Chapter Five

I was not ready for the semester to start. For one thing, I could barely walk thanks to Cole distracting me last night—not that I had any complaints. And also, the academy was the very worst gossip mill I'd ever set foot in. If the instructors knew about me, then by now, the students did, too.

"Hey, you survived last year, you're going to survive this, too," Cole said, appearing in the mirror over my shoulder.

"Yeah, but last year they only thought I was human."

"No, you're right," he said. "They just thought you were the first human to be admitted to the academy. Nothing noteworthy about that at all."

"They just thought I was a freak then. Now they know I'm something a hundred times worse."

I gnawed at my lower lip, and Cole reached round me to tease it loose, and I finally met his eye in the mirror.

"You are not a freak, Cali, and you have no less right to be here than everyone else."

"Except for the part where I'm an illegal halfbreed."

"Well, I think that's kinda hot," he said with a grin, shrugging one shoulder. I turned round and slapped him on his chest.

"Not helping!"

"No? How about this, then?" He ducked his head to claim my mouth, and I enjoyed a long moment of distraction before I pushed him away.

"Still not helping. Any more of that and I'm taking you to the nearest vet to get you fixed."

"I didn't hear you complaining last night…"

I flushed red. The only thing anyone had heard from me last night was ecstatic screams, but that was totally not the point.

"Do you think if I just hide in here all day anyone will notice?" I asked optimistically.

"If they do, I could just bar the door. We have plenty in here to keep us amused."

And the way his eyes raked across my body left me in no doubt exactly what kind of amusements he had in mind.

"Tempting… Very tempting, Mr. Bryant." I shoved the image aside with a roll of my eyes. "Right up until someone bursts in to drag us off to lessons."

"I seem to recall you quite enjoyed it last time someone watched…"

I narrowed my eyes, recalling an insubstantial memory of Thaden lingering after he'd drained me in this very room last year. "I thought I imagined that."

"I think poor Thaden has been imagining it a hundred times since."

"I bumped into him yesterday. He wanted to feed."

"Oh?" Cole's voice was carefully toneless, and a wariness crept into his eyes.

"I didn't let him feed. I mean, I couldn't, could I? Now that we know what I am. Dhampir blood is addictive to vampires."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, princess," he said, running his thumb lightly across my jawline, "but that ship has already sailed."

"You agree, then?" I said, as the last of my hope curled up and died in some corner of my soul. "That's what this is—he's addicted to my blood because they're right, and I'm a dhampir?"

He exhaled and dropped his hand to cup my shoulder, his thumb rubbing soothing circles.

"It looks that way. And whatever properties your blood does or doesn't have, it's still yours. My agreement with Thaden from last year still stands—he doesn't get your blood unless you want him to have it."

I grimaced. "Unfortunately, so does mine. If I want the academy's feeder humans to keep their improved conditions, I have to keep letting him have my blood until he's weaned himself off it." I frowned. "I really should have chosen my wording better when I struck that bargain."

He chuckled, and smoothed the V from my forehead with his thumb. "I thought you did very well, for your first deal."

I felt the grimace flicker across my face a split second before I caught Cole's reaction.

"Not your first deal?" he ventured.

"Not…strictly speaking?" No, my first deal had been to give a certain fae innkeep far more than I could afford in exchange for a portal, but I didn't feel like getting into that right now. "It doesn't matter. What am I going to do about Thaden?"

"He's a big boy, he can take care of himself. So you worry about yourself first, and him a distant second."

"I thought he was your friend."

"He is. But you're my mate."

I exhaled a sigh around the warm, gooey feeling those words stirred in me, and leaned into his touch for a moment. And then I straightened.

"If we're not actually ditching today, we should probably get going."

"Breakfast?" he suggested, reaching past me to grab his schedule from the small table beside the mirror.

"I wish," I said, picking up mine and holding it up for his inspection. "We don't quite match up this year."

"What…the…fuck," he snarled, every muscle in his body abruptly tense as he glared at my schedule like he was imagining a thousand torments on it—and I knew it wasn't because our classes didn't line up. It was because of the reason our classes didn't line up. My new addition.

I couldn't say I was any happier about it than he was.

"I'm going to speak to Astor," he said, curling his hand into a fist, but not before I saw several elongated nails. "Right now."

I planted my hand firmly on his chest. "Right now you need to get back control of yourself before you shift and shred your clothes."

He didn't seem particularly swayed by that argument, and granted, the idea of him standing here naked was no real deterrent to me, either.

"Look, Astor's not going to change her mind about this. She wants to rub my nose in what I am, and make sure everyone in the academy knows." If they don't already. "What better way than assigning me lessons in the feeding den?"

"Fine." No part of his body became less tense. "Then I'll tell her she's putting me in that lesson, too."

"No-one other than vampires and feeders are allowed in that room, you know that. And it didn't end so well for me last time I went there uninvited."

Which was the understatement of the year. It had ended with me being very publicly fed on by Thade by way of punishment—concluding with me orgasming in response in front of the entire academy.

"Let them try to feed on me, and it won't be human blood spilling," he snarled.

"Cole, leave it. Please. For me."

Some of the tension eased from his shoulders just a fraction, and I caught his chin, turning him to meet my eye.

"Astor wants this to be a big deal. She wants everyone staring at me, because she knows I hate it. So no way in hell am I going to let her know it's getting to me."

"You shouldn't have to go through this alone," he said, catching my hand in his, and kissing my fingertips lightly.

"I'll never be alone. You're in here, remember?" I tapped my chest once, and he pouted adorably.

"If we sealed the mate bond, I'd be in there properly."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, let's ignite civil war in your pack."

"I told you once, I'd burn the world down for you."

"Actually," I said, planting a teasing kiss on his lips, "I think you vowed to teach me to burn the world down…but there'll be time for that later. I'd better get to class."

"You're sure?" he asked, searching my face. I nodded.

"I'm sure. You think I can't handle a couple of vampires?"

He threw his head back and laughed. "I'm more worried that there'll be none left by sunset."