He deftly lifted me up until I was sitting on the teacher’s desk, and he shoved my legs open to step between them.

  My Void wrapped around his limbs in thin wisps, feeding gently. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he moaned. “Fuck.”

  I would have mirrored his response, but I was too high off the mixture of feeding while being completely lost to lust.

  “This damn schoolgirl skirt fucking kills me every day,” he said, looking down at where the fabric was hiked up against my thigh. “I swear, it’s shorter today.”

  “I’m pretty sure the necro made some mice hem it four inches shorter,” I breathed, reaching down to unclasp his pants. I popped them open and shoved them down hurriedly, earning a smirk from Gritt.

  “In a hurry?” he teased.

  “Yes! Just get inside me.”

  His eyes flashed, and I swear, I was suddenly looking back at an animal in his place. “Fucking gladly.”

  He pushed down his boxers, revealing his large, hard erection. I stared down at it in equal parts excitement and lust. “I really hope you know how to use that thing.”

  He scoffed and flipped my skirt up, baring my cotton panties. He brought a curled finger down my slit, feeling the wetness there. “I know how to use it, Devi. Are you sure you can take it?”

  In response, I reached down and gripped his cock in my hand, stroking him back and forth. He threw his head back with a hiss before looking back at me, tugging at his bottom lip with his teeth. He started palming my breasts before ripping the fabric of my shirt at the buttons, popping it open to grant him better access.

  “Why is this pull so strong?” I asked breathlessly while stroking him. My mind was at war with the Void which was at war with his body. I stopped stroking him to thumb the precum that had gathered at the tip. “Whenever I’m near you…”

  “You want to fuck?” he finished for me with a cocky smile before kissing my collarbone. His lips were soft but the roughness of his beard made the sensation a blend of harsh and tender.

  “I was going to say dick punch you, but…” Gritt grabbed my hand and pulled it away from him before binding my wrists together with his grip. The Void smoke danced between us even more.

  “I’m not sure why my animals picked you, but this feels too good to stop. I’m not going to resist it anymore,” he said before lacing his lips with mine. I tried to pull away, enjoying the push and pull of his hold on me. “So stop talking and bend over.”

  I gasped at his hot words, feeling dirty and wanted. It might not be the most romantic thing a girl could hear, but it was so real and so Gritt. I loved it.

  He took advantage of my open mouth to swipe his tongue against mine, and I moaned on the sweet taste. Power was flowing between us freely now. I felt filled to the brim, but I still wanted more. My Void drank in small tastes, but instead of weakening him, Gritt seemed invigorated.

  Using the hold on my wrists, he spun me around and pushed me against the desk. I braced myself against the edge as he lifted the back of my skirt up and pulled my panties down.

  “Gods, you have a fantastic ass,” he said while rubbing his palm along the heated curve. It was a tender touch, kneading and warm. Then a smack sounded and stinging pain seared through my skin before being quickly soothed by a rubbing sensation. “Looks even better all marked up and red from my hand.”

  He spanked me again before dragging the tip of his cock along my asshole. I went rigid before looking over my shoulder to glare at him. “Don’t you dare,” I said while giving him an angry look.

  “I won’t...today. But one day, I plan to claim every fucking part of you, Devicka.” My name sounded like a promise on his lips. I liked hearing it a hell of a lot more than Void.

  “How about we start by not wanting to kill each other first,” I said before dipping lower and arching my back. My breasts touched the cool wood of the desk. “Now fuck me.”

  “With pleasure,” he growled before using his boot to kick my right foot out and widen my stance. He then threaded his hands through my hair and yanked hard, forcing me to look back at him over my shoulder. “Next time,” he began before pressing at my entrance. “I’ll make you look me in the eye as I fuck you.” And then he slammed into me with a single, punishing thrust. My breath hitched at how full I was, the shocking entrance stretching me completely. He paused as I directed my gaze forward, the smoky Void mixed in with the sweat on my skin. I could taste the power, the desire, the connection. It was heady and consuming.

  Gritt pulled all the way out then slammed back into me. Then he did it again and again until the rhythm of his thrusts matched my heartbeat. The Void filled the
room completely, stroking the space with power, and for once, I was able to see it and not feel destructive. His power fed into me in languorous gulps while his cock hit that delicious part inside of me. Feeding and fucking at the same time was the best combination in the world. It was utter and total perfection.

  The sounds we made were obscene in the big, empty classroom. Skin hitting skin, the wetness between my legs making a squelching noise as he moved in and out, the moans that slipped from my throat.

  Gritt released the hold on my hair to cover my mouth. “Unless you want the entire school to hear me fucking you, you need to keep it down.”

  I opened my mouth wider and bit down on his hand, but instead of flinching away, he chuckled. “No biting. Your mouth can do much better things than that,” he said, and then he moved his hand, forcing my lips apart. When I opened my mouth, he slipped a finger inside. “Suck.”

  I trailed my tongue along the underside of his roughened finger and then sucked, making him groan. He reached down with his other hand and lifted one of my legs, placing my bent knee on the desk so that he could go even deeper. He was big, bigger than I’d had before, so the new angle was somewhat painful, but it felt good to be stretched by him. It felt right to have him inside of me.

  “I love watching your smoke wrap around my cock as I fuck you,” he said huskily, taking his finger out of my mouth.

  His words sent more heat to my core, weeping for release. “I need to come,” I begged.

  “Not until you’re done feeding.”

  “Please,” I whimpered.

  He stroked his wet finger down my back, until he was rimming it around my ass. I tensed when he probed my hole. “I’ll make you come, Devicka. Just as soon as your Void isn’t hungry anymore.”

  Frustration whined out of me, but he wasn’t wrong—my Void was still hungry. It was drinking from him slowly, adding to the pleasure building up inside of me. I pushed my power out, urging it to go faster, and the clouds thickened. Somehow, I knew it wouldn’t hurt him. That this is exactly what I was supposed to be doing.