“I didn’t mean… that… you fucking him… not any of—”
Winter growled low in his throat.
“Get there faster,” Evira urged me, releasing Winter’s arm, then stroking it. I noted him staring down at her hand on him, clearly relishing it. It wouldn’t be noticeable to most, but I wasn’tmostwhen it came to Winter Nox. I knew all of his tells, and his micro-reactions. I’d just… distanced myself from that knowledge before when I’d been trying not to feel too much. Well, not to acknowledge that I already felt too much where he was concerned.
“Something happened while the two of you were in class.”
They both tensed.
“He specifically told me not to drag you into it, Win. But… the way he’s hurting… I can’t just… he needs somebody. And right now, that person is you. He’s made a connection with you.”
“Hurting? What do you mean?” Win asked, dropping his arms and stepping closer to me in his worry and urgency.
I sucked in a breath, then recounted the whole thing, from the moment I’d seen Vaxan walk into the Cafeteria, to me leaving his dorm room just a few minutes ago.
And when I was done, Evira was snarling, and Winter looked sick to his stomach.
Surprisingly, the first thing out of Winter’s mouth was, “It’s my fault.”
“Your fault? What are you talking about?”
“His crown wasn’t charged because he obviously got distracted with his mission today.”
“The research he mentioned?” I asked. “That was some sort of research on your behalf?”
He merely nodded, grimacing.
“What kind of research?” I pushed.
“It doesn’t matter.” He glared. “It’s not your concern.”
His response cut like a bitch.
Then he shoved his hand through his hair and started pacing. “I’ll pretend I don’t know what happened, go to him about said research, say I’m following up. He won’t know I’m there to comfort him about this attack.”
“You don’t like lying. Well outright lying, anyway.”
Another glare.
“I’m saying, you can just tell him that I broke my agreement to him, that I told you about it. I don’t want you uncomfortable to spare me.”
He avoided my gaze as he murmured, “It sounds like you’re making a connection with him. I’m not going to impair that. It’s fine.” He went to leave, but pulled up short, and actually graced me with his eye contact. “Thanks… for telling me. And for what you did to help him.”
And with that, he turned on his heel and strode back into the main building.
“When you told us the vampires had left campus, you mentioned tagging them,” Evira said, stepping up to me.
Seemed like she was in dragon mode, ready to raze those fuckers and their clan to the ground.
Winter hadn’t mentioned the actual attackers, and I hadn’t really expected him to. It wasn’t how he did things, how he was wired. He was set on the victim and what they needed, not exacting punishment and vengeance. As far as he was concerned, they’d left campus, so they weren’t currently a threat, and Vaxan’s needs took priority over that.
“Uh… what?”
She gave me a withering look. “Please. Did you really call me out here and involve me in this to play referee between the two of you?”
“I want you to be a part of things. Of everything, I guess.”
Her eyes twinkled—for a moment, before she went back to dragon mode. “And?”
