If I continued to the classroom, it’d be like jumping into a shark tank. But, maybe I could ask the teacher to escort me to my car? I clung to that thought. Professor Capshaw would fix this mess. I just needed to survive till I reached room 808.
I dropped the pepper spray into my satchel and opened the door to the building, only to get yanked back by my arm.
“Where do you think you’re going?” The Alpha asked.
“The classroom.” I frowned and tried to pull my arm back. No dice. In fact, he used it as an excuse to sidle even closer to me. Great, déjà vu, except now I knew for sure my chemical warfare bluff wouldn’t work on this one.
“No, you’re not,” he said.
I twisted around and whacked him in the chest with my free hand. “What the hell is wrong with you people? You don’t get to touch me. Don’t you ferals know what personal space is?” I glared at him, waiting for him to back down.
Awkward seconds dragged by. It got harder and harder to hold onto my outrage and meet his intense stare. Perhaps I shouldn’t have hit him…?
Suddenly his arm wrapped around my waist, pushing me against his firm body. His other hand fisted my hair and tilted my head slightly to expose my neck. We were so close I felt a deep growl vibrating in his chest. The Alpha’s gaze slowly trailed to my throat and settled there, reminding me of a freaking vampire.
I jerked my head back, but only succeeded in sending a shock of pain from my roots to scalp. I sucked in a harsh breath. His fingers readjusted their grip. The sting dissipated but my skull ended up cradled in his hand, like it was a delicate sparrow’s egg—maybe to him my body really was that fragile.
I couldn’t move an inch even if I threw my entire weight into it. I was truly caught.
Panicked, I met his eyes, silently begged him to release me. Oh God, why did he look so hungry?
He slowly bent his head down.
“W-what are you doing?”
He paused, gaze finding mine. My heart stopped at the intensity of his expression. He looked like he wanted to devour me whole.
I sensed a scream bubble up in my throat.
“I’m healing you,” he whispered.
Before I could wrap my head around that statement his head continued its descent. What the hell was he..? And then I felt the warm brush of his lips and the wet swipe of his tongue against the scratches the hyena left on my neck
“By licking me?” I squeaked. First, it’s sniffing and manhandling now it’s licking? Apparently ferals really had no boundaries. I struggled against his hold. He clamped down tighter, immobilizing me.
“Do you want to walk into a room full of vampires bleeding from the neck?” He growled against my throat. A pleasurable quiver zipped down my spine.
I froze. I hadn’t thought of that. It was a struggle to collect my thoughts and ignore the tingling sensations. In fact, the cuts no longer hurt at all.
“I, uh…” Warmth spread through the wound then alternated with shivery chills. I’d never experienced anything like it. “Guess not.”
“Wise choice, now if you don’t mind…” He trailed off to continue his ministrations.
Now that I knew he wasn’t trying to rip my jugular out it started to feel kind of… erotic. My face flamed red hot. Why did I have to get licked and mouthed right on my erogenous zone? God, what if his freaky wolf nose could scent my arousal?
As if on cue, a purring growl trickled from the wolf king’s throat.
I gasped, partly due to embarrassment and surprise, but also because I hadn’t realized the thrilling effect the rumbling vibration would have on direct skin.
He stilled.
“Try not to make noises like that.” His words were husky and muffled against my neck. “It draws out the predator.”
My breath hitched. “S-sorry.”
I had to get a grip on myself. This was mortifying.
“Can all ferals do this?” I asked, trying to distract myself from the feel of his firm lips and laving tongue. “Heal, I mean.” Did my voice always sound that breathy?
His languid licks paused.
“No.” It was clear he wasn’t going to elaborate. Apparently, he had better things to do with his mouth. My knees felt weak. He clutched me closer, taking on some of my weight. He must have liked the new vantage point because the next thing I knew, he slowly lifted me up.
“So, just a wolf thing then?” I yelped during the elevation change and wrapped my arms around his neck. I told myself it was in case he decided to drop me. I was still trying to accept the fact that he literally just swept me off my feet.
He rumbled his answer, face buried in my neck. I didn’t speak wolf growls so if it was a yes or no, I didn’t know. But I did know one thing: his mouth was dangerous.
And was he kissing me?
Surely this wasn’t purely medicinal? He gently bit my neck and purred his satisfaction. I shivered. If I wasn’t aroused before, I was now. Heat pooled between my legs. He readjusted his arm across my ass and shifted his hips into mine. Yeah, definitely not medicinal.
“A-are you done?” I asked, half convinced the electrical signals in my body were short-circuiting.
It was clear by the prominent bulge pressed against me, I wasn’t the only one hot and bothered. I tried to create some distance between us by shifting my hips back, but the arm wrapped around my waist, the one supporting my entire weight, wasn’t having it.
He pulled me in tighter, moving his kisses up my jawline. “Baby, you were healed forty seconds ago.”
I took a deep breath, steeling myself. It didn’t matter that he was the most attractive guy I’d ever seen or the first person to kiss my neck. It didn’t matter that my body burned with need and wanted to claim this guy like a possession.
If I were you, I’d have a harem of hot boys begging to be with me, Camilla’s voice whispered in my ear.
I could take him so easily, make him mine. I could sense his power, all that swirling, chaotic energy. I yearned for it.
I mentally doused myself in ice water. What the hell was wrong with me? This was crazy and it had to stop.
“Alright then.” I used all my considerable self-restraint and strength to push off his shoulders. “Down boy.”
Unfortunately, the new position emphasized that our lower bodies were still pressed intimately together.
My hormone-riddled body considered grinding itself on him, but I kept the slut in check. There was no way I was going to mess up my life by getting involved with the most dangerous pack in the nation, especially their Alpha. I refused to be one of those stupid girls who dreamed of a Supernatural boyfriend and thought it could end in anything but disaster.
But mostly, I feared that foreign, hungry thing inside me; it sifted through my innards looking for a way out. Whatever it was, it had lain underneath the surface, dormant for twenty years.
And now it was awake.
“Please let me down,” I whispered, half convinced I’d gone insane. I just needed to get away from him and everything would go back to normal. Please just let that thing go back to sleep…
The Alpha’s eyes were luminous, golden with his beast. It looked as if he wanted to continue whether I liked it or not. That thought did strange, contradictory things to my body. I lifted my eyebrow, challenging him. If I’m honest with myself, I’m not exactly sure which action I was goading him toward: to put me down or push me against a wall.
My great-great grandmother really should have warned me that I’d turn into a raging slut bag.
The Alpha considered his options before slowly gliding me down his marble-hard body. He released a soft tortured groan. After an eternity my feet touched ground, but his hands gripped my waist, preventing my escape. I held my breath and avoided eye contact; mainly because he still seemed to be struggling with himself.
If he saw heat mirrored in my eyes… I’m pretty sure the wolf king would drag me off to his lair, or the nearest dark alley.
I squeezed my legs together and clutch
ed the strap of my satchel for fear of not being able to keep my hands from lifting his shirt to expose the ridged abs I’d just rubbed against.
This was crazy. I couldn’t stand pushy guys. Yet, this time, a certain throbbing part of me wanted to be pushed. And that scared me. I took a quick step away from him the moment he released my hips. I needed some distance to harden my resolve.
He ran his fingers through his hair, looking completely frustrated. The Alpha rubbed his hands over his face as if to scrub away whatever he was thinking.
When he lowered his hands, his eyes were back to normal. “I usually have better control than that. I don’t know what came over me.” His eyes searched mine; I wasn’t sure what they were looking for, maybe reassurance?
I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded and straightened my clothes. My hair probably looked ridiculous. I didn’t really care; I just needed something to do with my hands.
I touched my neck finding smooth, unbroken skin. Well shit, that’s cool!
I glanced up, astonished, only to find him still staring.
This puppy dog infatuation needed to stop. Past experience had taught me it only brought trouble. If not from the guy himself, then from the bitches who want him.
“Look, let’s just forget this happened.” I started walking backwards toward the door.
He didn’t move but his eyes tracked my every step. Something told me that his wolf was the one staring back at me.
“Thanks for the save. Not sure if I mentioned that earlier,” I blabbered on, feeling more and more uncomfortable with his possessive staring. I blindly searched for the handle, scared that if I took my eyes off him, he’d pounce. “And the whole vampire faux pas. That could have ended badly.”
The Alpha growled.
“OK then…” I side-stepped and jerked the door open. “Lovely meeting you, bye now!” I slipped through the door and hightailed it down the hall. Once I’d made it a few dozen feet, I glanced back through the cracked glass. The wolf king stood where I left him, fists clenched at his sides, eyes burning into my retreating form.
I shuddered and focused on finding the professor who would help me extricate myself from this absurdity.
803
804
I spotted a bathroom and ducked inside. I beelined for the first stall and emptied my snacks onto the floor. I knew my stupid body well enough to know I was on the verge of passing out. I needed to get fuel in me now. I jammed a donut into my mouth, chewed, and swallowed without tasting it.
Even though I eat like a horse and am at a healthy weight, according to my doctors, I’m severely malnourished and calorie deprived. This, on top of my deteriorating vision, weak lungs, and mysterious fatigue disorder—which isn’t helped by the fact that I need to wake up every two hours to eat to avoid falling into another coma—means my life fucking sucks. And now I have to deal with being a full-time student with Supernatural drama?
I sat on the toilet and cried.
I let myself play the victim for another five minutes, wallowing in the shitty hand I’d been dealt. When my pity party was up, I wiped my tears and continued to jam a few thousand calories in my mouth. Once I finished everything but my three emergency boxes of jello, I emerged from the cocoon of a bathroom stall like a beautiful, beautiful butterfly.
Except I still felt like shit.
And flying away from any and all Supes wasn’t really an option.
I washed my hands. While drying them off on my jeans a sudden lurch deep in my gut nearly dropped me.
I caught myself on the sink, only to be pierced by another pleasurable jolt. I gasped. It felt like getting pounded, in a good way…
I pulled myself up and stared down at my stomach. I gently prodded it, but nothing happened. I glanced up and did a double take at what I saw in my reflection.
What the—?
My eyes were a vibrant, neon blue. Or at least they were for a second. My puzzled brown eyes stared back. I adjusted my glasses and took a step closer for some better peering action, but there wasn’t even a flicker. Just my mud brown eyes, red-rimmed and slightly bloodshot.
I shook my head. The stress must be getting to me. Please just let it be stress…
“Having fun?” someone said.
I jerked away from the mirror and swiveled my head to the corner stall. I frowned. No one was there.
“Up here.” The voice chimed again. I slowly dragged my eyes upward to find a chick hanging from the ceiling, sitting upside down and cross-legged. The sickly yellow lights from outside the window gave her half-shaved blonde hair a garish halo. A vicious smirk played on her ruby red lips. Lips that matched her eyes.
Vampire.
Her presence chilled me. The idea of a walking corpse always gave me the creeps, but the reality? Way worse in person. I sure as hell didn’t want to be alone with her. Or the empty blood bag in her hand. Clearly she was out of one snack, I didn’t want to become her next.
“Yup. Lots of fun,” I replied nonchalantly as I walked toward the exit. “Have a good night.” As I pushed through the door, I looked over my shoulder. That’s weird, she disappeared…
“I smell a rabbit."
I startled, bewildered at how the blonde had somehow ended up on the other side of the door. Had she crawled across the ceiling?
“Uh, OK…?” If the crazy bitch thought she smelled rabbits, I wasn’t going to tell her otherwise. When I moved down the hall, she glided backwards in front of me, keeping pace—impressive considering how short her legs were.
The creepy girl licked her chops, wearing a nasty smile. "You’re a tasty one. I can tell." She stared at me like I was a morsel of meat one stabs and rakes over the grill for shish kabobs.
I stopped mid-stride. How does someone even respond to that? In fact, how do you react when the person harassing you looked like a little kid?
It was blatantly obvious she had been turned into a vampire no older than twelve years old. I assumed she wore pounds of makeup, lip piercings, and a punk hair style as a way to age herself, but it didn’t hide her round as apples cheeks or her mischievous grin.
The girl’s eyes flicked past me. "See you later, little Rabbit."
I stared at her, stunned, as she sashayed away. What the fuck is with these people? I’m clearly not a fucking rabbit! And if anyone was little, it was her. Batshit crazy chick.
“Do you attract this much trouble everywhere you go?” A deep voice rumbled.
I jumped and whirled around, clutching the strap of my satchel to my rattled chest. Surely my heart hopped off its tracks and was ricocheting off my ribs in pinball fashion.
When I realized it was the Alpha, my pulse raced even harder—but at least he looked calmer, less growly. What the hell was he still doing here, didn’t he have classes?
The awkwardness grew thick between us. It was probably obvious that I’d been crying. Right when it felt like he would say something stupid, like talk about what happened outside, I interrupted.
“I’ve been called little rabbit and bunny tonight. Do I even want to know what that means?”
He leaned in and took a sniff, eyes flashing. “They’re not wrong,” he said, words husky.
I didn’t breathe. Any kind of distraction that brought out the golden eyes of his beast was the wrong kind.
“It means you smell tempting.” His stare on me weighed a thousand pounds. “Like prey, scared and trembling.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And that’s a good smell?”
“Oh yes.” He stared at me, eyes dilated and hungry. Probably due to the wave of delicious fear scent that wafted off me in response to his oh yes.
Did I really find him adorable at some point? Scratch that, this guy was one scary fucker.
“OK, good to know. Have a good night.” I power walked past room 805, clutching my satchel like a lifeline. I glanced over my shoulder only to find him staring at my ass, as he stalked me at a much slower, predatory pace.
I never thought of myself as a rab
bit, but now… I felt hunted.
My hand gripped the door handle to room 808. I glanced back at my stalker. He lurked a classroom’s length behind, leaning against a wall, arms folded.
I focused back on the door with the desperate hope that I wasn’t escaping the wolf king frying pan, only to end up in the fire.
I sucked in a deep breath from my inhaler and pushed the door open.
I was in the fire. Or at least when every freaking Supe in the classroom turned to stare at me, it sure felt like it. I shrunk under all the predatory attention. Judging by the amount of red gazes, I was suddenly very thankful for the Alpha’s strange healing abilities.
“You’re late,” a sharp, British voice announced.
From my experience, college professors tended to let their students sink or swim, so it took me completely off guard when the teacher halted his lecture in order to publicly berate me. “I—uh, kind of ran into—”
“Yes, we all heard the screams. It’s hardly an excuse,” he snapped; His red eyes glowed which I realized was something I should refrain from noticing.
Professor Capshaw’s skin looked like a cleaner version of the white board he stood in front of. A sharp contrast to his pitch black widow’s peak and eyebrows—correction: arched and disdainful eyebrows.
I felt small and unworthy underneath the spell of those… raven wings of the face or some equally poetic nonsense. Why were his brows so distracting? Maybe it's residual glazing? Should I focus on his nose instead? I sure as hell shouldn’t lock gazes with the vamp. That’s basic survival.
Though he was rather beautiful in a certain light. I wondered if he would be prettier alone, after class. Did I just hear dove wings flutter in the air…?
“Do take a seat this century, student.”
I jerked out of my weird haze. Stupid vampiric powers.
“Uh, yes sir.” I hurried to the empty back row and nearly tripped for my efforts.
“Run along, bunny,” a male student said, causing a few classmates to chuckle.
The Fervor: A Sinful Supes Story Page 3