There is a knock on my door, and my heart sinks. I really hope it’s not Brody and Kolton. I don’t want to explain to them why I’m crying. How could I explain it to them? Asa is always nice to my brothers. It’s me who he hates.
When I open my door, I can’t help but smile when I see Henry on the other side. I know that I look like a complete mess, but he is exactly who I needed to see right now. He walks in, shutting the door behind him, then he pulls me into his embrace, holding me against his chest.
Of course he knew I was hurting. He’s my mate. He came to check on me. I just don’t know how I’m going to tell him who hurt me.
Someday, most likely soon, I am going to complete my mate bond with Henry and Jude. When I do, they are going to be in my head. They’re going to be able to read every thought and feeling. I know that I can’t hide what I feel for Asa forever. I shouldn’t hide it at all, but I’m ashamed of how I feel.
Henry’s arms fall away from me, and I’m about to protest when he scoops me up and carries me into the bathroom. He sits me down on the counter and grabs a washcloth and soap and gently clears the blood from my face and under my eyes. He touches me so gently, I can’t help but fall a little more in love with him in this moment. I stare into his warm green eyes and wonder how I can betray him like this.
“What is wrong, Everleigh?” Henry’s voice is soft and encouraging.
I want to tell him the truth. I want to tell him everything. But I am just so scared of what he will think of me. I’m terrified my mate will hate me for having feelings for somebody else.
He puts down the wash cloth and places his hands on both sides of my face, gently nudging me so that I look at him.
“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong,” he encourages.
I take a deep breath, but then chicken out. I shake my head. “I can’t tell you, Henry. If I did, you would hate me forever.”
His eyes soften. “Everleigh, don’t you know that I could never hate you? It’s impossible. You’re too... gentle and kind. You feel things so deeply. How could I hate you for that?”
“The things that I feel,” I pause, shaking my head, “it’s not right. I shouldn’t feel these things.”
“Why don’t you tell me what it is that is bothering you and I will be the judge,” he says.
I know I need to tell him. He deserves to know. I can’t keep this from him forever. It would be nice to share this burden I’ve been feeling with somebody else.
“You know Asa, right?”
Henry nods. “Yeah. We’ve been working together for ten years now. During that time, we’ve become friends.”
I close my eyes tight, feeling nervous again.
Asa is his friend. He won’t believe me when I say that Asa hates me, because Asa doesn’t hate anybody. He’s the nicest person I’ve ever met. Except, he’s not nice to me. I just don’t get it.
Henry runs his thumb over my lips, causing me to open my eyes.
“Don’t shut yourself off from me. Tell me.”
I nod.
I can do this.
“Asa is my dad’s best friend. He’s kind of been around a lot while I was growing up.” I take a deep breath, trying to get up the courage to continue. “I’ve always liked Asa. As a kid, I was always excited when he came into town. But as I got older, my feelings for him started to change. I guess I was about twelve when I got a crush on him. But it was just a silly crush, you know?”
Henry gently strokes my cheek when I pause. “Go on.”
“I remember the last time he visited. I was fourteen. And my crush on him never went away. It actually just got stronger. But that trip, he treated me differently. He was rude to me, and he ignored me.” I shake my head. “I was completely devastated. And then he just never visited again. And I didn’t see him again until I came here.”
Henry nods. “And he’s still being mean to you?”
I shrug. “I still have feelings for him. And I know I shouldn’t. I know that it’s wrong, but I can’t help it. I keep hoping that my feelings for him will just go away, but they haven’t. They just keep getting stronger.” I lick my lips. “But Asa... he just keeps ignoring me. He won’t even look at me. And I just feel stupid.” I finally look Henry in the eyes. “What is wrong with me? I have you and Jude. I shouldn’t feel this way about another guy. It isn’t right.”
“There is nothing wrong with you.” Henry leans down and gives me a kiss. It’s our first kiss. It’s soft and warm and ends almost as quickly as it begins. He pulls back and looks at me. “I promise you, I will fix this.”
“How?”
“I just will.” He stands up straight. “I’m going to go take care of it right now. Are you going to be okay?”
I nod, hoping that I will be.
Henry kisses me one last time before turning to leave the bathroom. I sit on the counter, wondering how he’s supposed to fix this. I just have to trust him.
Tuesday, September 8
10:51 pm
Hiding in Plain Sight.
On Tuesday night, I wake up feeling energized and refreshed. After confessing the truth to Henry last night, I feel one thousand times better. Guilt isn’t eating at me anymore, which is a relief. I believe Henry when he said he would take care of the Asa situation. I will trust him.
I also feel refreshed because I got to sleep in a little bit. Yesterday, I had an early class. I woke up before the sun had even set. But tonight, my class doesn’t start until eleven, so I have nothing to complain about.
Tonight, I have my Hiding in Plain Sight class, which is basically Vampirism in Modern Ages without the technology talk. It’s going to be boring, but I’m glad to get the class out of the way during my first semester. Hopefully between my first two semesters I can get the boring classes out of the way and focus more on classes I’m interested in during my sophomore year.
I also have my Defense class tonight, and I am oddly excited about it. I’ve never been one to enjoy physical education classes, but since Henry is my teacher, I find myself getting very anxious. I want to see him again. Maybe we can even hang out after class or something.
When I walk into my Hiding in Plain Sight class, I spot Jude sitting at a table toward the back of the room. I walk over and take a seat directly beside him, scooting my chair closer to him.
He looks up and grins at me. “Hey.”
The way he looks at me nearly takes my breath away.
Tonight, he is wearing a t-shirt that says aliens exist, which is just hilarious.
I don’t know if aliens exist. Humans don’t think that supernaturals exist. I’d like to think we’re not alone in the universe. The world is full of unknown things. So, I suppose I would call myself a believer.
“Nice shirt. Do you just have a closet full of nerdy shirts to wear everyday?” I ask.
His face turns slightly pink. “Maybe.”
“Maybe I will steal some then.” Because his shirts look comfy. I want one to sleep in, just so I can smell him even when he’s not there. But I’m not going to admit that out loud.
“You can have any of them.” He clears his throat. “I... uh... get the feeling that they would look better on you anyway.”
I can’t help but smile.
Jude is so sweet.
“Maybe we can hangout tonight,” I say. “I feel like I hardly saw you yesterday at all.”
He sits up straighter. “Absolutely. I wanted to see you last night, but Henry said he was going to your room. I didn’t want to disrupt you two.”
Jude and I have yet to talk openly about the fact that Henry is my mate too. I never bring it up because it feels weird to talk about Henry with Jude. But I’m glad he doesn’t seem put off by the situation.
I chew on the side of my lip as I study Jude. “Are you okay with the whole Henry thing? ‘Cause, I’ve got to be honest, the thought of you having another mate besides me just pisses me off. So I can’t even imagine how you’re feeling right now.”
He shr
ugs. “I can’t really explain it, but I think it must be a fate thing, ‘cause I’m not jealous. But if it were with anybody besides Henry…” He pauses, shaking his head. “I’d hurt anyone who even tried to flirt with you.”
“Huh.” I’m glad fate knows what it’s doing, because I sure don’t.
“I’m sure there will be times of jealousy. That’s life. What’s happening is definitely not normal, but I’ve always found that the best things in life are the things you have to work for.” He reaches over and grabs my hand. “You’re worth it, Everleigh.”
Hearing those words is such a relief.
He thinks that I’m worth it.
Nothing could ever be more perfect.
“Thank you, Jude. I don’t deserve you, but I’m so glad we found each other.”
He smiles, and my heart warms.
I promise myself I won’t waste any more time thinking about Asa. He’s been a jerk to me and doesn’t deserve any more of my thoughts wasted on him. If Asa doesn’t want anything to do with me, I’m not going to force myself into his life. Not when I have two men who adore me, two men who are my mates.
Asa who?
1:01 am
Defense.
Not to sound biased, but Defense is definitely going to be my favorite class. And it might have everything to do with the teacher.
In this class, there are no chairs or desks. Instead, we’re in a gym. We all stand facing Henry, and I can’t keep my eyes off of him. The fact that he can’t keep his eyes off me fills me with joy. He keeps glancing my way and smiling at me.
Henry clears his throat before he addresses the class. “Defense is a relatively new class. I started teaching it about ten years ago, right around the time we saw an uprise in these so-called vampire hunters.” He rolls his eyes. “So far, these hunters haven’t been successful, but it’s important to know how to defend ourselves against them, especially since Vampire Hunter Academy opened recently.”
I heard about Vampire Hunter Academy from my dad. It’s a small school run by one family. I think the other humans think they’re nuts, but a few people are buying into the theory. They’re training them on how to kill vampires, which is stupid.
Vampires don’t kill people. We never have. We’re always portrayed as evil in books and movies, but we don’t even feed directly from humans. We only drink donated blood. We’re no more murderers than the humans are. I mean, sure, there are probably some bad vampires that are secretly serial killers, but it’s not because of what they are, it’s because of who they are.
Henry pairs everybody off in teams of two. There is an odd number in the class, so he is my partner. I have a feeling that even if the class were even, he’d still be my partner. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would want anybody else putting their hands on me, and I’m not upset about it. In fact, I think I’m going to like this class because he puts his hands all over me.
Henry helps everybody else get into position and shows them the move that we’re supposed to be practicing before he comes over to me. I can’t help but grin as he approaches me.
“You look awfully happy, Everleigh,” Henry says.
“That’s because I am happy.” Like, so, so happy.
He cocks his head. “Did Asa talk to you?”
A pain shoots through my chest when he says Asa’s name, but I try and push the pain away, not wanting to focus on Asa right now. “No.” I swallow hard. “I, uh, just decided that he wasn’t worth my thoughts anymore. I mean, I have two mates. Why should I obsess over a guy who clearly hates me?”
Henry huffs, shaking his head. “Asa is an idiot, and you deserve better.”
His words make me smile. “Henry, I have better.”
His lips turn up. “Yeah, I suppose you do.”
We get started practicing the move that we’re supposed to learn today. It’s nothing too hard. We’re just learning how to block a punch, but it’s a very slow one. It’s not even hard. Some people are struggling a bit though, one girl even has a black eye, and I wonder if Henry is holding back with me. I really hope he doesn’t, because I want to learn this. Not just want, I need to learn this. It’s important to our survival. I want to be able to protect myself and my mates if needed.
Once class is over, I decide to stick around for a minute and ask Henry if he is holding back.
A few girls I notice keep looking at Henry and giggling as they leave the classroom. Jealousy shoots through me. I don’t want those girls looking at my mate. It’s a completely irrational thing to think, so I push the thought aside.
Obviously, Henry is an attractive guy. When I first saw him, the first thing I noticed about him was his eyes, but Henry also has a great body. It’s clear he spends a lot of time working out, and the time has been well spent.
“Are you jealous?” Henry raises an eyebrow at me.
I cross my arms over my chest. “Maybe.”
He grins, pulling me into his arms. “Don’t be. You’re the only girl I ever want for the rest of my existence.”
“That’s a long time.” I lean into his embrace.
“No matter how long I have with you, it’ll never be enough.” He kisses the top of my head.
I sigh, loving the way his lips feel.
I am already falling in love with Henry. The thought should scare me, considering we haven’t known each other that long, but it doesn’t. In fact, I think it’s exhilarating. Falling in love is magical and beautiful. And falling for Henry, well, that’s easy. He’s easy to love.
“Did you want to talk to me about something?” He pulls away a little so he can look at me.
Oh, right.
I almost forgot what I was going to ask him. He distracted me by being all romantic and sweet.
I put my hands on my hips so he knows I mean business. “Did you hold back with me?”
He puts his hands on my shoulders. “A little bit, but only because I’m a lot stronger than you. I’ve been training and doing this for years.”
“Do you think somebody from Vampire Hunter Academy will hold back with me because they’re stronger?” I raise an eyebrow. “Henry, you can’t hold back with me. I need to learn this.”
“If I paired you with anybody else, they wouldn’t be as strong as I am,” he says. “You have to learn this slowly. If I didn’t hold back, I would have hurt you badly. And I don’t care if you think I’m holding back, I will hold back to protect you. Always.”
How can I argue with that? “Fine. You win.”
He grins. “You did really well, though. I was impressed. Maybe in a few years, I won’t have to hold back.”
Henry’s words make me melt.
I don’t think it’ll ever be possible to be mad at my mates.
4:07 am
Stab.
Jude calls me after I finish up with my homework and invites me to a party. I am excited to go. I want to make friends while I’m at school. I know I just met them, so my whole world kind of revolves around them right now, but I still think it’s important to make friends while I’m in university. Isn’t this where I’m supposed to make my friends that last a lifetime?
Dad met Asa while he was in college. They were both at a human university and they were roommates. They became quick friends, most likely because they were the only vampires on campus. I want a friendship like theirs.
When Jude shows up at my dorm room to pick me up, he’s wearing a t-shirt that advertises a local surf shop. I raise an eyebrow, pointing at the shirt.
“I like surfing.” He shrugs his shoulders. “I didn’t get to do it a lot in Vegas, but I thought that since I’m here, maybe I could make use of the waves.”
Huh. I didn’t know that Jude surfed. But then again, I am still learning a lot of things about him. I’m excited to see what I learn while we get to know one another.
“I can’t surf.” I walk out of my room with him, locking my door behind me. “I tried when I was younger, but I’m really clumsy. Plus, I would rather be swimming anyway
. Why be on top of the water when you can be in the water?”
He laughs. “Yeah, I’ve noticed you trip over your own feet a lot. We’ll just be walking and you’ll trip. I don’t even think you notice you do it.”
My face grows warm. I actually didn’t notice. “I tried out for cheerleading my freshman year of high school. A lot of the cheerleaders were my friends, so I thought it would be fun to hang out with them. They ended up telling me I should watch from the sidelines.”
“I bet you had a lot of friends in high school.” Jude grabs my hand as we head down the stairs. Maybe he’s afraid I’ll trip and fall down.
I nod. “Actually, I did. I think the girls just liked me because they thought my brothers were hot.”
“I doubt that,” he says. “I mean, maybe they were attracted to your brothers, but how could they not be attracted to your personality? I think them being friends with you was about you.”
I smile at his compliment.
I’m glad that Jude is attracted to my personality. If we’re going to be mated, that’s probably pretty important.
“What about you?” I ask. “Do you have a lot of friends in Vegas?”
He shrugs. “Not really. I went to a supernatural school there, but it wasn’t just for vampires. There was only one other vampire in my entire school, and the guy was a complete bully. And every other supernatural kind of kept in their own group, so the succubi and incubi mostly hung out on their own, and the shifters one their own, and so on. So I was a loner.”
That’s sad. I don’t like the idea of Jude not having friends.
“I wish you would’ve lived here. We could’ve been friends.” I squeeze his hand.
“I would’ve been so happy to meet you earlier, but I know things worked out the way they did for a reason. If I would’ve known you in high school, you probably would’ve thought I was such a nerd,” he admits. “I pretty much spent all my time playing video games.”
“Video games aren’t nerdy.”
Vampire School (Elite Academy Book 1) Page 5
