Feral: Part One

by Arisa Baumann

  I grimaced. Well, at least it’ll match the rest of my face.

  I quickly forgot about my morbid thoughts as my wrist twisted painfully when I tried to keep the rest of my body from slamming into the seats. I heard gasps from all around me and sensed Brie picking up my books, which had flown in every direction. I ignored Madison’s frantic motioning while I struggled to right myself and felt her following me when I stormed off in a new direction.

  It was only when we had made it halfway down the social science hall that I fully began to comprehend what had happened. I frowned at the sticky wetness trickling down into my eye, then blinked and wiped furiously, flinching at the sight of my own blood smeared on my hand.

  I had a feeling this was not going to be good and was annoyed that out of all the injuries I could’ve sustained, it was this one. My mate was slowly adjusting to his own natural instincts, and I end up tearing open my face, bleeding my way down his hall. But as much as I was loath to go to Simon for help, I knew going to the second medical hall wouldn’t help—the advanced students were at clinicals, which meant all of the qualified people in that hall were at various hospitals.

  Hospitals.

  Ugh. I had no problem being on the giving end of medical treatment, but I really did not like being on the receiving end, so I refused to go anywhere except Simon, since I knew from past conversations he often kept emergency supplies at both his home and the college.

  I still felt a little badly though as Simon was just starting to allow his instincts to surface and was still rather unsure of himself. I’d never think less of him if he gave into his nature and drank from me as soon as he had me in his grasp, but I wanted him to be able to first taste me when he was confident in himself, when he was relaxed and wholly accepting who he was. If he were to drink from me now, I knew he’d feel guilty and ashamed about it later on.

  But I refused to go to an emergency room or any clinic. I’d end up with a bill, and Madison would make a big production out of something so trivial. She’d probably call Cole, and then he’d call me, and that was the last thing I wanted. All I probably needed was some rubbing alcohol and some band-aids.

  As if knowing he was in my thoughts, but more than likely having heard me fall and smelling my spilled blood, the door opened to reveal the brunette vampire. He was smiling with pleasant professionalism, as if it were not his mate who was striding toward him with a head wound. "Miss Deering." He nodded in my direction before glancing with polite curiousness at Madison and back to me. "Miss Kinley, thank you for accompanying her. Are you… dizzy?"

  "It was no problem, Doctor Treviso," Madison replied with a slight giggle. She made no effort to hide the way that her eyes raked over him, obviously appreciating the way his navy slacks hung low on his hips and the pearl-blue shirt stretched across his shoulders. She licked her lips—she actually licked her lips!—and batted her eyelashes at him. "Sofia's friends just want to know she's okay."

  I couldn’t stop the way my upper lip pulled back from my teeth or my fingers curled into claws as my muscles tensed.

  "Sofia?" My mate's voice relaxed me instantly, and I reluctantly turned my gaze to him. "How did this happen?" he asked softly.

  "She fell," Madison supplied, smiling as though she had said something incredibly brilliant and utterly hysterical.

  "Thank you, Sofia," I retorted sarcastically, my eyes shooting daggers at her when her lips twisted into a sneer. I was astounded that she actually looked at me as if I were the one who had done something wrong by speaking up. I opened my mouth to give her a piece of my mind but was rudely interrupted by my own mate.

  "Miss Kinley, thank you very much for walking with Miss Deering. I will make certain she makes it home safely." Despite his polite smile and pleasant tone, it was entirely obvious Simon was dismissing her. As his stance shifted from being completely relaxed to standing perfectly straight, it clear he wasn’t going to allow Madison to stay in his office.

  Her expression faltered for a moment before she recovered. "I'll wait for you in the lobby." She smiled brightly. "Brie and I will want to know you’re okay!"

  I gave in to the desire to roll my eyes as she closed the door and heard Simon whisper ‘puttana’ in a thoroughly unpleasant tone before he blurred around the room and stopped before me, cotton balls in his hand and a bottle of rubbing alcohol and two tan strips sitting on his desk. "That does mean what I think it means, doesn’t it?" I asked grumpily.

  He frowned as he cleaned the wound, the solution stinging like fire. "Mildly speaking? A very loose woman. Being what I am, I am unfortunately used to such reactions from human females. I am quite accustomed to ignoring such conduct, but knowing she affects you as deeply as she did disturbs me beyond words. It was a repulsive display, and I was not going to stand for you being subject to that behavior." He finished disinfecting the gash and picked up both steri-strips. "So, bella mia," he murmured, "are you going to tell me what happened?"

  My eyes darted to the ceiling.

  Honestly, it wasn’t like he didn’t know already.

  Mischief filled me, and I quickly concocted my quip. "The table and I have a long history together. It started during my first semester here, and it was a happy relationship until today, when I walked in and found it cheating with my best friend. It had it coming!" The hand holding the sticky strip paused in midair, and his lips twitched. "Really, Simon, what sort of table does that to a girl?" I grinned as he bowed and shook his head bemusedly. "It's okay, though. I think it learned its lesson."

  "Mio tesoro," he chuckled, "you truly are a delight."

  I remained silent for a few minutes while he tenderly pinched the flesh together, taking care not to brush the purple bruising just below, and gently pressed on the two bandages. "Are you okay?" I finally asked, sucking my lower lip between my teeth and nibbling on it.

  He looked at me, bewilderment apparent in his eyes. "Of course, cara mia. Why would I not be?" When I explained my fears to him, he bowed his head to nuzzle my neck. "As you can tell, I am quite in control of myself and my urges without suppressing them entirely." He ended with a soft purr, assuring me he was not denying every instinct.

  I began fingering the collar of his lab coat and moaned when he nipped at my pulse. "Doctor Treviso."

  He jerked back, his eyes having deepened to a plum hue. "Naughty girl." He growled and leaned in toward me again, his lips slowly lowering to mine before he suddenly straightened. I was surprised and a little hurt by his behavior, until he gave me a meaningful look. "Your friend—” his voice dripped with sarcasm—“is making her way here. I can only presume I have kept you longer than her liking."

  I groaned. "I’d say she can bite me, but I doubt you'd share." I smiled when he dipped his head, licked the skin over a vein in my neck and rumbled 'mine'. "Remember that next time I'm in your bed." With a mischievous chuckle, I traipsed out of the room, only to come face to face with Madison Kinley.

  Well, shit!

  TEN

  "You were in there forever!”

  I glowered, muttering darkly, "Stop being so damn dramatic. It wasn’t even fifteen minutes." My eyes darted to Simon when he calmly made his way around us, his briefcase clutched in his hand, but to my ever-growing aggravation, I wasn’t the only one watching him as he strode confidently down the emptying hall.

  "Y'know, it’s odd you went straight to Doctor Treviso, instead of going to the second med hall."

  “Y’know, it’s odd you can’t remember the med and nursing students do their clinicals on Mondays. No one’s in that hall.”

  "Jesus, it wasn’t like I was accusing you.” Her huffy tone showed her chagrin clearly. “And I can’t blame you either. Doctor Treviso’s even better looking than Cole, don’t you think? It’s unbelievable he isn’t married."

  From my place behind his moving form, I could see Simon's shoulders tensing. "Mads, he’s a professor here," I argued.

  "So?" She rolled her eyes at me, then began mentally undressing the vampire as
he was suddenly caught up in conversation with another student. "Look at him! I mean, really. He's gorgeous! Do you know how many girls in this college would love to get him alone for some private tutoring?"

  Her tone was absolutely lascivious, and I grew angry at what she was implying. "Give it a rest," Isnarl ed, feeling my hands clenching and unclenching. "Doctor Treviso is a respected figure in his field, has had multiple articles published and he’s a professor here! He deserves more respect than what you give him. Can you please talk about something other than how hot you think Doctor Treviso is?" I knew she had better, because I was becoming inexplicably furious and wanted to do her bodily harm.

  "Oh, c’mon! It’s not like I’m disrespecting him to his face. He’s hot as sin, single, and loaded! What the fuck isn’t there to talk about?"

  "Oh, my god!" I hissed furiously at her, pausing in the middle of the hall. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

  "Excuse me?"

  "You heard me!" I snapped.

  After nearly a decade of having to deal with her inanities, false friendship, back-biting and pretentiousness, I finally had it.

  "What in the actual hell is wrong with you? Are you completely brainless, or do you just enjoy being an utter bitch? Do you have any idea how disgustingly shallow you really are?" I watched her eyes go wide in shock. "Do you? When we were kids, you were my best friend. You were a sweet girl, but you’ve grown up to be the most self-absorbed, rude, obnoxious bitch I‘ve ever had the misfortune of meeting! That you seem to think you can gain anyone's attention and approval with your half-ass attempts at pretending to be a friend is absolutely astounding."

  I took a step toward her, smirking internally as she took a nervous step backwards. "Do you remember bitching at me once our senior year about how Cole was a douche and a snob, and you thought he thought he was too good for you and must be crazy to like me? Well, guess what, he did think he was too good for you, because he was. Most of the world’s population is," I hissed low in my throat. "And I’ve got news for you, sweet pea. Dressing like you belong on old Stewart Avenue, and acting almost as bad, isn’t going to get Doctor Treviso’s attention. And don’t give me that look! I was waiting for you to start begging for it twenty minutes ago.”

  Her blue eyes practically blazed with embarrassment and rage. Her posture was tense, tight like a coil, and even as I waited for her hand to land heavily on my bruised face, I continued, far angrier with her than she could ever be with me.

  “Newsflash, honey: seeing as how Simon Treviso is a far better human being than Colton Malver, I can damn guarantee you that he wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole, because frankly, he has more class than that. If he’s as intelligent as he seems, I can assure you he’s already learned you’ve got no depth of character and’re one damn poor excuse for a lady! If you were the last woman on Earth, he wouldn’t give you a first glance, much less a second one.”

  By this point, I was trembling violently. I hadn’t realized that throughout my entire speech, I’d backed her into a wall, until I was only mere inches away from her and she had nowhere else to go. In my periphery, I saw the student who’d stopped Simon walking in the opposite direction, while the vampire made a beeline for us.

  "And let me tell you something else, Mads. I’m getting sick and tired of your bullshit attempts to act friendly. In high school, I always thought the leader of your little clique was the worst, but you know what? I was wrong, because at least she had the decency to be consistently jealous and hateful. She made no pretenses of liking me, whereas you were and always will be a hypocrite in that respect. Now, I’m warning you: leave me the hell alone! I am not your friend anymore. You destroyed that in junior high, so stop trying to act like it."

  I leaned in dangerously close and snarled at her. "And stop trying to talk to me about Cole. It’s over. It’s done. If you want to continue talking to him and trying to get in his pants, be my fucking guest. But stop trying to bait me, because I don’t give a shit about Colton Malver.

  “And if I ever hear you make any more inappropriate comments about Simon again, I swear to god you will be visiting one of those medical rooms you seemed to be so concerned about earlier. And I can promise you Simon Treviso will not be the one you get the pleasure of seeing. Now, get the hell out of my face before I break yours."

  The horrific shock on her face morphed into the ugliest mask of hate I’d ever seen, and I briefly wondered if she was going to spit in my face, slap me, or go with some other physical form of retaliation. If she did, I knew it would be the last thing she would ever do. However, to her credit, all she did was sneer as Simon approached.

  It seemed he was done talking to his student, and we were now his focus, which wasn’t surprising. Vampire or not, I’m sure he would have heard every single word, and I couldn’t imagine how angry he was at my making a scene in the hallway. At least I was lucky in that it was the end of the university’s day classes, which meant the halls were pretty much empty by the time I’d started getting loud. That still didn’t stop me from worrying about whether or not he might be mad at me.

  He stared down at me with eyes that were nearly black and grabbed me by the elbow, dragging me behind him as he went. His voice was soft and cool, distant almost, and his grip was firm as he moved me down the hall. "Miss Deering, we need to talk in my office.”

  Oh god… He was furious.

  I shivered, though whether it was from the loss of the adrenaline I’d used in my little tirade or from fear of what Simon was going to do and say, I wasn’t entirely sure.

  He held the door open while I slinked in, completely incapable of meeting his dark gaze. I had never seen his face look so... feral, and I was starting to wonder if it were at all possible for a bond between mates to be broken. The intense waves pouring off of him had me worried about the future of our relationship.

  What the hell was wrong with me? I’d just torn Madison Kinley a new one smack-dab in the middle of the university’s social science hall, with witnesses nonetheless, however few those witnesses were. I had just humiliated my mate in front of students, some of whom I was sure were his, and now he was angry with me. I should’ve just kept my damn mouth shut.

  I vaguely heard him close the door and flinched when he was suddenly towering over me, feeling the powerful waves of emotions hit me like a ton of bricks. His gaze was practically burning a hole into the top of my head, but I couldn’t look up. I couldn’t bear to see the anger and disappointment in his eye. Of all the stupid things I’d ever done or said throughout my lifetime, this took the cake.

  "Sofia Antonia." His voice was low and raspy, and I was quite sure that he was holding back a rather nasty growl. Oh, he was so pissed. He was using my name, my real one, not the lovely little pet name that I had come to adore. "Look at me."

  I slowly raised my head, but found I couldn’t look up beyond his chest. When he demanded, "I told you to look at me, Sofia", I felt my heart drop into my stomach. I had never heard Simon sound quite like that, and I suddenly felt very ashamed of my behavior, or rather the fact my behavior had upset my mate—if he was still my mate. I really needed to ask about that.

  When I looked up to his glittering black eyes, I swallowed and took a step backwards. Whatever lecture he was going to give me, I knew I deserved it. Yes, Madison may’ve needed a good telling-off, but I really shouldn’t have done so in the middle of the university. I licked my lips and waited for him to let his ire out on me.

  "Do you have any idea what you just did?"

  I instantly dropped my head, and feeling my eyes well up with tears, prayed they would not fall. Not that it would have mattered. I was sure he could smell the salt anyway.

  "You do realize you just—"

  "I'm sorry." My voice cracked with emotions. "I'm sorry. I just…"

  I swallowed thickly and dug my fingers into the material of my jeans. If I was going to cry in humiliation, I was at least going to do it with a little dignity and not wipe away the tears in a path
etic attempt to hide it from the incubus. "She fuckin’ pissed me off. I know, I know, I shouldn't’ve let her get to me, but she was looking at you like you were something to eat! The way she looked at you wasn't right. I just-I couldn't stand her looking at my mate that way, and I sure as hell was not about to let her co—"

  My words were cut short when he shoved me roughly onto his desk, his lips devouring mine as I threaded my fingers into his silky locks. He lowered me to the desktop, sweeping away stacks of files, pens, and I really didn't care what else, although I was distractedly glad the blinds had already been shut. While he supported me with one arm, his other hand slipped under my shirt and nudged under my bra, and I realized I’d obviously been mistaken about Simon's emotions.

  He battled my tongue for dominance in between nibbling on my lower lip and running the tip of his tongue just under the seam of my upper. As he tasted and tormented my lips, his arm slid gently out from beneath me, leaving me flat on my back on his desk so he was free to explore my body with both hands.

  I arched, biting back a loud moan as his hands pushed up the knit material and the black lace to knead my breasts, the fabric lightly scratching my skin and causing goose bumps to form. I moaned in protest when he tore his lips away from mine, but all complaints were lost when his mouth latched onto the side of my neck and sucked eagerly at the patch of skin just over my pounding pulse. It was as if he were trying to draw my blood through the flesh without breaking it. It was a sensitive spot on my body, and I squirmed at the tingling sensation his kisses and nips evoked.

  Well, it looked like I’d be wearing a scarf to school for the next few days. Thank god it was approaching winter.

  He released one tender breast and braced himself on his forearm. His growl grew louder, and I briefly worried about someone hearing him until his tongue dragged slowly over the area where his lips had been, and then I stopped caring all together. He lapped over the vein repeatedly, murmuring 'la mia' with each flick of his tongue, and it unexpectedly dawned on me that he was talking about my blood.