“Besides, I need you in tip-top shape,” I tell him, sliding my hands into the back pockets of his jeans as I snuggle close.
“Yeah?” He grins. “Me too.” And then he leans down to kiss me, but just before our lips connect, Hudson groans dramatically.
“I keep trying to change the channel, but it won’t work.”
Even though I know it’s a ploy, I can’t help biting anyway. That’s the magic—and the horror—of Hudson. Change what channel? I demand.
“This one.” He mimes pressing the button on a remote. “So much kissing, when what I could really use is a good old-fashioned car chase. Or an assassination attempt. Or, you know, ‘a plague on both your houses!’ Something, anything, but this”—he waves his hand at Jaxon and me still snuggled up together—“all day, every day.”
Seriously? This is where you want to go after that No Exit BS you pulled on the field?
“I don’t see what the problem is,” he says loftily. “It’s a great piece of literature.”
Yeah, ’cause that’s why you were reading it. I pull away from Jaxon with a regretful smile. “Apparently Hudson has decided to rejoin the party.”
For just a second, Jaxon looks angry. Like, really angry, but then it melts away and he gives me a rueful smile. “I’m really looking forward to the day he disappears for good.”
“Yeah, me too,” I answer. And I mean it, I do. I really am looking forward to having my mind and my body back for my exclusive use. But still, there’s something in Jaxon’s statement, and his voice, that doesn’t feel quite right. I just can’t put my finger on what it is.
Maybe that’s why, when he leans in to drop a quick kiss on my lips, I dodge and give him a big hug instead. Or maybe it’s just my overactive imagination, because when he hugs me back, arms so tight around me that for a minute—just a minute—I feel safe and whole and right, something I haven’t felt in far too long.
I glance at Hudson and notice fury in his gaze before he has a chance to hide it. He’s angrier than I’ve ever seen him. Angry and something more—hurt. His gaze narrows on Jaxon just as Jaxon seems to almost stumble, reaching out to put one hand on the wall beside him.
“Whoa.” Jaxon gives me a half smile. “I think I’m more tired than I thought.”
Something isn’t right. I can feel it. But before I can ask him, he straightens and gives me a confident smile.
“See you in the morning?” he asks me when he finally pulls away.
“Yeah. I’ll meet you guys in the cafeteria for breakfast before class.”
“Sounds good.” He starts to turn away but stops at the last second and says, “Give this to Hudson for me, will you?” And then he flips up his middle finger.
“Very mature,” Hudson drawls, still leaning against the door.
“You just did,” I tell Jaxon.
“Oh yeah?” The news gives him a little bounce in his step. “Then here’s a couple more.” This time he uses both hands to flip his brother off before finally turning and walking away.
I watch him go, and Hudson pretends to play some very sad music on an air violin in the background. “And the villain fades away into obscurity, never to be seen or heard from again…”
“He’s not the villain of this story.” I frown. “You are. And Jaxon’s not going anywhere.”
“Yeah.” Hudson heaves an exaggerated sigh and steps away from the door. “That’s what you keep telling me.”
“Aren’t you tired?” I ask him as I let myself into my room. “Go take a nap or something.”
“Not tired at all. I napped all day just so we could spend the evening together.” He gives me a shit-eating grin. “I feel great.”
And just like that, all the puzzle pieces fit together and I figure out the horrible truth of what just happened to my boyfriend. “You’re draining Jaxon’s energy, aren’t you? How are you doing it?” I demand, but then it comes to me. “Oh my God. You’re using my mating bond to drain my mate? Are you serious?”
He holds both hands up. “It’s not like that.”
My stomach rolls. How could I not have guessed it before now? I can’t believe I missed it. I was actually starting to trust Hudson. I feel light-headed and queasy.
“I don’t have a choice. This whole me being alive but not actually alive yet means I have to take energy from somewhere, and for whatever reason the universe hooked me up to your mating bond. Probably so that I could take energy from both of you instead of just you, so I wouldn’t overwhelm your system.”
“Wait a minute.” His explanation is yet another shock to my system. “So you’re feeding off me, too?”
I’ll give him credit. He doesn’t lie. Instead, he looks me straight in the eye and says, “Yes.”
“This whole time?” I ask, incredulous. “You’ve been feeding off Jaxon and me since we got here?”
“Pretty much, yeah. But I’m taking way more from him than I am from you.”
“You say that like it’s a good thing…and not an absolutely terrifying one.” I shake my head to try to clear it. “Why would you do that? Why would you risk hurting him like that?”
“Because he has more to spare. And I’m not hurting him.” He sighs. “I’m just borrowing some of his life force so I can stay alive.”
“Which means what? That you’re pulling his life force out of him…like Darth Vader?” I demand. “Oh my God. You’re deliberately hurting him and it’s all my fault.”
“It’s no one’s fault,” he answers. “Jaxon has more power than you do, so I automatically get more power from him.”
“What about what just happened?” I demand, eyes narrowed. “When he stumbled? I know you did something to him. What did you do?”
He sighs. “I took an extra burst of energy. It wasn’t even a big one.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “It felt like a big one. I thought he was going to fall in the hallway.”
He doesn’t answer for the longest time, and when he does, he sounds totally cavalier. “Normally I’m careful not to take too much from either of you. Maybe this time I wasn’t so careful.”
“I knew it!” Anger rockets through me. “Why would you do that to him?”
“He’s fine,” Hudson tells me, voice and eyes completely flat.