Filed to story: The Rise Of The Lycan Queen
He hadn’t been kidding when he said it was going to be crazy. I still had another two loads to fill.
“Let’s go clean up the dining room while Aria finishes up here.” The crew went into the dining room, leaving me and the other cook behind.
The cook was cleaning the kitchen while I focused on unloading and loading the dishwashers.
It didn’t take terribly long to fill one of the machines when something dropped and rolled over to my feet.
My eyes dropped and landed on some kind of marble. I bent down to snag it off the ground. I picked it up and looked inside. It had a three-dimensional image of a triangle upside down with a line straight through the center. A circle partially arched into the center.
That was the ancient vampire symbol for danger.
I glanced around; looking for who dropped this, but there was no one in sight. The only evidence that it was, in fact, a vampire was the sweet, pungent air they’d left behind. It had to have been that guy from the party.
There was no other evidence that he was still around. Granted, my senses weren’t as strong as a wolf that had shifted. I wasn’t quite sure if someone was threatening me or warning me. Either way, it was disconcerting.
Feeling the need to get out of there, I moved fast, in a hurry to get home. Within the next five minutes, I was done and heading toward the door. “Hey, I’m done and need to be heading home.”
Brad gave me a strange look but nodded. “Okay, we’re done here. See you tomorrow.”
I waved and ran out the door. I scanned the area again, but there wasn’t anyone around. I forced myself not to run to the car because, if he was watching me, it would make me seem more like prey.
As I slammed the car door, something caught my eye in the woods. I examined the area, but other than the tree limbs swaying, there wasn’t anything out of place. Needing distance, I pressed the gas, hauling ass home.
A chill ran through me as I threw on my jeans and a teal shirt. Even though I hadn’t noticed a vampire since Friday, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. I had too much going on and probably needed to stay low-key.
Of course, it didn’t help that it was Monday, so the week was only getting started. I yawned and put on enough makeup to hide my dark circles and ran the brush through my hair. I was off tonight, so I was hoping I’d get caught up on sleep. I glanced at the vampire marble that I’d placed in my jewelry box, attempting to hide it from my guardians.
It didn’t take me long to grab something to eat and head out the door. I paused, scanning the area before climbing into the car.
The past weekend had been a little intense. Between the vampire and how busy the bar had been, my mind hadn’t been able to shut off.
Not noticing anything out of place, I hurried to my car and cranked the engine. Before I realized it, I was coasting into the school parking lot. I’d gotten here earlier than I had intended, but at least, the area was more crowded here.
I slowly grabbed my things and stood, enjoying the sun that warmed my face. There were only rare moments where I felt somewhat peaceful.
“Do you normally hang out here before class?” The familiar deep rasp of his voice caressed my mind.
“What?” I turned toward him and almost gasped for breath.
Sweat dripped down Mason’s shirtless, muscular body, and my eyes skimmed over a large wolf paw print tattoo on his toned arm.
Drool had to be pooling at the corner of my mouth as I fought the urge to lick his body. I’d never been this attracted to someone before.
His emerald eyes scanned my face. “You got a problem?”
Ah, he was an alphahole. I could be one too. “You’re the one who stopped, so what the fuck is your problem?”
“You need to learn your place.” He straightened his shoulders and looked at me with cold regard.
The irony in that statement had me bursting out into laughter. He had no clue who he was talking to, which was a good thing. The fact that they couldn’t sense my wolf was a blessing within the curse.
“Are you okay?” Concern flickered in Mason’s eyes as he used his forearm to wipe the sweat from his brow.
“Yeah.” I took a few deep breaths, trying to rein the crazy in. I couldn’t blame him for looking so concerned. I straightened my shoulders and lifted my chin. “It’s just hilarious to think that you would assume I was so easily intimidated.”
He scowled and narrowed his eyes at me. “I don’t have time for this shit.”
“Good.” I needed him gone and now. “You’re looking kind of out of shape, so you may want to go for a little longer.”
My eyes had to be playing tricks on me because I saw the corner of his mouth tilt up ever so slightly. “Is that so?”
“Yup, it’s easy to see why you’re running.” I was lying like hell. If I was Pinocchio, I’d have a nose longer than the average-sized erect penis. He was damn fine and hot as hell.
“Well, then I better take off.” He stayed there gazing at me, not moving an inch.
Neither one of us wanted to be there or leave. “All right. Have fun.” I exhaled and forced my legs to move. I even prevented myself from turning around and glancing back at him.
Soon, I heard his footsteps getting farther and farther away.
Maybe if we could keep up our fa?ade, it wouldn’t be so bad not being with him. Hell, he may not even feel it, given the circumstances.
Flashes of Mason’s shirtless body kept popping into my mind as I made my way to class. I’d never been this hot and bothered before, and I had to get my shit together. The last thing I wanted was Ella smelling the arousal in the air. I was sure I’d never live that down.
“Hey, are you feeling okay?” Connor seemed to appear out of thin air.
Great, that’s how preoccupied I was with thoughts of Mason. If the vampire was following me, he could have easily stood right in front of me, and I wouldn’t have noticed. “Yeah, sorry. I’m just super anxious about this test.” I’d studied all day yesterday and had this test in the bag. Business ethics wasn’t that difficult.
“I’m sure you’ve got this.” He smiled ever so slightly and adjusted the straps of his backpack on his shoulders. “If you’re that stressed, we could start a study group or something.”
This guy didn’t give up. I wasn’t quite sure if I admired him or thought he was an idiot. “I work most evenings. Sorry.”
“Oh, really?” He kicked at the ground. “Where at?”
Yeah, I didn’t think this one through. “Oh, some restaurant-bar kind of place.”
“Near campus?” He took a step closer to me.
“No, you should know how I am by now.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Being around a ton of people isn’t my thing, so a bar close to campus wouldn’t be ideal.”
“That’s not true.” He lifted his hand, and his forehead creased. “We met at a party here on campus.”
“But that’s not my usual.” The saying ‘first impressions last forever’ rang in my ears. “I had just toured the campus, and the guide made your party the last stop. I hadn’t planned on staying long.” Even though I hadn’t shifted, for some reason, I still had a feeling like a mild heat spell. Not as rough as a typical female shifter, but I got hot and bothered that night when I spotted Connor. He was damn fine, but now that my brain was fully functioning, I wasn’t the least bit attracted to him.
“You seemed to have a good time that night.” His eyes lingered on my lips.
“Do we need to have that conversation over again?” Obviously, I couldn’t be the least bit nice to him. “I’m not interested in you. I don’t want you to come by my work.”
“I feel like this is d?j? vu.” Ella’s floral scent hit me as she walked up beside me. “She isn’t into you.”
