Crossing her arms defensively, she stepped away from his close proximity only to smack into the wall behind her. Cole smirked and she glared right back.
“Do we have a problem?” She gritted out.
Cole stepped forward, crowding her. “Not at all, baby girl, quite the opposite, in fact.” He smiled and it made her pulse race as his fangs glinted in the light. She hated the effect he had on her.
“I’m not your baby, and you need to stop. What happened back there with Dresden was embarrassing. I don’t need you defending me. You don’t even know me.”
“You could be.” He whispered.
Blue frowned. “Could be what?”
“My baby…You could mine, if you let it happen.”
“Whoa there buddy!” She pressed a hand to his chest because he wouldn’t stop inching closer. “I’m not sure what you think is going on here, but it's not...that.”
His chest rumbled slightly. ‘Is he...purring?’
“The second I saw you I knew you were mine…” He said with finality. He was completely sure of his words. “I know you feel something for me Blue, your only making it harder on both of us by denying it.”
Blue rolled her eyes. She knew Werewolves took mates. Everyone knew this. Once a Werewolf male locked onto the female of his choice, it was her or nobody. Their souls would latch onto the female supposedly created just for them, and that was it. But just the thought of being Coles mate was preposterous. She didn’t know this guy at all, despite the fact that her body seemed to be gravitating towards him each time he entered a room. Sure, he was wonderful to look at, he smelled incredible and his voice made her knees weak, but it didn’t mean anything. Not really.
“No way, dude…I’m not your mate. Go find someone else because trust me, I’m not interested.”
Cole rumbled and she was pretty positive it was laughter. “Your mouth tells me one thing, but your body says something quite the opposite.”
“Huh?” She asked dumbly.
Looking down, she noticed how close their bodies were. Sure enough, her hands were on his chest without her being aware of what she was doing. His body felt hard beneath her fingers and she longed to drag her nails down his shirt and rip it from his… ‘What the fuck is wrong with me?!’
Shaking her head, she dropped her hands.
“What are you doing to me?” She asked accusingly. “Is this some sort of pheromone thing? Why do I feel like I can’t control myself around you?”
“You're my mate, you're supposed to feel like this. Trust me, you have no idea how much I’m holding myself back right now. I’m not an asshole, Blue, but I know what I want...who I want, and I won't change my mind.”
“Is that why you went all psycho wolf on Dresden back there?”
Cole growled low and menacing, making her want to smirk. It was easy to rile him up, she noticed.
“You have no idea who that joker is, do you?” He asked her.
“Am I supposed to? You people keep pretending like I’ve always been here. In case you failed to notice, I’ve been a bit out of the loop for about...oh yeah, a decade.”
“Trust me, I noticed.” He smirked at her, but it fell a moment later. “Dresden Montgomery is bad news, Blue. Seriously, stay away from him.”
Folding her arms in front of her once again, Blue felt her anger rise. She was sick of people telling her what to do.
“Don’t give me orders Cole. You want to get on my bad side? Go right ahead and keep ordering me around, see where it gets you.”
A slow smile spread across his face and his fang peeked through his full lips.
“I like it when you say my name. So far you’ve called me; Wolfy, Wolf Boy and Fido, but I much prefer it when you call me Cole.”
“Oh for the love of…” She threw her hand in the air in exasperation. “Look, I need to get back in there, but can you please just promise to not do that shit again?”
“Only if you promise to give me a shot.”
“That's not a fair deal.” She complained, but he obviously didn’t care.
“It's that or I’ll go back to stalking your ass, only this time, I’ll make it obvious.” He warned.
She grumbled for a moment, knowing her protests would fall on deaf ears. The guy was obviously prepared to follow her around and she didn't feel like testing that. Besides, he really was a handsome devil. After her kiss with Jasper in the cemetery, the part of her brain which craved affection seemed to have awakened. What could it really hurt to indulge a little?
“Fine.” She relented and she watched as his eyes darkened to a molten gold. ‘Oh no.’
“That's all I needed to hear.” He declared before grabbing her by the cheeks and hauling her lips to his.
He kissed her furiously, every swipe of his tongue held passion and urgency. He tasted like smoke and juniper tea, a mixture that she never knew could be so enticing. Blue growled in the back of her throat, surprising herself as she pushed into him a little harder. Bringing her arms up, she looped them around his broad neck, clasping her fingers tightly behind his head. She could feel Coles shaking fingers as they dragged down her back slowly. He was squeezing her, but not too tightly, but tight enough to let her know he meant it. The longer she held Cole in her arms, the more right it felt. His presence wrapped around her like a comforting embrace and for just a moment, she felt the safest she had ever been.
Nine
The weekend passed by without much happening. For the most part, Blue and Ronnie stayed locked up in their dorm, vegging out on pilfered snacks watching Netflix on their laptops.
One of the things she was endlessly thankful for was the fact that Arcane had WiFi. The place may look like a gothic castle, but it was full of teens and young adults who, if given enough down time could become restless. It was Sunday night when there came a knocking at her bedroom door. Frowning, Blue looked to Ronnie who was sprawled out on her bed eating Cheetos, and shrugged.
The moment she swung open the door, David came barreling in shoving past her holding a sheet of paper in his hands.
“Come on in Dave…” She drawled as she shut the door once more.
David was perched on the end of her unmade bed, still looking at the paper.
“Don’t keep us waiting, what is that?” Prodded Ronnie. The redhead sat up, dusting Cheeto dust from her night shirt and closed the lid of her computer.
David looked up with an unreadable gleam in his bright eyes.
“Something's happened. Portland's been overrun and the Conclave made the announcement this morning.”
Blue was at his side in an instant.
“What do you mean overrun? With Vampires? I don't understand.”
“I don’t either...apparently there was some sort of attack last night during a highschool football game. The lights went out and the field was overrun with bloodsuckers. The Conclave was notified and a few teams were dispatched, but they were too late…” He hung his head.
“How bad is it? As far as I knew, Portland was quiet. I lived in Vancouver which,I’ll be the first to admit had too many Vamps for one area, but Portland?” She shook her head, puzzling it out.
It was true. Living in Vancouver, she'd seen her fair share of Vamp attacks. They swarmed the area and seemed to flock there due to it's near constant cloud cover and rainy days. It had gotten so bad before she left for school, that three attacks a week wasn't all that abnormal.
“How many human were killed?” Ronnie asked with a tremble of fury in her voice.
“One hundred and fourteen humans...most of them teenagers. They came from nowhere and everywhere.”
Anger rolled through her body. ‘All those humans…’ It was a Slayers job to protect the humans from the monsters in the night. It was bred into their very DNA.
“There must be a nest somewhere…” She mused aloud as she began to pace the room.
“That's what the general consensus is.” David agreed.
“I knew something was starting…” Blue grumb
led. “I never should have left the city. Harlow's out there by herself while I’m stuck here taking math class!”
The more she thought about it, the more fantic she became. Whipping out her phone, Blue called Harlow only to reach her voicemail.
“She’d not answering...thats not like Harlow, she’s attached to her phone and always picks up for me.”
Ronnie came closer and laid a hand on her shoulder. “It doesn’t mean anything Blue, I’m sure she’s just busy. Give her some time and if she doesn’t call back, then we’ll worry.”
Blue knew her friend was right. She was jumping the gun. Still though, she couldn't help but feel the little niggling of doubt in the back of her mind.
“Your sister is just as much of a Slayer as the rest of us.” Davis reassured her. “She had three years of training and another ten in the field. Don’t doubt her skills just because you aren’t there to help her. I’m guessing she’s fine and your worrying for nothing.”
“No, you're right. It's just, we've been a team for so long now, I hate the thought of her being out there without me.”
“I think you're forgetting who the older sibling is, girl.” teased Ronnie making Blue crack a small smile.
That's how it had always been. Harlow may have been the eldest, but she knew that her sister was soft in all the ways that Blue was hard. She'd been sheltered from the worst parts of their lives while Blue had been thrust right in the middle of it all, forced to do unspeakable things...things she’d give anything to forget.
✽✽✽
The school was buzzing with the news from Portland. With Arcane being only fifty miles from the densely populated city, every Slayer was on edge.
Not a single person had forgotten about Savannah Crow or the fact that her change had gone unsolved, even after many weeks. People still watched Blue with accusing eyes everywhere she went. Rumors circulated around her and for the most part she tried to ignore them. She avoided Jewel as well, not wanting to rile up her old friend turned mean girl, even if it did physically hurt to look at her sometimes.
Back when they were younger, Blue and Jewel would pretend to lead a Slayer team of their own, always working together and having each others backs. They had been inseparable and vowed to stick together forever. The fact that JJ could barely stand the sight of her these says only twisted the knife lodged in her chest even further.
Guilt was there too, always hiding in the back of her psyche. It was misplaced, she knew that, but it was just as potent as it had been all those years ago. Logically, Blue knew that none of it was her fault, or even Harlow's. Her sister hadn't even been present, but Blue had seen it all— the blood, the gore, the loss…
“Alone again, I see. Is thing going to become a pattern?” Asked Jasper as he flopped into the chair next to her as she ate her breakfast of soggy fruit loops.
“Until now, apparently.” She rolled her eyes, forcing herself to eat another bite though it tasted like dust in her mouth,
“Ah come on, I thought we were friends?” He pushed out his bottom lip and Blue huffed out a laugh reluctantly.
Jasper was irritating on the best of days, but damn it if he didn’t have gallons of charm.
“Did you need something? I can't imagine you're over here for the company. Don't you have a graveyard to stalk somewhere?”
Leaning back casually, Jasper ran a hand over his buzzed brown hair and got comfortable in his seat.
“I could ask you the same thing, my little graverobber…” He smirked. “Actually, I did come here for a reason, believe it or not.”
“Oh boy, this is thrilling.” She drawled sarcastically. Still be smiled at her, making her heart thump just a little bit faster.
“I was wondering if you’d like to attend the Solstice Ball with me…” He asked nervously.
She sat there for a moment with no words. That was definitely the very last thing she had expected him to ask her.
“Uh, you mean the one in December? The one in like...three months?”
His smile turned up a notch and his green eyes sparkled. Blue had to look at the space between his eyebrows because every time they made eye contact, all she could do was remember the feel of his lips on hers and smell his rich, leathery scent all around her.
Shaking herself out of teen girl world, Blue laughed. “Your a bit early don't you think? What if we hate each other in three months? Technically, you don’t even know me.”
“All the more reason for me to hang around right? I mean, if we have three months to fall madly in love, why not set a goal? Besides, I wanted to lock it down before some other sad sack has the chance to beat me to it.” He winked.
“Trust me Jas, I’m pretty sure you're the only one in line for that particular date...I’m not exactly popular around here.”
His face was unreadable for a moment before he scooted his chair closer with an audible screech that had others glaring over at their table.
“You called me Jas…” He smiled wider if it were possible. “Does this mean we're going steady?” He batted those chestnut lashes and Blue had to admit he was good.
“Nice try bud, but I'm not really in the market for a boyfriend at the moment. I’m not really a relationship sort of girl. Sorry…” She shrugged and resumed her now even soggier cereal.
“That's alright, take your time but someday, Blue, you'll see that we're soulmates.”
“Not likely.” She muttered, forcing herself not to smile. “Why are you even trying though? Everyone pretty much hates my guts around here but you act like it's no big deal. I mean, you defended me that first day without even meeting me. I don’t get it, are you messing with my head or are you for real?”
His teasing face became serious for a moment as he seemed to be contemplating his next words.
“I’m not fucking with you, Blue. I really do dig you a whole hell of a lot. And to answer your question, I’m not really the sort of guy to listen to rumors.” He reached out and took her hand in his, causing warmth to spread up her arm and through her chest.
“My family moved to the community when I was ten. We’d lived in Canada for most of my life until my mom got a letter from the school, requesting my older brother Marcus’s attendance.” His green eyes darkened ever so slightly and she instinctively knew this was a sore subject for Jasper.
She squeezed his hand. “You don’t have to tell me...it's okay.” She told him honestly and he exhaled a long breath.
“Nah, it's fine...just hard sometimes, but it's not like it's a secret or anything.” He looked around for a moment. “Hey, you want to take a walk with me before class?”
Thinking about it, a walk sounded pretty awesome right about then. Blue just shook her head and stood, but Jasper had already grabbed her empty bowl of mush and tossed in the trash for her.
They ignored the stares of disapproval cast their way as they made their way through the room and out the doors of the kitchen. It was the same path she had taken the day she had gone for a walk in the graveyard.
The sky was much more clear that morning, the blue sky above them had not a single cloud and the sun shone brightly, rare for that time of year. Fall was right around the corner and with it would bring the dying of the trees and the danger that came with the heavy cloud cover. They walked in easy silence, side by side and Blue couldn't help but feel comfortable next to Jasper. His presence was steady and reassuring, even if she barely knew him. He felt like someone she could trust. And trust was a rare thing for a Graves.
“So your brother…” She prompted and for a split second, she watched him wince.
“I-I’m sorry, Im being nosey…” She tried to backtrack, but Jasper placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.
“It fine, I brought it up in the first place, sometimes it just takes me a minute to process. It's been years but it never seems to get any easier.”
She looked into his eyes but had to tilt her head up because he was just that tall. With the sunlight filtering in from the
tree cover, it made his brown hair look ever so slightly red, just like those long lashes of his. He was distractingly handsome.
The continued walking.
“Marcus loved this place.” He said after a few moments of silence. She kept quiet, content to let him speak. “He loved the action, the danger... always had even if my mom hated it.” He smiled fondly.
“Moms just a human, so she didn’t understand, but she always supported us.” He shoved his hands in his pockets as they wound their way down the familiar dirt path.
“We were adopted, you see...back when Marcus was only five and I was an infant. I don’t know anything about my birth family, but I know that my mom loves us...loves me…”
“He was so excited when he got that letter freshman year of highschool. Mom didn't want to let him go, but we all knew she’d never hold him back from anything. We moved to the states and settled near Seattle while Marcus attended Arcane. He graduated four years later but barely made it a year before…” His words choked off for a moment.
Blue grabbed his arm reassuringly. “Before what?”
He cleared his throat. “They got him in the sewers.” He admitted and Blue could feel a growl rumbling in her chest. “It was supposed to be a stake out, find the nest and report back but the bloodsuckers were waiting for him.” He told her with venom in his sad voice.
“He never made it back…barely a year in the real world and Marcus was gone already. I had to beg mom to let me come here, but she’s still not happy about it.”
They were silent for a moment. Contemplative.
“Jas, I don’t know what to say. I want to say I’m sorry but I know what it's like to hear it. It doesn’t help, so I won’t.”
Blue Blooded: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Arcane Academy Slayers: Book 1 ) Page 7
