I’d barely survived. I managed to kill her after rejecting her mark. And now, here I was again, dangerously close to losing control over a fucking woman.
I heard soft murmurs, and a door click shut.
Aura walked briskly past me, giving me a wary look, while Eleanor lingered a second longer, slowly closing Rune’s door behind her.
My senses sharpened painfully. Through the sliver of the closing door, I saw Rune curled up on her floor, drooling. Her green braid was flopped to the side. She was unconscious, utterly vulnerable, and completely unaware that the predator in me noticed every flutter of her pulse beneath her pale skin.
My fangs throbbed, bloodlust roaring through me with a nearly uncontrollable force.
I jerked my head sharply away as the door clicked shut, gripping the blood-red amulet around my neck. My birthstone pressed tightly into my palm.
Focus.
Control.
I stumbled back into my room and slammed the door shut. Storming over, I reached for the tablet on my desk. Instantly, multiple missed call notifications flashed on the screen, all from my parents. My jaw tightened as the notifications continued to pour in.
I’d skipped the piano recital to take the academy exam. Now, my parents, and apparently the entirety of Kalista, had plenty to say about it.
The headline on the News Sector glared at me mockingly.
Vampire Prodigy Dimitri Nocturnus Snubs Human Audience
Below it were endless comments from the public, branding me arrogant, cold, andelitist.
Fuck them. Fuck all of them.
With an enraged hiss, my thumb cracked through the screen, shards slicing into my skin. Blood trickled down my hand before it healed. It was a useless sacrifice to my fury, but I flung the destroyed tablet onto the floor.
From Rune’s room, a soft sigh drifted through the thin walls, followed by a loud bang and a muffled, “Ow!” before dissolving into rhythmic, hissing snores.
Against my will, the ridiculous sound drained some of the tension from my muscles.
My shoulders sagged in reluctant relaxation, only for frustration to flood back even stronger.
Why did she affect me this way? I promised myself no more distractions, no more weaknesses. Never again, unless the Fates themselves dropped my mate into my lap, would I let myself want another person.
My fingers instinctively brushed the raised edges of my scar, and I snarled softly.
But here I was, craving her blood of all things. A basilisk’s venomous blood. That alone was madness. The thought of sinking my fangs into anyone else made my stomach twist with disgust.
Grudgingly, I got up and left my room, storming into the kitchen, wrenching open the fridge to snatch out a blood bag.
Vel appeared in the doorway, stunning and overly friendly with her smile calculated. “Need a fresh source?” Her voice dripped like honeyed poison.
Just not the poison I was craving.
“I thought you said you don’t fuck students?” I snapped at her, eyes blazing.
“I don’t,” she purred, “but I can’t help craving vampire venom. We don’t have to fuck. You can just bite…”
“Not interested. Not now, not ever.” I ripped the corner of the blood bag open with a fang, gulping down the cold, lifeless liquid as I moved past her without another word.
Back in my room, frustration still clawed at me. I pulled out my secondary tablet and keyed in Rune’s name, digging for information, hoping to find something, anything, that could explain why this infuriating woman had gotten under my skin so easily.
Nothing interesting appeared. Nothing explained the tightness in my chest or the irrational need to protect her despite barely knowing her.
The ridiculous desire to break into her room and put her on her bed nagged at me.
