Valentino

I had to wrangle the cousins to get their schedules since Emilio had taken the initiative and already got his schedule and books. Maybe Dad should have made him the den mother since he had his shit together. My cousins, not so much.

I had to drag their asses out of bed and tell them to get ready before the admissions office got packed. When I asked nicely, it didn't work; I gave them a slight jolt.

"Christ, Tino! That freaking hurts! What other supernatural bullshit can you do?" Diego asked, rubbing his ass while glaring at me.

"You don't want to find out. Now get moving before we have to wait." I left the room while Aiden and Diego got ready.

Aiden jumped out of bed when Diego screamed like a little bitch after I zapped Diego's ass. At least Aiden didn't want a shock, unlike Diego.

My other cousins got it worse since they could handle my jolts.

"Sonofabitch! Knock it off, tool!" Nathan yelled.

"Then get your ass up!" I snapped.

"Damn, Nash. We're up. There's no need to get your panties in a twist," Noah said.

"There is when you don't fucking listen. I told you we were getting our schedules early."

"Then zap Nixon's ass since he's your roommate," Nathan huffed.

"He already did," Nix said with annoyance as he strolled into the room.

Nolan walked into the room, rubbing the back of his head. "You might want to tone it down, Nash. Emilio thinks there are problems with our beds. He's been checking his thoroughly to ensure it's not near an outlet."

Nix looked at me. "We'll need to tell our little friend the truth soon before he thinks we enjoy electrocuting each other. Plus, we don't need him to flap his gums to the wrong people."

"I'll tell him later after we get our schedules, which we haven't done yet because no one is moving their asses," I said with irritation.

My cousins rolled their eyes before getting ready. They expect me to tell a stranger the truth but can't listen to simple directions about getting to the admission office early. I swear these next four years will be long ones with them.

*******
Misty

It's weird. When you leave high school, everything changes for you. I was up and ready to go than I usually am. The girls were already up and waiting.

"Where are the guys?" Kat asked.

"Beats me." I shrugged. "Tino wanted to hit the admissions office early to avoid the rush."

"River texted me and said Tino is ready to throttle them," Marcy said.

We snickered because that meant the cousins ignored Nash when he said he wanted to get his schedule early.

"Misty, you might want to calm Tino down before a war breaks out between him and the cousins," Brook mentioned.

I shook my head before heading next door to find the cousins and Nash arguing while Aiden and Diego kept their distance, and Emilio seemed hella confused. Poor guy. He didn't have a clue about us. If he planned to survive with the cousins, that would change soon.

I walked up behind Nass, threw my arms around him, and pressed my cheek against his back. Nash relaxed in my embrace and sighed.

"Better?" I asked against his back.

"Much."

I lifted my head, released Nash, and waved for the others to leave before Nash lost his shit. They didn't hesitate to hightail it out of the house. I looked at Nash with a raised brow.

"I warned them last night what would happen if they didn't get their asses up. They didn't listen," Nash said with his arms spread apart.

"Did you forget you have three people here who didn't return from the great beyond? Aiden and Diego can't handle your energy. The others can. And let's not forget about poor Emilio, who is as confused as hell by your outburst."

"I'll tell Emilio the truth later after we get our schedules and books."

"You have one person to confess to. I have three." I held up three fingers and wiggled them.

"Mags, I wasn't expecting to tell more people about our return."

"What did you expect, Nash? Did you think we could hide this information for the next four years? We have four people with us who don't know the truth. One is a family member."

"Aiden and Diego figured it out." Nash shrugged.

"Aiden and Diego aren't idiots. They're smart as hell. Did you forget Aiden kept his mouth shut for two years? He was bound to figure it out."

"You enjoy pointing out the obvious, don't you?"

"Well, someone needs to when you lose your shit. Now, let's go before there's a line." I grabbed Nash's hand and dragged him out of the house.

We arrived at the admission office to find the others waiting for us.

"Where's Emilio?" I asked.

"He had to talk to the bakery owner to discuss his schedule since he got a job there yesterday," Marissa said.

"Your cousin is quite ambitious, isn't he?"

"More like focused on his future."

"Too bad no one can follow his lead," Nash grumbled.

I squeezed his hand to get him to relax. He needs to chill before he causes a power surge on campus.

******
Valentino

Once we got our schedules, we headed to the bookstore to collect our books. Girls kept approaching me while blatantly ignoring I was with Mags. It was irritating the piss out of me until I snapped.

Mags had to drag me to the counter before I caused a power surge when the lights flickered in the bookstore. We paid for our books and headed to the house. I can't deal with girls ignoring that my girlfriend is with me. What is wrong with these girls?

I set my books on the table before plopping down on the couch in a huff.

Mags sat beside me on the couch. "Don't tell me you're annoyed with the attention from other girls?" Her lips curled slightly.

"I'm glad you find amusement in my situation because I don't."

Mags giggled. "Nash, you need to relax. If you let them, people will only succeed in causing problems in our relationship. Most people ignore a taken person because they like a challenge."

"I don't care, Mags." I shook my head while playing with her hand. "They need to find someone else as a challenge. You're mine, and I won't let anyone take you from me."

"No one will take me from you. Our hearts beat as one. They would need to break that connection for that to happen."

"Over my dead body, will I let anyone break that connection?"

"Well, that's good because if you die, so do I. I'm a fan of breathing."

I arched my brow while Mags laughed. I'm glad she found humor in my dilemma because I didn't.

Nix walked into the house with Kat and plopped down in a chair before pulling Kat into his lap.

"I figured you would have returned sooner than now. How long does it take to get your schedule and books?" I asked.

"Long enough to calm yourself before you blow up a building. What's up with you? You're tenser than Uncle Rafe when Noah doesn't check in every twenty minutes with him," Nix said.

"I have to wrangle a herd of cats; that's you and the cousins," I pointed at Nix.

Nix rolled his eyes.

"I had to fend out desperate girls who ignored my girlfriend standing beside me. And I'm waiting for a psycho demon to rear its ugly head while dealing with four people who don't know the truth about us. Yeah, I'm a little tense."

"A little? You're wound tighter than a spool of thread. If someone shoved a lump of coal out your ass, you would shit out a diamond."

Mags and Kat laughed while I rolled my eyes.

"Thanks for that visual," I said.

"I'm not sugar. I don't coat shit." Nix shrugged.

"Where are the other yahoos?"

"Hiding from you. Unlike them, I can deal with your mini tantrums."

"Does nothing bother you?" Kat asked Nix.

"Did you forget who I am? Rule of thumb. People are assholes. Some hide it better."

"We can always count on you to be honest, Nixon," Mags said.

"Beep, beep, motherfrickers. If you don't want your ass run over, get out of the way. Or I'm running over your ass and backing up."

Mags and Kat laughed.

"On a side note, my advisor deals with spiritual matters. That might help us figure out why this thing is hell-bent on going after you."

"Do you think your advisor can help?" I asked.

"One way to find out. I made an appointment to talk to him before classes started. I told him I wanted clarification in my role as a minister."

"What role? You could teach your classes."

"True." Nix raised his finger. "But it's better to arm ourselves with information than stick our heads in the sand like a damn ostrich. On another note, when are we telling the truth to others who don't know about us?"

"We'll need help, and I know the two people who can help us."

Nix smirked while Mags and exchanged knowing glances. Aiden and Diego owed us. Now, it was time to collect.

Tino must figure out how to tell four people the truth about him and the others. Two are not the issue. One will think they're crazy, while the other will stumble upon the truth with hilarious results.

Nixon will uncover vital information about our favorite psycho demon.

If you read the prior books, they held important clues to this entity, and that's only the tip of the iceberg.

Now, follow the crumbs through the next two books. It will lead you to the epic battle at the end of the next book.