“Language,” Dr. Price said dryly.
“Whatever. Sorry,” I muttered half-heartedly, folding my arms.
“He’s a werewolf,” Alistair said in a cold tone. “He’s nothing but an oversized bundle of testosterone and irrationality. He wouldn’t know imprintation from a crush.”
I felt my upper lip curling in the beginnings of a snarl. “I’m a werewolf, we can imprint just as much as you can. Vampires don’t have a monopoly on fated mates.”
“No, but you seem to think you have a monopoly on mine,” he shot back.
“Whatever happened to telling her it doesn’t have to be romantic? Huh?”
I’d almost forgotten she was even in the room until she stood up suddenly from the chair she’d barely sat down in. “That’s enough,” she snapped, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “I don’t want anything to do with this bullshit.”
She headed for the door and before I could stop her, Dr. Price’s hand shot out to block the door. For a split second, she looked up at him with the same rage I was used to seeing in her eyes.
“Sit down, Bells,” he said in a soft yet firm tone. “It’s best we get this matter sorted out now before it escalates.”
I groaned and buried my face in my hands. This wasnothow I intended this to go.
“What if they’re telling the truth?” Dr. Price asked the headmaster. “If they both somehow imprinted on the same girl and are fighting this badly less than twenty-four hours later, it’s going to get worse.”
“Could we wipe their minds?” the headmaster asked with a burdened sigh.
“It won’t affect the fact that they imprinted,” said Dr. Price. “If they did, that is. They’ll be back to square one, except they’ll be confused on top of it.”
The headmaster rubbed his shiny head, deep in thought. When he looked back at me and Alistair, his silvered jaw was set in resignation. “I don’t believe for a second that a werewolf and vampire can both imprint on the same person,” he said slowly, “but I’ve seen less possible things in my time here.Just in case, the three of you will be sharing a block from now on. You are to share your time with Bells, and if I catch so much as a whiff of a fight between you two, I’ll have to consider prison. Do I make myself abundantly clear?”
“Crystal,” Alistair muttered.
“Are you kidding?” Bells demanded, looking between the headmaster and Dr. Price. “I have to share a room with them?”
“A block, not a room,” the headmaster corrected. “Yours will be more like an apartment than anything. It’s an upgrade.”
“They’re guys,” Bells said, folding her arms in indignation. “How is that not violating some HR policy?”
“If they actually have somehow--against all odds--imprinted on you, there’s nowhere safer for you to be than with them,” the headmaster said with a weary sigh. “And for that matter, there’s no other way for everyone else in the school to be safe.”
I could work with this. Sure, I was going to have to share the block with Alistair, but I was sure Bells would get tired of being around his miserable ass. “Damn right,” I said.
Bells was still seething, but Alistair seemed pacified, for the moment.
One step at a time,I reminded myself. At least the first hurdle was over.
Chapter 9
Bells
When I went backto my original block, Amari was gone. I felt like I should leave a note or something to explain why I was leaving, but somehow, I doubted she’d even notice.
I packed my few belongings back in my bag and headed downstairs to the block I’d been assigned to by the headmaster. I still couldn’t believe this was actually happening, but the fact that the administration and Dr. Price were taking it remotely seriously was unnerving, to say the least.
I didn’t doubt they meant what they said about me being safe around them. It was whether they’d be safe from each other that had me concerned.
Fortunately, there was no one in the block when I came in, and as I looked around, I realized it really was like an apartment. There were two rooms that I could only assume were bedrooms on either side of a larger common area, complete with a sectional sofa and a flatscreen TV.
It was a hell of a lot nicer than the block I’d first been assigned to, so I could only assume it was meant for upperclassmen. I walked between the rooms, investigating each one. There were two beds on either side of each room rather than bunks, and the rooms were pretty much identical, so I picked the one on the right and started putting my things away in the dresser.
Since I only really had the clothes I’d been given when I first woke up and a few sets of uniforms, it didn’t provide a distraction for very long.
