“It’s for the best.”
“You can’t do that,” I snarled, the beast threatening everything.
“Kayden,” Asher grumbled a warning.
Her chest heaved as she glared at me. “Excuse me?”
Shit. I can’t lose control like this. Not here.“I’m sorry. I mean…we, your students, will be devastated to see you go.”
She snapped the book closed and stood. “Thank you, but it was just one class. Regardless of how much we both enjoyed it, no one gets that attached to their teacher when they’ve only taught them once.”
“True. You sound so creepy sometimes, Kayden.” The fucker smirked again.
“I can’t agree more,” she said.
Are you shitting me?I needed to get out of here before I destroyed everything. Literally. “Fuck you,” I mouthed at him without her seeing me as I got to my feet.
“Can I please have my bag, Professor?” She extended her hand toward him.
He was hugging it on his lap like a sick stalker. How could she think I was the creep here? “Of course.” He handed it to her as if he did absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.
“Thank you.” She shoved the book back in the bag. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m a bit tired and need to go home.”
“How about I give you a ride, Professor?” I asked.
Her brows hooked, her eyes alarmed. I really needed to tone down this protective shit a notch or two. “Thanks. I have my own car.”
Asher left his seat. “Then allow me to drive.”
I’m going to kill this pretentious bastard.
“No.” She stared at both of us in disbelief. “I don’t know what’s happening here, and I hope it’s just an Oregon thing for all the men to be so…” Her fingers clawed and retracted in the air. “I don’t know what it is, but I’d like you, both of you, to take a step back.” She left the table, practically jogging away out of the place.
The moment she left, I channeled all my rage at the vampire. “What the fuck is wrong with you? You just have to ruin everything, you bloodsucking shit?” I was boiling, yet I kept my voice low. A habit when talking about anything involving fur or fangs.
His lips curled up in a low snarl. “Everything is already ruined because of you. What the fuck were you doing sticking your stinky dicks in her? And the bite? This is not the deal, Beastly. If you’re not going to play fair, I won’t either.”
Damn it, Alec. I hated the position he’d put me in. What my brother did was wrong. Cheating, like the asshole just said. And now I had to stand here, get lectured for it by a fucking vampire.
“The bite is merely a graze. A human could have left a deeper one.” She would be transitioning by now or, at least, her smell would have changed if it had been a shifter bite.
I pushed my chair away, leaving the table. Then I held my breath as I gripped his shoulder. “Back off, Asher. Belle is Alec’s fated mate.”
“That was never true.” His disgusting breath and voice fell too close on my ear. “And something tells me…you want to believe I’m right.”
A chill ran through me. Did he notice? If he did, Alec might have noticed, too.
Fuck this shit. He was playing dirty mind games like vamps always did. I glared at him, contemplating clawing up and ripping his throat apart. That would be quite a mess to clean up, though. He wasn’t even worth it.
“I see the way you look at her, Kayden. But save your breath.” He pushed my hand off him. “Rena has always been mine.”
“Not this time, leech.” I shoved him out of the way and stormed back to Alec.
His heavy brows hitched. “I know you’re mad, but I couldn’t hold him off any longer.”
“It’s okay.” This wasn’t the reason my blood was simmering. It wasn’t the bloodsucker either.
I was mad at myself.
