Shocked by his actions, I found myself chasing after him. My footsteps echoed on the cobblestone as I followed him into the dark recess of one of the nearby buildings. I thought I’d lost him in the shadows when I was suddenly grabbed from behind and spun so my back was flush against a stone pillar. Dante stared down at me, his face mere inches from mine.
“Following me, Red?” He smirked, reaching up to tug a strand of my hair.
“Why did you do that? Why did you step in and stop her?” Idemanded.
Dante shrugged, his expression unreadable. “Why not?”
“I don’t know, maybe because you usually egg her on if you and your little fae friend aren’t treating me like I’m nothing,” I snapped.
His smirk widened, though his eyes darkened in a way that made my pulse quicken. “Maybe I got bored of watching her tear you down. Maybe I’d rather have all that fire aimed at me instead.”
“Don’t play games with me,” I warned, but my voice wavered when he leaned just a fraction closer.
“Who said I’m playing?” he murmured, his breath brushing my cheek. “You think I don’t notice you, Red? That I don’t see the way you burn brighter than everyone else in this place? I could make you forget the sting of every rumor with just one kiss.”
For a second, the intensity in his gaze threatened to unravel me. My heart betrayed me with its frantic rhythm, but I clenched my fists against the stone pillar to hold steady. For some ungodly reason, I was drawn to the male before me.
“No.” The word came out sharper than I intended, thanks to the guilt from my attraction to him sitting like a boulder in my stomach. His brows lifted in surprise.
“No?” he echoed, tilting his head, clearly not used to rejection.
“I won’t be someone’s dirty little secret,” I said, forcing steel into my tone. “You can sneer at me in public and whisper in the shadows all you want, but I’m not playing that game. If you want me, you don’t get to hide it.”
For the first time, Dante faltered. The smirk slipped, his mouth opening as though he might argue, but nothing came out. Instead, he studied me in silence, something heavy and conflicted flickering in his eyes.
Finally, he huffed out a laugh that didn’t quite reach his expression and stepped back, releasing me. “Careful, Red. You keep talking like that, and you’ll make me want things Ishouldn’t.”
I pushed off the pillar, brushing past him with my head high, even though my chest was tight. “Then maybe you should think about what you really want before you corner me in the dark.”
Behind me, his voice followed, low and rough, stripped of its usual mocking lilt. “I already know what I want. I just can’t have it.”
Something inside me urged me to turn back, but I pushed it down, trying to convince myself the pull I felt toward him was a lingering effect of the allure. I was starting to think I might actually be losing my mind with how many males I seemed drawn to. My responses to his declarations only made that conclusion more likely. I had a mate. I shouldn’t be lusting after males who weren’t him.
Forcing my feet to keep moving, I wandered aimlessly across campus until the sound of two sets of footsteps racing toward me caught my attention.
“B! Wait up!” Shadrie called out, causing me to turn.
Miles ran beside her across the quad, where I’d ended up without thinking, his cheeks puffing with labored breaths. The pair of them looked like they’d just come from combat class, sweaty and red-faced, though I knew better. When they finally reached me, Miles leaned over, hands on his knees, struggling to catch his breath.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
“Asthma.” He wheezed between shallow gulps of air.
“We should be asking you that,” Shadrie said at the same time. “I walked into the dining hall, and everyone was talking about the show Daena put on and Dante shutting it down. I had to threaten to ice a bitch to get the full story. That’s why you asked me about cell phones, isn’t it? Because that evil bitch filmed you?”
“It’s fine, Shadrie. Really, I’m fine. She tried to embarrass me by plastering that video up for everyone to see, but I used to take my clothes off for a living. That shit doesn’t bother me,” Isaid, not sure if I was trying to convince my friends or myself.
“It shouldn’t have happened,” Shadrie insisted. “At least let me help you get revenge on her. My sister gave me this little book of hexes and pranks when I got my acceptance letter, which I’ve been dying to try out. Nothing permanent, they’re meant to be fun, but some of the stuff in there would absolutely humiliate her.”
Miles finally straightened, still pink-faced and wheezing, but listening. “I’m not normally one for revenge, but public humiliation works both ways,” he said, pushing his glasses up. “If she wants to play dirty, I can do some digging and find out if there’s anything she wouldn’t want to get out in her student record. Maybe find out if she’s had disciplinary strikes we could use.”
“No.” My voice came out sharper than I intended. Both blinked in surprise. Softening my tone, I shook my head. “No, I don’t need to retaliate or for either of you to do it on my behalf. The last thing I want is more people talking and staring like I’m some sort of spectacle. Besides, mean girls like Daena just want the attention. If I ignore her, she’ll eventually get bored and leave me alone.”
Shadrie wrinkled her nose. “You really don’t understand how things work here. Daena isn’t some human realm mean girl. She’s not just going to let this go.”
“Please, Shadrie. Just do it my way for now,” I pleaded. “If I’m wrong and she doesn’t get bored, I promise I’ll let you get back at her.”
“Fine, but one wrong move and I’m hexing the bitch bald,” she replied. “And Miles will dig up any dirt he can find in her file for us to use against her.”
