A shout and then a whoop called out before I could answer. Melissa had taken Derek to the ground again and was taunting him to give in while she had him in a choke hold, squeezing her thighs around his head, his arm pulled tight to her chest.
Some of the other boys had taken notice and were egging them on. Some of them even made salacious remarks about Derek and the position he was in. Basic juvenile stuff.
Derek, of course, had too much pride and was going to end up with a broken arm because he couldn’t be seen letting a little girl beat him. While Melissa...
I turned my attention back to the president. “Melissa would be best in the class if she would just learn not to preen every time she won a match.”
Fleming chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched them. “Remind you of someone?”
I sighed, knowing exactly who he was referring to.
Melissa and Derek reminded me of Jack and me at that age. Back then, I was a junior hunter, already gone on several missions with a squadron. Jack was a handful now, but as a teenager?
If I told her she couldn’t jump off the roof and fly, she’d be up there before I even finished talking trying to do that precisething. She had been the source of many of my headaches and drinking sessions.
It hadn’t been until last year when were forced to work closely together on hunts that I finally started seeing her as something other than the bane of my existence — a mature capable woman. Of course, sometimes I still saw that rambunctious teenager come out whenever I tried to make her to follow orders and not go off on her own.
“How is our girl?” Fleming’s eyes slid over to me, a suspicious look on his face. “Staying out of trouble since her big announcement?”
“As far as I’ve seen,” I commented, not giving anything more away.
Everyone had seen the little melodrama between Jack andthemafter her identity reveal. No doubt one or more of her parents had mentioned it to the president. After the shadow vampire had disappeared, Jack had turned to her mother for comfort, leaving me standing with the wolf, who had looked like he’d been kicked in the face.
I almost felt sorry for the big fellow.
“And the boyfriends?” Fleming prodded further, clearly not going to let this go.
“I haven’t seen them together since... well... not by choice,” I added on. “The vampire hasn’t come back at all, and the wolf, well, he doesn’t seem to be able to take the hint.”
“Is she in any danger?”
“From him?” I snort-laughed. “No. He’s a big puppy that makes moon eyes after her everywhere she goes. If anything, he’s the one in danger.”
Fleming chuckled. “That’s to be expected of Jack.” He paused for a long moment. “I know this mission hasn’t been easy for you. I don’t know what happened between the two of you.”
I opened my mouth to deny it like always, but he held up a hand.
“And I don’t want to know, though I had hoped it would help you get over your differences. Maybe now that you’re working together on this mission, you can make peace.”
I nodded, noncommittal.
Fleming let me go after that, and I continued training the young hunters, but my mind was elsewhere the whole time.
Fleming didn’t know what happened between Jack and me. No one but us did. However, it didn’t keep them from noticing the tension between us. It was clear to everyone that something happened because we went from close teammate to her glaring daggers into my back overnight.
Some would chalk it up to my promotion to team leader. We wouldn’t be the first friends to not know how to ease into our new dynamic. But, for both of us, we knew it was so much more.
My drive back to the academy was a solemn one. My mind shifted to the woman who occupied my mind most days and nights if I was being honest. A part of me was happy that she was no longer with those two. She deserved better. She deserved everything.
And yet the other part hated to see her in so much pain from their loss.
Jack hadn’t come to me since the big reveal. I think she still blames me for telling her about the vampire’s sire. I still struggled with knowing if what I did had been the right thing to do or if I had done it for my own selfish reasons. Because I wanted her for myself.
I blew out a long breath as I walked up to the door of my apartment in the teacher’s building. I guess I’d never know for sure. I definitely couldn’t make my move now that she wasn’t with them. The same reasons I couldn’t be with her before werethe same reasons I couldn’t be with her now. We were partners on this mission and that meant we couldn’t get distracted.
No matter how we felt.
Pulling the key out of my pocket, I went to slip it into the door. I paused, hearing something moving inside. My fingers curled around the handle and twisted it.
