by Kim Faulks
I shook my head, needing to focus, then studied the books under my hand when the word ‘Vampire’ caught my attention and I drew the volume out. A small puff of dust tickled my nose, and I flipped the book open to find rows and rows of tiny text. With a sigh, I flicked through the pages for any illustrations of emblems. Focusing seemed impossible when I kept thinking back to my last class with Mr. Leathers. The power I’d sensed inside me, how he spoke directly into my thoughts, and the energy in my veins was like nothing I’d experienced before.
How had he tapped into it when I’d never been able to? Why hadn’t Dad told me, or didn’t he know? And he claimed I was the most powerful Vampire.
I chuckled under my breath. As if.
Footsteps closed in ahead of me, and I glanced up to find Judas strolling toward me, his hands stuffed into the pockets of black school pants that hung low on his hips, his untucked, button-up shirt hugging his strong frame.
My fingers tingled with the need to reach out and touch his chest, be reminded of how good his muscles felt, how they hardened under my touch.
“Anything good?” he whispered, standing so close to me that I couldn’t focus on anything but his breath on my face and his super sexy smell. When he reached over to the open book in my hands, his fingers grazed mine. A buzz shot up my hand and through my body. I shuddered in a way that made me putty around him.
I giggled and felt stupid because I needed to focus and not sound like Ava. Clearing my throat, I said, “Nothing here but snore fest material. You?”
“Dead end, but I learned some interesting, irrelevant facts. Apparently in Turkey, Vampire derives from the word Upyr which means Witch. Oh, and in Romania to summon a Vampire all you need is a seven year old boy and a horse. This one baffles me. I get the boy being a meal, but what’s with the horse?”
His words barely registered as his thumb stroked the back of my hand in circles and all I could focus on were his lips. Red and full, I wanted to kiss that mouth. When he caught me staring, I lowered my gaze, burning up from my head to toes.
His breathing quickened, his chest rising and falling quickly. His hand tightened against mine, and I looked up into rich mocha eyes filled with emotions that’d steal my breath, if had any left. All that stood between us was the book we held onto, barricading us.
With a free hand, he brushed a loose strand of hair caught in my lashes, his fingers gingerly caressing my cheek, coaxing shivers out of me. I stilled, frozen with fear and excitement.
Voices came from behind me and he pulled his hand away, breaking the perfect moment he’d created. Silence fell between us.
“Those Romanians Vamps are strange and believe in weird crap,” I said, rambling. “When my cousins from there visited last, I caught their son in our background hypnotizing a small group of raccoons to do his bidding. He told me they were his freaking minions, can you believe it? For months after they left, we had those pesky animals trying to break into our house.”
Was it suddenly really hot in here?
“Family can be strange.”
His words reminded me of something from my last lesson. “Speaking of family, what did Mr. Leathers mean by the infamous Blackthorne Wolves?”
He raked his fingers through glossy curls of dark hair.
“He doesn't know what he’s talking about. There’s no infamy Mor. Not at all. Anyway, me and the guys have gotta go, we have a combat class to prepare for. Speak soon, yeah?” The corner of his mouth slid upward, and he brushed past me on purpose.
If I had a heart, it’d be skipping right now. I nodded and collapsed against the bookshelf, my gaze sliding to tight curve of Judas’ ass as I chewed on my lower lip.
“You want him so bad.” Ava’s voice pierced the gaps in the books behind me.
I jerked my gaze toward her, my cheeks on fire. “Geez, want to scream it from the rooftop?”
She sauntered over, laughing to herself. “Mor, everyone already knows. They’re just waiting for it to happen.”
I glared at her. “For what to happen?”
“For you to kiss them already.”
My mouth opened and then snapped shut.
Her blue eyes danced with excitement. “That’s what I thought. Anyway, been thinking, let’s hide the loot here at the Lodge so if anyone comes for them, they won’t find them in your room. Maybe handing them to a teacher isn’t such a smart idea. We don’t know who sent them, or why. Once we figure that out, we can make a plan.”
“You think someone will come for them?”
She shrugged and looped her arm around mine, tugging me into a walk. “Better to have them here than in your room, right?” She lifted a hand. “This is what we know; one, that Vamp vanished before he could say a damn word, which means he was being hunted; and two, we have no idea if these are actually diamonds, for all we know they could be a curse. Either way we shouldn’t take the chance of someone coming for them.”
“I’m bolting my doors and windows tonight.”
Ava laughed and dragged me out of the library. “We can always have a slumber party.”
“The book’s gotta be in here somewhere.” Ava rummaged through the chest of drawers in her room.
I lay on my back across her bed, thoughts of diamonds and Judas’ lips rushing through my mind. Soft lips, warm hands. What did a Wolf shifter taste like? He sure as hell smelled divine.
Ava slammed the drawer and huffed.
I lifted myself onto my elbows. “What are you looking for?”
She scratched her head. “Dad sent me this biography about the top clans in the country. Haven't read it, but maybe the Blackthorne pack is in there somewhere. Maybe pretty boy is hiding a deep, dark secret.” She almost laughed, giddy with the idea of Judas having a juicy backstory.
“You don’t need to enjoy yourself so much, do you?”
A malevolent chuckle slipped from her lips. “Bad boys are so much sexier you know.”
“Is that why you’re attracted to Chuck? You think he’s a bad boy? Well, I’ve seen him fall asleep on the couch, snoring, and cuddling the family cat.”
“Aww that’s adorable,” she cooed as she swooned across the room to the inbuilt wardrobe. “Speaking of Chuck, where is that big brute. I haven’t seen him at all. A girl’s starting to think he’s avoiding her.”
“A girl needs to get with the program, we’re supposed to be hunting information about diamonds, not dark pasts and Vampire warriors.” I rolled my eyes and collapsed back on the bed.
The diamonds were hidden in the pocket of my jacket draped over a chair at the Lodge. What if someone found them? But then again, what if they didn’t...what then?
Ava strode across her room and yanked open her wardrobe. I caught the flare of pale fluff. There was a savage snarl before Ava squealed and slammed the door closed.
“What is it?” I shoved from the bed.
She was pale and shaking her head. “Nope, not going in there.”
“What? What’s in there?” Thoughts of Vampire creatures and severed heads rushed through my mind.
She turned before falling to her knees near the bed. She stuck her arm underneath then pulled out her wooden bat.
“What in the world are you doing?”
“The bunnies are gonna eat us while we sleep.” She pointed to the wardrobe with her bat.
And now that we fell silent, I heard a faint, thump...thump...thump sound.
I took a step.
“Don’t do it,” she warned. “It can never be unseen.”
I swallowed hard, gripped the handle and yanked.
The door flew open. Red eyes were all I saw...actually I wish they were all I saw.
The two demonic bunnies were...were...wrestling, my mind wanted to say, but they were doing a lot more than that. There, in between Ava’s school shoes, were two bunnies fucking furiously like…rabbits. The one on top hissed, baring teeth at us, blood staining the fur around its mouth, and its partner was the same.
I slammed the door, screa
med and stumbled backwards.
“I warned you,” Ava muttered and gripped her bat.
A thud came from the wall between our rooms.
“Holy fuck, they’re in the walls!” Ava stammered. “Put your stomping boots on,” she declared, resting the bat over a shoulder, raising her chin. “We going bunny hunting.”
“Says the girl who begged me to feed them demon blood.”
“We were making a stand, protesting on behalf of the animals,” she murmured. “Didn’t think it’d turn out like this.”
A tremble cut through my body. The corners of my mouth twitched.
Ava turned toward me, caught the smile as it stretched my lips.
A snigger broke free, and in an instant, we were laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes. Ava lifted a hand and pointed to the cupboard. “I am not wearing those sneakers ever again.”
Her words only made my knees shudder as I collapsed onto the bed.
“Did you see where they were biting?” Ava howled. “Makes new meaning to the term angry sex.”
“Oh!” I roared and held my stomach. “Oh my God.”
“Kinda kinky if you think about it,” she added.
“Ava!” I wailed and reached over, slapping her arm.
We laughed so hard we drowned out the sounds in that cupboard.
“We’re so fucked.” Ava cried and laughed.
“No, they are!” I followed and buried my head into the comforter. We snorted and giggled, and flinched every now and then when a thud came from the walls. Ava gripped the baseball bat and we lay there until the ache in our bellies eased and we could breathe.
“Let’s go.” She giggled. “Maybe we can find more along the footpath.”
“God, can you imagine Ms. Lucas finding them?” I sniggered. “She’d pitch a damn fit.”
“Serves her right,” Ava snarled and pushed from the bed.
We made our way out of the room, down the stairs and out of the dorm. The sky was darkening, and stars sparkled. My thoughts turned to the diamonds. I glanced along the walkway as we turned left and took the path around the back of the main building.
A rabbit squealed, hissed and tore across the footpath in front of us, heading close to the dark pond. In an instant, a huge gold colored fish leaped out of the water, snatched the rabbit mid-air and hit the ground with a slap. Fins twitched and flapped furiously. The fish was like nothing I’d seen before. It squirmed and writhed, working its way back toward the water as we stopped and stared.
Until its tail slipped under the surface of the water and both fish and rabbit disappeared under a flurry of bubbles and splashes.
“What the fuck was that.” I jerked my gaze to Ava.
She just stared at the place where the thing had been, her cheeks flushed, eyes wide. But it was more than shock...it was haunting.
“There’s monster fish in the river?” I muttered. “A golden monster fish.”
Ava erupted into a nervous laughter and stumbled toward me, shoving her hand against the small of my back and pushed. “That was something, wow. Let’s maybe head back.” She glanced over her shoulder at the river as she walked away.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I twisted, trying to catch her gaze.
“It’s a long story,” she muttered. “I’ll tell you one day.”
She refused to look at me, but I wasn’t a fool.
One way or another, I’d find out what the hell that golden fish was in the pond, and why it felt like all my damn friends were keeping secrets.
Chapter Seven
Orgasms And Diamonds. A Vamp’s Best Friend
We ate in silence. Once more Judas and the Wolves were gone. I sat back and watched Ava devour two steamed fish, and then curl her nose at the salad. “You want this?” She pushed the greens toward me.
I just raised a brow and looked at her as she muttered under her breath and dragged the plate close once more.
“They’re not here,” she murmured, drawing my gaze to the table.
“I know that.”
“So why the tension? This whole Blackthorne pack has you riled up.”
I lifted my gaze to hers. She was right. “Don’t you think I should be worried? I mean, why would Nefarious say something like that in the first place, if he didn’t want me to know what the deal was. And why does Judas evade the question if it really is nothing. Why not tell me and get it all out in the open?”
She shoved a mass of green leaves around her plate. “Either there’s something to hide or there isn’t, but in bringing it up in the first place he’s forcing you to pick sides.”
And then there were the diamonds…. “Maybe we should grab my jacket from the library.”
It was Ava’s turn to cock her head. The ‘code’ earned me a snarl. “We made a plan, you need to stick to it.”
I sighed and leaned backwards, listening to the chatter and the drone all around me. She was right. I knew she was right, and still there was something inside me that made my stomach clench with fear.
Transcendence. The word slipped in amongst the worry. I glanced at the mess on her place and rose. “You ready?”
“You’re not eating?” she asked for the third time.
My stomach churned as I shook my head. “I’m heading back. You take your time.”
She just nodded, letting me turn and walk away. I headed along the hall, this time passing my Ancient Studies classroom. The light was on inside, blazing like a damn invitation. I slowed and then stopped outside the door.
My knuckles barely made a sound on the wooden surface. So I sighed and then rapped my knuckles on the door again.
There was no answer, so I turned the handle and stepped into the enclave before the room. “Mr. Leathers?”
Silence greeted me; maybe he was gone.
There was a scuff in a walkway on the other side of the classroom. A grunt followed, then a growl, low, sinister...warning.
“Nefarious?” I called out a little louder.
Fear danced along my spine as that growl turned into words. “Come between us again, and there won’t be a body left to find.”
I stopped in the middle of the classroom and stared into the darkened hallway. Silver eyes glinted in the dark. I knew those eyes and that voice.
Judas had hold of Nefarious Leathers. One strong forearm was across his chest, driving him hard against the wall of the walkway. Hate mingled with rage. Wolf against Vampire. Both men glared at each other. Only Nefarious curled his lips into a smile and murmured. “Woops. Looks like your girlfriend knows what kind of boyfriend you really are.”
Judas gave him a shove and then stepped away, never once taking his eyes off my teacher. “That’s the only warning you’re going to get.”
I wanted to meet those silver eyes as Judas turned and glared at the ground, but everything about him made me want to turn and run.
He lifted his head as he strode out of the walkway and into the classroom. Pain savaged his beautiful brown eyes as they found mine.
I wanted to run to him, wanted to wrap my arms around him and never let go. I wanted to hold him, and comfort him as he’d comforted me. I took a slow step until he curled his lips. “He’s right. Don’t, Mor. Don’t come near me.”
He cut across the other side of the teacher’s table, shoving the chair as he strode toward the door. The loud bang shuddered the glass inside the door frame. I flinched at the sound and then turned to Mr. Leathers as he tugged down his shirt.
“What the hell was all that about?”
White fangs peeked out from under the Vampire’s lips as he muttered. “Seems Mr. Blackthorne didn’t like being outed.”
Anger flared as he stepped into the light. “So why the hell did you do it in the first place?”
“Because.” He met my gaze and stepped closer. “I thought it was time you knew what you were getting into.”
It was my dad all over again. The sneering. The warning. The pretending they knew better.
I just met his
stare with my own. “I guess time will tell then, won’t it Mr. Leathers.” Before I turned and strode away.
I hurried through the classroom and the out of the door. But Judas was nowhere to be seen. Maybe I could catch him on the walkway. I smiled at the others milling around in the hallway, watching me as I raced past.
Everyone treated me differently now. My mom, Dad, even Chuck to a degree. It’s like I’d turned one hundred and sprouted another damn head. I was still the same Vampire. Still the same daughter, still the same student.
“Ms. Livingstone,” Principal Stone snapped as I rushed past.
I ignored whatever she said next, pushing open the door before I raced out into the right. A darkened blur caught my eye as I hurried along the footpath. I caught sight of Judas as he ran. “Judas wait!”
He slowed, and then stopped, before he turned toward me. He looked dark and mysterious, glossy curls shining under the silver moon. Every bit a Wolf to be careful of. But I wasn’t careful where he was concerned.
I wasn’t careful at all.
He sucked in hard breaths, eyes pleading before he shook his head and then turned once more. He left me then, disappearing between the pine trees.
“What the Hell,” I murmured.
I could’ve raced after him. I could’ve caught him if I wanted to.
But he didn’t want me too. That was evident.
Instead I made my way back to the dorm, yanked open the door and climbed the stairs to my room.
“Everyone’s scared of you, Vampire.”
I stilled at the top of the stairs and turned to the shadows. Nesrin took a step. Black hair shimmering almost blue under the overhead lights.
“They’re scared of what they don’t know.”
We were once enemies. Her and her Cat gang had stolen my spelled ring and left me to die in an abandoned church at the edge of the academy grounds, that was until Ava and the Wolves found me.
They’d stayed with me, protected me...they’d fought for me.
“Are you scared of me.” I took a step toward her.
