“What is your problem?” Jude asks. “You’re lucky I haven’t hurt the two of you for putting a hand on my mate.”
“No, you’ll be lucky if you don’t end up in the hospital when I’m done with you.” Kolton puffs his chest out.
Dear, goodness. Are they seriously about to fight?
“Kolton, stop.” I roll my eyes at him, then look at Jude. “Jude, these are my brothers. Kolton is the grumpy one, and this is Brody.” I point down. “And Kolton won’t lay a hand on you.” I look at Kolton. “You know Dad would kill you if you got expelled before school even starts.”
Kolton crosses his arms over his chest. “Fine. But if you think we’re leaving you alone with this clown, you have another thing coming. And you know Dad would be on our side.”
He’s right.
I may be eighteen, but my dad has always seen me as his ‘baby.’ I was the last born, and I am the only girl. Growing up, Dad taught Kolton and Brody that it was their job to protect me. Even when we were kids, they took their job very seriously. My dad would hate the thought of me finding my mate already. I think he was hoping I wouldn’t meet my mate until I was at least three hundred years old.
“I want to at least talk to you.” Jude keeps his eyes on me alone. “I just met you. I mean… there is so much I want to learn.”
“Not going to happen, Romeo,” Brody says.
Dang.
If Brody isn’t on my side, then this really is pointless.
“I’m sorry.” I frown. “We will have to meet up when I can sneak away from my brothers.”
“Not happening.” Kolton gives me a pointed look. “Don’t even try.”
I just shrug, not commenting either way.
“It was lovely to meet you, Jude.”
Jude looks at me, then between my brothers. I can see the moment of defeat when he realizes he’s lost this battle. I’m disappointed too, but I know we will have plenty of time to talk later. Until then, I’ve just got to get my brothers onboard with the whole thing.
3:07 am
Curious.
I am not much of a partier, but when we get invited to a party later that night, I want to go. Mostly because I feel like I’ve been trapped in a room with my brothers. Really, I have been trapped in a room with them.
Ever since Jude and I parted ways earlier, Brody and Kolton haven’t left my side, not even for a minute. One of them is always there. Maybe they’re afraid if they leave me alone for a second I will go try to find Jude. They’re absolutely right about that.
I want to know more about Jude. The only thing I know about him is his name. And I also know that he has beautiful teal blue eyes, and that he is very attractive.
Butterflies fill my stomach when I think about him. Even now at this party, with Brody by my side, all I can think about is escaping to find Jude’s dorm.
As soon as we got to the party, Kolton parted ways with us. He met some girl that he’s hanging out with, which kind of pisses me off. If it’s okay for Kolton to hang out with some random girl, why can’t I hang out with my mate? It just doesn’t seem fair.
“Do you have to babysit me the whole time?” I pout just a little bit. Sometimes Brody will cave when I pout. He always said it isn’t fair, but a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do, especially considering I’m the only girl, besides our mom. And Mom always takes Dad’s side, so that hardly counts.
Brody sighs. “I don’t know, Everleigh. It’s just… a lot right now. You’re only eighteen and you’ve just met your mate.”
“Mom met Dad when she was seventeen,” I counter.
We’ve heard the story of them so many times.
My mom didn’t have the best home life growing up. Her mom passed away when she was young, and her dad got remarried to a woman who hated her. One night she was out walking in the park, just to get away from the house, and my dad found her. He turned her into a vampire that very night. Mom and Dad both swear it was love at first sight. And I guess I’m curious. Are Jude and I going to have a crazy love at first sight experience? I’m attracted to him, but I don’t know if I love him. I haven’t even had a conversation with him yet.
“I just don’t want you to do anything impulsive.” He scratches the back of his head and I realize that he is about to cave.
“I promise I won’t complete my mate bond with him tonight. I just want to talk to him. I’m curious about him.”
Brody sighs. “I’m going to join in on a game of pool. I would prefer if you stayed with me, but I understand if you want to sneak off. But if Kolton asks, it is one hundred percent on you.”
I grin and nod my head. “Absolutely. I will take all the blame.”
He looks at me and I can see that he’s hesitating.
“Wouldn’t you be curious?” I ask. “If you met your mate, wouldn’t you want to know what she is like?”
His face turns red. “Everleigh, I would kill anybody who tried to be in the way of my mate and me.”
“Exactly. That’s probably how Jude feels, except he couldn’t fight you and Kolton.” My brothers are strong. And there are two of them. It wouldn’t even be a fair fight.
“Fine. But you have one hour.”
Success.
I run from the house before he changes his mind.
The party was a few blocks down on the beach at somebody’s house. When I walk out the front door, I nearly run into somebody walking into the house. I look up and see that it’s Jude. He smiles when he sees me, and he looks behind me, probably looking for Brody and Kolton. I can’t blame him for being wary. The last time we were together things didn’t work out so well.
When I see Jude, my heart races, and I realize that he is right. He is my mate. I never doubted him, I just… well, I have similar feelings for Asa. I wonder if next time I see Asa, will my feelings for him be gone? Part of me thinks it would be nice if that were the case, but the thought of my feelings for him disappearing makes my chest ache a little.
“Where’s the bodyguards?” Jude asks.
I cringe.
Yikes. I really made a bad first impression on my mate because of Brody and Kolton.
I point a thumb back at the house. “Kolton met a girl that he’s into. And Brody is the nice one, so I talked him into letting me come find you. But don’t tell Kolton that I called Brody the nice one.”
“You want to go walk on the beach?” He eyeballs the door, like he’s afraid Brody or Kolton is going to come out here at any second.
“Sure.”
Jude and I walk beside each other toward the beach. We walk close, but not so close that we touch. While part of me wants to scoot closer to him and grab onto his hand, the other part of me does need space. I need to process all of this. I mean, I’m still so young. You’re not supposed to meet your mate when you’re only eighteen. I thought I would have many years of being single before meeting Jude. But I also feel so thankful. I don’t have to go on awkward first dates. I can just date my mate, and I know we’ll be together forever. It’s nice.
The wind is blowing tonight, and the fresh salt water smells wonderful. The waves are gently crashing in.
“So, Brody and Kolton are your older brothers?” Jude asks, yelling over the sound of the ocean.
I shake my head. “They are only a few minutes older than me, which they seem to think counts, but we were all born the same day.”
“Oh.” He furrows his brows as he studies me. “You’re triplets?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
We come to a stop just at the edge of the water. I kick off my flip flops and walk a little further, letting the water crash around my ankles. Some of the waves are a little higher.
When I look up at Jude, I notice that he’s watching me.
“You’re really pretty.” His voice is husky as he looks at me with such awe in his eyes.
My cheeks grow warm at his compliment. “Uh, thanks.”
I lower my head a bit, letting my hair frame my face. Mom says I hide from people,
which is true, but I’ve always hated getting compliments.
“I don’t even know anything about you.” He sits down in the sand, just outside of where the waves are washing into the sand.
I walk over, sitting beside him. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything.” His eyes never once leave mine as he talks. “What is your major?”
I bite the side of my lip. “Politics. I didn’t exactly get a choice. All of the royal family is forced to major in politics.”
“What would you choose, if you could?”
I shrug. “I honestly have no idea. I don’t know what I want in life.”
“I don’t really either,” he admits. “I haven’t even declared a major. I suppose we have plenty of time for that, though.”
“So, you’re a freshman?” I sit crisscross and turn toward him, wanting to see more of his expression. I want to learn what all of his looks mean. How does he look when he’s happy? Or mad? Or sad? I want to know everything about him.
He nods.
I drop my gaze to my hands. “I have a question… um… when you felt me… you said my soul called out to you. How did you know that I was your mate? I mean… have you ever felt this way before?”
“No, never.” He shakes his head. “There was no denying it. I knew before I even saw you. I felt it and I came as quickly as I could. And then I saw you. I had never been more jealous in my life. I thought maybe Brody was your boyfriend.”
“Gross.” I wrinkle my nose.
“Have you ever felt this way about anybody?”
I panic when he asks the question. On one hand, I should be honest with him, but on the other, how can I admit my feelings for Asa to him? Instead, I just shake my head no. If what my parents tell me is true, Asa won’t matter to me anyway.
His shoulders sag and I realize they were tense before. He was actually worried that I had a boyfriend or something before him.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend or anything like that,” I say, then laugh. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious by the way my brothers acted that they would never let me date somebody. Not that it matters. I’ve never been close to any guy before.”
That is the truth.
Asa and I have never been close. And he’s my dad’s best friend. It would’ve been impossible for there to be anything between us, no matter how bad I wanted there to be.
“I’ve never had a girlfriend.” He grins. “Not to sound like a loser, but I never wanted to date in high school.”
“Not having a girlfriend before is a good thing.” I quite like the idea, actually. “We can be each other’s first everything.”
My face grows warm as I realize exactly what I’m implying.
“You know I don’t expect anything, right?” Jude asks. “We’re young, and I’m okay with taking things slow.”
I let out a breath of relief. “Good. I don’t want to go too slow, but I also think it would be nice to get to know each other a little before we jump into the physical stuff.”
He nods. “I agree.”
Thank goodness. I was worried he’d want to complete the mate bond right away.
Most supernaturals complete their mate bond almost immediately after they meet. I’ve asked my mom how long she and dad waited before completing their mate bond and she always changes the subject. I bet they must’ve done it right away and Mom just doesn’t want to tell me.
“Where are you from?” I ask him, changing the subject away from the mate bond. It’s an awkward conversation to have the first night you meet somebody. Like—what’s your favorite color? Oh, by the way, when do you want to have sex with me? Weird.
“Vegas.” He raises an eyebrow. “How did you know I’m not from around here?”
Most vampires live in Florida. Not just vampires, but supernaturals in general.
I shrug. “Your accent is different. Plus, you didn’t go to Elite Academy High.”
Elite Academy High is where all the born vampires on the East Coast go to school. Most of them stay at the boarding school, but some, like my brothers and I, lived close and drove to school every night.
“My accent?”
I nod. “And the way you dress. Florida is way too hot for jeans.”
He looks down at his pant covered legs. “Vampires aren’t really affected by the temperature like humans.”
I shrug. “Still got to blend in.”
He smirks, looking at my own dress. “All I know is your legs look very nice in your dress.”
My cheeks grow warm at the compliment. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”
Jude turns, sitting crisscross so he can face me. He scoots closer until his knees are less than an inch away from touching mine. I want so bad to reach out and touch him, but if I did, I know I would want more touches. Instead, I keep my hands to myself. I need to get to know him first.
“Everleigh!” I hear my name called off in the distance.
Jude cringes.
I frown. “I’m sorry. It’s my brothers.”
“Will I get to see you again?” His eyes are wide. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I need more time with you.”
My heart swells at his words. “Don’t worry. They won’t keep me away from you long. Just give Kolton, like, a week to get used to the idea.”
Jude nods.
Somebody lifts me up, most likely Kolton, and throws me over his shoulder. We march away from the beach, and I look up and see Jude standing on the beach, watching us leave. I wave at him.
“Everleigh Ingram, what am I going to do with you?” Kolton asks.
“Is that a rhetorical question?”
The truth is, no matter how much he tries to fight it, Jude is my mate. He’s going to be in my life forever. The sooner he accepts it, the better.
I will give my brother tonight. It’s easier to give in than to fight it when he’s like this. But I will fight for this. It’s important.
Kolton doesn’t put me down until we’re in my dorm. He points a finger at me. “Don’t even think about leaving this room tonight. I’m staying with you.”
I roll my eyes, but don’t argue.
Tonight, I will let Kolton win.
Sunday, September 6
9:31 pm
Henry.
On Sunday, Kolton and Brody want to explore the school a bit and figure out where our classes are. I want to look for Jude, so I think it’s the perfect excuse. While we are exploring, we run into a lot of people. I guess some of them recognize us. Brody and Kolton are bombarded by girls wanting to give them their number, and by fraternities wanting them to join. Guys try to flirt with me, but I’m honestly so grossed out by all of it. And a couple of girls do try to recruit me for their sorority. Not wanting to hurt the girls’ feelings, I tell them that I’ll think about it, even though I definitely won’t be ‘thinking’ about it.
While Brody and Kolton are talking to a couple of girls, I walk into one of the classrooms that I will be taking a class in every Tuesday and Thursday. I let out a breath of relief when I close the door behind me. That crowd was way too much.
“Hello, there.”
The voice makes me jump.
I put a hand to my heart. “You scared me.”
“I’m sorry.”
I look up into a pair of warm green eyes, and my heart races. This time, not because of being frightened.
Dear, goodness. This boy is beautiful. I try to remind myself that I have a mate, but it’s not working. I can’t stop looking at this boy.
I shouldn’t call him a boy. He is a man.
“I’m Henry.”
“Hi, Henry. I’m Everleigh.”
His grin widens. “Hi, Everleigh”
When he says my name, my stomach flutters with excitement. And guilt. But I’ll worry about that later. Right now I just need to know everything about this beautiful man in front of me. And I definitely need to look into his eyes longer.
“What year are you?” I ask, noticing that he a
ppears older than me. He’s clearly not a freshman, but it’s hard to tell with vampires. We stop aging in our early twenties.
He tilts his head to the side. “Year?”
“I’m a freshman.”
Henry looks at me, his eyes scanning my body. “Oh. You’re a student.”
I nod, wondering why he said it like that.
“I am your defense teacher,” he says.
My teacher?
Holy cow. How am I supposed to pay attention during his class? I’ll be looking at him, drooling the entire time.
I have a mate, I remind myself.
A. Mate.
I can’t be attracted to other guys. This is so messed up.
Yet, I can’t help it. I feel such a pull toward Henry.
“I think defense is going to be my favorite class.” I close my eyes as I realize what has just come out of my mouth. Do I seriously not have a filter? Now Henry is going to think that I have a crush on him. Which I do. But I don’t want him to know that.
“Don’t tell anybody, but I think you’re going to be my favorite student.” He whispers the words and chills break out on my skin.
I open my eyes and see the grin on his face. My heart is beating so fast that I am almost certain he can hear it.
I like the idea that I’m going to be Henry’s favorite student. But why?
While we were exploring, plenty of attractive guys hit on me, and I felt nothing for them. If anything, I was grossed out that they were even talking to me. Yet, when Henry talks to me, when he looks at me, my heart races and butterflies fill my stomach. I feel… like I have a massive crush on him. It’s the same way I feel about Asa, and the same way I feel about Jude.
This isn’t right.
I have to just keep my mind focused on Jude. He’s my mate. Not Henry, and definitely not Asa.
I take a step back, putting a little distance between us. Henry seems to find this amusing, because his smile widens.
The door to his classroom opens and I look over to see Brody and Kolton walk in. I can see the relief on their faces when they see me.
“You’ve got to stop sneaking off like that.” Kolton comes over, putting his arm around me.
Vampire School (Elite Academy Book 1) Page 2
