Page 32 of Slayer

He waved her off. “Fine. You look beautiful, and I hope you have fun,” he told her.

Harper leaned in for a quick hug. “Thanks, Dad.”

I heard her whisper and decided I couldn’t love this family any more.

He peered down at me. “And you, Miss Stella. We are so excited to have you here. If you need anything or have any issues, you come see me personally, okay?” He beamed as if genuinely excited to meet me.

“Thank you, Professor,” I told him and ducked in after Harper, feeling again like maybe it was okay if I stayed here.

What am I saying? Was I actually considering living in another dimension and learning to hunt vampires?

No way.

But the second we turned the corner and I slammed into Asher’s chest, I was thinking maybe staying here would be good for me.

Lord have mercy, he was easy on the eyes. Tonight he wore all black, with his blond hair slicked back and his arm in a sling. He peered down at me behind sharp, endlessly green eyes.

“Hey.” I smiled. “I never got to really thank you for last night. Sorry if I was⁠—”

“You’re welcome.” His tone was clipped as he sidestepped me and kept moving.

My throat tightened. His words, his reaction, were like a shot to the chest. What was his problem? Was he mad at me for last night? I was a freaking human twenty-four hours ago. Obviously I was going to wig out when I heard otherwise. It wasn’t my fault, and no one asked him to run after me.

“Are you okay?” Harper had just witnessed the awkwardness.

I cleared my throat, forcing a small smile. “Fine.” I shrugged, trying to act like it didn’t hurt.

I felt like Asher and I had survived a war together. I’d saved his life! And he’d saved mine. For him to treat me like that… It hurt. But life hurt. I was used to people disappointing me, so I stuffed it down and gave Harper a small smile.

A tiny pale-skinned girl with long cotton-candy-pink hair and an ankle-length black Renaissance dress popped up right in front of me. She was at least a head shorter than I was and very petite.

“Is this her?” she asked Harper with a bright smile.

“Yep,” Harper confirmed. “Stella, meet my bestie, Luna.”

“Hi!” Luna wrapped her arms around me and crushed me to her chest.

“Oh… Hi.” I patted her back, and she pulled away from me.

She was wearing black lipstick and sporting a super goth look, but her hair and personality were screaming otherwise.

“So exciting to have a lost-born legacy! You must be so overwhelmed,” Luna said.

I nodded. “Just a bit.” I gave a nervous laugh.

“Keep the LBL on the down-low. She’s overwhelmed,” Harper told Luna.

Luna nodded. “Well, if anyone messes with you, just tell me.” She gave me a serious glare, like it was a threat and a promise all at once.

“She’ll be fine.” Harper put her hands on Luna’s shoulders and steered her away from me. “No need to activate throat-punch mode.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Throat-punch mode?”

Luna and Harper shared a grin, like there was a story there.

“Let’s just say I was bullied in grade school until one day, I started to protect myself.” Luna fisted her hands and gritted her jaw, staring me down. She was tiny and adorable, like she would blow over in a strong wind.

“With a throat punch?” I laughed.