Not that I would know what that looks like, I’m not a monster. I’m just…mildly apathetic. Some might call me a self-centered bitch, but it’s just that I’m the only one that I can rely on while everyone else tends to disappoint me.
“I thought you might like winter better if we turned it into a bloodbath,” Ian chuckles, coming up to stand beside me.
Still, his eyes scan the surrounding area, waiting for someone to make an appearance and claim victory for the perfect shot. Yet no one does, and we’re just left with the crawling feeling of being watched, though it’s not much different than the crackling across my skin that I’m unfortunately getting used to.
He brings another energy ball into his hand, the two of us going back to our game and pretending the last few minutes never happened. I both adore him for not making it awkward, and hate him for being able to recover so quickly and easily, like I don’t affect him the same way he does me.
He nails the next bottle, and it looks like an axe murderer’s wet dream out here, the ice stained and the sunlight dancing across the color in a magical way. In all honesty? It’s pretty perfect, despite the fact that I can’t feel my toes and snow has soaked through my gloves.
“You cheater. You know which bottle is which, don’t you?”
He brings a hand to his collar with indignation. “Well, I never. You think I’m the sort of person that would play dirty?”
Trying to decide on my next target, I take a minute to center myself, not used to pissing away energy like this. “Well I would hope so.” Chucking my magic ball, a spray of red explodes just as Ian chokes on his own tongue. “I’d feel bad corrupting my mate, after all.”
Ten
Ian
‘My mate.’ Fuck, she knows. Now she’ll…wait a second.
“How long have you known?”
Shrugging, she shifts awkwardly between her feet, not meeting my eye. “Suspected for about a week or so, but didn’t really let myself believe it until yesterday.”
“And you’re still here.” It comes out more as a matter of fact statement than the question it really is.
Finally, she meets my eye, looking nervous. “And I’m still here.”
We just stand there staring at each other in silence for a while, not really sure what to say. I don’t know what I was expecting, but in all of the scenarios that I’d drummed up, they ended with her hurt and angry when she found out that I knew and didn’t say anything, walking away from me in spite. Not a single one of them led me here, with her blurting it out first and looking... hopeful? Like she’s terrified thatI’mgoing to rejecther.
I didn’t realize that my fated was so dumb.
“By how happily you annihilated that bottle, I think we can declare me the winner.”
Tongue in cheek, it’s clear she thinks that I’m just going to side step talking about this. “I didn’t completely hate today. So far. Day’s still young, though.”
“So I think that means I get to ask you one question that you have to answer honestly,” I continue, heart hammering in my chest.
The defensiveness bleeds away, though she still looks tense; either ready to bolt, or kick my ass, I’m not completely sure. “Suppose it does,” she hedges, stuffing her hands in her pocket.
Exhaling a heavy breath, I mentally curse all that is holy for making this so goddamn awkward. “Bermuda triangle; real or fake?”
She cants her head to the side, but to her credit, rolls with it. “If we evolved into predators, why would that stop on land? There would be just as much prey left unchecked in the ocean without sharks and the like. Humans were just the top of the food chain up here and the best candidate for the change, but that simply means the highest ranking candidate underwater would have adapted to keep the ecosystem in check. Theoretically, they’d be just as feral as the vamps.”
“Sea vampires?” I repeat, trying not to laugh.
She nods stoically. “Sea vampires. Also known as, wait for it-“ she holds up a finger, grinning- “-sirens. Evil mermaids; the half-human plague of the deep.”
She barely finishes dropping her hand before I palm the base of her neck, slamming my lips against hers. A startled breath escapes her, but she melts into me a heartbeat later. I flick my tongue over her lips and she parts for me without reservation, grabbing the front of my coat and pulling me closer.
Palming her cheek, I reluctantly pull away, resting my forehead against hers. “I don’t know about you, but I’m freezing. Want to head back home?”
She licks her lips and I follow the motion hungrily, but it’s her words that really let me know that I’m in over my head. “Home sounds nice, but we need to hit the gas station on the way.”
“Why’s that?”
A wicked grin lights up her face as she rises on her toes, kissing me again. “Unless you have a damn good hiding spot and I’m missing them, I don’t have any condoms in my bag.”
