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INN SAFETY

AURA

The moment I stepped out into the night air, I felt his presence. His voice buzzed around me like an irritating wasp while simultaneously wrapping me in a warm cocoon. Even though I meant to greet him with something at least neutral, what came out was, “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“We still need to talk. I want to help you with the control.”

“What does learning control entail, anyway? Meditation and becoming one with nature and shit?”

“Yes, actually,” he said.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

He let out a half laugh. “It isn’t that bad. You just need to step beyond these stony walls and breathe in the fresh air. Let the sun⁠—”

“I loathe the sun.”

“Right. Vampire.” He rolled his eyes. “Well, you can tolerate it just fine, so I think it’s worth a try. If all fails, you can pretend it never happened, and we can go back to hating one another.”

“Who says I’ve stopped hating you?” My voice jumped up an octave. “I had no idea betas were so arrogant. But speaking of needing to talk, why don’t you tell me the truth about your bloody alpha bark?”

“How about a drink? There’s a Nexus pub that serves blood not too far from here.”

“I know that.”

“Of course you do.” He started to walk, tucking one hand into his trouser pocket. “And you call me arrogant.”

“I live in this city.” I walked beside him, keeping plenty of space between us. “Knowing something for certain is not arrogance.”

“So glad you said it yourself.”

I rolled my eyes again.

“I need to stop at the inn where I’m staying first. I’m tired of holding this damn book in front of my crotch.”

“Why are you doing that anyway?” I dared to look down, but he blocked my view with the book again. “Oh gods, did you⁠—?”

“No.” The amusement in his voice was unmistakable, though he tried to keep his serious façade. “A certain someone was grinding against me and left some very incriminating evidence of her⁠—”

“Gods, please stop.”

His laughter echoed in the archway as we stepped off the university property and onto the pavement. “Don’t you have to get back to Sublune Creek? To your pack?” I asked him after a while.

“Magdalena informed me there’s a Raven Post at the university. So I sent word home, letting them know I’ll be here a while longer.”

The closer we got to the inn, the more daunting it became to think about sitting in a crowded pub for a casual drink among other Occults afterward. It was different from my quick dealings with the hunter, Devlin. I stopped walking just a few paces from the door. “Actually, I’d rather not go to The Nexus,” I said.

Sylvan's gaze flicked from the door to my face, that calculating look lingering. “Why not?”

“It's … loud. And I’m not hungry.” The second part wasn’t a lie.

His eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms over his chest, neglecting his previous insistence on covering his crotch. His shirt bunched at his shoulders, the material shifting to reveal some of the dark hair on his chest. I thought of sliding my fingers through it and stepped back to cut off the thoughts. He was certainly handsome company.

“Ah, the great Aurelia Nygaard, Primal Born vampire who lives in a mansion on the hill, doesn't want to be seen with a feral beast from the outskirts.”

I inhaled to deny it, but the shame that cut into my awareness surprised me. I tilted my head up to squarely meet his gaze.