Page 27 of Plug and Claim

“Like them?” Victoria asked, inspecting her nails.

“Yes, but…pink? Why didn’t you choose—”

“Red?” Victoria made a disgusted face. “Ugh, I’m so over it. Have you seen this place? Give me any other colour.” She glanced back at Kira, her gaze trailing down her body. “Speaking of colours…nice socks.”

“Thanks,” she muttered hesitantly.

“Wolf customs are so strange. Still, I don’t suppose you’ll be wearing white for long, will you, sweetie?”

Kira shrugged.

“Had any offers yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Hmm.” Victoria drummed her nails on the desk, then gave her a wink. “Well, perhaps I’ll take you, then.”

Kira froze. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, sweetie, won’t you relax? I’m teasing. Not that you aren’t cute. But you better join a pack soon—before one of the vampires claims you.”

“Claims me?”

Victoria’s eyes glinted. “No one’s told you?”

“Told me what?”

“I suppose it’s normally covered in orientation. But still, someone should have warned you…” she lifted her eyebrows conspiratorially and lowered her voice. “If you don’t choose a pack, then sooner or later, a hungry vampire will choose you.”

Kira gulped.

A vampire would choose her?

What about needing consent?

“And if I say no?”

“Oh, honey…” Victoria pouted and gave her a pitying look. “That’s not how it works at all. We have ways of making you say yes.”

She could scarcely breathe. “Mind control?”

Victoria laughed. “No. But I’m afraid it’s one person’s word against another’s in these cases. Sad, isn’t it?”

Kira understood perfectly. A vampire’s word held more weight with the faculty than a wolf’s did. She dropped her gaze, suddenly regretting the conversation. “Right, well…I need to focus on this.” On the bright side, her potion looked orange now.

Victoria leant closer across the aisle and whispered, “Just so there’s no confusion…if you let a vampire bite you before you join a pack, none of the packs will go near you.”

Kira pretended to be busy, chopping something soft and slimy that she sincerely hoped was a vegetable. “Not even the alphas?”

“Especially not the alphas. They wouldn’t dare, not if you belong to a vampire. It would be perceived as a challenge. The last alpha who stood up to a vampire was fed on and lost his status in his pack. I mean, that’s not the official story, but there it is. Shame, isn’t it?”

A nervousness settled in the pit of Kira’s stomach, making her heart pound in her chest. She set down her knife, the chopping board before her a blur of yellow gooey pieces as she tried to formulate a plan to approach Mark after class. The sooner she made a move, the better.

“Ahem.”

The male voice interrupted her thoughts, making her jump. She stared up at the tall vampire standing beside her desk. He was dressed like a teacher, with a pine green suit and a glen-check necktie that complimented his pale skin and icy blond hair, which was carefully combed to the side. A familiar, hateful eyebrow was arched expectantly at her.

Kira resisted the urge to touch her neck where the collar had been.