“Actually, we should probably get our IDs. Then, I was thinking about heading to the dining hall. Maybe finding something a little less juvenile than your current snack choice to eat.” I’d already sustained my vampire, but now my wolf wanted something protein-packed.
“Let me know what their options are. Maybe check out the vending machines downstairs too.” She propped her head up with her pillow and opened the box of crackers. The cheddar aroma filled the air, making my stomach growl. “I’ll seek out the professor doing the IDs in a bit.”
“Um, no. You’re coming with me. It’s the first night. You can’t sit here by yourself, eating crackers and watching a movie on your laptop,” I insisted.
“Why not?” She popped a few in her mouth. “It’s been a long day. I doubt anyone will be in the dining hall. They’re probably still unpacking.” She set her laptop on her lap and pushed the button to boot it up.
I grabbed it from her and put it on the desk. Next, I took her box of crackers. “Doubtful. They’re probably in the lounge area of their houses, walking around campus, or in the dining hall figuring out who they want to screw and where the big back-to-school party will be.”
“I don’t know,” Nora whined.
“Yeah, well, I do. Get up. Let’s get our IDs made, and then head to the dining hall so we at least know where to go to for breakfast in the morning.” I knew if I tossed in a practical reason she’d be all for it. Nora reminded me of the only female friend I’d had while growing up, Tasha.
My cell chimed with a new text, startling me.
A sick feeling twisted in the pit of my stomach because no one had my new number. No one except Tasha. If she was texting me, it wasn’t going to be about anything good.
My cell chimed for a second time, reminding me I hadn’t glanced at the text yet.
“Aren’t you going to see who that is?” Nora asked. The area between her brows wrinkled as they pinched together in concern. “Why do you look like you’re about to throw up?”
I forced a smile onto my face. “I’m fine.”
My fingers shook as I pulled my cell from my back pocket and glanced at the screen.
What did you do?
The words sent dread flooding through my system. My throat pinched tight. Tasha had given my number out, and even though this number wasn’t one I had saved in my phone, I knew it well.
It was Van’s.
He hadn’t gotten my number from Tasha because he missed me. He hadn’t gotten it because he wanted to check on me either. He’d gotten it because they’d found Xavier’s body, and he knew he was dead because of me.
Axel
I put out my cigarette before following Lee into the dining hall. Being in a crowded area among students and faculty again wasn’t where I wanted to be. I would rather be in our dorm, screwing around on my phone alone, but he’d said he would buy me something to eat, and I never turned down a free meal.
So, here I was.
I wasn’t sure why he’d wanted to come here in the first place, but he’d seemed adamant. Part of me thought maybe it was because he saw some chick he was interested in earlier, but then I remembered how minutes before we left our dorm to get our IDs made he’d been alphabetizing his comic book collection, and I knew that couldn’t be the case.
Any guy who was that into comic books had no fucking clue how to talk to women.
And, comic books were his life. Not only did he have a slew of them, but he also collected comic book cards. There was one specific card he’d shown me at least ten times since he’d unpacked. It was signed by the creator of the character and kept in a plastic display case. He’d put it in our shared closet on the center shelf so every time he opened the doors he saw it.
He might be a total nerd, but I could tell he would grow on me. My wolf and vampire seemed to like him too, which counted for a lot since both of them were even bigger assholes than me.
I’d been worried my wolf would want to exude dominance over him since we were staying in such tight quarters together, or that my vampire might want to fight him, but neither seemed to find him a threat or challenge.
To say I was relieved was an understatement.
“This place isn’t bad,” Lee said as we stepped farther into the dining hall. “There are more people here than I thought there would be, though. I guess everyone had the idea to grab something to eat.” He flashed me a nervous smile.
“Yeah, looks like.”
I glanced around, making a note of the different clicks that seemed to be situated throughout the space. Even without their lanyards, and all the color-coding crap the academy did, it was easy to pinpoint who belonged to what house. Everyone seemed to stick with their own kind.
A group of girls neared us. I felt their eyes on me before they sashayed around where we stood, but I didn’t pay them any attention. I wasn’t here for that. Every part of me knew it. A tall brunette in the group bumped into me on purpose and nearly fell on her face. I caught her inches before she hit the title floor. She would have been fine if she’d fallen, but it was the principle of the matter. She smiled up at me, batting her heavily coated lashes.
“Thanks,” she breathed.
I didn’t speak. Instead, I had her in a standing position and my hands off her in two seconds flat. Her heels clicked across the tile floor as she walked away when an awkward silence built between us.
“How do you do that?” Lee asked. When I glanced at him, he wore a baffled expression.
“Do what?”
“Get girls to fall all over you without doing a thing.” I could sense hostility in his tone. A slow smile spread across my face. “I mean, that girl practically threw herself at you.”
“First of all, I don’t go around wearing shit like that.” I pointed to his t-shirt. There was a picture of the comic book character he was obsessed with printed on the front in an action pose.
“Low blow, man, low blow. Do you even know how cool this guy is?” He was serious. His face said it all. “He can freaking teleport! That’s the coolest power anyone could ever have. You’d save so much money and time teleporting places instead of driving or flying.”
“You’re right. What was I thinking? What were those girls’ thinking?” I asked with mock seriousness hanging in my tone. My grin grew when he rolled his eyes and huffed. I placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him, knowing he was on the verge of walking away. “I’ll tell you what they were thinking—they were thinking how their kid brother would wear something like that. They want a man. Not some boy who, based on his clothing choices, they might have to babysit.”
“I’m not even going to argue with you on that because I know you’re right.” He ran a hand through his hair. “It wouldn’t be the first time something like that has been said to me.”
I laughed. This guy was a trip. He might be nerdy as hell, but I was glad he was my roommate and not someone else’s.
“Don’t let it get you down. Let’s grab something to eat. I’m starved and ready for my free meal.” I headed toward the food. It was a little after seven, but the cafeteria still seemed to be open. Lee followed.
The variety of food was as wide as I’d suspected. There was blood, burgers, and everything in between. No one would be going hungry anytime soon. I picked a bag of O positive and a thing of beef jerky while Lee piled his tray with two cheeseburgers and a mountain of fries.
“Damn, don’t they feed you wherever you come from?” I teased.
A smirk worked its way onto his face. “Sorry. I haven’t eaten much today. Traveling makes me anxious, and I can’t eat when I’m anxious. My hunger is catching up with me now.”
After we swiped our ID cards, we found a table near the back and sat to eat. Nobody opted to sit with us, though they did glance our way before continuing elsewhere. I was fine with that. I wasn’t here to make friends. As long as I enjoyed the company of my roommate, considering I had to be around him more than anyone else, I was fine.
“Either you’re right
about my t-shirt and it’s shouting nerd way too loud and scaring everyone away, or else it’s your muscles and tattoos,” Lee said around a mouthful of cheeseburger. I scoffed. “What’s up with all the tattoos, anyway? Are you one of those guys who likes pain or something?”
I took a swig from my bag of blood. This guy was observant as hell. That was something I’d noticed about him immediately. Not much had to be said around him for him to get you. Also, if he touched on things I didn’t care to talk about, all I had to do was give him a look and he shut his mouth right then.
“Something like that.” I surveyed the dining hall, not meeting his stare.
I was looking for something, but I wasn’t sure what. Heck, I wasn’t even sure which part of me was doing the looking, my wolf or my vampire—but I figured I’d know whenever I saw it.
Lee didn’t press the question about my tattoos. I was glad. Tattoos were a personal thing. At least for me. They told the story of my life. The things that ruled me. The moments that lifted me up. The tragedies that broke me down.
Everything in my life that had ever been tattooed on my soul was also on my skin.
“So, beyond the obvious,” Lee said after some time had passed. “Which house do you think you’ll hate the most?”
I arched a brow. “Besides the obvious? You already have a problem with one of the houses?”
He wiped his mouth on a napkin and stared at me with big eyes. “Well, yeah. Wolf Bloods and Wolf Bounds never get along. There’s always been a household rivalry between the two. It’s like ancient or some shit. You didn’t know that?”
“Nope. I’m not into ancient drama.” In fact, I wasn’t into drama at all.
The world would be a better place if more people avoided drama instead of stirring it up.
“I’m not either, but this is just a given. The Wolf Bounds have always thought they were better than us. Witches vs vampires.”
I popped a piece of beef jerky in my mouth and shrugged. “Maybe they are.”
“I can’t believe you just said that.” Lee’s eyes widened. “If any of the other Wolf Bloods hear you say that, you’re going to have a fight on your hands.”
My insides tingled, and both my demons surfaced at the mention of a fight. “Really?”
“Hell yeah! To Wolf Bloods, that’s an age-old fight right there. Wolf Born and Wolf Bitten have the same rival happening between them too. Have for decades.” Lee popped a fry in his mouth. “Not that getting in a fight would bother you. You seem like the type who’d enjoy it.”
There he was seeing me for who I am without me uttering a damn word. Did he know how observant he was?
“You might be right,” I said, flashing him a smirk. “But don’t worry, I can handle my own.”
“Oh, I have no doubt.”
I popped my last piece of beef jerky in my mouth and glanced around, sizing up which guys it would be beneficial to start a fight with. Unbeknownst to me, that was exactly what I’d been doing earlier without noticing. While I was here for control, I knew it wasn’t going to come easy and it wouldn’t be instant. Fighting would be the only way to keep myself in check and to make sure my humanity remained intact.
My gaze drifted from group to group, house to house. The Wolf Borns seemed to all have that invisible chip on their shoulders like the guy I’d seen in the parking lot earlier. I wasn’t sure if fighting any of them would be worth my time. Cocky pretty boys were easy to take down. The problem was that it often affected their pride, and they came back for more. Never alone, though. They always brought their friends. The second match was never a fair one. While I enjoyed a good fight, it had to be fair.
One on one. That was how I fought.
I shifted my attention to a group of Wolf Bound guys. My gut told me they might not fight fair either. Thanks to the ancient grudge Lee had mentioned. They might use their magic to their advantage. Yeah, I was almost certain they’d be trickster magicians. That wasn’t who I wanted to go against either.
My eyes drifted… until they landed on Faith. Damn, she was gorgeous. Her dark hair, creamy skin, and red painted lips had her standing out from all the other women here.
She glanced at her phone as she made her way farther into the dining hall. Something about her expression struck a chord in me. She didn’t seem happy with whatever she saw. Was it a picture? A text? Someone she hated calling? Her chatty friend, Nora, said something to her, and Faith shoved her phone into her back pocket, trying to act like whatever she’d been looking at hadn’t shook her up.
It had. I saw it.
A sudden desire to make sure she was okay pulsed through me. My grip tightened on the bag of blood I sipped from as I fought against it.
“What’s got you acting all Hulk-like?” Lee asked, noticing I was out of sorts far easier than I would’ve liked. “Never mind, I see who’s got your attention. You should go talk to her.” He slapped me on the back.
“Not going to happen.”
“Why not? I’m sure you’d have her eating out of the palm of your hand in minutes.”
I glared at him. My wolf let out a low growl I knew had my eyes looking wicked, and he held his hands up in surrender.
“Okay. Subject dropped. I won’t mention it again.” He took a bite of his cheeseburger and shifted his gaze elsewhere.
Against my better judgment, I allowed my eyes to drift back to Faith. Nora was still going a mile a minute about something while eating a plateful of fries, but Faith seemed to be miles away. Whatever had been on her cell was still occupying her thoughts.
My wolf paced. He wanted to know what was bothering her. I inhaled a deep breath, forcing myself to remain where I was and not give into him. He bucked against me, but I pushed right back.
What was it about this girl that made him want to protect her? To check on her well-being?
My lips twisted into a frown as I realized my vampire seemed to care about her too. She’d gotten under my skin somehow, and we’d barely said more than a handful of words to each other.
The last person who’d been able to do that was… Ansley.
My lungs constricted. Faith was no Ansley. While I might not know much about her, I knew comparing her to Ansley was like comparing night and day. They were exact opposites.
Needing a distraction, I shifted my attention to a cluster of guys talking about something in hushed voices two tables over. My eyes narrowed on them when I noticed they were a table of mixed houses. Hostility, testosterone, and dominance bounced off them all. It rippled through the air and had my wolf perking up. I tried to zero in on what they were saying, but the noise of the room combined with the distance between our tables made it impossible. There were only two words I could pick out of their conversation, but they were the only two I cared to hear.
Fight and club.
Hell yeah. I knew this place would have something like that happening underground. Rule number six might be no fighting, but I knew it would be among the first rules broken. You couldn’t put this many werewolves together and not expect a fight or two to occur.
“You about done?” I asked Lee, my eyes still fixed on the table of guys.
“Uh, I got a couple bites left, but I can pound them in a few seconds,” he answered around a mouthful of food. “Why? Ready to get out of here?”
“No. I want to talk to those guys.” I nodded in their direction. Lee glanced at them, and I watched from the corner of my eye as his back stiffened.
While I knew there was no way he’d stand two seconds up against any of them in a fight, I assumed there would be a few nerdy guys tossed in the mix eventually that he could go against. Most nerdy guys had repressed anger they needed to let go of, and an underground fight club was the perfect place to do it.
Lee needed this as much as I did.
Not because I sensed he had repressed anger, but because he needed some damn confidence in himself. This was a surefire way to get it. Nothing boosted a man’s confidence more than kicking someone’s ass and gaini
ng respect while doing it. Girls would flock to him then. They loved a bad boy, and nothing screamed bad boy more than someone with a fat lip or a busted nose who’d just won a fight.
Lee snapped his gaze from them back to me. “About what exactly?”
“The underground fight club they’re forming.”
“Uh, that’s not something I care to be a part of for many reasons. Why do you?”
I squeezed his shoulder and flashed him a lopsided grin. “Because it’s the only thing that will make sure I don’t accidentally rip your head off.” I was kidding, but he didn’t need to know that. Lee had no reason to fear me, my wolf, or my vampire.
Still, I knew my demons well enough to know they needed an outlet. That they craved it. Hell, I craved it too. Fighting had always been the best outlet I’d found.
Lee put the remaining part of his burger down and wiped his hands on a napkin. “Okay, let’s go, then.”
“Weren’t you planning on pounding that back?” I chuckled as I stood up from my seat and gathered my trash. Lee walked with me to the trash can.
“I’m not hungry anymore.”
I glanced at him. He was a little green. I laughed. Yeah, he definitely needed to be part of that club as much as I did. Lee needed to toughen up.
I started toward the table of guys, trying to pinpoint the leader as I walked. If I had to guess, I’d say it was the big guy in the middle with the scar on his face. The dude had to be close to six-foot-seven. He reminded me of a Viking. He was all solid muscle and dark features. I knew right away he was from my house—Wolf Blood—same as I knew he wasn’t someone to screw around with. He’d definitely be the guy to beat, and I was just the guy to try it.
I’d always loved a challenge.
The Viking locked eyes with me as we neared his table. He leaned back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest. Everyone around him fell silent. He skimmed the length of me, sizing me up. I kept my back straight and my jaw set. When the corner of Viking’s mouth quirked into a crooked grin, I knew he’d be willing to put me in his club.
“I’d like to join.” My gaze never faltered from his as I spoke.
Wolf Blood: Lunar Academy, Year One Page 4