Crave 1
Tracy Wolff
Grace arrives in Alaska and never would have believed that was where she would be. Her uncle sent a man named Phillip to pick her up.
1. Grace is in the small plane Phillip flies and then lands in Healy Alaska. She gets her three suitcases from the back and Phillip carries them for her. Her cousin Macy comes to pick her up to take her to the boarding school her uncle runs. She is not a fan of the cold especially coming from San Diego. Macey tells her it is about a 90 minute drive to the school. They load Grace’s suitcases into a snow mobile and Macey gives her accessories to keep her warm on the drive.
2. They arrive at Katmere Academy which is a castle. As Grace and Macy start to carry Grace’s bags to the school, but Grace is not used to the high altitude and has to stop to catch her breath. Not being able to breath almost sends her into a panic attack and she has to take as deep of breaths as she can to steady herself. She looks up and sees someone watching her from on top of the castle. Macy comes back for her and they walk in together. On their way to the office, everyone is staring at Grace. Once they get to her father’s office, Macy invites Grace to share a dorm room with her. She tells her that all the single rooms are gone, but they can move someone out of one to give it to her if she wants. Grace doesn’t want to make enemies and agrees to be Macy’s roommate. Macy is excited and leaves the room. Grace starts to study a beautiful chess piece. The guy from the room tells her to be careful because it bites. She drops the piece in surprise.
3. She asks the boy who he is talking about, and he says the chess piece. She blows him off. He quotes Hamlet at her, but she corrects the quote having just studied the play. She says she has to go and he agrees. She tells him she doesn’t have anywhere to go. He tells her she isn’t welcome there. After hurling insults back and forth at each other, he tells her she won’t last with all the monsters in the castle. He backs her against the table and asks what she is afraid of if not monsters. She thinks about having to identify her parents body and tells him not much scares her because she’s already lost everything. He seems to understand the pain. She tries to push him away from her, but isn’t able to move. He puts his hand in her hair, but lets go and when she asks. She notices the scar on his forehead. She thinks he should be proud of the scar because it shows what he has survived. She brushes the scar with his hand, and he lets her. She apologizes, but he leans into her hand. He says he doesn’t understand her. He tells her to keep her head down and not look at anything too closely at the school and to always watch her back.
4. Uncle Finn calls out and Grace turns towards him. When she turns back around to the boy, he is gone. He come in and hugs her and asks how she is doing. He apologizes for not picking her up himself. He tells her to come see him in the morning to set up her schedule and time with the school therapist. He calls out to one of the boys, Flint, to carry her bags to her room. Macy wants to get away before Flint catches up to him, but he gets to them quickly. He offers to carry Grace up the stairs, but she refuses. He compromises with her letting him help her up the stairs, but he ends up mostly carrying her and her two suit cases. When they get up the three flights of stairs, they start heading to the North wing and the door opens. The boy from earlier and his friends go walking by and he brushes Grace’s arm with his own making it look unintentional.
5. When they get to the room, Flint sets down Grace and her things and she thanks him before he leaves. Grace accuses Macy of having a crush on Flint, but Macy says she has a boyfriend. Flint is just one of the more popular boys, but the most popular is the dark boy, Jaxon, and his group. Macy tried to get things for Grace’s side of the room she thought she would like including bedding and clothes. Grace is really touched by the sentiment. She wishes she hadn’t had a fight with her parents just two hours before her dad lost control of their car and they drove off a huge cliff into the ocean. Grace showers and gets in her pajamas while Macy gets her soup and Tylenol. They go to sleep.
6. Grace wakes up in the middle of the night. Back home, she would go for a run, but she can’t do that in the castle. She decides to walk around the castle. A couple of boys find her and give her a hard time about wandering around the school. They are upset they had to have meetings about her and being on their best behavior. They ask if she has seen the snow. They grab her and plan to throw her out the door.
7. She struggles and hits one in the nose. Suddenly both boys are thrown away from her. She tries to run away but runs into someone. Jaxon is there. She grabs her and puts her behind him asking if the boys have a problem. They try to tell him they were going to throw her outside for a few minutes as a joke. Jaxon tells them they know the rules. He tells them to apologize and they do before he dismisses them. Grace wants to go back to her room, but Jaxon tells her to wait. He makes sure he is okay and promises they won’t bother her again. He tells her he has made her a pawn in the game, but she doesn’t know what he’s talking about and he starts to realize she really doesn’t know. She is bleeding from her cheek and he wipes the blood away with a finger and puts it in his mouth. He tells her not to leave her room after midnight. He sends her back to her room and she goes back to her room and lock the door. Suddenly he is gone.
8. When Macy wakes up, Grace tells her about her late night walk and the bullies she encountered, but leaves out it was Jaxon that saved her. Macy says the two guys, Mark and …, are usually nice guys. She promises the school does have a lot of nice people and reminds Grace that Flint was nice. Grace asks if Macy has Netflix and they agree to watch a show together about a supernatural boarding school that has werewolves and vampires.
9. Macy helps Grace get ready for the party to welcome her to the school and lends her a dress. Grace is apprehensive about going at all. When they are about to go out the door, Macy warns Grace about the decoration she has hanging up that shocks people. Grace touches it and it doesn’t shock her at all. They go down to the intricately decorated hall where everyone is already gathered. Grace is impressed with the dragon lanterns on the wall that have actual fire in them. As Macy leads Grace to her friend group, Grace notices there are factions among the kids there and none of them seem to mingle. Macy introduces Grace to her boyfriend, Cam, and his friend James. When Macy and Cam start making out, James eyes Grace and she get uncomfortable. Grace announces she is going to get a drink even though her is still full.
10. When she gets to the table, Flint meets her there and puts his arm around her. James, who was following her, backs off. Jaxon starts walking towards her and she takes a drink of her pop to have something to do, but chokes on it. She tries to catch her breath and Flint hits her back. When Jaxon walks by and brushes her arm with his again, she is able to breath again. She is embarrassed and excuses herself to the bathroom.
11. Grace runs through the halls of the school until she comes to the library. She loves the way it is organized and decorated with gargoyles and stickers. She approaches a room (that is denied to students who don’t have permission) when she hears chanting in a foreign language. The girl inside looks furious at first, but her anger goes away instantly when she sees Grace.
12. Leah introduces herself and has been wanting to meet Grace. She steers Grace out of the room and closes it up quickly. Grace asks about the language she was speaking and the book, but Leah doesn’t give up much information. She invites her up to her room for tea. Once in her room, she makes it from her own blend of leaves. She explains that she is there because her parents recently died. Leah says she knows how she feels because her boyfriend she was with for a long time recently died as well. They talk about the tea and the tea cups and how moving from San Diego to Alaska is going for Grace. Leah tells Grace the most important skill to learn at Katmere academy is how to lie.
13. Leah says she is just messing with Grace. They talk about the how Leah was reading Acadian which evolved from ancient Sumarian. They start to bond over the shared interest. Her phone vibrates and Grace checks her phone to find Macy has been texting her for a while trying to find her. She texts back that she is fine and where she is. Macy comes quickly and knocks on the door. Leah says they can hang out later and is very cold towards Macy. Macy is shocked that Grace was hanging out with Leah and that she told her about her boyfriend. Macy apologizes for throwing a party without thinking about how the change would affect Grace. They get back to their room and Grace goes to the bathroom to throw up.
14. Grace convinces Macy to wait and see how she feels in the morning before calling the school nurse. In the morning, Macy’s alarm goes off. She quickly turns it off and tells Grace she has already talked to her dad about Grace skipping classes for the day and staring school the next day. There is a knock on the door and Macy opens it expecting her dad. Flint is there and Macy rushes off to the bathroom to clean herself up quickly. He invites Grace to a snowball fight he is planning after school. Grace is reluctant. When Macy comes out of the bathroom, Grace tells her Flint invited them and she says they have to go. Flint kisses Grace’s cheek before leaving their room.
15. Macy is shocked at how Flint is acting with Grace and says he doesn’t treat anyone else like that. Grace tells Macy if she has a crush on him, she should break up with her boyfriend and go for him. She tells him the groups don’t ever mingle. There is another knock on the door and Flynn is there to check in her. He agrees with Macy that she should take a day off before starting her classes. He goes over and talks with Macy so quietly that Grace can’t hear what they are saying. After a while of feeling trapped in the room and castle, Grace gets dressed to go walk the grounds. She notices the names of the outbuildings and what classes they house. She picks up her pace to start going back to the castle when she sees Leah and Jaxon in the Gazebo.
16. Grace freezes unsure of what to do. Leah and Jaxon start yelling at each other. Leah slaps Jaxon across the face. When she goes to slap him a second time, he catches her wrist. They both look at Grace. Leah is friendly and asks her to join them. Grace says she is heading back inside, but Jaxon quickly catches up with her. She tells him she is just cold, but he thinks it is just an excuse. He grabs her and turns her to him. His arrogance annoys her and he tells her he doesn’t like her hanging out with Flint because it is like painting a target on her back. She asks what hanging out with him is and his answer is stupidity. He gets closer to her and asks what she and Flint were talking about at the party. She doesn’t remember and asks what he and Leah were talking about. They were talking about his brother, which Grace correctly guesses was Leah’s boyfriend that died. She gives her sympathy for his pain, which he tries to hide. She holds his hand for a few seconds before he takes off down the path. Grace turns the other way and heads back to the school. She realizes neither Leah nor Jaxon were wearing jackets.
17. Grace isn’t too crazy about the idea of the snowball fight, but is determined to go for Macy who really wants to go. On their way through the school, Grace asks who all is going to be there. She explains Flint has a large group of friends and there will probably be at least 50 people there. She asks if Jaxon will be there. Macy explains they call his group “the Order” and he doesn’t really socialize outside of it. Macy warns her to stay away from him because he’s dangerous. Jaxon comes up from behind and hears what she is saying.
18. Jaxon isn’t happy to hear that Grace is going out to Flint’s snowball fight. He gets closer to Grace to point out she is ignoring his advice about keeping a low profile. She tells him she can take care of herself and invites him along with them. Flint arrives and joins them. She tells him she invited Jaxon, and Flint says he’s ready to fight until Jaxon’s friends circle around him. Grace grabs Macy to go outside and Jaxon tells her to build up an arsenal before attacking. She tries to get him to join them again, but he walks away.
19. Flint gives her a hard time for liking Jaxon. Grace says they are just friends and she doesn’t want to talk about him. Flint c alls out the rules to the crowd and starts the countdown to the start of the fight. Flint, Macy, and Grace run for a spot and start making snowballs. Macy doesn’t want to stay in hiding and runs out into the fray and the other two follow. Grace notices the entire school is out in the snow except Jaxon’s group. When they run out of remade snowballs, they make a few and decide to climb into the trees. Macy goes up first and Flint tosses her his hat full of ammo. Flint carries Grace up and puts her on a branch. They fire below when Marc and Quinn come by and Grace feels good about hitting them several times. The wind comes along almost knocks Grace out of the tree. As Flint is coming to get her, the branch breaks and Grace starts to fall.
20. Flint jumps after Grace and twists her around so when they hit the ground he breaks her fall. They get up and Jaxon is there staring at them and furious that Flint put her life in danger. Flints friends start to gather around him in a show of support against Jaxon. Jaxon tells Grade to go inside and she decides it is a good idea despite not wanting to do what he orders. She goes to touch Flint’s shoulder to tell him she’s okay, it Jacob stops her and they start inside.
21. As they walk back to the castle, Jaxon tries to scold Grace for being careless. She tries to hide that her ankle has started to hurt. When he notices she is in pain, he Carrie’s her the rest of the way. She protests out loud, but she secretly enjoys it. He gets he to her room and sends Macy for ice. Jaxon wraps Grace’s ankle and they start to get close. Macy walks in and is surprised to see them like that. Jaxon leaves them with instruction on what to do for the sprain.
22. Macy suspects something more has happened between Jaxon and Grace. She insists that both Jaxon and Flint are into her. Grace promises there isnmt anything between her and Flint, but she doesn’t know what is going on with Jaxon. She takes a couple of minutes to text with her BFF, Heather, from back home. Macy says that Jaxon is know to be dangerous, but she has never seen him act like he does with her. She promises to be supportive. No matter what, but says she has something important to tell her.
23. Macy pulls some ice cream out of her mini fridge and tells Grace she cannot be friends with both Flint and Jaxon. Grace is confused why she is being told she has to give up one of the four people that have been nice to her since her arrival. Macy explains they have all been together a long time and even had a previous school they all attended. Things got a bit crazy last year and now the factions stay separated. Graces asks if it has to do with Jaxon’s brother, Hudson. Macy says it doesn’t, but seems concerned about how much Grace knows about the situation. Grace admits she only knows what little Jaxon has told her.
24. When Grace wakes up in the morning, she sees she has already missed first period and figures she is being given another day off. She gets a text from Jaxon asking about her ankle and she admits it still hurts a bit. They joke and flirt a bit. He sends her breakfast via room service and she thanks him. He asks what she prefers and she tells him the waffles. She asks about his food preference, but after sending realizes her phrasing was suggestive. He sends a flirty response back saying they aren’t there yet.
25. When Macy gets back to the room, she is surprised to find Grace was sent a special breakfast the kitchens wouldn’t normally make. Grace admits that Jaxon sent it and they have been texting. There is a knock on the door and a woman delivers a package. Macy takes it to Grace who opens it up to find a library copy of Twilight with Jaxon quoting Edward’s comment that they shouldn’t be friends. Macy leaves and when there is another knock on the door, Jaxon is there to visit her. He messages his ankle while she tells bad jokes to lessen the tension between them. He says if she feels better the next day, he will take her to his favorite spot.
26. The next morning, Grace is swooning over a book page Jacob left for her while she gets ready for her first day of class. Uncle Flynn comes to give Grace her class schedule and wish her well on her first day. Macy hurries him along so they can get down to the cafeteria for breakfast. Grace notices the music playing is Halloween themed and Macy says her dad just hasn’t switched it over yet. Grace finds it odd her uncle loved Halloween so much when her father (his brother) hated it. Macy tells Grace to sit while she fetches breakfast. Grace stares at the detail if the walls to avoid seeing everyone watching the new girl.act returns with their breakfasts and Jaxon comes to sit with them.
27. A few others from Jaxon’s group sit with them as well. She thanks him for all he did the previous day and mentions the waffles. He friends start to snicker at them and Grace is surprised at how normal they all seem. She shows him her schedule and one of his friends, …, is in her first class. He offers to walk her there, but Jacob tells him it’s not happening. When they get up to go to class, Jacob tells her to eat her pop tart and she gives him an attitude about him telling her to eat when he hasn’t himself. His friends encourage her to not let him push her around. As they walk to class together, she notices that people stay out of his way. She asks him about it, but he doesn’t seem to understand what she is saying.
28. At the door of the classroom, no one enters because they are waiting on Jaxon. He tells her to text him her schedule so they can meet up later and he’ll have other friends walk her to classes he can’t. She tells him she would prefer if he didn’t, but ends up agreeing to it until the end of the week. When Jacob leaves, everyone starts to file into the classroom. … has saved her a seat next to him.
29. She sits through English class with … and his quips about Hamlet. When it’s time for her to go to art class in one of the outbuildings, she starts heading back to her room to bundle up. Clint finds her and tells her there are tunnels to the outbuildings. He takes her down a narrow corridor to a door with an electronic panel. He puts in the code and opens the door to reveal a dungeon. When he takes her to the last cell and she can’t see the secret door, she starts to freak out. Leah comes in and joins them showing Grace there really is a secret door. Grace apologizes to Flint for not trusting him. They go down the tunnel and Grace admire the decorations figuring they are fake. It opens up into a huge corridor with a giant chandelier with skeletons hanging from it. Grace comments on it being an art project and Leah said it was done long before any of them got there. There is another tremor and Grace thinks it is odd they’ve had more earthquakes than she usually experienced in Southern California. She asks what tunnel they need to take.
30. The tunnel continues to shake, so they run out into the art supply closet that has an open door to the classroom. Leah goes past him to class. Flint takes responsibility for the girls’ safety. Jaxon is there waiting for Grace. He and Flint are obviously not happy to see each other and make several comments about it. Grace yells at them both telling her the new school is hard enough without all their posturing. She stalks past both of them to get to her class.
31. The girls in the school are cold towards Grace since she blew up at Flint and Jaxon. In gym, a basketball flies at Grace. Macy is there to help her through it. When class is over, Macy says she is free, but she has dance team practice for a few hours. She wants to explore the castle, but remembers Jaxon’s warning. She figures she would be fine since it isn’t the middle of the night. Grace checks her phone and sees how many missed texts she had from Jaxon prior to art class. Grace feels bad and tries to lighten things up by texting him back. She hears a song that reminds her of her parents and starts crying. She runs without caring where she is going. She finds an alcove that serves as a reading nook. She cries for the first time since the funeral.
32. Jaxon finds her and she apologizes for yelling at him earlier. He asks what it is like to be able to show emotion without having to worry. He opens his door and invites her in. There are books, guitars, and a drum kit. She notices an original Klimt hanging on his wall. He says he saw it, liked it, and bought it. He didn’t know it at the time, but it reminds him of her. He pulls out a blanket and a pair of lined gloves. He opens the window. She is worried about freezing and he winks at her before jumping out. She follows him out onto the parapet.
33. Wrapped up in the blanket, she wonders how he is warm enough in just a hoodie. She muses that he might be an alien. He tells her it is his favorite place because he can see for miles and no one bugs him. In a few minutes, there is a meteor shower. He finds it funny every time she thanks him. He claims he doesn’t do nice things for people, but she points out he did many nice things for her. He says he didn’t do it for her, but won’t tell her who he did it for. He jumps back in through the window and then pulls her in after.
34. Jaxon and Grace stand close together. She touches him and feels how cold he is. She puts the blanket around him. She moves closer and then he kisses her. They kiss more, but he keeps her at a slight distance. There is another earthquake. He jumps across the room away from her. He tells her she has to go. She is confused and he tells her to go again. His window shatters. Jaxon tells her to run and she does.
35. Grace wakes up bandaged in her bed. The nurse is there. Her uncle tells her flying glass hit her necks an Jaxon got her to the nurse before she bled out. She asks to see Jaxon, but they all tell her he is fine and is cleaning up the mess in his tower. They give her cran-apple juice and she drinks two bottles not realizing how thirsty she was. Flynn apologizes. He feels responsible for not giving her a full introduction to Katmere Academy and keeping her in ignorance. Grace doesn’t think a more intricate tour was going to help. The nurse, Maurice, stays with her while Macy and Flynn go to get Grace food. Grace asks about her stitches and the nurse says they will dissolve. She tells her not to uncover it for at least a week. When Macy comes back and the nurse leaves, Grace demands her cousin tells her what is really going on. Grace feels like something is off about the entire situation. She notices odd behavior from her cousin, but chalks it up to the drugs and blood loss. Someone knocks on the door and Macy tells her it was Jaxon.
36. Grace rushes up and chases after Jaxon. She calls out to him and his friends turn around to face her. She reaches for him, but he pulls away. He is cold and says the only thing that matters is that she got hurt. He tells her she doesn’t understand what is going on. He tells her she needs to forget what happened that afternoon, and they need to stay away from each other. She reaches for him against and they stand face to face for a while until he stalks off.
37. Leah finds Grace in the hall staring after Jaxon. She suggests catching him before he disappears again, but Grace decides to go back to her room. Leah walks her there. She says she is getting annoyed with people telling her Jaxon is a good substitute for his brother. Grace is confused why Jaxon would act the way he did with her if he is supposed to be with Leah. Grace goes inside and finds Macy up and waiting for her. They talk for a bit before Macy says they should get to bed because it is 2am
38. Grace lays awake for a while before going to pull the bandage off her neck to check her wound. She tries to convince herself she is hallucinating from the drugs, but after an hour or so, she decides she needs answers. She storms off to Jaxon’s tower and starts banging on his door. When he doesn’t answer, she calls and then starts sending texts. He sends Mekhi to keep her there until he can get back. She wants to know what bit her, but Mekhi is surprised when she says she was bit and wants to know who did it because Jaxon says it wasn’t him. He tries to keep her there, but she goes back to her room with him following.
39. She ignores texts from Jaxon while they walk. When she goes inside, he waits just outside the door and keeps her from closing it. She tells him she isn’t going to invite him in. He tells Macy that Jaxon doesn’t want her to go to class. Macy says Flynn already okayed her skipping class. Mekhi tells Macy that Grace knows and goes to leave. He apologizes, but she says as long as he didn’t bite her, she isn’t mad at him. She is mad at Jaxon. She tells Macy if she isn’t honest with her, she will go back to California. Grace asks if anyone in her family are vampires. She says they are not. Grace infers that vampires are real. Macy admits Jaxon is a vampire. Grace collapses to the floor coming to the realization of all the weird things that have been going on. She asks about Flint. Macy tells her he is a dragon that can take human form. She says she is a witch and Grace was supposed to be as well.
40. When Grace’s dad fell in love with a human, he gave up his warlock powers. Grace demands proof of Macy being a witch. Macy makes a cup of tea from an electric kettle that isn’t plug in. and offers it to Grace, who declined. She wants to know why they didn’t tell her. Macy admits that things kept going wrong and it was hard to find a good time to tell her monsters are real. Grace shows Macy the bite on her neck. The cut on Grace’s neck was bad. Jaxon used his venom to seal her wound to get her to the nurse, who is also a vampire. She had to bite her to undo what Jaxon had done and heal her wound properly. Grace asks if she is going to become a vampire. Macy says she would be fine. Jaxon is one of the few that would be able to resist draining her blood when she started bleeding. Macy confirms there are also wolf shifters at the school, like Marc and Quinn. Macy promises to answer more questions over breakfast. She uses a glamour as makeup before they go down to the cafeteria.
41. Down at the cafeteria, Grace wonders what everyone is. Flint comes up to her and offers to get her food and she agrees to it. She thanks him again for saving her from the tree and he grins at her. He tells her where he is sitting and tells her and Macy to grab a seat with them. As Grace heads that way, she sees some of Jaxon’s friends watching her. She hears a tearing nose overhead.
42. The chandelier falls from the ceiling. Grace is pushed against the wall and realizes it is Jaxon saving her again. He asks if she is okay, and she nods her head. He spins her around to make sure and she sees he is bleeding. She insists on cleaning him up with the first aid kit she keeps in her purse. He is concerned that the chandelier and the breaking tree branch were both attempts on her life. She is shocked by this and doesn’t understand why anyone in that school would be threatened by her.
43. Uncle Flynn approaches and Jaxon and his group take off. She doesn’t feel safe without Jaxon around, but agrees to go to her uncle’s office with him. She asks why he didn’t tell her and he explains he was trying not to overwhelm her with everything she had just gone through. He admits that her dad was a very powerful warlock and they Donny just give up their magic. He gave it up for the greater good. He agrees to tell her more later and have Jaxon checked out by the school nurse. He tells her he wants to send her back to San Diego.
44. Grace is shocked by the statement. She tells Flynn she wants to stay there with him and Macy. He assumes it also has something to do with Jaxon. He tells her he and the other members of the Order were born as vampires (a genetic trait that generally only happens with the ancient families). When Jaxon’s brother died. He had to step up and take on a lot of responsibilities. She tells him she can’t go back to San Diego and constantly see their old house and the places she used to go with her parents. She doesn’t think she will be able to heal there. He agrees to let her stay, but they need to work on a plan to keep her safe.
45. Grace texts Jaxon, but she doesn’t get a response. Rather than going back to her room, Grace goes to the library. She finally meets the hippie librarian and complements her on her library. She asks where she would start researching to learn more about other people in the school. The librarian points her to mysteries and tells her to start with dragons and hands her a note. Grace finds Flint at the end of the aisle and delivers the note from the librarian. Flint invites Grace to sit with him and she starts asking him about being a dragon. He tells her they will need food for the conversation and pulls out a bag of marshmallows. He tosses one in the air and breathes out fire to toast it. Grace is so amazed they end up going through the entire bag. She pulls out the bottle of water. He uses his breath to make the bottle cold. She asks if he has any other powers and he makes a flower out of nothing. He puts it in her hair and she pulls back from his closeness. He tells her he won’t hit in her until she wants him to and there wonky be any doubts of what is going on.
46. His phone starts to get a bunch of text messages and he tells her something is going down. He packs up her things and tells her to come with him. They rush out in the hall to see Jaxon and the other members of the Order moving fast in a line. They move as fast as Grace can go with Flint pulling her along. They get to the foyer and Jacob uses telekinesis to lift the alpha wolf shifter, Cole, 10 feet into the air. The others fight all around him. He lets Cole drop to the ground and then sucks his blood until he is pale, but not dead. Jacob tells him that is a warning and that he will kill anyone that tries what Cole did.
47. Jaxon finds Grace and starts leading her away from the scene. He takes her up to his room. She tells him she can tell he cares and isn’t the monster everyone makes him out to be. They kiss for a while. He sucks some blood from her neck and she finds the experience pleasurable. He closes the wound he made and they continue kissing.
48. He tells her he is the one that has been causing the earthquakes because they are linked to his emotions. They kiss for a while. She tells him they need to talk. They lay down together on the bed. She touches his scar and he tells her he doesn’t want to be reminded of how he got it. He doesn’t want her anywhere near that world.
49. He tells her about Hudson and how he could control minds. He was supposed to become the King of Vampires, but once Jaxon got past the hero worship of his big brother, he knew that how he was using his powers was wrong. He killed his brother to stop him from killing others. He regrets not killing him sooner to save others. Leah was his best friend, he parents were destroyed. Flint was his friend before it all happened. He doesn’t know why the different factions are gunning for her, but he knows he has made it worse by being with her. Grace starts to understand his cold facade to keep another war from starting that would impact even her world.
50. They start making out again, but he stops because they need to talk about her safety. He tells her Flint has been trying to kill her. He told her to walk under the chandelier. When Grace fell out of the tree, Jaxon threw Flint under her to break her fall. He doesn’t have proof, but he tells her they cannot trust the dragons. She thanks him for everything he has done to keep her safe since she arrived. They make out more. Flynn knocks on the door just as Grace’s phone starts to ring. Grace goes to smooth down her hair, but there aren’t any mirrors in the room. She realizes she has a lot of questions for him. Jaxon opens the door to great Flynn. Jaxon jokes about Grace having to put her close back on. Flynn sends Grace to class. She doesn’t argue and grabs her purse to leave.
51. On her way to class, Grace checks her phone. She has texts from her best friend back home. She decides not to tell her about Jaxon since she won’t be able to lie. She also has texts from Macy telling her about what happened. She also has texts from Flint, but she decides she will ignore them. She goes back to her room to get dress and walks into class. The students stare at her as she goes to sit by Mekhi. The teacher has her read a scene about a crazy girl grieving her father. She is terrified of taking the tunnels again, but she knows she needs to do it. Mekhi stays with her on her way to the next class. Flint comes up to her and she accuses him of being behind the chandelier incident. He tells her he isn’t trying to kill her for the reasons she thinks. She points out that trying to kill her for any reason is unacceptable. When Flint grabs her, Mekhi steps in and makes him back off. He says he needs to talk to her alone, but she refuses to be alone with him. Flint calls out for her not to go anywhere alone
52. As they enter the tunnels, she realizes she isn’t afraid of the tunnels. Her instincts where telling her to be afraid of Flint. She hasn’t heard anything from Jaxon and Mekhi tells her he doesn’t really check in with anyone. She is worried about him being expelled, but Mekhi says the shifter alpha is in more danger of being expelled for attacking her. She asks about Hudson. Mekhi tells her he was selfish and only made it seem like he cared about what his parents wanted him to care about. Leah races through the tunnels. She says she is heading to the art studio to work on her portrait of Hudson. Grace can tell they don’t get along. Leah tells her she’ll get her to class. Grace is worried about abandoning Mekhi, but he says he is okay with leaving her with Leah if she is comfortable with it. She tells him to go ahead to his own class. Leah asks about the scene earlier and tells her Hudson was protective like that too. She invites Grace over to her room for a girls’ night. Grace tells her Jaxon misses her, but Leah isn’t so sure. She says she is trying to get past things by being friends with Grace. Grace gives her a hug and holds on until Leah pulls back. Grace gets texts from Jaxon, who was not expelled, and invites her to his room that night. They raincheck for their girls’ night until the next night.
53. Macy helps Grace get ready for her night with Jaxon. Grace makes her way to Jaxon’s room alone. When she knocks, he pulls her inside. He gives her a lined hoodie to put over her dress and tells her she is going to need it for where they are going.
54. Jaxon takes Grace out onto the parapet again to see the Northern Lights. She is amazed by them. He holds her and they start floating. They make out. With her permission, he bites her. She has faith he won’t drain her. She tries to stop him, but stops caring if he does.
55. Jaxon pushes her away and tells her to get out. Something is wrong with him. She runs to the door, but she cannot get it to move. He pulls the door open for her and she runs. She is lightheaded and stumbles as she runs. She runs into Leah and begs for help. Leah slaps her. And tells her to shut up. Jaxon comes around the corner. Leah says she should have made the tea stronger before pulling out a gun and shooting Jaxon in the chest.
56. Grace tries to get to Jaxon, but doesn’t have the strength. She says she only shot him with a tranquilizer. When Grace keeps trying to get to him, Leah shoots her too.
57. When she wakes up, Grace feels awful. She starts to remember what happened and open her eyes to find she is tied up on a stone table. She tries to struggle to listen the ropes. She runs herself bloody until she is almost free. She has one ankle left when she hears Leah scream. She hurries and gets herself free. She is woozy from the drugs, but starts running. She can hear that Leah is fighting someone. Grace has to check if it is Jaxon. She knocks something over and it feels awful and squishy. She knocks over a candle and the she can see the room.
58. There are vials of blood everywhere, including what she spilled at her feet. A dragon flies at her and grabs her. She tries to free herself, but the dragon’s talons just dig in deeper. They fly through double doors and over Leah. Leah chases them. The dragon flies through the tunnel, but it has to get low to get under the chandelier. This gives Leah the chance she needs to grab the dragon. Leah and the dragon fight. She punctures his wing and he turns back into Flint. They continue to fight. Grace takes the opportunity to try to get away. She starts down the tunnel but Flint catches up to her. He tells her Leah killed her parents to get her there. He says he can’t let the vampires, including Jaxon, use her for what they want. He says he has to kill her even though he wants to save her.
59. Grace begs Flint to stop, but he keeps squeezing around her neck. Flint is flown away from her. Jaxon is in the room and then on Flint. Grace doesn’t know what to believe. Flint changes into his full dragon form. They continue to fight and the tunnel shakes. Grace is too weak to stand. She crawls down the tunnel. Leah catches up to her and knocks her down and kicks her to make sure Grace doesn’t get away.
60. Leah drags Grace by her hair. Grace screams as much as she can and Leah bangs her head on the wall. She tries to make sure Grace doesn’t pass out. They go through a secret door. Leah gets her back to the alter and pretends to pass out. When Leah turns away, Grace grabs her and hits her head against the table. Grace grabs the book Leah is planning to use. Grace rips out the a few pages. Leah jumps at her. Grace ignore her pain and sets the papers on fire using a candle.
61. Leah screams in anger. Leah drags Grace back in place saying she doesn’t need the book. She admits she is behind everything to get her there. She intends to use Grace to bring back Hudson. Grace tries to figure out what is special about her that she would be used for the spell. Leah says he just has to believe Grace is his mate for it to work. Jaxon tries to break in to get to her. Leah starts the spell. Grace tries to yell out an invitation for Jaxon come in, but it isn’t her room to invite him into. A breeze goes over Grace and she feels the electricity. Leah slices her wrist open and lets her blood drop into the alter. Leah tells her to open her mouth as she holds a knife over her. Grace refuses while Jaxon keeps trying to get in. Leah gets on top of Grace to try to prey her mouth open. Jaxon removes the wall so he can get in. Jaxon frees Grace, but Leah is still going. The smoke surrounds them. Leah stabs Jaxon’s chest. They start fighting again. The black smoke starts to choke Jaxon. Grace grabs the knife and stabs it into Leah and punctures her lung. Grace opens up her mouth and takes a breath so the smoke leaves Jaxon and comes for her.
62. Jaxon pulls energy into a sphere. Everything goes into the sphere including the smoke. The smoke keeps trying to escape. Grace just lays in the floor knowing Jaxon will save her. When he has the smoke, the sphere becomes an orb that he fires at Leah. She explodes into a cloud of dust. Grace tries to get to Jaxon. He gets to her before he apologizes and collapses. Grace tries to stop the bleeding from his chest. She gets her wrist bleeding again and puts it to his mouth. She is relieved he is alive. She passes out.
63. Grace wakes up in the school infirmary. The nurse tells her Jaxon has been waiting for her to wake up. He was able to get her there before it is too late. When he comes in, he keeps his distance from her. He tries to keep away from her until she says she needs him to hold her. He feels guilty for not realizing what was going on earlier. She touches his scar and he flinches. He tells her the vampire queen did to punish him for interfering with her plans. Grace is infuriated, but Jaxon tells her there isn’t anything they can do about it. She wonders why Leah specifically needed her for the spell. Jaxon is mad at himself for taking too much blood. She tells him she can’t live in a world without him. He tells her he loves her and he says they can’t be together because it puts her at risk. She begs him not to leave and they kiss.
64. A few days later, Grace begs Jaxon to get out of her room. He agrees to take her outside for a little while. He tells her to get dressed while he runs to get something. When he gets back, he helps her finish getting dressed for the outside. They hold hands as they make their way through the school, outside, and into the woods. He pulls out a thermos of hot chocolate and marshmallows for her. She asks about his eating habits. He says he doesn’t know why he ate the strawberry, but his stomach hurt the rest of the night. He says they can go out into the daylight as long as he only has animal blood. He cannot go outside in the sun because he drank her blood, then Cole’s, and then hers again. There is a hormone the human blood impacts that animal blood doesn’t. He says they are out there to play in the snow. Ge makes a lopsided snowman and they laugh together. She asks where Hudson went. He isn’t sure, but he is determined to make sure his brother doesn’t come back. He gives her the vampire hat to put on the snowman.
65. Four days later, Grace goes back to class. She is glad she gets to spend more time with Jaxon. She and Macy sit with him and his friends for breakfast. Cam hasn’t gotten up enough nerve to join them. Grace continues to study the different people in the school from library books. He walks her to class. Flint tries to catch her eye. They make eye contact. She smiles a little at him, but she’s not ready to forgive him. Suddenly, there is a steam of black smoke. Hudson appears with a broadsword and swings it at Jaxon. Grace tries to pull him out ring the way, but when she realizes it isn’t enough, she turns to take the blow herself instead.
66. Jaxon demands to know what is going on at the school. Grace was there one minute and then she was gone. He asks why he can’t make her turn back. The librarian says she should be able to turn back on her own. Jaxon insists she cannot be dead. He thinks Hudson is doing something to her. They think she is not turning back from her gargoyle form because it would but the school or Jaxon in danger. He vows to separate them and make sure Hudson cannot hurt anyone else. He tells her he needs her. He is barely keeping it together without her and he isn’t sure he won’t bring down the world with him.