004

DANIKA

       All that goes through my mind in an instant is the urge to flee from him immediately. So I try. I dive for the door, fear sinking deep into me. He sighs, pulling me back onto his lap with a firm grip on my waist.

"Relax," he says, and my heart pounds even harder. How can I relax, especially when his eyes are glowing in an unnatural way?

"I want to go home," I blurt out, and he shakes his head.

"No."

My eyes widen. "W-what? Are you...are you going to kidnap me?"

He shrugs. "If you run from me, I will."

A shiver runs down my spine. He definitely means it. What have I done? I wonder, my palms getting sweaty.

"Will you let me explain myself?" He asks. He seems desperate. It makes me falter.

So I nod, slowly.

"I'm a werewolf," he says, and I freeze. Ravenhollow's unspoken rule, the myths about nightwalkers... suddenly everything makes sense.

"You shift under the moonlight?" I ask, and he cracks a smile at me, his dimples popping out. I try to pretend that his smile isn't getting to me. But I'll be a liar if I say that.

"No, I don't."

I blink. "What?"

Isn't that the whole point of being a werewolf?

"I can't," he breathes, leaning in to bury his face against my chest.

I should've pulled away from him, but I'm now hyperaware of the pair of red eyes still watching us from the shadows.

"I'm cursed. My whole pack is."

I gulp.

"That doesn't explain your strange behavior towards me. We just met and..."

"You're my mate," he speaks, and my entire face grows hot.

"Like soulmate level?"

He nuzzles against my chest, inhaling deeply.

"No. It's much deeper than that. I need you."

His hand grips my hip, a low growl rumbling from his chest. "You were made for me, sweet thing."

"Then...what about that person watching us over there?" I ask, and he frowns, turning towards the figure, his expression darkening.

In a blur of movements, the figure vanishes. My heart is still pounding hard with terror, but Kaziel looks horrifyingly calm.

"W-what was that?" I croak.

"A vampire," he responds, and my eyes go wide.

Why now?

Why would a vampire have his eyes on me? My life was perfectly fine before this. Kaziel is bad news.

"Sweet thing," his voice rumbles, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Don't call me that," I manage, and he frowns.

"I don't like that look on your face, Danika."

"We can't do this," I say, straightening my skirt.

"Like hell we can't." He sounds pissed now.

"My dad is getting married to your stepmother," I point out, and his grip on my waist tightens.

"So, what? You're going to turn me down?"

"Let go of me, Kaziel," I say, my voice trembling. There is something about his anger that is almost suffocating.

"Danika," he sighs, and I bite my lower lip, my body still buzzing from his touch.

"I shouldn't have done this with you. I...I'm going home," I croak, grabbing my backpack. This time, he releases me. I fumble to open the car door and get out, my chest heaving.

How can I be so stupid?

How can I let him kiss me like that?

"Wait! Let me at least drive you home. It's not safe for you to walk alone," he says.

Despite the fact that I want to put in as much space as I can between us. He's right.

So, I head back to his car, and he drives me home in total awkward silence.

By the time I get home, I'm greeted by the sight of a familiar face.

Tyler.

He watches me as I approach, a nervous expression on his face.

But as soon as I get to him, his nostrils flare, his green eyes darkening.

"Danika, what did you do?" He snarls, and I blink at him.

Isn't he here to apologize?

He grips my forearm, his frown deepening. "Answer me, Danika. Why do you reek of him?!"

My chest tightens. It feels like I am staring at a complete stranger.

"I—I don't know what you're talking about," I mutter, my voice trembling.

"You reek of him! Kaziel! Tell me right now what happened!" His green eyes blaze, narrowing with suspicion.

The nerve of him. How dare he act like he cares about me?

Something inside me finally rears to the surface, a spark of fire I didn't know I had. "Stay the hell away from me, Tyler!" I shout, my voice louder than ever.

My hands are shaking, my chest heaving. "I'm sick of you acting like you own me! Just stay away!"

For a moment, his expression falters. He hadn't expected me to actually yell at him. I feel a small surge of victory, and yet it is mixed with unease.

"I—I can't just let this go," he stammers, stepping closer, but I hold my ground, raising a hand to push him back.

Then, suddenly, Tyler sinks to his knees. My heart skips, but not in the way he wants. "Danika... I'm begging you," he says, his voice cracking. "I... I was a coward. I couldn't admit the truth to myself, and I... I hurt you. Please, forgive me."

I stare down at him, disbelief mixing with frustration and anger.

My hands tighten around my backpack straps. "I don't want to hear it," I spit, my voice trembling with emotion. "I don't care what excuses you have. Just... stay away from me. Leave me alone!"

He flinches but says nothing more. That is all I need. Without a second thought, I twist the key in the lock, yanking the door open and slipping inside.

The second the door shuts behind me with a loud slam, I feel some of the tension I've been holding in my chest release, but not entirely.

...

Six months. It's been six months since I last saw Kaziel. And that was on the day of my foster dad's wedding. Tyler is still spamming me with messages, asking me to forgive him. Kaziel, on the other hand, seems to have vanished off the face of the Earth. Honestly, I still dream of him.

Every night. I dream of him sucking on my boobs and fingering me so hard I'd convulse. I sometimes dream of him fucking me into oblivion.

And with every passing day, I grow more unsettled. My sexual fantasies had been wild before my encounter with Kaziel. But now, I am sexually frustrated. Still, I am too timid to lose my virginity with a random man.

And now, I am finally out of the small town that had once been my home. Dale University, my dream school, had accepted me. I am excited but nervous.

"Uh...excuse me," I say to a tall strawberry blonde walking ahead of me with a black backpack.

She turns and flashes me a brilliant smile, a pair of dimples dotting her cheeks. Instantly, I am reminded of Kaziel.

"Yeah?" she says softly.

"I'm trying to get to the lecture room for Anatomy," I tell her, and she beams.

"Medical student? Well, I'm heading there too. Let's go," she says, and I flash her an awkward smile.

"Are you a medical student too?" I ask. She nods.

"Name's Eve. How about you?"

"Danika."

"Pretty name," she says, blowing me a kiss. I wish I had even half of her confidence.

"Thanks," I mumble.

"Woah, look at that. Sick Mustang. Dang. Probably belongs to one of the students," she says, and I turn to look at what she was talking about.

Memories flash in my head the instant I see it. It is black and extremely similar to Kaziel's. But he can't be here, right? There is absolutely no way I'd run into him in uni, right?

I gulp, my heart thumping faster and faster.

"I think we've got the right place," Eve finally tells me when we get to a lecture room with the sign "Anatomy."

"You are aware that we are a little late, right?" She whispers to me, and my eyes widen.

The last thing I want is the attention.

"Never mind. It doesn't matter. Let's go," Eve says, grabbing me by the wrist and opening the door. Before I can protest, she pulls me in, and more than a dozen pairs of eyes meet mine. Heat rushes up my neck instantly, and I lower my gaze to the floor.

"You're late," a deep voice says, and my eyes go wide the instant I recognize it. No way. There is absolutely no way the man I've spent the last few months fantasizing about is here.

No...

I look up, and my gaze collides with his familiar blue ones, butterflies swarming my tummy.

His gaze turns ravenous, almost as though he is about to grab me and rip my clothes apart. I press my thighs together, my core already throbbing under the weight of his gaze.