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“He what?”
She shrugged. “He said you hadn’t fucked for a month, and it was no good for you.” Her voice dropped to a husky whisper as she stepped close. “He said he thought I’d be the right one to help you with that. On a permanent basis.”
Damn you, dad. Sticking your snout in, micromanaging my sex life. I’d already drank my fill of Mandy’s aura, both in bed and out of it. Her vapid, ambitious, and backstabbing character would never be what I’d choose for my Luna. Never.
I looked across at my dad and his dickhead lackeys. They were all staring, smirking.
Saying nothing, I went on to the field and joined my team. Determined to shatter the New Nebraska record for touchdowns in a game.
I did.
But every time I ran circles round them, every time I nailed the pass and upped our score, it wasn’t the roar of the crowd I heard, or the slaps on the back from my teammates I felt.
It was my wolf, whining for Cecilia.
Cecilia
Someone seemed to be following me.
I’d noticed it a few blocks back, as I was turning away from the football stadium, after saying goodbye to Vesta. I felt eyes on me.
Aaron had gone over to chat with another professor after the game, and I’d visited the ladies’ room. We’d somehow managed to lose each other in the post-game surge of celebrations—Jax and his Sentinels had steamrolled the Chargers—and there was no answer from Aaron’s phone, so I’d decided to make the short walk home alone. It was only around fifteen minutes if I walked fast.
And boy, was I walking fast now. The dusky evening shades had darkened, the sky now lit by a perfect crescent and sparkles swimming in a pitch-black sea. The breeze had strengthened too. I tugged down my cardigan sleeves and pulled the neckline’s soft cotton tight around my upper chest and throat, clutching it in place as I moved faster, looking behind me every so often.
Approaching the New Lincoln Aquatic Center, I flicked my head round, trying to catch whoever was on my tail. A blurry figure darted into an alleyway. There was no doubt now.
Someone was there. And they were tall, and bigger than me.
I rocketed from a stride to a hurried pace, halfway between power walk and jog.
I could have called Jax, but I’d have been home well before he could come, and anyway, by now he was probably being hoisted up in the air and sprayed with champagne by his teammates or however it was paranormals celebrated. It was better just to move faster and get behind a locked door.
Hauling ass for the next few blocks, checking quickly for traffic, and crossing the intersection, I saw the familiar top of my apartment block looming from behind a graffiti-covered wall. Not long to go. I looked back again, almost tripping on an uneven flagstone, I was moving so fast. Nobody there now. Maybe they’d gone looking for somebody less vigilant to harass. I turned back around and—
Thump! I smacked right into a chest.
Staggering backwards, gasping, I was confronted by a pale-faced guy with jet black clothing and slicked hair just as dark. His cobalt eyes burned fiercely bright, tinged in scarlet, like gemstones from a far-flung planet. He was the coven leader from the park confrontation.
Perfectly handsome. Devilishly so. And a bloodsucker.
My mouth and throat turned to sandpaper as my heart began to thump. I looked around, searching, ready to cry out to the nearest person I saw for help. But there was nobody, just a sidewalk bathed in hazy streetlight and shadows. Everyone was on the other side of town, celebrating the winning game.
“Good evening,” he said with a thin smile. The words oozed out, lazily, his expression casual, self-assured.
“You—you’re a…” My words trailed off and I gulped, looking around again, praying for an NLPD cruiser to magically appear on the street.
“…a Capricorn? How ever did you know?” he asked, raising his eyebrows to form a look of mock surprise.
He stepped forward, and I instinctively moved back. He kept moving towards me, slow, slinking, his stare burrowing into my eyes, flitting to every point of my face, my hair, ears.
My neck.
I pulled my cardigan tighter, shivering.
His tongue peeked out between his lips and his expression melted into one of bliss, like he’d just eaten a decadent chocolate.
He moved faster now, corralling me away from the streetlight’s glow, bullying me, spreading his arms wide to stop me dodging past. He tilted his head, appearing perplexed I was even trying to resist.
