A Demonic Year Two: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Bully Romance (Academy of the Devil Book 2) Read online

  Eva Brandt

  A Demonic Year Two

  Academy of the Devil 2

  Copyright © 2019 by Eva Brandt

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  Eva Brandt has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

  Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.

  Cover art is for illustrative purposes only. Cover design by Fantasia design by Fantasia Cover Designs.

  First edition

  This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy

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  Contents

  A Demonic Year Two

  A Note from the Author

  Prologue

  Private Lesson

  The Test

  First Time

  Demonic Contracts

  Detention

  Battle of the Watchers

  Ghosts from the Past

  Revelatio

  Battle Magic

  Divine Families

  Betrayals

  To Move On

  Transfers and Transformations

  Severed

  Adjustment

  Demonic Status

  Acceptance

  Epilogue

  Coming Soon: A Sinful Year Three

  Also By Eva Brandt

  About the Author

  A Demonic Year Two

  Second chances are always costly, and at The Academy of the Devil, the price you have to pay for weakness is high. Get ready. Class is in session again, and this year, the lessons we have to learn are tougher than ever.

  It’s official. I must be cursed.

  After my hellish first year at The Academy of the Devil, I thought I was prepared for anything. But things never work the way they should at this damn school, and as my second year begins, it becomes obvious that my troubles have just begun.

  My relationship with Callum, Stefan, and Mikael is still as confusing as ever. I have no idea where I stand with them and they’re not doing any better. My new bond with Mikael adds even more complications to the mix, because even if we’re the ones who are part of the House of Envy, the green-eyed monster is alive and well in Callum and Stefan too.

  To make matters worse, the students aren’t very happy with the idea of having a nephilim in their midst. The dethroned prince of the school isn’t safe from anyone, not anymore, and I don’t know how to help him.

  Then, there’s Dean Mephistopheles, who’s starting to pay an alarming amount of attention to me. And against my better judgment, I find myself drawn to him too.

  I don’t know what will happen now, but one thing is certain. My second year at The Academy of the Devil is certainly going to be demonic.

  A Demonic Year Two is a 81k words paranormal reverse harem romance that contains steamy scenes between the heroine, three temperamental demons, and a very possessive headmaster. For extra spice, you’ll also find a dash of MM romance, as well as a hint of BDSM content. All sexual content involves characters that 18+ years old. But warning! There will be some dark themes that may be disturbing for readers, including bullying and ableism. Proceed with caution!

  A Note from the Author

  First of all, thank you for picking up A Demonic Year Two. This book will be a little different from book 1. It will be far more sexual, and some kinks might not be for everyone. I wanted to be sure my readers are ready for that.

  The book will contain sexual themes like sex in partially shifted form (basically werewolf sex), knotting, temperature play, penetration through the use of secondary appendages (demonic tail). It will delve into some dubious consent territory. If this bothers you, please turn back.

  There will also be some other dark themes, such as bullying, mutilation, trauma etc. Additionally, further content will provide an alternative interpretation of biblical concepts. I assume that if you got this far, you might not find that problematic, but I just wanted to give you a head’s up.

  Still reading? Great! Let’s enter the academy together!

  Prologue

  According to the World’s Health Organization, falling in love was like a disease. It took a hold of you and insidiously crawled into you, like a virus you couldn’t stop or treat with anything. Before long, you found yourself solely thinking of the person you’d fallen for, obsessive over what they did, craving their presence, constantly worrying about them.

  When I’d first heard about this classification, I’d laughed, because it didn’t make sense at all. I’d seen my parents together, and nothing in what they’d shared could be bad.

  Then I’d arrived at The Academy of the Devil, and I’d begun to understand the logic a little more. Love was indeed a poison, one for which there was no real antidote.

  I didn’t know if I loved them—any of them. Mikael, Stefan, and Callum were so different from anyone I’d ever met. But there were several things I’d decided when I’d come here. One of the first was that I’d somehow make it out, that I’d never lose hope, no matter what the school’s motto claimed. The second was that I couldn’t abandon my humanity. And in that humanity, slowly, I found love. Sort of.

  Love was a selfish emotion. And even if Dean Mephistopheles had claimed Callum, Stefan, Mikael and I could have a polyandrous relationship, going through with that plan was far more complicated than suggesting it.

  “Lyssa, we’ll be together always,” Mikael had said.

  Stefan and Callum had seemed pleased about it at the time, and about the success of the ritual. But at The Academy of the Devil, everyone had secrets and secondary agendas. My incubus, my nephilim, and my hell hound were no different.

  Too late did I realize that love could be just as destructive as hatred, if not more so, and a demon’s love was just as dangerous as his enmity.

  Private Lesson

  “Ms. Michaelis! If you can’t pay attention to what you’re being taught, perhaps I should stop trying altogether.”

  I flinched as Dean Mephistopheles leaned into my space, his magic sweeping over me like a sharp, palpable touch. He didn’t sound angry. His voice was calm and sedate, but the bright light in his fierce crimson eyes spoke volumes of his true feelings.

  “My apologies,” I said quickly. “I was paying attention.”

  “Is that a fact?” he drawled. “Then, by all means, why don’t you go over what we were discussing?”

  My mind went blank at the inquiry. I had no idea what he’d been talking about for the past five minutes or so. This time around, I suspected it had not
hing to do with epilepsy. Instead, it was related to my increasing inability to focus on anything except the hot guys who were, for some strange reason, interested in me.

  I’d originally intended to return home when my first year had ended. However, this had become impossible due to my new relationship with Mikael and my plan to fast-forward through my studies. Instead, I’d ended up sharing a dorm room with Mikael and being privately tutored by him and the others, as well as the teachers who’d volunteered to help me.

  Unfortunately, Mikael’s new status as my familiar meant that, like Shiro, he had to participate in my lessons. Even now, the asshole stood by my side, smirking knowingly, well aware that his sole presence was distracting me.

  I gritted my teeth and forced back the surge of irritation that erupted through me. This was my fault, because I hadn’t been able to protect Shiro myself, and I’d been forced to turn to someone else to do it. I could hardly expect Mikael to change personalities because he’d revealed his secret for my sake. And if I couldn’t handle it and still be coherent in class, that was also something that I was responsible for.

  Dean Mephistopheles didn’t seem to completely agree. “I see,” he said, with a tight, unpleasant smile. “Perhaps I should’ve asked you a different question. List the different types of angels.”

  That was basic information, and among the first things we’d learned in Angelic Defense Arts. Still, the way Mikael tensed by my side kept me from providing a complete answer. “Seraphim,” I started. “Cherubim. Thrones. Dominions. Virtues. Powers. Princes. Archangels. Guardian Angels.”

  Mephistopheles nodded, but he wasn’t satisfied with my reply. “Yes, and?”

  “Nephilim,” I finished, suddenly shaking in my seat.

  “Very good, Ms. Michaelis. Now, let’s go over why this is important, because you’ve clearly forgotten. Each type of angel has different priorities and different power levels. Some are more likely to fall into temptation than others. And there are specific angels, like Powers, which you need to avoid.

  “But most importantly, not all angels have wings, and when they do, said appendages aren’t corporeal. They’re much too powerful to require anything physical to sustain them. They defy all rules of reality, and gravity is no different.

  “The cherubim are among the exceptions to this rule. They possess two pairs of wings, one of which was meant for protection. However, they can fly just as easily as the rest of their brethren. Can you guess what the other wings are meant for?”

  I shook my head. This wasn’t something we’d discussed in class and I hadn’t found out anything about it in my readings. “Of course you can’t,” Dean Mephistopheles said, not seeming disappointed in my failure. “Make a note of it. I expect you to find out, by our next class.

  “That brings us to the nephilim. Half-demon, half-angel, they possess flesh and bone wings they make use of to fly. They are trapped between two worlds, and that makes them vulnerable.

  “It would be very foolish of you to forget that, Ms. Michaelis. You and your familiar do not have many friends at The Academy of the Devil, and if you lack focus, your problems will only increase.” He turned his gaze onto Mikael. “And you. You might know everything I’m trying to teach her, but don’t forget that, through your rash actions, you’ve exposed yourself and her to great public scrutiny and opprobrium. If you thought you had it bad before, you’ll find it’ll be even tougher when the school year begins again. And I won’t be able to protect either of you.”

  The more Mephistopheles spoke, the darker Mikael’s expression grew. I didn’t want that to happen. I didn’t want him to blame himself for something that wasn’t his fault.

  “There’s nothing wrong with being a nephilim, Sir,” I said, interrupting the dean’s little speech. “I know that people here hate it. You pointed it out eloquently at the end of my first year. But I’m going to prove all of them wrong. If Mikael is at this school, he belongs here, and that’s all there is to it.”

  The dean let out a long-suffering sigh. “You are too kind sometimes, Alyssa. And too stubborn.” He looked between me and Mikael and whatever he saw on our faces made him abandon the battle. “I’ll let this go for now. You’re dismissed for today. But don’t forget your homework. And for Satan’s sake, be more careful. I know it’s not easy to have a person as a familiar, but when I say that you can’t allow it to distract you, I mean it.”

  I thanked him politely for his advice and started to gather my things. Mikael was faster. He grabbed my bag and smoothly slipped my books, manuals, and pens inside. He then shouldered it and guided me toward the door.

  He’d been doing this a lot as of late, insisting to perform all kinds of menial tasks for me. I allowed it because he seemed to enjoy it, but it confused me and it was beginning to make me uncomfortable. I kept trying to figure out how to talk to him about it, but I’d set it aside in favor of more important things, like survival.

  Besides, I owed him a bit of an apology because of the episode during Mephistopheles’s lesson. As we left the classroom, I considered how to approach it and eventually decided to just be honest.

  “I’m sorry about that,” I told him. “If I weren’t so easily distracted by the shiny, Dean Mephistopheles wouldn’t have lashed out at you.”

  “It’s not your fault. I should be more supportive instead of just sitting there, being an annoyance.” He let out a deep sigh. “This whole familiar thing is new to me. We promised to help you with your classes, but we haven’t helped you very much so far.”

  I opened my mouth, intending to automatically defend him. He arched a brow at me, as if in a challenge, and I finally admitted that he did have a point. Even so, I refused to give up. “Not everything I do is your responsibility,” I said. “You might’ve made that offer, yes, but at the end of the day, I’m the one who has to learn and take advantage of it. If I’m not capable of it, you’re not to blame.”

  Mikael stared at me with a strange expression on his face. “You’re many things, Lyssa, but incapable isn’t one of them.” He threaded his fingers through mine and gently pulled me toward the exit of the building. “Come on. Let’s take a breath of fresh air and then I’ll walk you through what you were supposed to learn today from the dean.”

  We took refuge outside, in the garden, underneath one of the largest apple trees. A pleasant breeze was blowing, and I sat down on the grass, leaning against the tree trunk. “As much as I hate to admit it, this place is really beautiful. At least when there aren’t a lot of people around to spoil it.”

  Mikael laughed. “The whole planet is like that, Lyssa. There are countless of amazing places that are simply unbearable, just because of their inhabitants. You think the academy is bad? You haven’t seen The Heavens.”

  This was the first time Mikael had mentioned anything regarding his divine background. For obvious reasons, it was a sore subject, and I hadn’t wanted to push him. I had, of course, wondered what could have determined him to come here, where his existence was a crime, but the idea of asking him had seemed tactless. “I didn’t know you’d ever been there.”

  “I visited once. My beloved father took me.” His lower lip curled in clear distaste. “The thing you have to remember about angels, Lyssa, is that when it comes to them, nothing is really what it seems. Demons are pretty honest. They might lie and try to kill you, but there are rarely expectations to be anything different than what you are. It’s not like that in Heaven.”

  “They hated you there, didn’t they?” I whispered.

  “You could say that, yeah. But that’s not anything new.” Mikael shook his head as if physically trying to dispel a thought. “Anyway, I don’t want to talk about that. It’s not worth it. Why don’t we do something else? Something fun?”

  “I thought you were going to teach me the lesson I just missed,” I said.

  “And I will, but we have plenty of time.” He leaned in a little more closely, cupping my cheek with a warm hand. “Tell me something, Lyssa. How much long
er do I have to wait?”

  My mouth went dry and my heart started to race. This was it, part of the reason why I was having so much trouble with my studies. I couldn’t focus on learning Angelic Defense Arts when I still had trouble defining my feelings for Mikael and the others.

  “Do you still distrust me?” Mikael murmured against my lips. “We have a familiar bond now. We’ll be together always, remember?”

  “I remember,” I answered, “and it’s not that I don’t trust you. I just… I don’t understand how I feel.”

  Everything had happened so fast. I had no experience with men, and all of a sudden, I was thrust into a relationship with three hot guys who sometimes hated me, sometimes loved me, and sometimes sacrificed themselves to help me. It was all so confusing.

  “Is it because you’re a virgin?” Mikael asked. “Because there’s no shame in it, you know. We understand that you’re human and you need to take your time with these things. It’s okay.”

  Uh… What?

  “Sorry, you’ve lost me again. Don’t tell me there’s a stigma attached to virginity.” Also, how had he even found out about it? Was there a sign of Warning: Virgin stapled to my forehead?

  In hindsight, it might have been pretty obvious. Gemma must’ve guessed something since she’d sort of mentioned it during one of our conversations. And considering how much sex these people were having, my attitude was undoubtedly something unusual.

  Mikael laughed. “Of course not. There are all types of demons, and some don’t even like sex at all. It’s just that the passionate ones tend to be more visible. And since there are no rules about having sex here, they fuck wherever they want.