A laugh spills past my lips, and the magic holding me loosens. I grasp my new freedom eagerly, ready to get out of this hellscape. Rather than break free, I tumble straight into Callum’s awaiting arms.
He wraps one arm around my waist and cradles my head so gracefully that you can’t convince me this wasn’t part of his plan all along. His breath cools the blood warming my cheeks. “You tempt me,” he murmurs, “in a way I haven’t been tempted in a very long time.” An unreadable emotion catches in his eye before he blinks, and it’s gone as quickly as it appeared. “Where did you kiss Alistair Dire?” he asks.
My gaze flicks to Callum’s lips, and he chuckles, rephrasing his question. “Where in the castle?”
It’s becoming infinitely clear that Callum has all the time in the world to question me. I’m getting nowhere by avoiding it. With a sigh, I relent. “My balcony.”
“When?”
“A few nights ago.”
“Why was he there?”
“Hells if I know.”
“You didn’t invite him?”
I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes. “No, I didn’t invite him over for chamomile tea and stolen kisses. He just—he hopped over the railing, okay? All on his own. It turns out that he’s not only a menace; he’s my fucking neighbor.”
Callum ignores that little detail and continues probing me for answers. “Who initiated the kiss?”
I think back, but I’m not sure how to answer truthfully. Alistair put his lips on mine first, but I’m the one who turned it into a kiss...before he pinned me to the wall. Gods,I wish I could forget every excruciating detail, but most importantly, the one about how goddamn hot his cock blazed against my thigh.
If the full moon has any sway over shifter anatomy, it sure blessed Alistair the other night.
Every evening since has been filled with long, hot, sweaty hours. Between taking notes in class during the day and masturbating in bed at night, my hand’s been cramping nonstop.
But what hurts the most is the fact that Alistair is right. Iamplaying games with everyone here at the academy, and I’m going to break someone’s heart. It’s only a matter of time before I have to choose someone to bond with. Is it easier to decide now and spend years avoiding that fateful bite, or is it better to string everyone along until I graduate and finally have my pick of any pack I choose?
Would anyone still want me after waiting so long for me to want them back?
Callum brushes his thumb over mine. “You’re upset.”
I deflect, nowhere near ready to unpack what’s on my mind. “A lot of things upset me. Likethis.” I jerk my chin toward our surroundings. “None of this is real.”
“A matter of perspective.” Callum chuckles as though feeling better himself, the sound short but vibrant. It dances across my skin like evaporating dewdrops. “Stay with me tomorrow night, Sienna.” The request is as soft as his touch, both suddenly warming the air between us.
Despite Callum’s gentle tone, I no longer have a choice about tomorrow night. We made a deal, and he’s held up his part of the bargain. It’s my turn to pay up.
I don’t know vampire customs for claiming mates, but in shifter terms, full moons are the equivalent of wedding nights. Consummating a new bond is what weaves the magic together and binds souls. Other than that, I’m not sure how it works. Just that intimacy under the moon’s watchful eye is vitally important to the health of the shifters’ bond.
I’m not surprised that Callum understands how shifter bonds are made. Out of all magical beings, our mating customs are the easiest to learn. We aren’t exactly subtle.
“You did your research,” I muse, wondering how Revyn will react to knowing that I’m spending the most important night of the month with a vampire. He won’t like being kept apart, but it’s for our own good. I’m too pent up to trust myself around him, and he’s too selfish not to bite me again.
I’ve already gotten away with two mating bites failing to create a bond; tempting fate for a third time is foolish.
Callum gently brushes his knuckles against my cheek, its wound closing at his touch. “That’s the lowest form of endearment I can show you.”
My heart swells at the gesture, making me feel every bit as naive as my age would suggest. A thought blooms in the back of my mind, another wondering best left for the future.
If I were mated to a vampire, how much of me would change?
“I’ll find you after the Games tomorrow,” Callum vows, derailing my thoughts of distant possibilities to the much more immediate problem: the Winter Mating Games.
A heated competition at best and a blood bath at worst, Heartsflame’s Mating Games arrive once per season. Every student in the academy is forced to participate. Only the best of their species advances to the next round of the games and improves their class rank and mating odds; the rest are tossed aside like scraps. It’s part of the reason why each class of students dwindles as theyprogress from one year to the next. The academy is designed to weed out the weak and leave only prime candidates for mating.
A few of our classmates have already said that they’ll use the full moon tomorrow to complete a mating bond so that they don’t have to be forced out of the academy. They’ll leave on their own terms rather than be kicked out for a lackluster performance.
