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If the circumstances were different, I would have laughed. Here I was, offering myself on a silver platter, and this good looking guy, who could probably get any girl he set his sights on, was nervous. Aboutme. It didn’t make any sense.
“Um, I guess I should introduce myself,” he said slowly. He lifted his hand, trying to get the bartender’s attention, all while avoiding my eyes. “I’m Xander, and —“
“And you want to have sex with me.” The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.
Quite frankly, I didn’t even care. My head was filled with bubbles and I liked that this guy was nervous. I liked that someone was actually nervous around me. I never thought I had that kind of power as the cute girl next door, but maybe it was the mere mention of sex?
Who knew?
Who cared?
“Wha—?” He snapped his arm up so he could scratch the back of his head. “Well, I mean—“
“It’s okay,” I said, leaning closer to him. My shoulder bumped his but it felt like too much effort to move it at this point. Plus, it was warm. “My sensei said I needed to have sex in order to…we’ll, I can’t tell you because it’s a secret — abigone — but as unfortunate as admitting Kazu-sensei is right, I think he might be right.”
“What?” He glanced around himself, like there was a chance I was talking to someone else.
“No, hear me out.” I leaned even further into him. “I mean, would you rather lose your virginity because someone forced you to lose it? Or would you lose it to a stranger of your choice? See? It’s compelling, isn’t it? And he’s right. I hate it. I hate that he’s right. Because I think I’d rather choose to lose it to a stranger but, I mean, it still sucks because I don’t know you. And here I am, offering myself to you. You probably think I’m easy, don’t you?”
“No way,” he said quickly. “I, uh, I get it.”
The bartender popped his head up. “What can I get for you?”
“An ale,” Xander said. “Actually, make that two.”
“Actually,” a distinctively familiar voice said from behind me. “Make that one.”
Without warning, long fingers curled around my wrist, pulling me backwards. I was tipsier than expected, and offered little resistance to the tug, which meant I wound up bumping into Kazu-sensei himself. And one look at his slate-grey eyes was enough for me to see just how furious he was.
“Kazu-sensei!” I exclaimed, because apparently I wasn’t intimidated by The White Wolf when I had had too many to drink. “We were just talking about you! I was just telling Xander—“
“Embyrlyn,” he said in his usual calm, low, curt voice. “Shut up.” His eyes were focused on Xander. “You. If I see you around her again, I will turn your skin to ribbon and paint this tavern with your blood, understand?”
“Kazu-sensei!” I screeched. “What are you doing — besides killing my buzz! I’m just doing what you said —“
Kazu-sensei didn’t even look at me. He was still glaring at Xander, waiting for some kind of response. Xander nodded enthusiastically. When his eyes shifted over to me, he snapped them back at Kazu, gave him some kind of salute, before scampering off and getting lost in the crowd. Any other prospects I might have had tonight were nowhere to be found. Either I wasn’t aesthetically appeasing enough to waste their time, or they saw what had happened and wanted no part in dealing with him.
Which I couldn’t blame them.
Kazu was the great White Wolf. He had a history of being a legend, even among the human villages. Cold, calculated, and ruthless — he did what he had to in order to protect the pack. How he wound up in a teaching position, I had no idea. He didn’t seem like the type that would tolerate teenagers he needed to train to be the next generation of brutal warriors that would one day embody their own myth.
I didn’t notice when Xander tripped over himself and face planted in the crowd. All I knew was Kazu was leading me out of the tavern, his grip tight enough to bruise. I bumped into a few people, but Kazu was too fast and my head was to muddled for me to issue some kind of apology.
By the time we were outside in the surprisingly chilly night, my heart had kicked up its speed and my cheeks pinched with…something. Shame, maybe, for debasing myself in such a manner. Embarrassment that Kazu witnessed it.
“Kazu!” a familiar voice called from the tavern doorway. “Do you need help with her?”
Kazu froze. His grip on me tightened even more, something I thought for sure was impossible. I winced, but I didn’t think Kazu even knew what he was doing.
He cut his gaze over to me and lifted a finger. “Don’t even think about going anywhere,” he growled.
In the entire time that I knew him, I didn’t think I’d ever seen him this angry before. Which didn’t make any sense because I hadn’t done anything wrong. In fact, I had listened to him. I had taken his advice and was looking for someone of my choosing to lose my virginity to. I thought he’d be more supportive.
He marched over to another elite captain. I couldn’t remember his name, but I knew he had a reputation as a playboy among the academy crowd. Obviously, he’d never sleep with a student — at least, I assumed he wouldn’t — but he was nearly as charming as Captain Rainey, and nearly as good looking.
I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Kazu’s back remained rigid while the other captain looked like he was joking about something only then to pale, probably because Kazu was getting serious again. And when he was serious, he could be intimidating even to other captains.
After another moment, Kazu came back and grabbed me again, pulling me away as though I was a dog and he was taking me on an obligatory walk.
