Nine

Nine

Erik POV

Jealousy. A powerful human emotion, yet why did I feel it so strongly, a venomous ache in my centuries-dead heart? Ever since I laid eyes on Trisha that fateful day on the playground, I had wished to be the one in her embrace. I had been there scouting for a meal, a lonely child, an easy target.

But then I saw her. She was sitting by herself on a swing, her small fists clenched, a defiance in her eyes that even then outshone the bruises on her skin. I was so captivated, I forgot my hunger. I crafted an entire illusion around myself, the image of a boy her age with a fictitious family picnicking nearby, just to get close. Only when she turned seventeen had I been able to lift the illusion enough to allow her to see my true eternal twenty-year-old body, passing for a boy in his late teens. Just like those Royal mutts could.

Once she was of age, I had been planning on making her my beloved, my eternal companion. That all changed the moment I realized what she was to that… beast. The Crown Prince of Lycans. I would be a fool to believe I could best him in combat. At least, not now. Even if he had rejected his own birthright and revoked the extra power that title gave him, his base strength was legendary. My own birthright had been torn from me because I was the forbidden child, a half-blood abomination that should have been culled at birth. I clenched my jaw, forcing a smile as Trisha did her ridiculous, endearing victory pose.

Who was I to stand between two fated? It was a pointless endeavor. Mated to a beast as strong as he, the bond itself would kill her if he didn’t seal it. I could only assume the great Prince didn’t act because he was trying to hide her identity, but if I, a vampire, could easily sense the thrum of the bond between them, so could others. I saw his pitiful efforts to win her heart, and it took a great deal of self-control not to pounce on her myself when he elicited such pheromonal responses from her, like he had in P.E.

The faerie nurse may have dampened the scent, but it was still there, even now, lingering in the air like a sweet, cloying incense. It was a scent that made my own dead blood stir, a cruel reminder of the life I could never give her. However, Trisha was oddly resistant, her human will a fascinating shield against the supernatural pull. She remained oblivious despite everything going on around her.

A part of me, a dark and selfish part, wanted to see her rebel against him, to watch his princely control crumble. So when he came up behind her, I didn’t warn her. I knew he wasn’t Daisy’s brother, and Trisha wouldn’t be happy when she learned they lied to her. But, Gavin’s inability to keep his hands to himself was about to backfire spectacularly. I leaned back on my elbows where I lay, and settled in to watch the show unfold before me.

Trisha POV

I placed my phone in my pocket and was about to turn around, when suddenly a hand wound around my arm. The contact was instant, a jolt of pure pleasure that rippled through me, so intense it was almost painful. But it was the violation, the unwanted touch, that sent a white-hot rage through my veins.

My training, my trauma, took over. I barely registered the pleasure shocks as my eyes narrowed and I abruptly turned, slamming the heel of my hand upward and into the perpetrator’s nose with all my might. But as I did so, I found it took a great, staggering amount of effort. My swinging hand and arm suddenly felt as if they were made of lead, weighted down with steel balls and chains, as if my own body was fighting the action, desperate to stop me from hurting him.

“Haven’t I told you not to—”

But my words cut off and my eyes widened when I realized the person I had struck was Gavin. Not Preston or one of my other pathetic admirers. Gavin staggered back, his head snapping to the backwards, his hand flying up to clutch his nose as a small, bright trickle of blood leaked from his right nostril.

For a brief, terrifying moment, I swore his pupils expanded, swallowing the vibrant green until his eyes were pools of solid, feral black. And he looked at me like a predator… a lustful, starving predator, with an untamed and unkempt desire hidden in their depths. I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly tight, and blinked. But when I did, his eyes were once more vibrant emerald pools. I must’ve imagined it.

Then Gavin laughed, a deep, rich sound that sent shivers racing down my spine, a confusing mix of fear and something else I refused to name. The sound vibrated in my bones, a counterpoint to the dull, aching pang of regret that bloomed in my chest. Why did it hurt to hit him? “Damn, didn’t think I’d be on the receiving end of one of your punches my first day,” he chuckled, wiping the blood away with a napkin Daisy hurried to offer him.

My cheeks burned with a humiliating blush. I couldn’t bring myself to apologize, though. He’d touched me without permission. Without warning. It had triggered my past, my traumas. I clenched my fists, the phantom weight of my arm’s betrayal still lingering. It was then I noticed that the entire cafeteria had fallen silent and were staring.

Most were in shock, as if horrified I had the audacity to conduct myself in such a manner. Or maybe because I just struck the new kid with a royal background in the face. Some seemed fearful for some reason, and a few faces glared as if I just committed a heinous crime. The weight of their collective gaze felt like a physical pressure on my skin.

I huffed and decided instead of sticking around to be gawked at, I would retrieve my art supplies. Behind me I heard Erik laugh, though he tried to stifle it. When I looked to Daisy before I stomped off, her expression was hard to read, but I saw her lips curl in an effort to hide an amused smirk. I’m not sure why I was so embarrassed all of a sudden and why I couldn’t bring myself to say anything as I sped down the hall. I just knew I had to get away, and I still had to gather my art stuff.

Only when I got to my art classroom, my stuff was nowhere to be found.

“Where is it!?” I exclaimed, looking under the desk and on and around the surrounding desks for the 10th time. As I said the words, our art teacher, Mr. Briggs, came striding in. Seeing me, he was surprised. “What are you doing here, Ms. Jinx?” he asked me. I despised my last name and hated it when my teachers referred to me by it. I wished I could change it, but I couldn’t. At least not until I was 18.

“When I went to the nurse’s office, I left some stuff behind. I came back for it, but it’s not here. Do you know what happened to it?” I asked, getting down on the floor to look under the desks once more.

A part of me had a feeling I already knew, but I dreaded that option. I would rather one of my admirers stole it than what I suspected was true. But, alas, fate is unkind to me. Mr. Briggs voiced what I was in denial of, “Ah yes. Mr. Aurstone collected it and said he would return it to you.”

I dragged a hand down my face with a groan. I didn’t want to face him after punching him. It was bad enough my body was responding to him in such ludicrous ways that were foreign to me. The strange pleasure spark sensations, the arousal that seemed beyond my control, and my inability to get back at him with a snappy comeback and how hard it had been to strike him.

I shook my head and stood. I grumbled a thanks to Mr. Briggs and headed out the door. I needed my portfolio to complete my next assignment and the weekly project, but I was unwilling to go back to see Gavin. I couldn’t have a crush! I swore off men! I might as well gather my books and hurry off to AP History, because lunch would end soon.

Gavin POV

I watched as Trisha fled out into the hall, a glorious, fiery tempest of a woman. Eon had already healed me, but not before she’d managed to make my nose bleed. However, when she punched us, Eon was immediately casting every sexual punishment he could think of in my mind.

It was a depraved, explicit onslaught. *I was suddenly no longer in a cafeteria, but bound to a bed in what I knew was her bedroom. Trisha stood over me, her eyes dark with a dominant fire I’d only glimpsed before. She was naked, her skin glowing in the moonlight, her pert nipples hard and begging for my mouth. In the vision, she circled the bed, a black silk tie in her hand. She tied my wrists to the headboard, her touch a searing brand.

Then she mounted me, not my cock, but my chest, her knees pinning my shoulders. She lowered herself, her slick, hot core hovering just above my mouth, the scent of her arousal an intoxicating perfume. “Lick me, Prince,” she commanded, her voice a husky whisper. “Make me come with your tongue.” I obeyed, straining against my bonds, my tongue delving into her folds, tasting her sweetness as she ground herself against my face, her cries of pleasure filling the room until she shattered, her juices flooding my mouth.*

The scene violently shifted again.

*Now I was on my knees before her, but this time she was bent over a desk, her perfect heart-shaped ass presented to me. Her hands were bound behind her back. I was inside her, pounding into her with a force that should have broken her, but she only pushed back, meeting me thrust for brutal thrust, her moans of pleasure spurring me on. “Harder,” she gasped, looking over her shoulder at me, her eyes black with lust. “Fuck me like you mean it, my Prince.” I felt my climax building, a tidal wave of ecstasy, and as I roared my release, I felt her teeth sink into my shoulder, not in a bite, but in a claiming mark, a searing pain that morphed into the most profound pleasure I had ever known.* In the real world, I felt my cock throb against my thigh, a hard, insistent ache that was impossible to hide. I gripped the edge of the table, the cool metal a stark contrast to the fire raging in my blood.

‘Our mate is strong AND feisty. I can’t wait to see her in bed. Without all those annoying human clothes in the way…’

For once I could say nothing to Eon in retort. I didn’t want to. Her rebellion against auras and now me in general, had me wanting to tease the dangerous waters myself. How far could I push her before she gave in to the bond? Would I have to do much?

Erik’s stifled laughter brought me out of my impressed stupor. I glared, and then noticed all eyes were on me. I stood straighter. Everyone was staring because an insubordinate—a human no less—had managed to strike me, the Crown Prince, and get away without so much as a scratch. I knew some would grow suspicious as to her status because of that. Usually, assaulting a Royal was considered treason and a punishable offense of the highest degree.

‘What are you waiting for!? You are the Crown Prince, they have no right to stare! It’s our business!’

*It’s only natural, Eon. A human did just heel strike a Royal, even with the pull of the mate bond trying to stop her.*

‘I don’t care! What we do with our mate is OUR business!!!’

I sighed. He was right. I had to re-establish my resolve and dominance. “What are you all staring at? The Rogue Human cannot hurt me. I intentionally provoked her. I allowed her to hit me,” I snarled, releasing my aura. The air grew heavy, thick with the weight of my power. The crowd immediately averted their eyes and bowed in submission, some even cowering and baring their necks. The last sentence was only partially true.

I hadn’t expected her to physically lash out at me, but had I really had any intent of stopping her, I could have with ease. A part of me wanted to know how hard she could hit. But due to the mate bond, even that curiosity had been thwarted. A small ripple of “Yes, Prince Alpha,” was murmured from the surrounding crowd. I glowered once more, slowly dragging my gaze across every individual, daring them to challenge me.

Then I withdrew my aura before the cafeteria slowly returned to its normal hustle and bustle. I heard the hushed whispers of the Pack and Supernatural kind discussing what happened in disbelief.

“You better not break her heart,” I was surprised that the vampire was the one addressing me so informally. He stood and brushed himself off. He met my eyes in a direct challenge and I growled in warning, but he was unaffected, his posture unyielding. “Threaten me all you want, you can’t hurt me. I’ve known Trisha for years. She trusts me and you need me. If I don’t approve of you, she never will. Prince or not, her life is more valuable to me than 1 million of yours.”

My eyes narrowed. Not only was he defying me, but my aura was having little effect. What kind of vampire was he?

‘How dare an underling such as he, challenge and defy us!? Threaten us!? She is our mate, not his! Who does he think he is!’

*He’s right though, Eon. Trisha seems very close with him. We cannot risk losing her trust.*

‘She’ll forgive us. She has to. She’s OUR mate.’

*Normally I’d agree, but given she fought the effects of the mate bond and actually drew blood, I’m inclined to disagree. This vampire may be crucial to helping sway her before the bond takes us both.*

Eon growled, a low, rumbling sound of displeasure, but said no more. Instead, he turned his rump to me and retreated to the back of my mind.

“What are you to her?” I managed, gritting my teeth as I forced myself to accept that I couldn’t retaliate against him.

“I’m no threat to your intentions with her if that’s what you mean. Regretfully, she sees me only as her best friend and brother.”

‘That vampire wants our mate for himself! Kill him, kill him now!!!’ Eon’s snarl was so visceral it required I take a step back as I clenched my jaw and fought to maintain control. Eon was obviously already becoming a bit feral just from resisting the bond for this short a time.

“What use are you of to me?” I grated out.

The vampire scoffed. “Daisy may have opened the door for you to have an excuse to get near her, but I hold the keys to her heart.”

At his words, I knew I had to bite my tongue. Some nearby supernatural kind had begun eavesdropping. At this rate, my secret wouldn’t be a secret for long.

“Fine. But let’s go where there are less ears to pry,” I nodded to Daisy who cleared the lunch table. She then joined us as I lead the way to the back of the school where the bus run ran through. Finding a secluded corner, far from prying ears, I turned to face the vampire. I folded my arms over my chest and with great strain asked, “What are you proposing?”

The vampire smirked.