Page 45 of Zodiac Beasts

He obviously had a lot more relationship experience than I ever would, but I hadn’t asked much about his sexual history, mostly because I didn’t really want to know. The last thing I needed was to feel any more insecure if I learned he’d been dating a bunch of all-powerful, confident, perfect tens his whole life. Still, his reaction was a bit too strong to ignore.

“Only once. It was a long time ago, and it didn’t work out. Nothing for you to fret over, Baby Doll.” He dismissed the question in a tone that implied he didn’t want to talk about it, but he also wanted it clear that there was nothing threatening about it.

“I thought Air Signs and Fire Signs were supposed to be compatible.”

“Some people aren’t compatible with anyone or anything.” He said quite definitively. There was no follow up. I simply nodded in silence, and returned my attention to the front of the room.

Adrian finished up the lecture, but he didn’t pay much attention to me this time. I was waiting for a stern, ‘can you stay after’ or some kind of personal jab, but he’d backed off completely ever since I sealed my mate pact with Marcus, and that bothered me a lot more than it should. It was respectful, but it was also unsatisfying, I guess? He got over me so quickly, and now we just existed peacefully.

What did it say about me that I missed having my cheek shoved into my desk while getting bent over by my teacher?

It said so many things. So many unfortunate things.

I said goodnight to Marcus, I said nothing to Adrian, then I texted Ceto to set up a study date. Finals weren’t far off now, I was looking forward to getting this semester over with and taking a mental and emotional breather.

Chapter 24

Physics, three times a week and Astrology Club, once, I was getting a lot of practice disconnecting from my relationship with Lila. I taunted Marcus just to get under his skin, as he’d done to me so, so many times now, but in actuality, I didn’t want to act on my relationship with her. Eventually this whole thing would come back to bite him, but with finals so close, I didn’t have the time or energy to deal with it now.

Fortunately, the amount of sexual activity Lila had engaged in lately has been just enough trickle magic that I didn’t have to. Though I wasn’t confident I’d be able to go the entire summer on residual energy, when I’d not physically been with her—or anyone else—since April. The need had already started to nag at me, but I was coping thanks only to my own discipline.

“Will that be on the test?” Lila asked from her too close seat in Friday Morning’s Physics.

So much discipline.

“Assume that anything and everything could be on the test.” I answered mechanically, while once again channeling bored Brian. I highly doubted he was going to pass with that attitude, but that was neither here nor there.

Actually, I might pass him just so I’d be able to use him again next semester. I already destroyed any semblance of ethics this year. I may as well lean into it.

I sighed, and I continued the review. Once class finished up, Lila respectfully started packing up, and against my better judgment, I let myself stop her.

“Can you stay after for a moment, Miss Denton?” I said, knowing I had no good justification for asking it, but hoping no one else who was still around had the mind to care.

The Gemini’s full moon was coming up quickly, and as much as I wanted to avoid further drama, I needed to know what her plan for the night was. I could hopefully handle another month of celibacy, but I didn’t know how far Marcus might push things knowing he had more power than I did in this arrangement now.

“Of course, Professor Karras.” She parroted my cordial but impersonal request, and I appreciated that about her.

When the room cleared, I sat down at my desk, and I leaned back in my chair. “So let’s get this over with. I can already tell you that to trigger a Gemini shift as an Alpha Hybrid, all you have to do is be in proximity of another Zodiac Shifter. Another Alpha or a full blooded shifter will do. Please don’t ask me how I know, but I’m going to warn you this time so you know, too.”

“You should include that in the Astrology Club lecture. It’s good information.” She said with a disinterested shrug.

Marcus was definitely rubbing off on her. “Finals aren’t until after the moon, so I’m hoping that means you’ll be busy studying that night and not getting into trouble, correct?”

“Correct.” She agreed way too easily.

“What do you mean ‘correct.’” I raised a brow. “You’ve yet to make a single good decision during the moon, so it seems reasonable that I should be worried. Last I checked, you and Marcus share neither a major or any classes, so I don’t see how you’re going to study with your mate for the night.” That word tasted bitter on my tongue. And the idea that she was obligated to spend full moons with him only made those nights more turbulent.

Lila rolled her pretty brown eyes. “No, I’m actually working that night. And my coworker is in my Calculus class, so we’ll be studying and working until the sun comes up.”

Coworker? I hadn’t even realized she had a job.

Nor should I have, as I didn’t need to know more about her personal life.

“Is your coworker a shifter?”

“They are.” She shrugged, like that wasn’t a big deal. It was also notable that she hadn’t specified this coworker’s gender, which revealed his gender quite loud and clear. “I work at a clothing boutique, and the building has wards. It’s all safe.” She assured me.

I scrunched my nose at her ignorance. I considered telling her that being away from her sealed pact on a full moon would drive her mate insane and likely make him physically ill. Mate withdrawal could be bad enough to nearly kill some shifters, but considering it was Marcus who would be suffering, I didn’t feel the information was pertinent. He probably hadn’t told her, and that was his fault.