Page 10 of Zodiac Hybrids

I pulled out my phone, thinking maybe I should get his number before he disappeared, only to find that, somehow, the screen was not only unlocked, but there, in my contacts, was one Marcus Emery.

I stared distantly down the hall, where Marcus had now long disappeared.

How did he do that?

Chapter 5

Such an interesting turn of events this has been. I had been quite certain I’d smelled him on her when I stumbled past her at the Club Faire, and the strain in his interactions confirmed it. Admittedly, I likely would have wanted to pursue her simply because she was cute as hell and the scent of her blood was something adjacent to heaven, but seeing that she’d ensnared him only sweetened the deal.

I couldn’t help but wonder what Adrian had been thinking, having that sweet, delectable thing in his class, staring at him so hungrily. With the full moon just hours from rising over the horizon, I imagined it wasn’t anything rational, safe, or sane. It must have taken everything in his power to keep his attention on that mundane Armadillo shifter. This was going to be a very entertaining semester.

I should have asked Lila if she liked running.

Or better yet, how much she might enjoy getting caught.

My gaze followed the dropping sun, and I smirked to myself in pure anticipation.

Tick tock, Baby Doll.

Chapter 6

Twirling my pencil over and over again was my only distraction from the idle thoughts that I very much didn’t want plaguing my mind when I was supposed to be doing my homework. I stared listlessly at my History textbook, chewing my lip and absorbing nothing.

Marcus’ words still played in my head, like a puzzle that was missing half the pieces, while I couldn’t explain why I was still scrunching my nose at the mental images of the professor smiling at Linda.

I clenched my legs together tightly, not wanting to think about Professor Karras anymore. It was like one person showed me some weird version of interest one time, and now they were permanently etched into my fantasies, and I was so not here for it.

Sighing, I pulled out my phone and scrolled down to Marcus’ contact.

You have my number if you need any extra protection. The words flashed through my mind again. Why would I need protection? From what? Who?

If there was any reason I wanted to call him and get to know him better, it was not for protection.

God, this place is fucking weird.

I needed to get my head on straight. The brief conversations I had with these two guys shouldn’t have been enough to have me reeling like this.

I stood and paced and paced and paced, hoping that might do a better job of distracting me, but I couldn’t stop thinking about those strange and eerie warnings. Maybe there was some kind of hazing ritual that all new students had to go through, and the full moon was when it started. That would make sense. Especially for a weird as cult compound like this fucking place.

Although I had no intention of joining a sorority, so I didn’t see any reason I should be jumping through hoops or getting hazed. Though Marcus made it sound like I needed to lock myself in my room to protect my innocence or something. Like there were boogiemen waiting in the halls, ready to snatch up all the little virgins in Graves.

Why did that have to be me? I’d always heard other girls complaining about men approaching them and hitting on them everywhere they went—how they could leave the house unwashed in ill-fitting sweatpants and still get catcalled, and any man who talked to them was doing so with obvious intent. As awful as they made it sound, I guess I wanted to be included. I hated feeling like I was, at my best, less attractive than everyone else, even when they weren’t trying. Maybe this was a dumb thing to be envious of, but it was hard to feel confident or sexy or wanted when I couldn’t even say I was picked last for everything. No, I wasn’t picked at all.

But I wasn’t charismatic like Marcus, gorgeous and flirty like Linda, or uncomfortably forward like Professor Karras. I was the nerd who stumbled over her words, red faced and having a heart attack, when a friendly guy so much as touched her shoulder.

Mom always told me to wait for the right guy, my body was a temple, and all that nonsense, and right now, I just wished someone had at least wanted to invade my temple.

Ugh. Why am I still thinking about this? What I really wanted to think about right now was the War of 1812 for History. Maybe a derivative or two for Calculus. Really, anything but the self-doubt parading through my mind at the moment would have sufficed.

Frustrated and over it, I shoved open my dorm room door to take a walk. Whatever Marcus was talking about, I wasn’t significant enough in anyone’s life to be a target of anything. I’d only been here a handful of days, and he was the only student to talk to me.

Outside, the air was crisp and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Goosebumps prickled on my skin, and a shiver ran down my spine to shake off the bite of the cold night.

I tilted my chin back and searched the stars for the constellation of Capricorn. Or uh… Capricornus, I think it was technically called. I was able to discern Orion’s Belt, the Big Dipper, and the North Star, but with the brightness of the full moon and the general light pollution of the nearby city of Graves, I didn’t have much luck on anything else. I didn’t know if Capricornus was visible in the Northern Hemisphere this time of year anyway. Clearly Professor Karras wasn’t doing a very good job of teaching Astrology.

Or I was too distracted to listen. I chose not to acknowledge which was more likely.

I huffed a heavy breath that released the tension in my chest, then I took another calming inhale as I surveyed the courtyard. The glints of gold and gemstones reflected nicely under that bright night light of the moon, while the statues cast unnerving shadows around me.