Page 51 of Plug and Claim

“What did you do?” she shouted.

“I drank her blood, but unfortunately, I took too much—”

“You think?

It was a testament to how much Susie cared for Kira that she dared berate him, especially with curious students jostling each other in the corridor outside, vying for a peek.

“Why?” Susie said sadly. “Kira was my friend.”

“She still is,” Nathaniel said, assuming a calm tone to mask his regret. “She’ll be fine, I promise. I took too much, but I haven’t drained her. Compared to the activities that you and Arken—”

“That is between me and the headmaster,” she snapped, before shaking her head in disbelief. “How could you do this, Nathaniel? You, of all vampires!” Hurt crossed her features. “Get out!”

Guilt stabbed at him over and over. He had intended to stay with Kira, at least until she woke, but that was no longer an option, not with Susie giving him an earful at the top of her lungs. Even so, he hesitated.

He wanted to stay with Kira.

“As her Residential Adviser, I’m ordering you to get out!” Susie shouted, more sternly this time.

As the R.A., Susie’s authority didn’t mean shit, but Nathaniel respected her enough that he retreated. Besides, in a few hours, Kira would be fine. She was a fighter, and when he’d laid her down on the bed, he could feel her pulse beating stronger than ever. He’d even felt the faint brush of thought fragments floating towards him, as if she were trying to reach him across their severed link.

Had there been any risk to Kira’s health, he could never have left her side. But with Susie watching over her like a fierce guard dog, and Kira’s vital signs normal, he let himself out.

Just before he shut the door, he stole a glance at Kira. She lay on her side, her expression peaceful with eyes shut and lips slightly apart. He didn’t need his sharp vision to see the two small fang wounds that now adorned her neck. He frowned as he spotted a small package on the bedside table. It was a pair of folded socks.

Someone had gone to the trouble of bringing them here—probably one of the Poplarins.

Talk about fucked up priorities.

And they call me a monster.

He wondered how Kira would react to her new socks, proclaiming her new status.

They weren’t white.

But they weren’t black either.

They were red.

Chapter 19

Lingering Taste

Nathaniel

From now on, I’ll leave Kira alone.

That was the thought Nathaniel was trying to drum through his skull as he wandered the corridors late at night. He couldn’t sleep, not until he was sure Kira was all right. Besides, her blood had filled him with energy, and sleep was impossible with the exhilarating rush of strength coursing through his veins. He was ready to run a mile, climb a mountain, and fuck everyone on it.

Except he only wanted Kira.

The second her blood had coated his lips, it was like a hurricane had swept through him. Demolishing all his careful planning and leaving behind only her, locked into place at the forefront of his mind. Her blood had revitalised him, but it was not enough to satisfy his new yearning, and he wandered the darkened corridors half-starved and burning for her. He’d been with women before—both vampires and wolves—but no one like her. She had an inner fire that tested him, a way of challenging him that was both genuinely curious and unflinchingly defiant. It was a push and pull, and he wasn’t sure which one excited him more.

Nathaniel passed the fifth landing several times, pausing to listen to her gentle breathing through the door.

He straightened when the door swung open.

Susie appeared and shot him a reproachful look.