Cold Blood

by Heather Hildenbrand

  “How did you know we were out here?” I asked.

  “Lucky guess.” He sounded amused, like he might be smiling, but I didn’t turn to look. If he was, I might’ve punched him.

  “Why are you helping us? If you get into trouble, it could go on your permanent record.”

  “I’m not worried. We’re trying to protect the school. Besides, Vera would have to admit the wards are weak to let us publicly get into trouble for this, and I don’t think she’s willing to do that.”

  Damn. I hadn’t thought about that; which meant, we were sort of blackmailed into taking his deal in the first place. I hoped Cambria was really mad at him when she found that out later. I heard a distant voice come through the speaker of his earpiece. I didn’t turn. A minute later, I heard Alex say, “All good here. Check back in fifteen.”

  He fell silent and we walked on. The wards were somewhere on our left, but I didn’t bother looking over. If there was a Werewolf nearby, I’d feel it before I saw it, anyway.

  “You feel different,” Alex said, jolting me out of my carefully blank thoughts.

  “What?” I turned to look at him before I remembered not to.

  He looked at me with something close to curiosity. “You feel different,” he repeated.

  Oh crap, I could feel myself blushing again. Feel different? From one kiss? What did that even mean?

  “I didn’t say anything before now, because I was sure you’d think I was trying to insult you somehow, but I thought you should know.”

  I realized he wasn’t referring to earlier and curiosity got the better of me. “What do you mean different?”

  “You know how we can feel a Werewolf nearby, with the tingling? Kind of like that but…. different. You don’t feel like a Werewolf but you don’t feel like a Hunter either.”

  “You can sense me?” I asked, so surprised that I forgot about my earlier embarrassment. “How is that possible? I thought Hunters couldn’t feel each other.”

  “They can’t. Well, some can, but it’s rare. It’s more of a subconscious recognition. We can look at each other and know that we’re more than human. But with you, I don’t know. There’s something else.”

  “Like what?” I was intrigued. No one had ever told me this before. “What does it feel like?”

  “I don’t know. It’s faint. Like a pulse or vibration.” His eyes sharpened. “It got stronger when I kissed you, though.”

  I almost tripped over a fallen log. Alex’s hand reached out and steadied my arm.

  “Ow,” I yelped, yanking free of his grip.

  “What’s wrong?” Alex was beside me, frowning down at my arm while I cradled it against my body and rubbed at my shoulder.

  “I don’t know. I think I strained something when Miles–”

  I broke off, but it was too late. Alex’s eyes were on me, a lot like Cambria’s had been when she’d forced me to talk earlier. “Miles what?” he prompted. I didn’t answer. “The guy you saw in the woods earlier? The dirty bl–, I mean hybrid?”

  I nodded.

  “You said he didn’t hurt you.”

  “He didn’t. Not really. He may have grabbed my arm and held it behind me for a minute. That’s it.”

  “That’s it,” he repeated, looking totally unconvinced.

  I nodded again. Alex stared at me and for a second, I thought maybe he was going to kiss me again. Panic shot through me, and I wondered for a second if I would even stop him if he tried. At the last second, he stepped back and his jaw hardened.

  “From now on, I go with you every time you step foot in the woods. If you guys do any more patrols like this, I’m coming. If I find out you’ve been out here alone, I’ll turn you in and get you put on house arrest.” Every single bone of his body vibrated with the sincerity of his words.

  “You can’t do that,” I protested. “I can take care of myself and I will not be babysat.”

  “Tara.” Alex closed his eyes and opened them again, taking care to keep his voice even. “Don’t argue. I have the authority to make sure the house arrest sticks. Possibly for the rest of the year. Don’t push me.”

  I glared at him and bit my tongue. “This is blackmail.”

  “Call it whatever you want.”

  I was angry enough to want to put him in his place now, whatever it took. “I didn’t kiss you back,” I said. That shut him up. “In case you’re acting this way because you think I feel something for you. I thought I should point out that I didn’t kiss you back.” No need to mention it was due more to shock than attraction or emotion.

  Alex stepped closer and leaned down until his lips were only a breath away from mine. “If I’d wanted you to kiss me back, you would’ve.”

  He stayed there, his lips so close they were almost brushing mine. I could feel his breath on my face. His eyes were angry and glinting, in a silent dare. He wanted me to close the distance. The worst part was, I kind of wanted to. I could feel myself leaning closer, itching to give in.

  At the last second, I stepped back. Alex straightened and his lids drooped, heavy with silent satisfaction. I glared up at him. “You’re a jerk. I think I liked it better when you hated me.”

  He didn’t say anything, and I spun, walking faster and staying ahead of him. He let me go without further comment. A few minutes later I could hear him speaking into his earpiece, checking in with Cambria. Then he fell silent again but I could hear his footsteps. No matter how fast I walked, he stayed behind me. Never any closer but never out of sight.

  We finished our patrols without sighting–or sensing–a single Werewolf. When we reached Cambria and Logan, I was still walking ahead of Alex with a set jaw. I could see their expressions change the second they saw me. They looked nervous.

  “I’m going to shower,” I snapped, cutting straight across the lawn and heading for the school. I didn’t wait for them or look back to see who followed, but after a few seconds, I could hear someone padding up behind me on the grass. Cambria appeared, power walking along side me.

  “That bad?” she asked.

  “Worse. He offered himself as a body guard to me. And by offered, I mean blackmailed me into agreeing.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh?” I glanced over at her. “He’s a jerk. I wish he still hated me.”

  “I think it’s a little late for that.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Nothing. You go on up and shower. I’m right behind you.”

  She slowed and I sped up, heading for Lexington Hall and trying not to scream.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I kissed Alex. No, wait, Alex kissed me. For some reason, it was important to remember that. I didn’t know why; it’s not like remembering it that way made it any less confusing.

  It was dawn on Monday morning, and I’d barely slept the night before. I couldn’t. Alex had kissed me! What was I supposed to do with that?

  Was I supposed to pretend it hadn’t happened? Go back to being the student? I mean, I had Wes. What was I going to tell Wes? I groaned and earned a muffled curse from Victoria, still trying to sleep across the room.

  I sighed. Might as well get up. It wasn’t like I was going to sleep anytime soon. I threw the covers back and sucked in another groan. My arm, the one Miles had twisted and held behind me, burned with sharp pain. I lowered it and cradled it to my side. I’d have to be careful about that today.

  I gathered what I needed for the shower and headed down the hall. The bathroom was empty this time of morning, and I took my time, using probably all of the hot water, and then spending an extra few minutes on drying and combing through my hair. The humidity of the bathroom counteracted the blow dryer, though, and I shut it off when I started getting sweaty. My hair would have to be its usual style; somewhere halfway between straight and wavy.

  I dropped my stuff off back in my room, thankful that Victoria was still sleeping, and headed upstairs in search of an early breakfast. I was relieved to find the dining room open already and decided to go a
ll out. Bacon. Eggs. French toast. Coffee and cream. The works. I was halfway through stuffing my face when Logan came in. He went through the line and came over with eggs and toast.

  “What are you doing here so early?” he asked, plopping his tray down across from me.

  “Couldn’t sleep. You?” I inhaled another forkful of syrup-drenched French toast.

  “I want to get over to the library at Rockford Hall for this essay I’ve got next month.”

  “Next month?” I shook my head, letting it go. “Why Rockford Hall’s library?”

  “They aren’t all the same. Rockford’s specialty is the sciences. Biology, chemistry, physics.”

  “What’s Lexington’s?”

  “Philosophy, poetry, the classics. Ashton’s is math.” I made a face. “Taylor’s is World History. And Griffin is Lineage. All of the libraries carry books in all categories, but each building specializes and has more books in that genre. I need something on quantum chemistry.”

  “Quantum huh? Okay, whatever. I’ll come.”

  “You will?” He blinked, like maybe I was messing with him.

  I rolled my eyes. “Not for the physics books. I want to send some emails. They have internet there right?”

  “Oh, yeah. Only in the senior libraries.”

  We dumped our trays and headed over to Rockford Hall. It was set up exactly like our building. The artwork was different, along with the flyers announcing clubs and events, but otherwise, it was the same; a grand staircase leading up from the front doors, with the monstrous cafeteria at the top, and the library at the far end of the second floor.

  Once inside, Logan wandered off to find his book, and I found an empty computer station. One benefit to being up early was internet access. It wasn’t available during school hours since we were all supposed to be in class, and since the library only had two stations with internet capability, getting to use one usually involved standing in a line five people deep for a chance at ten minutes in your email box. But since the roof at Griffin Hall was out of the question, emailing was my only option.

  I logged in with my student ID and booted up my email. I scanned through one from Sam; it was a single paragraph all about her weekend trip to DC with her older sister and the crazy clubs she’d stood outside of. It ended with a question about when visiting day was, and exactly how many ‘hotties’ to plan on seeing when she came. It made me smile.

  The next was from Angela. Hers was a lot more laid back. She was busy with piano and school and trying to keep Sam from going completely insane on some girl who was dumb enough to try and flirt with Sam’s flavor of the week.

  There was one from my mother. A couple of sentences:

  How are you? How are your grades? Grandma says hello.

  And one from Fee, which surprised me in a way that made my chest pang with homesickness. I didn’t even know she had my email address. I read slowly, trying to soak in every word:

  Dear Tara,

  Hope all is well at your new school. We miss you here, but we know you are safe and learning a lot more than Jack and I could teach you. I hear Wood Point is the best on the east coast and the weapons training is top notch. Keep those grades up. Jack says he’s going to test your combat skills next time he sees you, so be ready. Which is to say, he’s worried about you and misses you but won’t come out and say it. Just like he won’t come out and say when he’s overdone it for the day. I swear, nurses have infinite patience. I could never do this for a living. Wes being here is helping. I know he misses you, too, but summer will be here before you know it. Your Grandma has been coming around. She’s an amazing woman. Completely unprejudiced even though she refuses to join us outright. Did you know she’s a member of CHAS? Could be useful someday. There I go, being all political again. Either way, she’s a good friend to me. Oh, Jack is calling for me, and Wes sounds a little frazzled. Talk soon.

  Love,

  Fee.

  I read it four times. By the end, tears had gathered in the corners of my eyes, and I blinked them back. I hit reply and fired off a quick email, answering the basic questions about school and assuring her that Grandma was definitely someone good to have on our side. Then I stopped. I wanted to ask more about Wes or have her give him a message, but I couldn’t. He’d been there. When she’d typed the email, he’d been in the next room. So he wasn’t hurt or too busy or whatever. And still I hadn’t heard anything from him. No emails. No voice mails. What did that mean?

  I left the email as it was and sent it off, depressed and homesick. I clicked on the next one. It was from George. He missed me, he wanted to be friends, and I could call and talk to him anytime. I sat back and sighed, long and loud, and ignored the look it earned me from the librarian. I was homesick enough to miss George, but I wasn’t going to write and tell him that.

  Instead, I opened a blank email and addressed it to Wes. My fingers hovered above the keyboard, frozen and unsure. I had no idea what to say. I’d already sent him three other emails, none of which had been answered. And email was definitely not how I wanted to do this.

  I logged off and went in search of Logan.

  He was all the way in the back with his nose in a book that looked like it might’ve helped put me to sleep last night. I waved to let him know I was leaving and kept walking. He barely looked up.

  I hadn’t meant to do it, but I ended up on the roof of Griffin Hall searching like a spy for Alex. When I finally convinced myself I was truly alone I relaxed and slid down to the ground, leaning back on a massive air handler that was silent and still in the chilled mountain morning. I pulled out my phone and dialed Wes.

  “Hello?”

  My heart flipped over and jumped up and down. “Wes?” My voice shook, and I bit my lip to steady it.

  “Tara? What’s wrong?” Any trace of sleepiness vanished.

  “Nothing’s wrong. Just calling to say hi.”

  I could hear him letting out a breath and relaxing. “It’s really good to hear your voice.”

  “You, too.”

  His tone matched the way I felt. It was comforting and heart wrenching and for a second, I closed my eyes and pictured how he would look saying these words. It was beautiful and way too painful, so I forced my eyes open again and tried to remember what I wanted to say.

  “Where have you been?” I asked.

  The connection crackled and then cleared again. I froze, unwilling to move away from whatever sweet spot was allowing the signal to remain. “What?” I asked.

  “… Phone was broken,” he was saying. “I couldn’t get a new one until yesterday. Been trying to call you ever since.”

  I’d missed the first part about whatever had caused his phone to break. His tone was changing from longing to fierce. “I can’t believe you went outside the wards. After you promised.”

  “What? How do you even know about that?”

  “Vera called.”

  “Oh. So you know about the Werewolf?” For a second I forgot all about the protective tone he’d taken and was relieved there was someone else I could talk to about it all.

  “The what?”

  Vera must’ve left that part out. I sighed. “I only went out of the wards because I was chasing a Werewolf that had come through.”

  “No one said anything about a breach in the wards,” he said. He muttered a stream of curses that was a little harsh, even for him.

  “Wes?”

  The sound of tires screeching against asphalt.

  “Wes?”

  “I’m sick of being kept outside the loop. I’m supposed to be in charge. This is ridiculous,” he said.

  His voice was just short of a growl, and I felt a stab of temper. I’d barely spoken to him the past few weeks. No wonder he felt out of the loop.

  “If you wanted to be in the loop, you could’ve called me,” I said.

  “I didn’t mean you.”

  “What did you mean?” The static was back, full force. I had to pull the phone away from my ear because of the noise.
I spoke into it like a walkie-talkie. “Wes?”

  Nothing.

  The connection ended.

  I dialed him again, but it went straight to voice mail. That meant my signal was fine. His was the one screwing up. Great. I ended the call and set the phone down, resting my knees on my chin and staring at nothing.

  I’m not sure how long I stayed that way, but when I finally pulled myself out of whatever blank daydream I’d been having, the first thing I noticed was that it was hot. Like sticky, sun beating down with no branches to shield me hot. As if in response, the air handler I was leaning on groaned and jerked and came to life, sending cool air into the building below me. It sounded like a helicopter was landing behind my head.

  I stood up and brushed my pants off, not wanting to stay near the noise but not sure whether I was ready to go yet, either. If it was this warm out, I’d no doubt missed a class or two, and I wasn’t sure if that would go unnoticed.

  Another one of the giant air handlers kicked on a few feet away and was irritating enough to send me on my way. I was still distracted, thinking about Wes and the way he’d peeled out, and trying to imagine where he might be going, that I wasn’t even focused on what was in front of me anymore. I barreled out of the door at the bottom of the stairwell and ran smack into a brick wall of a body. Large hands reached out to steady me. I stepped back and the hands fell away.

  “Ms. Godfrey.”

  I looked up into the scarred face of Professor Kane. “Professor.”

  I stopped there, unsure what else to say. I was so busted. And he looked mean enough to make it very unpleasant. But instead of lecturing me or sentencing me to the dungeons (it seemed like a possibility for someone like him), he stood there, watching me with a mild expression –it might’ve been amusement, but he couldn’t really pull it off with the scars and all–and a raised eyebrow. “In a hurry?” he asked.

  I glanced at the exit behind him and met his gaze. “I guess so. I didn’t see you there. I’ll be more careful.”