“You’re nothing like I thought you’d be,” I told her, and her small smirk made my heart stop dead. Beautiful.
“What, from the ten minutes you’ve known me and the couple of other times you’ve stared at me?”
“I didn’t stare,” I disputed, even though I totally had. How could I not?
“Okayyy,” she snorted, teasing me as she resumed walking, leaving me to follow along behind her.
“I didn’t stare,” I repeated. “I just thought… you looked familiar.” There. That was safe.
She glanced back at me, and for one heartbeat, I thought she’d figured it out, but she only frowned and said, “I thought the same thing when I first saw you.” She skipped away to the doors of Midnight Hall. One swipe of her student ID, and they opened for her. “But then I realized you were just an asshole glaring at me for no reason.”
The doors shut on my laugh, and I waited until her window glowed with a light to tell me she had made it safely. I knew which room was hers already because I’d planned to force her to leave with me. But now, I wanted to see if she’d come willingly. I wanted to woo her and see those eyes light up with a different fire. Yeah. I wanted her towantto belong to me, as much as I now belonged to her.
four
Eryn
The sharp morning air cut through the hoodie as if the borrowed cotton was as thin as a sheet of paper. I should have worn my jacket, but in my defense, I thought it was too bulky, and I’d stand out. The students passing me in the parking lot weren’t bundled up like the Michelin Man. Then again, none of them had been out here for the past three hours timing how long it took to run from the Commons to the animal hospital on the edge of campus.
When I woke up this morning three things occurred to me. Front and center, I was never going to drink again. My teeth were so fuzzy, I used a quarter of my toothpaste to scrub them. My head still pounded, even after all the fresh air, and I silently thanked the gods that the first day of classes were, according to Rani, usually a review of the syllabus.
My queasy stomach reminded me of my second realization: alcohol made me careless. I wasn’t so wasted last night that I didn’t remember what happened. Being cornered in a darkhallway was bad enough, but I’d been forced to use my power against that jockstrap. A lot of it. Gaining control over his mind was difficult, and I didn’t think it had anything to do with his mental constitution.
Alcohol made it harder to manipulate human minds. Lesson learned.
I’d spent the better part of my jog this morning mapping escape routes and fighting off a panic attack at the thought of how soon I might have to put those plans into effect. Any supernaturals nearby would have felt my burst of magick last night. Hopefully, if there were any around, they were too drunk themselves or not of a curious nature. But I couldn’t afford to rely on that wishful thinking.
I planned to leave that little slip up out of my weekly email to my parents.
Hi guys, I’ve settled in great. Campus is beautiful and my roommate isn’t a hunter in disguise, oh, and I might have given myself away in less than twenty four hours of being here but I’m just going to pretend I didn’t and see what happens.
Yeah, that would go over well.
Another biting breeze blew through the brick-paved corridor, and I hunched over my crossed arms. The lecture hall was only a few yards ahead, but it felt like another mile. The bag on my back offered no protection, and once again the hoodie failed to keep any warmth contained. My skin felt like ice.
It was an unconscious decision to wear it this morning. I’d fallen asleep with it on, surrounded by a rich citrus scent that smelled better than anything Rani had in her closet. I wanted to soak in it, which I guess was why I had yet to take it off. I thought about its owner: Kai. He was…unexpected. Domineering, with a swagger that couldn’t be matched, but a kind heart underneath it all.
He saved me. Was he pushy about it and a complete ass forhalf of it? Without a doubt. There was something about him, though.
“Eryn!” Rani’s chipper shout echoed off the large buildings as she waved at me from the steps of the science building.
We shared this class three times a week, and I gave a grateful sigh that I knew someone else. Two heads were better than one, and I needed all the help I could get on the subject. I passed the 101-level last year fine enough, but it was online, and the teacher didn’t care about our comprehension of the subject as long as we completed our modules.
The classroom had amphitheater-style seating, with rows arranged in semicircles and leveled. Rani and I grabbed two seats in the middle near the front and dropped our bags at our feet.
“Don’t think I don’t recognize that hoodie,” Rani whispered, with a smirk of approval. My cheeks burned, and I crossed my arms again like that would hide the evidence.
“I don’t know what you mean.” I ignored how her smirk grew and focused on arranging my notebook and highlighters. I used all the colors that came in the pack to organize my notes.
Blue meant it was something I already had a strong grasp of. Pink was when the teacher marked something for a test. Yellow was something easily transferable to notecards, and green meant I needed all the help. I really hoped my notes stayed blue this semester.
“Nice try.” Rani’s reprimand drew a few curious stares, but she ignored them and leaned closer. “I saw you leave with Kai last night, and now you show up this morning in his hoodie. Spill it.”
She practically vibrated in her seat. Nothing happened between us, despite how it appeared. Wasn’t she the one who told me he was off-limits anyway? She poked my arm with herpen, then did it again when I refused to acknowledge her. Poke. Poke. Poke.
“Okay, okay!” I growled. “You’re relentless.”
“Damn straight. Now, tell me all the dirty little details.”
