She hesitated. “If there’s even a chance either of them really did imprint… let’s just say it’s not something you can ignore.”
I frowned. “Alistair said it wasn’t necessarily romantic. Can’t we just pretend like nothing happened?”
The way she was looking at me made me wonder if Alistair had been entirely honest with me. “I’ve only known a few guys who imprinted. Destined mates are pretty rare,” she explained, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “In one case, the girl was already dating someone when they met.”
“What happened?”
The somber expression on her face made me wish I hadn’t asked. “The guy who imprinted wound up here.”
“And the other one?” I asked warily.
She sighed. “He wound up dead.”
“Yikes.”
“Males aren’t exactly rational,” she said with a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. “Especially not where matters of the heart are concerned. You throw imprinting into the mix with all the usual hormones and instincts…” She grimaced. “That’s a recipe for disaster.”
“Yeah, that paints a picture,” I muttered. And now I was even more confident that I’d made the right decision standing them both up. I felt guilty, but it was better than them beating the shit out of each other, or worse, because of me.
“I’m sorry,” she said after a minute. “I shouldn’t be framing it like this. I don’t want to scare you or anything.”
“Nah, it takes a lot more than a couple of jealous supernaturals to scare me,” I replied, picking at the curled edge of a shingle. “I’m more worried about what they’ll do to each other.”
“That’s admirable of you,” she mused. “And you don’t even know them.”
“No, but Dean was the first student to deliberately seek out a connection with me, even if itwasjust because he imprinted,” I explained. “And Alistair seems… kind, in his own way. Definitely compared to the other vampires I’ve encountered. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me.”
“If they attack each other, it’s not your fault,” she said in a reassuring tone, tentatively rubbing my shoulder with her delicate hand. “See it as nature. That’s all it is, really, as harsh as it can be.”
“I get the feeling I was never the type to enjoy the brutal side of nature documentaries,” I said dryly. I was surprised I even knew what they were, though I couldn’t recall any in particular, of course.
Maddie just laughed. “Me neither. I just thought that might help.”
“It did, in a way,” I assured her. “I think I’m gonna head back to my room. I’ve got a lot of thinking to do.”
“Sounds like it,” she said in a sympathetic tone. “Remember, my offer’s still good.”
I smiled at her, surprised I didn’t have to force it. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”
To my relief, I made it back to my dorm without running into anyone, even though everyone from the other girls in my hall to the guards stationed outside the dorm watched me like I was going to freak out at any moment. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the mystery surrounding my identity, or the strange mark on my wrist. Maybe both.
For all I knew, they went hand in hand.
I just didn’t want to think about any more of it for the remainder of the night. It had been a long, confusing day, and I just wanted to crawl into bed and go to sleep.
When I heard laughter and several voices coming from the dorm room, I realized that wasn’t going to happen. I went in and found Amari sitting on the edge of her bed next to two other girls, both of whom had to be vampires. The blonde was tall and statuesque with piercing blue eyes, and I recognized the redhead as one of the girls who’d been gawking at me in the cafeteria.
They all went silent as soon as I came in, and if looks could kill, I’d probably be one of them already.
“Hey,” I said, dropping my bag by the bed. They ignored me completely, so I went up the ladder and curled up under the covers, trying to tune out the resumed chatter below in order to get to sleep.
Chapter 7
Bells
By the timeI woke up, Amari and her friends were gone. I wasn’t sure if they’d stayed the night, just that it had taken a few hours to fall asleep with all their gossip.
At least now I had a better understanding of the school than I had before. Unfortunately, that understanding came along with their whispered theories about my existence.
