"Why not?" I demanded, looking at the both of them. "What, is there some kind of dare going around to befriend the new girl?"
That was the only reason I could think of for two gorgeous guys to be so interested in me. And despite the mask and whatever was hiding beneath it, Alistair was one of the most beautiful guys I'd ever seen. Too bad he seemed like a brooding jerk.
"Of course not," he said urgently. He frowned over at the werewolf. "There's something I need to speak to you about, but not in front of him. It's important."
"Whatever you need to say, you can say it in front of me," said Dean. He'd dropped his threatening attitude, though. His tone was syrupy sweet, like he had no idea how to moderate it and had just gone full throttle for "nice."
Alistair seemed more off-put by the shift in his demeanor than he had by his outright aggression. He looked like he wanted to argue, but he finally just sighed in resignation. "I..." He hesitated, like whatever it was he wanted to say was incredibly difficult to get out. "Are you aware of what imprinting means?"
"No," I said slowly. "Should I be?"
Dean watched Alistair like a hawk, chewing the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. He was actually listening--really, really closely.
Alistair seemed surprised by my answer, and hesitated even more. “It’s something that happens when vampires--and werewolves,” he added grudgingly, “find someone they’re...connected to.”
“Connected?” I echoed, looking over at Dean. “How?”
“It varies,” Alistair said quietly.
Dean just shrugged. “I don’t know any other werewolves, so this is news to me.” He seemed troubled by the new information, though, his brow furrowed. “Yeah. Connected how? How does it vary?”
“The closest term is probably soulmate,” Alistair continued warily.
I waited for a punchline that never came. “Soulmate? Is this some weird pickup line?”
“No,” Alistair said, grimacing. “It’s not like that. It’s not romantic, or...it doesn’t have to be. It’s complicated, but I think I imprinted on you.”
It took me a second to process what he’d just said, and to realize he wasn’t joking. Of all the shit I’d expected to happen my first day, this definitely wasn’t on the list. And the actual school day hadn’t even started yet.
Dean was silent for a few long moments, his arms still crossed over his broad chest, but his shoe tapped the ground in a rapid rhythm. “What does it feel like?” he asked.
Alistair looked irritated by the fact that he was responding, but I certainly didn’t have the words to. I was still struggling to figure out if this was some weird pickup attempt.
“It feels like a shift in gravity,” he murmured. The emotion in his voice left no room to doubt he was talking about something intensely personal. “Like everything changes in an instant.”
Dean leaned forward on the table, his gaze shifting to me. “I think I imprinted, too, then,” he said, clearly bewildered.
“On what?” I blurted out. When I saw how they were both looking at me, I was convinced this was some weird dream I was going to wake up from at any moment. “Seriously?”
Alistair frowned at Dean, a dangerous look coming into his gaze. “That’s impossible.”
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Dean said gruffly.
“Rewind a second,” I interrupted. “You’re saying youboththink I’m your soulmate? We just met.”
“It’s an instantaneous thing,” Alistair answered. “It’s biochemical, something that happens on the instinctive level.”
“Okay,” I said slowly, still not fully convinced I was awake. The only point against that theory was that none of the dreams I remembered had been anywhere near this weird. “But what are the odds of it happening to both of you?”
“Impossible,” Alistair answered without hesitation. “He’s confused, or he’s just trying to get under my skin.”
Dean glowered at him. “I think you’re the one who’s confused, buddy.” He stood up, his towering form tensing up. It was clearly meant as a threatening gesture, but Alistair didn’t even blink. He was slightly taller than Dean, but nowhere near as muscular. Then again, I wasn’t sure what physical feats vampires were capable of yet.
“That’s enough,” I said before they could start fighting like cats and...well, dogs. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to get my shit together. At least now I didn’t have time to stress out about class, which I was probably already late for. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, or what to do with either of you, but I’m not gonna get in trouble on my first day.”
They both looked ashamed for a second, but Alistair was the first to speak up. “We’ll finish it later,” he said in a surprisingly gentle tone. “Can I speak with you after school?”
An unmistakable growl erupted from Dean's chest.
