Cara Wylde [Wylde - Saving Year Three: A Reverse Harem Bully Romance (Grim Reaper Academy Book 3)

SAVING YEAR THREE

GRIM REAPER ACADEMY, BOOK THREE

- reverse harem romance

Copyright 2019 by Cara Wylde

Cover by Otilia Jakab

All rights are reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in book reviews.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The needle dug into my skin, moving up and down my shoulder blade at an agonizingly slow pace. I kept my eyes fixed on the wall, not really seeing the artwork chaotically plastered all over it, and my arms around the backrest of the chair I was straddling. The pain felt good. It felt real. The incessant buzzing of the tattoo machine disconnected me from the here and now. Id picked a complex model, so Id be stuck under the needle for at least three hours. Gloria, the tattoo artist, had tried to convince me that we could do it in two sessions. Two hours now for the black ink, and another two hours next week to add the color. Anyone who knew me couldve guessed my answer. No. Four hours. Now. She could take her time, too. Make it five hours, Gloria. I have nowhere to be.

Five hours under the needle. That should have exorcised some of my demons. Except we were three hours in, and the ache in my chest refused to let go. My hands turned into fists. I pursed my lips, and it wasnt because the needle was inching closer to my spine, where the skin was more tender. Flashes flew across my vision. I screwed my eyes shut and prayed theyd go away, otherwise my trembling fists would find their way into my mouth, and my teeth would sink into the flesh before Id have time to control myself.

Its coming along well, Corri flappity-flapped around the chair. She floated a few inches from my face, the breeze her translucent wings created wafting over my sweaty forehead. I smiled and opened my eyes. I still cant believe youre doing it, she breathed. A cute blush spread across her pale cheeks. I thought you were joking

I never joke about tattoos. One week before, shed done me a favor, going against Morningstars orders. I said Id get a tattoo of her, so I was doing it now. Corris pretty pixie self on my left shoulder blade. And not just because she was my friend and a super champ when it came to going against my fathers rules, but also because the whole endeavor was sufficiently complicated to keep me under the needle for long enough to have a good shot at forgetting about the small blades in my bedroom drawer. Thin, sharp blades that would leave the most elegant red lines on my stomach, breasts, thighs Not on my wrists, though. Too visible. They would only tell on me; tell Valentine Morningstar that his plan had worked. I was nearly broken.

After year two at Grim Reaper Academy ended, Morningstar started putting his plans into action. As the new Headmaster, he had every intention to turn the professors, the curriculum, and the Academy rules and traditions upside down, eliminate all that didnt suit his vision, and replace it with something better. Why was it better? Because he, Valentine, the greatest Grim Reaper alive, had come up with it. Among the first and most crucial decisions hed made was that I was going to spend the summer vacation with him. Oh, and that I was going to break up with my two boyfriends, the demon Pazuzu Eremus, and the false god GC Apis. I did spend the summer vacation at his castle in the Scottish countryside, but I didnt break up with my guys. We had teleportation devices now. Distance wasnt an issue.

When I disappeared for two days in Hell, my father got me an Unseelie bodyguard. A tall, bulky fay with dark eyes and long, black hair, all dressed like some elvish warrior from some ridiculous fantasy game. It was their military uniform, apparently. Whatever. Having Crassus follow me around didnt mean a thing when I wanted to see Paz and GC. So, I disappeared for another three days. Corri helped me distract the Unseelie guard, this time. Morningstar punished her with one week in the Blank. He punished me by sending me out to reap.

Youll reap in my place, hed said. Youre ready. Ugh, that fake smile on his stupidly handsome face! Im Headmaster now, and my responsibilities lie with the Academy. I cant do two jobs at the same time and do them well. But Im lucky I have you, my daughter. Youre so talented, such a natural, that I know I can send you on the field and rest assured that youll do a great job even if youre not officially a Grim Reaper.

I had to admit I did feel a bit flattered. I knew he only wanted to get rid of me, and at the same time make sure I was too damn busy to run away to see GC and Paz, but I still couldnt help feeling proud of myself that Id only graduated year two, with another year to go, and I was so good that Morningstar said I could go reap on my own. I could, basically, take over his job. Oh, how nave I was...

He didnt only send me reaping. He got in touch with his Violent Death colleagues and asked them to give me the most difficult, dangerous, and disgusting jobs. The most heinous reaping cases were passed down to me the moment the other Violent Reapers got them. I had no idea how that was possible, how they could control a system that Id always thought was random, but they did it. So, I spent my summer amongst serial killers, rapists, mobsters, and the poor. The poor always had it the worst. Thank God the war-ridden countries kept it light, but I did get summoned in the middle of a tribal conflict in Africa at the end of July, where I couldnt believe what humans could do to other humans. That was when I started cutting again. My thighs, at first, then above the hem of my panties, on my stomach, drawing endless lines from one cigarette burn mark to another. Soon, my stomach was a map of bright red roads and pale, long-healed dots.

It was bad.

I couldnt keep it up.

Not when I had to talk some poor soul out of doing exactly what I was doing every week or so. Of course, those cases landed in my lap, too. All because of Valentine fucking Morningstar, who wanted to punish me for disobeying him. Although, there were days when I wondered whether he was really trying to show me who was boss because Id refused to break up with GC and Pazuzu, or there was something else there. Maybe he was punishing me because I existed. As simple as that.

Either way, I couldnt keep cutting myself. I still needed to feel the pain, though, especially after a particularly horrible day. Tats. The idea came to me out of the blue, and it stuck. The first one was under my breasts. Id read that was one of the most painful places to get a tattoo, so I went right for it. An intricate sun and moon mandala with beads, rays, and strings coming out of it and curving up to hug the underside of my boobs. My ribs were next. Abstract geometry on the left, and a fox on the right, because I liked foxes. My stomach, my lower back, my upper back, and I was soon running out of ideas. What to get, what to get? Corri on my left shoulder blade. That should keep me satisfied for a while.

Shed risked being sent to the Blank for another week when shed snuck Paz and GC into my room. I couldnt get out of the house unless I went reaping, and even then, Crassus the Fay followed me, teleporting right after me wherever I went. Morningstar had given him one of those stupid teleportation pins. He was my shadow. My very tall, very big and ripped shadow. I eventually got used to him, but my guys were so close to being caught that night, that I vowed not to try again. The summer vacation was almost over, anyway. I wasnt going to lose my mind if I didnt fuck for three weeks.