Hidden Mate

20

Maybe. She increased her speed since we were falling behind. He’s kind of secretive.

Can you blame him? It had been decades since anyone had even spotted a dragon. They had to hide to stay alive.

Nah, I guess not.

We reached the entrance to the woods at the back of the library, Egan still taking the lead.

Right before he was ready to enter the tree line, he stopped. “Where did you find the blood?” He realized he had no clue where to go.

Lillith took lead and entered the woods. Taking a left, she headed toward the site of the blood. “Over here.”

As she increased her pace, we kept up with her. It wasn’t long before we found the small break of trees where the two large bushes were located. She moved some branches back, revealing the blood.

I faced him. “I’m thinking it’s animal.”

“Yeah.” Egan relaxed. “You’re right.”

Katherine chewed on her thumbnail. “It sounded like you scared her off the other night.”

“Maybe.” He walked behind the bushes and examined the area. “But she could’ve thought I was human.”

“She wouldn’t have run if she’d thought that.” Lillith tapped her nose. “She must have caught your scent, so she should hold off for a little while.”

“But she could go somewhere else to hunt,” he spat. “So humans aren’t any more protected.”

“You seem awfully concerned.” Katherine dropped her hands. “It makes sense that you’re worried about the humans here. The more occurrences happen here at the university, the harder it is for us to go unnoticed, but you’ve taken it a step beyond that.”

Roxy elbowed me in the side. I’m so glad it wasn’t one of us who asked the question.

Don’t be too glad. Egan didn’t seem thrilled with the vampires even though he was being nice to them. This question could make things more tense.

“Look, I get that your culture doesn’t care about the weak.” Egan stilled and tapped his fingers on his khaki pants. “But I know what it’s like to have your breed attacked and almost die off.”

I hadn’t considered that, and it put things into perspective. Even though my dad wouldn’t be overjoyed with his point of view, I got it, and dammit, I respected it.

“That makes sense.” Lillith patted his arm. “The problem is that you can’t save every human. Yes, she might go elsewhere to feed, but we don’t know where. Maybe if we keep an eye on the papers, we can figure it out.”

“Good plan.” Egan gestured toward the cafeteria. “I guess there’s no point in staying out here any longer. Let’s go grab something to eat, and we can take it from there.”

Without needing any additional encouragement, our group sprinted back to campus.

“Okay, what gives?” Roxy dropped her history book on her bed, keeping her place, and glared at me.

“What are you talking about?” I sat at the desk, tapping my pencil on my paper. I’d been staring at my calculus homework for over ten minutes and couldn’t concentrate worth a damn.

“You’ve been tapping that pencil for God knows how long.” She leaned back on her pillow and crossed her arms. “So, what’s on your mind?”

I’d been dreading this conversation, but it was inevitable. “It’s nothing, but …”

She lifted an eyebrow. “But?”

“As you know, I have that paper with that human.” If I used his name, it would make it sound more intimate. “And we need to work on it.”

A coy grin crept onto her face. “Independently, via emails?”

The b***h. “He wants to meet in person.”

“When?” She closed her history book, making it clear that her focus was solely on me.

“Oh … I don’t know.” I flipped the pages of my notes. The more I convinced her it was nothing, the more she’d drop it. “Maybe tonight. I can’t be sure.”

“That’s problematic.” Her jaw set. “How will you determine whether it’s tonight or not?”

“Maybe we should go to the Student Center earlier than the normal time. How about we go around five or something?” I kept my gaze on my notes.

“Why not our normal time?” She leaned on an arm. “No point in going early if you aren’t even sure you’re meeting him. Unless …”

“Fine.” It wasn’t like I could get out of this without telling her. “I’m meeting him at six.”

“Why would that matter if it’s only for a school project?”

“You know how he is.” Brock would make a scene.

“Are you sure that’s the only reason?” Her face tightened with concern. “You’ve always acted differently around him, and the way you were acting earlier, you never looked more happy.”

If I lied to her, she’d know. “I don’t know what’s going on.” My frustration rang in my words. “I feel a connection to him.”

“You were at each other’s throats, and you aren’t anymore. What happened?”

“He thought I was a spoiled princess, and I told him I wasn’t.” I regretted opening up to him that way. Us hating each other had been easier.

“And he just took your word for it?” Roxy stood and closed the distance between us. “That’s hard to believe.”

“I might have told him about my conversation with my father … the one we had our second night here.” I winced, prepared for the fallout.

“You did what?” Her mouth dropped, and she stood over me. “That’s not how humans act with their kids.”

“He won’t know.” I hadn’t realized how bad it was until now. “He grew up in foster care.”

“Look, I get it; he’s hot.” She scooted closer to me. “But he’s human.”

“It’s not a date.” It took me saying it for me to realize I wouldn’t mind it being one. I had lost my mind. “It’s honestly a school project.”

“Well, I’ll be nearby.” She paced in the walkway between our beds. “You can’t do something stupid. You know your father—”

“I know.” I didn’t need her telling me that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me. He’d enjoy it. “Nothing is going to happen. This is a one-time thing.”

She stopped and stared right into my eyes. “You sure?”

“Yeah.” It had to be. For the next paper, we’d have to work out the details in class or something.