I ran my tongue over my teeth. I knew he was speaking the truth and now, once the fresh air cleared my channels, I was starting to feel a little ridiculous.
“I … .”
Aric sucked the sides of his cheeks into his mouth. I had a feeling he was trying to keep from laughing. He set his cup on the ledge of the house and wrapped me up in his free arms, pressing my body against his. His warmth, as always, calmed me.
“I love you,” he whispered, his mouth against my ear. “That doesn’t go away in an hour. Where you and I are concerned, it doesn’t ever go away. I wish you would believe it.”
“I do,” I protested.
“Then have a little faith,” Aric teased. “I don’t want anyone else. I could give a crap about some little star-struck idiot who thinks being a senator’s son is something special. I am who I am. And, who I am, is in love with you.”
“You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?”
“Probably not,” Aric said, tilting my chin up so he could kiss me. “I like knowing you’re jealous. It makes me feel all manly.”
“Ugh. You’re such a tool.”
Aric kissed me again, sharing his body heat with me. “You make me laugh.”
We snuggled together, the quiet of the night washing over us. After a moment, Aric’s body stiffened in my arms. “What?”
Aric turned, peering into the dark. The distance between the two houses was narrow, like an alley. The traffic on the far-off road was sporadic at best, but the streetlight offered a hazy illumination.
Two figures were moving toward us. They were close. As they neared, I recognized one of them. I disengaged from Aric, throwing my arms around Rafael when I finally caught sight of his face. “You came.”
Rafael seemed embarrassed by the greeting. “You invited. I came.”
After pulling away, I fixed my eyes on the woman next to him. She wasn’t a woman. Not really. I knew that right away. She was a vampire. Her pale skin was ethereal in the night, her dark eyes mercurial. She looked me up and down, curiosity rampant, but she didn’t immediately speak.
“This is Fiona,” Rafael said. “Fiona, this is Zoe and Aric.”
Fiona shook my hand, but her eyes were trained on Aric. “So, you’re the wolf?”
Aric moved in behind me, his hand protectively planted on my waist. “I am.”
The situation wasn’t tense – but it wasn’t comfortable either. “How has your summer been?”
“Much more relaxing than last summer,” Rafael said. “There were no parties on a golf course, for which I’m eternally grateful.”
Aric barked out a laugh. “Those parties still happened this summer.”
“I figured.”
“You guys need to stop hating on the eighteenth-green parties,” I said. “Those are memories. Precious memories, at that.”
Aric and Rafael rolled their eyes simultaneously.
I focused my attention on Fiona. “So, how did you and Rafael meet?”
“We’ve known each other for … a long time. We just recently reconnected.”
“I’m glad,” I said honestly. “He deserves someone that gets his sense of humor. Are you as fascinated with television as he is?”
“It’s a marvel,” Fiona said, smiling. She didn’t want to like me, I could tell, but she was trying.
“How was your summer?” Rafael asked.
“Lazy,” Aric replied. “Nothing happened. How about from your end?”
“Things were quiet here,” Rafael replied. “I kept my ears open and I was … diligent. There’s been nothing. No nests have been taken. No power plays have occurred at the Alpha Chi house. I have no idea why. Zoe might have scared everyone into submission.”
“Or?” Aric prodded.
“Or they’ve just been waiting for her to return,” Rafael conceded. “We have no way of knowing.”
“What about Blake?”
Rafael met my gaze. “Are you wondering what I made him believe?”
“Yes.”
“I thought about convincing him that he was a dogcatcher or, worse, a teenage girl,” Rafael said, shooting me a wide smile. “Instead, I just wiped the night from his mind.”
“Why?”
“Because knowing your enemy’s face is better than not knowing it,” Rafael said. “If Blake was gone, an unknown entity would have filled the vacuum. I thought that was more dangerous than leaving him in power.”
Aric nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as he mulled things over. “I hate to say it, but that was probably smart.”
“Are you saying that because you believe it, or because you’re trying to placate me?” Rafael asked.
“I’m not trying to placate you,” Aric said. “I owe you. You kept her safe when I couldn’t.”
“We both know she didn’t need me to keep her safe,” Rafael said. “She’s the power here. You and I are just along for the ride.”
Aric shook his head, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. “If anyone had ever told me I would be … friends … with a vampire, I would’ve called them a filthy liar.”
The smile on Rafael’s face was enigmatic, but keen. “I’m just glad she’s smiling again. I couldn’t do that, wolf. Only you could. For now, we’ll have to consider that a win for all of us.”
September
Five
There’s something about going back to classes at the start of a new semester that is both exciting and mind numbing. Since everything is new, you haven’t had a chance to get disappointed yet. Since it’s the first day, homework is rarely an option. And, since it’s just an introduction, absolutely nothing of substance is even touched upon.
I love the first day of classes.
I didn’t get a chance to enjoy any of those things, because when I walked into my digital media class Monday afternoon, the man standing in front of the room was all-too familiar – and unwelcome.
Sam Blake fixed me with a tight smile when he saw me hovering in the doorway. “Ms. Lake.”
In exaggeratedly slow motion – mostly because I felt like my feet were encased in cement – I leaned back out into the hallway to double-check the room number. Crap. What was he doing here?
I glanced down at the class sheet in my hand. “Where is Professor Halloran?”
Blake raised an eyebrow. “He’s no longer teaching this class.”
“Why is that?”
“Professor Halloran’s personal life is really none of my concern,” Blake said. “I was just contacted about picking up an extra class this semester, and I agreed.”
“I called the registrar’s office to make sure that this class wasn’t … that it was being led by Professor Halloran,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
I was drawing a decent amount of attention from already-seated students, but I didn’t care. This couldn’t be a coincidence.
“I already explained what I’m doing here,” Blake said. “If you have a problem, I suggest you take it up with the registrar’s office.
“Don’t tempt me,” I shot back, considering my options. For his part, Blake was acting as if nothing was wrong. I still had no way of knowing what he remembered from last spring. Rafael had been vague and cryptic – as usual – but Blake’s purported ignorance was bordering on creepy.
If he was acting, he was good. His sister was dead at my hands – literally. His entire plan to enslave captured vampires to wipe out the werewolf population was shredded when he found out I’d destroyed a very rare and valuable resurrection stone.
And here he was, acting as if I was nothing more than a petulant student that irritated him from semester to semester. This just didn’t feel right.
“Ms. Lake,” Blake said. “Are you going to have a seat? I’d like to get started. If you’re leaving, you should do so now.”
I bit my lower lip. The smart thing to do would have been to switch classes. Now, though, my curiosity was getting the better of me. Ultimately, I made my way into the classroom and took
a seat, fixing Blake with a pointed look as I settled. He didn’t seem put off by my attitude.
Blake introduced himself to the class a few minutes later, charming the flirty girls in the front row with his easy and quick smile. If you were into the idea of trying to seduce your professor, Sam Blake was a young woman’s dream. He was young, in his early thirties, and his hair was dirty blond. His face was chiseled, his body trim, and he gave off an aura of approachability.
I knew better than to trust anything that he said.
The next hour and a half seemed to take two weeks. My body was so rigid in the chair, my back started to hurt. Blake tried to engage the class, asking them deliberately simple questions and making them laugh with his corny jokes whenever possible. I didn’t once crack a smile.
Blake ignored me for the bulk of the class, but as it was winding down, my luck ran out.
“So, Ms. Lake, why don’t you tell me what you think the appeal of digital technology is when it comes to journalism?”
He was baiting me. I just knew it. “I think it’s easy to get your message out to the masses,” I replied, purposely keeping my tone flat.
“That seems like a simplistic answer.”
“Would a decorative one make you happier? Maybe I could put a ribbon on it or something.”
Blake furrowed his brow. “I just thought you might want to expand on the topic.”
“Not really.”
Blake crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the desk at the front of the room. “Most people believe that information is the most important thing to build a strong civilization. Don’t you believe that?”
“I believe that it depends on who is spreading the information,” I said. “Just because someone puts something out there and says it’s fact, that doesn’t mean it is.”
I knew my answer was pointed. I’d meant for it to be.
“Do you agree to the stipulation that there are two sides to every story?”
I shrugged. “Sometimes. Of course, just because one side has a story, that doesn’t mean it’s right.”
There was a general murmur going through the assembled students. They could pick up on the animosity between Blake and me, but they couldn’t figure out what was fueling it.
“Well, by that same argument then, the side that thinks they’re right could very well be wrong,” Blake said.
“Isn’t that true for both sides of an argument?” I countered. “One side thinks they’re right, and the other knows they’re right?”
“Yes,” Blake said. “One side still has to be wrong.”
“I agree,” I said. “The most important thing is one side realizing they’re wrong. I don’t see that happening very often, especially around here.”
“I guess not,” Blake said, glancing around the classroom. “That’s all for today. We’ll get into this in more depth on Wednesday. Ms. Lake, can you please stay after class for a second?”
I made a face. Who didn’t see that coming? I remained in my seat while everyone packed up their belongings. A few of the girls in the front row shot me curious stares as they left. If I had to guess, they were hoping to stay late themselves so they could spend a little extra “quality” time with Blake. Asking me to stay had thrown them for a loop.
When it was just the two of us, Blake fixed me with a hard look. “How was your summer?”
“It was great,” I said. “I made a lot of money, and I hung out with some friends. There might have been some beer, too.”
“That’s good,” Blake said. “I’m assuming that Mr. Winters was up there with you.”
“You’re not assuming anything,” I said. “I’m sure you had someone check up on us. That’s what you do, isn’t it?”
“Why would you say that?”
“I’m not playing this game. In fact, I’m done playing games with you. Period.”
Blake pursed his lips. “I understand you’re probably upset … .”
I arched an eyebrow. “Upset? That’s putting it mildly.”
Blake held up his hands to placate me. “I’m not trying to start a war here.”
“You already started one last spring,” I said. “I think trying to enslave vampires to wipe out hundreds of werewolves constitutes a war.”
Blake wrinkled his nose, glancing to the open door between the classroom and hallway. After a moment, he strode toward it, pulling it shut and cutting me off from the milling brethren only a few feet away. That might have been cause for concern before, but Blake didn’t scare me anymore. Not even a little.
“You’ve always been immature, Zoe,” Blake said, moving so he was standing in front of me. “That was even more childish than normal, though.”
“What? You don’t want the students to know this campus is crawling with monsters, and you’re the chief monster hunter? I’m shocked. Shocked, I tell you.”
“You know how dangerous knowledge in the wrong hands can be,” Blake said. “Do you want to create a panic?”
“I don’t really care,” I said. “I’m not the one who ends up looking like a douche in this scenario. And, I have to say, that’s a nice change of pace for me. I’m usually the douche.”
“Perhaps we should talk about what happened,” Blake suggested. “I think we would both feel better if we cleared the air.”
“What a great idea,” I said, sarcasm practically dripping from my tongue. “Let’s start with the vampires. Where are you keeping them?”
Blake was taken aback. “Excuse me?”
“All of the vampires you captured last year,” I prodded. “You were holding them somewhere. I want to know where.”
“We aren’t keeping vampires captive,” Blake said, lowering his gaze. “We exterminated the nests. We were upfront about that.”
I knew that was a lie. “Then why would you want the resurrection stone?”
Blake shifted uncomfortably, rubbing his hands together. “We just wanted to make sure that no one dangerous used it.”
He was talking in circles. I couldn’t decide if he really didn’t know what happened that night behind the library, or if he was just pretending. “You wanted me to use the stone to force all of the vampires to attack Alpha Chi,” I said. “You were working with Will. How is that up for debate?”
Blake frowned. “I … my memory is a little hazy from that night.”
“I bet.”
“I think you might be remembering things a little differently than I remember them,” he said.
“Okay, I’ll play,” I said. “How do you remember them?”
“I remember you showing up and having one of your freak-outs,” Blake said. “Then everyone went home.”
That was another lie. He may not have remembered everything, but he remembered more than that.
“You know, I just don’t have the patience to deal with your crap today,” I said. “You let your crazy sister torture Aric. You were going to let her keep him as a pet to keep me in line. You tried to get me to use Rafael to kill one of your own allies as proof of my power, and when all of that blew up in your face and everyone ran and deserted you, we modified your memory and left.”
Blake’s mouth dropped open. “You modified my memory?”
“Not me personally,” I said. “I was busy with other stuff.” Flaming blue eyes, to be exact, but he didn’t need to know about that little magical twist. “We left that up to the vampire you tried to use as a slave.”
“I think you’re misunderstanding the situation,” Blake said.
“No, I’m not,” I said. “I’m also not misunderstanding how you magically managed to take over a class I was enrolled in. I’m not stupid, and I’m not naïve. Don’t think, not even for a second, that you have any chance of swaying me to your side.
“And, while we’re at it, don’t think you can take me down either,” I continued. “You might not remember what happened, but things didn’t go well for your side that night. They can go worse. I promise you that.”
I stood up
from the desk, leaning over to pick up my bag and then straightening. I could feel Blake’s eyes on me the entire time.
“So, that’s it?”
“That’s it,” I said. “You and I have nothing left to discuss. You and I don’t exist as an entity outside of this classroom. I don’t care what you do. I don’t care what your plans are. Just know, if you try anything evil again, I will be the one stopping you.”
My hand was on the doorknob when I paused. “I won’t be as nice as I was the first time if I have to stop you again,” I said. “You’ve been warned.”
“Are you threatening me?” Blake was incensed.
“I’m making a promise,” I said. “You have no power over me. You have no power over the people I love. If you come near them, if you touch one hair on any of their heads, I’ll go after you. And, when I say I’ll go after you, I mean I’ll wipe every trace of you off of this campus.”
I didn’t look back when I left, but I knew that Blake’s gaze on my back was murderous while I exited. Hey, he’d wanted to “clear” the air. This was all his fault.
Six
“I can’t believe he did that!”
I was sitting in the living room with Kelsey and Paris, everyone catching up on a new episode of General Hospital, and waiting for their righteous outrage to mirror mine. It didn’t take long.
“How can you be surprised?” I asked, sipping from a can of diet soda as my eyes flicked over the television screen. “This is just par for the course where he is concerned. I’m now convinced every time I’ve been in one of his classes, it’s because he orchestrated it that way.”
“Even the first one?” Kelsey asked.
“Especially the first one,” I replied. “He knew who I was before I came to this campus.”
“How?” Paris didn’t look convinced.
“I … well … I’m not sure,” I admitted. I’d told Kelsey and Paris about my conversation with my parents, so they were up to speed on my life, but Paris had a point. How could Blake know when I didn’t know? It’s not like my parents had told him, let alone anyone else. It seemed impossible that he could know.
Graduating (Covenant College Book 5) Page 4
