All at once it comes to me.
“Kane…?” I whisper.
He nods before peeking up at me. “Ava…?”
“Are you two serious?” Tinsley snorts.
“We were seriously drunk.” I breathe out.
“Do you remember how this happened?” I ask Kane.
He shakes his head. “The last thing I remember is teaching you how to shoot pool.”
“I don’t even remember that.” I laugh.
“You were wasted.” He chuckles before glancing at Tinsley. “…And you are?”
“I’m her best friend,” Tinsley replies before she sighs roughly. “I guess I should have kept a better eye on you last night, Ava.”
“Yeah, you should have.” I laugh.
“I should probably go.” Kane breathes out. “I’m probably going to be in a world of trouble at the Academy since I didn’t return last night.”
“You’re an Academy guy?” Tinsley states in awe.
She then looks at me. “You lucky bitch…”
I bark out in laughter while Kane glances at me in confusion.
“She’s been after an Academy guy for a while now,” I explain.
He nods as a smirk crosses his lips. “I get it. We are kind of awesome.”
I laugh in amusement as he pushes himself up off of the bed. Without caring, he drops the blankets onto the bed before moving to gather his clothing scattered around the room.
Tinsley watches his every move while I do the same.
I had to admit that I found myself wanting to recreate whatever had happened the night before.
With every movement that he made his muscles would ripple. He was a sight to behold, and I couldn’t blame myself for ending up in bed with him.
Once Kane is dressed, he turns his attention towards me. “I hope we can see each other again. Maybe we can do something that we’ll remember.”
I nod in agreement. “I’d like that.”
“Good.” He replies with a bright smile.
He moves closer to the bed before he leans down to press his lips against mine. A moment later he reluctantly pulls back before turning to walk away.
The second he walks out of the room Tinsley squeals. “I can’t believe you snagged a guy from the Academy.”
“I can’t believe I did either.” I breathe out before placing my arm over my eyes.
“You are so lucky,” Tinsley exclaims.
“I wish I was.” I groan. “After what happened before I met Kane…” I trail off.
“What happened?” Tinsley presses.
I remove my arm to look up at her. “I kissed Nix after I saw Loki with a girl in the hallway. I thought that he was kissing her, but it turns out that he was feeding. We had another fight, and he walked away after finding me with Nix.”
“What happened to Nix?” She asks as she raises her brow.
“He left me after I begged Loki to stay.” I sigh. “I made a mess out of everything.”
“Well, at least you found a hot guy to make things a little better.” She laughs.
I groan out dramatically. “It’s only going to make things worse. Loki isn’t going to forgive me for sleeping with someone else.”
“Maybe you should just end it with him. If you two want something different, you can’t force a relationship.” Tinsley replies.
I nod in agreement. She was right; I had to end whatever was left between Loki and me so that I wouldn’t feel so guilty. At least then I’d be completely free to be with who I wanted. Plus, no one would get their heart broken any more than they already had been.
“Anyway, you might want to get up and get dressed. We’ve got class soon, and Mr. Blake doesn’t like it if we’re late.” Tinsley stresses.
“I’ll be out in a few,” I reply.
She nods and then exits the room.
The door shuts, and I groan again before placing my arm over my eyes.
After a few moments, I push myself to climb out of bed. I move into the bathroom and then slip into the shower to wash away the remains of whatever had happened the night before.
Once I’m finished I move back out into the room with only a towel wrapped around my body.
I step into the kitchen and grab a bag of blood from the fridge. I sigh and bite into it. I was beginning to get used to this, but a part of me longed to bite someone.
More than likely that feeling would never disappear.
Within a few moments, I move on to another bag before draining it of its contents.
As soon as I finish, I head over to my dresser to pull out clothes for the night ahead. I grab a comfortable pair of jeans and a v-neck red tee.
When I finish dressing I slip on my shoes before moving to the door.
I take a deep breath and then walk out.
****
As soon as I walk into the gym, all eyes turn towards me.
“It’s about time you joined us, Ava,” Tobias states with a disapproving look.
“I’m sorry.” I apologize before I join Tinsley and Matt.
Toby claps his hands. “Tonight we are going to work with the Academy again. They should be here shortly, but for now, I want everyone to warm up.”
Without a word, everyone begins moving away to separate places in the gym.
I watch as they begin doing stretches that normal humans would do.
“Come on, Ava, you can work out with Matt and me.” Tinsley pushes as she grabs my arm to pull me over to an empty corner of the gym.
Tinsley and Matt begin stretching while I hesitate.
“Do we really need to do this?” I ask curiously.
Matt nods. “It helps a lot. It helps us move more fluidly.”
I nod and then sit down on the floor before I begin going through the moves that I had learned back in high school.
As I reach for my toes, Loki walks into the room. He scans the room before he spots me. His eyes flash red for a brief moment before he begins walking towards me.
He stops in front of me. “Can we talk alone for a moment, Ava?”
I nod and then stand up before following him out of the gym.
Once we’re in the hall, he stops and then turns to face me while rubbing the back of his neck. He doesn’t say a word as he looks down at his feet.
“Loki…I think we should break up completely.” I blurt.
He looks up at me surprised. “Really…?”
I nod. “Yes. All we are going to do is break each other’s hearts. It’s not fair to either of us. I think we would be better off being friends.”
“You’re right.” He sighs.
He then takes a step closer to me. He raises his hand to cup my cheek, and I lean into his touch while closing my eyes.
“I’m never going to stop loving you.” He whispers.
I open my eyes to look at him. “I know, but maybe now isn’t the right time for us to be together.”
He nods and then sighs. “I’m going to leave for a little while. I have something I need to do out of town. If you need me at all, I’m just a call away, okay.”
“Where are you going?” I push.
“There’s someone that the Academy needs me to find, and only I know how to find him.” He answers cryptically.
“Be careful,” I whisper.
“I will be.” He promises before leaning in close.
He presses his lips against my forehead before leaning back with a sad smile. “I’ll see you soon.”
Without another word, he takes a step back before walking away. Seconds later he becomes nothing but a blur as he begins running down the hall.
I nearly jump out of my skin as someone places their hand on my shoulder.
I turn to come face to face with Nix.
He raises his brow. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I think so,” I answer.
“Good. I’m beginning class now.” He states before walking away abruptly.
I sigh and then walk into the gym.
Once again I
join Tinsley and Matt as everyone gathers in the middle of the gym around Mr. Blake and Nix.
“Just like last night, I want everyone to pair off. We are going to work on stamina tonight. I want everyone to push themselves to their limits.” Nix states loudly. “When you’re fighting for your life there isn’t going to be any breaks. If you wear down, it will mean certain death. What you need to be able to do is outlast your opponent.”
He claps his hands together before everyone begins pairing off like they had the night before.
I’m pleasantly surprised when Kane steps in front of me with a cocky smirk.
“Any chance you’re just as worn out as I am?” He teases.
I laugh and shake my head. “I’m not worn out.”
“I must not have done a good enough job then.” He jokes. “I guess I’ll have to try better next time, won’t I?”
“Do you think there’s going to be a next time?” I ask with a hint of amusement.
“Of course there will be.” He replies confidently.
I laugh and then shake my head before moving with him to an empty space so we could train together.
“How do you want to do this?” He questions.
I shrug and then move towards him. Before he can touch me, I dodge to the left before I circle him. He watches me for a few moments before he suddenly tackles me.
“You are only going to wear yourself out that way.” He states as he holds me down on the floor. “The less I move, the more you waste your energy.”
“It was worth it,” I state boldly.
He chuckles while gazing into my eyes. “I’m going to like you.”
“You already do,” I reply before I abruptly roll us, catching him off-guard.
I grab his hands and then hold them above his head as I make myself comfortable sitting on top of him. I smirk as his eyes darken with want.
“You are going to drive me crazy.” He breathes out hoarsely.
He closes his eyes for a moment before reopening them.
When he reopens them, I gasp with shock. I had expected to see red ones looking back at me, but his eyes were golden.
“What are you?” I whisper.
“Kane is a wolf,” Nix announces suddenly. “You should have known that by his smell.”
“I never noticed,” I reply absently.
“You still have a lot to learn. You really need to realize that you aren’t human anymore. You have a lot more abilities that you can tap into.” Nix replies.
He then sighs. “At least you’re trying to fight.”
Without saying another word, he walks away.
“I think he likes you,” Kane whispers as I release his hands.
I watch Nix for a few moments before shaking my head. “I doubt he does.”
Standing up, I reach out to Kane. He grabs my hand, and I pull him up to his feet.
“Since you’re still getting the hang of this maybe we should start out from the beginning. I can show you a few techniques that we use at the Academy.” Kane insists.
I nod and then turn my full attention towards him.
“First, let’s work on your speed. You really need to tap into that if you want any chance at a fair fight with a wolf or another vampire.” Kane states before holding up his hands. “I want you to punch my hands as hard as you can, as fast as you can.”
I nod and then punch his right hand first before hitting his left.
“Good, now try to do it faster. Forget about all the ways you were limited as a human.” Kane instructs.
I nod and then hit his hands over and over again until I finally break through the barrier that had been holding me back. My hits become nothing but a blur as I punch over and over again.
“Nice.” Kane breathes out as I stop to catch my breath.
“Now we need to work on your breathing.” He announces before suddenly grabbing me in his arms.
He spins me around before placing one hand over my mouth while pinching my nose shut with his other hand.
I panic as my air is cut off.
Nix appears in front of me but does nothing to stop Kane.
“Stop panicking.” Kane commands. “You don’t need to breathe.”
I wasn’t listening to him though. My mind was a million miles away trying to escape this madness. Instead of calming down I dig my fingers into Kane’s skin in an attempt to pull his hands away from my face.
My heart races in my chest as my lungs burn.
He was mad. I needed air.
After a few moments, Nix takes a step forward. “Stop fighting against him and close your eyes. You don’t need to breathe. You can survive without air. If you needed it, then you would have been dead by now, Ava.”
I shake my head in denial.
Nix sighs. “Let her go, Kane.”
Unfortunately, Kane doesn’t follow his orders. He only holds me tighter.
“You need to trust me, Ava.” He whispers into my ear.
I wanted to trust him, but every fiber of my being was screaming for me to fight against him.
After a few moments, I force myself to stop fighting. I drop my hands and then close my eyes as I focus on Kane’s warm breath fanning across my skin.
“Good girl.” He praises softly.
Moments later he releases his hold. Instead of taking in a breath I hold it.
“There, that’s better, right?” Nix questions.
I reopen my eyes to look at him with anger.
He curses. “Okay, that’s not exactly good.”
I take a step towards him as the scent of his blood fills my nose.
“Kane, grab her before she hurts someone,” Nix commands.
Before anyone can grab me, I turn and pounce on top of Kane. His eyes widen with fear as he looks up at me.
Hands grab me from behind, but I ignore them as I glare down at Kane.
“Don’t ever pull a stunt like that again.” I bite out.
He nods nervously. “I won’t.”
I breathe out before moving off of him. “Good.”
Once I’m standing up I reach out my hand towards him. He takes it and then allows me to pull him up.
After a moment I look up at him with a grin. “What’s next?”
He barks out in laughter. “You are going to be the death of me, Sweetheart.”
11-Losing Control
“Are you coming out with us again tonight?” Tinsley asks as everyone begins leaving the gym for the night.
I glance in Kane’s direction. “I think I might make some plans with Kane.”
“Well, if it doesn’t work out Nick and I will be going to the club. Matt is staying here tonight though if you need him at all.” She replies.
I nod. “Okay.”
With that, she leaves with Matt.
I stay behind and wait patiently for Kane to finish speaking with one of the other guys before I move towards him.
He raises his brow as I stop in front of him.
“Do you have any plans tonight?” I ask shyly.
“I do.” He replies simply.
“Oh…” I breathe out as I look down at my feet.
He lifts my chin with his hand. “My little stunt last night got me into a bit of trouble. Trust me; I would rather be with you tonight.”
“I’ll be able to see you this weekend though. It doesn’t matter what we do on the weekends as long as we are in our beds by the beginning of the week.” He explains.
“You can have me all weekend if you’d like.” He adds.
I snort. “You are cocky.”
“You like it, admit it.” He replies playfully.
“Never…” I laugh.
“Enough, Kane, you have to go.” Nix interrupts us.
Kane nods and then sighs. “I’ll see you later, Ava.”
With that he walks away, leaving me with Nix.
“Can we talk, Ava?” Nix questions after a few moments of silence.
I nod. “We can.”
“Do you think we can go t
o your room where we’ll have a little bit of privacy?” He pushes.
“Sure, we can do that,” I reply before I turn and begin walking.
It takes Nix a moment, but he follows along as I make my way out of the gym and through the halls until we reach my door.
I open it and then walk inside before waiting for him to join me.
Once he’s inside, I shut the door and then turn to face him as he walks farther into my room while scrubbing his hands over his face.
He stares through the window for a few minutes before turning around to look at me.
“What happened before can’t happen again. That first kiss was a mistake. I should never have done that, and I should have stopped it from happening again last night.” He states before continuing. “I can’t be in a relationship with a vampire. I would be disowned by my family if I tried.”
I remain quiet as he turns his back towards me. I had no idea what to say to him.
Silence surrounds us until Nix turns back around. “I hope I didn’t mess anything up between you and Loki.”
“You didn’t, but we’re no longer together,” I reply.
“Oh…” Nix breathes out as he glances down at the floor.
He takes a few deep breathes before looking up at me through his dark lashes. “What’s going on between you and Kane?”
I shrug. “We spent a day together.”
“Seriously…?” He blurts before shaking his head. “You’re the reason he got himself into trouble?”
“I guess so,” I reply.
After a few more awkwardly silent moments I take a step towards Nix. “Can I ask you something?”
He nods. “Of course…”
“Why did Kane look so scared when I allowed my vampire side through?” I ask.
“That’s because since you’re a young vampire, you’re unpredictable. Plus, if you were to bite him, you could end up changing him. All it takes is a bite. You wouldn’t need to share blood with him. Of course, if he were to bite you, it would kill you.” He explains.
“That’s something I should have been told from the start.” I breathe out tensely.
“You should have been.” Nix sighs.
“What happens if he's bitten?” I ask curiously.
Midnight Moon (Love and Blood Series Book 1) Page 8
