We shuddered together. The story alone was bad enough but the images that our professor had shown us alongside it was disturbing to say the least. The only piece from that lesson that I kept was to make sure whoever I snacked on wasn’t a witch with a petty streak.
“What do you have next?” Xinyi bounced along the path. “I have Biology and Healing Elements of Vampires. Iris thinks I need a refresher since apparently she thinks she shouldn’t have to cure every paper cut and bruise with her blood.” She blushed and pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “It’s not my fault sharing blood gets me excited.”
I didn’t offer my opinion on the matter. Drinking a vampire’s blood did have great healing properties. But, as a doubly human servant, my healing speed was a lot higher than most.
I tried my best not to use my dads’ blood if I could help it. While the blood healed you, it also made you have weird, sometimes sexy dreams about the vampire in question, and that wasn’t something I wanted to think about when it came to my dads.
“Sounds more interesting than Econ 101,” I snorted, pausing at an intersection. “I have to go this way.”
“I’m that way.” She pointed the other direction. “Want to meet in the dining hall for lunch?”
“Sure.”
“Great, have fun,” she sang-songed before skipping away.
I would like to say that Econ 101 was more interesting than History of Vampirism. I’d be wrong. It was worse. So much worse. Charts and graphs, supply and demand. It all sounded like a lot of mumbo jumbo that Antoine would like.
By the time I made it to lunch, my brain hurt, and I wanted to go back to bed. I’d have skipped the next class in lieu of a nap, except I was supposed to meet my partner for this mission. I had no doubt they would report that I’d skipped their class to my parents, and I didn’t need them on my ass already.
Grabbing a tray, I waded through the line for food. It was a nostalgic experience for me since I’d been homeschooled since I was ten. I barely paid much attention to what I grabbed before paying and turning to the room.
Xinyi wasn’t there yet, so I weaved through the tables looking for a spot. I plopped down at an empty table and used my fork to push the noodles around on my plate.
A large shadow appeared behind me and then my senses were engulfed with the smell of pine and citrus. It was as if I were running through the forest, the feel of sunshine on my face.
“Princess, what are you doing sitting here all alone?” Tate’s arm dropped around my shoulders as he sat beside me. The hot press of his body along the side of mine wasn’t unpleasant, even if he was pushing boundaries again.
“Waiting for Xinyi.” I shrugged his arm off. “I didn’t know werewolves ate real food. Don’t you just hunt for deer in the woods?”
Tate laughed, before shoving a massive bite of his hamburger into his mouth. After he swallowed, he leaned into me. “There are quite a few things that Iloveto eat,” he murmured.
My face flushed as I ducked my head.
“Hey! Sorry, I’m late.” Xinyi dropped her tray on the table and let out a long breath. “I got caught up talking to some friends about the party tonight.”
“Party?” I quickly asked, thankful for the buffer. “On a school night?”
Xinyi giggled while Tate chuckled.
“It’s cute that you ask that.” Xinyi grinned, taking a drink of her juice bottle.
“It’s the first day of school, we always have a party,” Tate explained to me, still not giving me any space to get a hold of my rapid heartbeat.
I busied myself with eating so I wouldn’t have to explain my body’s response to him while I listened.
“They have it in the vampire crypt. Everyone is invited, but not everyone will come. Usually the witches have their own thing in their tower. And the wolves. Well…” Xinyi glanced off to a group of beefy males devouring piles of food on their plates and generally giving a fuck off vibe to everyone around them.
“Just say we hope they don’t come,” Tate sighed, his usual cheery demeanor dimming slightly.
I cocked my head to the side, glancing between Tate and the werewolf table. “I would think that you’d want to hang out with the other wolves?”
Before Tate could answer, a menacing presence appeared behind us and a large hairy hand slammed on the table. “Look who it is? A couple of blood whores and their faithful dog.”
I glanced up at the wolf with a crooked nose and cauliflower ears. In normal instances, I would have just broken a finger or two to make him back off. A well-timed nut punch also worked well with asshole wolves like him.
Except I was trying to keep a low profile. Regardless how much it hurt me to not do anything, I let Tate and Xinyi handle him.
To my surprise, it was Xinyi who glared at the werewolf. “Go away, mutt,” she snipped. “Don’t you have a bone to bury somewhere?”
