Chapter Eight

I didn't manage to make my arm, or any other part of my anatomy for that matter, shift before the end of the lesson, surprising exactly no-one. Thankfully the rest of our lessons for the day were theory classes, and Cole's possessive glare was enough to keep the rest of the shifters in our year from giving me a harder time than they had in our last lesson.

Still, by the time lessons were over for the day, I was exhausted from the emotional battering of pretending I couldn't hear them muttering to each other how disgusting and unnatural I was. But at least they were getting it out of their systems, I guessed. I mean, how much longer could they possibly keep getting themselves worked up about it? I just had to tough it out until they got bored and found something else to talk about. Which was why I ate my dinner in the dining hall with Cole, and steadfastly ignored the lot of them.

By the time we'd finished, I'd dodged two ‘accidentally' spilled drinks from people walking past, and stopped Cole from disemboweling someone who'd put a foot out to trip me as I was putting my tray on the trolley. I was completely and absolutely done with today, but no part of me was interested in hanging out in the shifter common room, or locked up in my dorm, which was a stone's throw from said common room. Once I'd made sure Cole wasn't in danger of actually killing anyone, I sent him to go hang out with Jax and the rest of the shifters, because one of us needed to build some bridges, and it was pretty damn clear that was never going to be me. Reluctant as he seemed to leave me, I could see in his eyes that he understood this was something we had to do. And he knew me well enough to know that after the peace and quiet of summer, this first day back in the crowded and bustling academy was torture for me. I needed somewhere calm to unwind for a bit. He kissed me on the threshold of the canteen with a primal, possessive jealousy, and glared at the nearby shifters looking our way. With a sigh, I shoved him in the direction of the common room before things could escalate to actual violence, and then headed for the library.

I was unsurprised to find Ling there, and she gave me a sympathetic smile as I slumped into the vacant seat at our usual table—and then shoved a book under my nose.

"Gee, exactly what I needed," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Rough day?" she asked as she headed back to the bookcase.

I rolled my head round to look at her. "Shockingly, yes."

"Well, shockingly," she said with a teasing smile as she hefted a book from the shelf and came to join me, "that doesn't trump the need for research."

"Nothing trumps the need for research as far as you're concerned," I complained, but obligingly flipped open my book and stared blankly at the page inside. "I think this one's written in Ancient Greek."

She glanced over my shoulder, sighed, and then spun the book one-eighty.

"Oh."

"How are you holding up?" she asked. "Really?"

"Really? Today made the whole of last year look like a cake walk. The shifters think I'm a vamp, the vamps think I'm a freak, half of the staff want me dead and the other half want me arrested…and Thaden hates me now."

"Thaden, huh? You probably should have led with that."

I side-eyed her.

"This is not about some jumped up Dracula wannabe."

"No? So you're not upset that the tall, dark, brooding vampire prince who spent a large part of last semester obsessed with you, and who you were pretty into by the end of last year if memory serves, is suddenly taking a step back?"

"Taking a step back? Trust me, he was plenty forward in taking a swipe at me this morning. He's convinced I got him hooked on my blood on purpose, as if I even knew that was a thing. I thought I was human, for fuck's sake, so how could I have any idea something like this could happen? But somehow he's decided it's all my fault!"

"Not about the Dracula wannabe, huh?"

"Alright, not just about the Dracula wannabe." I sighed and glanced down at the book in front of me. "So, research is the answer to all my problems, right?"

"Girl, there are not enough books in this whole library to solve your problems…but I figure it can't hurt."

"Fair." I perked up. "Oh, I learned one thing today."

"Just one? End of year assessments are gonna be a real cake walk for you."

I poked my tongue out at her. "About me, smartass. Apparently, I get a longer-than-human lifespan." I frowned. "Though no-one really knows how long, on account of dhampirs meeting with some mysterious and some not-so-mysterious accidents, and a whole bunch of untimely demises."

"Well, that's…good, right? About the longer-than-human lifespan thing, I mean, not the untimely demises."

"I guess. It's, uh, it's a lot to get my head around."

"Been a crazy couple of days, huh?"

"And then some," I agreed.

"I hear you. But I think—"

Whatever Ling thought was cut off by the door swinging inwards, silencing her midsentence. Given that this was technically a public library for the entire student body, it wasn't wholly surprising that someone else was coming here. Except it kind of was, because the Darkveil students didn't seem to be much of a studious bunch. Then again, I'd seen the end of year results for most of our year last semester, and some of them really could stand to study more. I wasn't the only one who'd come perilously close to failing…which was the least of my problems right now.

Because one very pissed off looking, dark, brooding Dracula wannabe had just stalked into the room, shoving the door shut behind him with more force than necessary.

"Thought I'd find you here," he grunted, and then his eyes snapped to Ling. "Get out. This is between me and her."

"Hey!" I shoved my chair back and stood up, still a good half-dozen inches shorter than him, but that wasn't about to stop me glaring at him across the table. "You don't get to talk to her like that."

"I'm a prince, sweetness. I can do whatever the fuck I want."

"Not around me, you can't."

"It's fine," Ling murmured.

"No, it's not," I said, planting one hand on my hip. "You're my friend, and he's being an asshole."

"Really, it's okay," she said. "I'll leave."

"What are you even doing here?" he asked, staring at her from beneath a furrowed brow.

"This is a public library," I snapped. "She's got as much right to be here as anyone else."

"That's not what I—" He shook his head. "Forget it. We need to talk."

"I'll see you later," Ling murmured, and slipped out, leaving us alone together. Just great.

"Fine. So talk."

"I need your blood."

"Oh, I thought you didn't want anything to do with me and my tainted blood."

"Need, not want, sweetness. I'm addicted." He looked like the word pained him, and I might have felt some sympathy if he wasn't being a complete dickhead about the whole thing.

"I told you. That's not my fault."

"So you said. Repeatedly."

"Then try getting it through your thick skull!"

He was behind me before I could blink, tangling my hair in his hand and tugging my head back until his lips were by my ear.

"You might want to be careful who you insult, sweetness."

"Why should I care?" I demanded through gritted teeth. I struggled to get loose for a brief moment before giving up. We both knew he was stronger than me, and I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of watching me lose to him.

Except that meant accepting being just inches from him, and all the things I'd felt for him last year—all the things he'd made me feel—lurked just beneath the surface of my skin.

"Don't fight it," he murmured in my ear, and I didn't know if he meant his taking my blood, or the way my body felt about him doing it. "Our deal still stands, and I will take what I am due."

His lips touched my throat and sent a spark of anticipation through me. Dammit. I ground my teeth together and ignored the smoldering in the pit of my stomach.

"Just get it over with," I told him through gritted teeth, "and then fuck off."

"Interesting time to be talking about fucking," he said, his free hand snaking round to catch my chin and tilt it back a fraction. My lips parted in a silent gasp, and my heart hammered as the image of the two of us together slipped through my mind, and—and I buried that thought, because fuck Thaden. Or more to the point, I wasn't going to fuck Thaden.

"Take what you want," I spat at him, "and get back to your own kind."

His body tensed behind me.

"Need," he correctly me in a low, angry growl. "There's nothing I want about you."

"Good. I'm glad that's settled," I ground out, still trapped between his hand under my chin and the one in my hair. "I'm not going to back out of our deal, and I'm done apologizing to you. So drink already, and leave me the hell alone."

His hand dropped from my chin to my throat, squeezing hard enough that I knew he felt it when I swallowed. Then he yanked my head aside with my hair, and buried his teeth in my neck.

A scream bubbled up inside me at the sharp pain, but I clamped my lips together and trapped it inside me. He started to draw my blood, and the smoldering in my stomach intensified with each breath I drew until…until…Oh, fuck. No way, not here, not now, not for him. Not like this.

Don't fight it, I could hear his words again as clearly as if he'd repeated them, except his mouth was locked around my throat, and I knew they were just playing over in my head. His hot, sultry whispered command that every part of my body strained to obey as fire flushed through my whole body, igniting me with his deadly kiss. Between my legs grew wet as the rest of me burned to his touch as he filled me with the gift a vampire could bestow on their victims as they fed…if they chose.

He was doing it on purpose. Proving that he was in control, he could make me feel this way just for the hell of it. Just like he had last Christmas in front of the whole academy. Just because he could.

And I was powerless to resist the euphoria building inside me. But that didn't mean I was going to let him think he was winning.

My lips parted around a ragged gasp, and I let the best fuck you I could muster slip out. "Cole…Cole!"

I felt Thaden's growl rumble through me, and let my body sag back against him, rubbing against his rigid cock that I wanted, needed inside me right now, and—

"Cole!" I screamed as my climax crashed down around me, and abruptly the sharp fangs slipped from my flesh. I was vaguely aware of no longer being vertical, no longer being held or even touched as I rode out the supernatural orgasm, and when I came down from the vampiric high, it was to find myself utterly alone.

Yeah. Fuck you, Thaden.