"Access Denied?" I mumbled softly and watched as my beast-men exchanged glances.

I gently sat up and stretched my hands subtly when a knock came from the door. "Who’s that?" I asked, and the door pushed open as Elowen rushed in.

Gosh, I almost gagged seeing her, but I managed to keep a straight face. "Are you okay? Who hurt you? How dare they!" she yelled, trailing her gaze around my body and using her hands to check me, but I pushed them away.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, and her lips parted. "Raven, I came to check up on you. That’s what family does," she raised her voice. Making her intentions known, anyone with eyes could tell she was just putting on an act, "the caring sister, the saint of Beast Bound Academy." Ugh, I could already imagine the ass-kissing. Gosh, I wanted to shove her out of my room, but as smart as she was, she left the door wide open, letting the students outside peek in.

But where was Darian? My eyes narrowed in suspicion. Why wasn’t he here? I thought they went everywhere together. I wanted to catch whoever was trying to kill me, and him not being here of all times was very suspicious. Water magic... that was my only lead. There can’t be many that could control it.

"Are you looking for someone?" Elowen asked, maintaining her calm demeanor.

"Where’s Darian?" I asked, and the air went stiff and cold.

"Sister, you shouldn’t be asking that. Aren’t your beast-men enough for you? Trying to seduce others’ beast-men is prohibited and punishable by law. Don’t you understand?" she mumbled, sulking on her lower lip. I watched as the crowd outside stared with curiosity and judging looks.

"Coveting witch."

"Even with four beast-men, she’s not satisfied."

"Lusting over another. Yuck!"

"We should kick her out. Someone like her shouldn’t be in the academy."

I heard those words, yet I felt nothing. I kept a straight face, waiting for Elowen to make her next move, and like clockwork, she did, rushing towards me and grasping my hands.

"Sister, I know you like Darian, but he won’t take you back... maybe if you be—"

"Elowen, is your brain fried?" I shot, pulling my hands out of her grasp, and everyone’s murmuring died instantly. "You thought I was asking for Darian because I liked him?" I scoffed. "Elowen, what happened before was mere infatuation that died. I’m asking because he might be the one who tried to kill me." Hearing my words, Elowen froze.

"What do you mean? I know you are angry he chose me, but accusing him in such a manner isn’t befitting of you," she said, and I rolled my eyes.

"He chose you?" A maniacal laugh escaped my lips. Elowen was really something else. She had seduced Darian over and over again and made sure he tarnished Raven’s reputation in every way, yet Raven always crawled back, licking his boots, craving his attention.

"Get out!" I yelled, and she turned, leaving the room that instant.

I yawned softly, but then my tummy growled.

"I guess Raven hadn’t eaten because of the drowning incident. I should probably get something to eat," I thought inwardly, but before I could make a move, my beast-men had disappeared, all except Azrael. His cold eyes bored into mine, and he looked away. I saw his subtle movement, he was leaving.

"Azrael."

He paused and stared straight at me. "Yes, Raven?" he asked.

"Did you see their face?" I asked flatly, and his lips parted.

"No."

For some reason, I didn’t feel like believing him, but I formed a low smile. "Okay," I said, and he chuckled.

"You don’t believe?"

"It’s not tha—"

"I wouldn’t blame you. I did let it all happen after all. She has black hair, she’s at B-rank, and has water control. She’s about 5’8 feet tall," he paused and sat back down. "What do you want to do?" he asked, and a dark smile formed on my face.

"I need to teach someone a lesson," I said.

The door burst open. Veyra and Ryker had come back with trays of food. I stared in shock, yet my eyes shimmered with warmth.

"Eat mine. It’s smoother and easier to digest."

"No, mine is softer. Just look at that cake!" Ryker boasted, and a chuckle escaped my lips. I reached forward with both hands and took a dish from both their trays.

"Thank you," I said, taking a bite of Ryker’s cake and washing it down with the cola Veyra brought.

AFTERNOON

Training had started, and everyone was downstairs dressed in their combat gear. I stared from the balcony, watching everyone march into the arena. I wanted to be part of them, but I was merely D-rank. My magic power was too little, except for the manipulation magic I was gifted yesterday.

"Are you bored?" Azrael’s bold voice came from behind.

I stared at him and nodded softly. He strode towards me. Before I could say a word, his arms suddenly circled around my waist. I didn’t have time to protest (not like I would), and we disappeared instantly, reappearing on the rooftop of the training ground.

My eyes gleamed as I saw someone using fire powers. It was hot; I could even feel the heat from above. This scenery felt like all those action fantasies I usually watched on my laptop at home... Wow. I didn’t know the Beast World was this intense. Beast-men fought alongside their female masters, but then Liora caught my eye.

My smile slowly faltered. Water? She had water powers. I watched as she swirled it around and actually formed a kitten with it, watching it walk around while small droplets fell to the ground.

"Azrael, did my attacker have a physique like hers?" I asked, pointing straight at Liora. I suspected her. She was the only character not mentioned in the original book. No matter how I thought about it, there was never someone with such a name or even a hint about her background.

"Yes."

My breath hitched that instant. "We should go get her," Azrael said, ready to disappear, but I held his hand.

"We can’t just assume she’s the one. Even if she is, which I suspect, I need proof. I’d rather not hurt someone that’s innocent, and I’d need justification if I was questioned later." My words may have come off like I didn’t want to blame Liora or that I felt attached to her, but it wasn’t that... I had been blamed countless times for things I never did. If I just convicted her, I would be no better than those monsters who convicted me.

Azrael raised his brow in confusion, staring at me like I had lost my senses. "Since when did you care about that?" he asked, and I sighed. "That’s not important. I just can’t act on mere assumptions. Let’s set a trap. Let’s make the culprit expose themselves," I said. His eyes darkened, and he nodded in understanding.

We disappeared back to my room, and I gently moved to my desk.

"Tell me everything. How did you find me?" I asked.

"I was out, just wanting to take in fresh air, when I saw you walk out... you muttered some words. I thought it was a usual trick to gain attention, but then you passed out, and a masked figure walked towards you. She held you close, then disappeared. I followed and watched as she tied you, and then you woke up. She blended with the shadows."

"So an B-ranker with shadow binding skill too... this would really be hard. What do power-hungry people like that want?" I asked.

"So I watched. I wanted you to die!" he said. Yeah, those words hit deep, but I could barely react. I sighed. "It’s okay. I deserved that," I said, not fighting, not arguing, and I watched as his brows rose in confusion.

"Anyway, I ended up saving you at the end..." he said, "but you were dead when I took out your body, and I was fading," he added.

"You saved me because you were afraid of dying, right?" I asked, still fidgeting with the paper on my desk, when suddenly I felt his aura behind me. I froze, and suddenly his head landed on my shoulder. He was so close, I could feel his muscular body press against my back... especially his lower half.

"You’re too close," I said, and he chuckled.

"Master," he whispered in my ear, and I blushed. It sounded hot and tempting. It was the first time I was hearing him call me master...

He moved closer... there was no space left between me and the desk, and a slight "aah" escaped my lips. I froze at my own sound.

His lips landed on my neck, trailing soft kisses, and I shivered. His lips parted:

"I realized I won’t allow even death to take you from me."