Page 32 of Zodiac Beasts

Chapter 17

Lila’s face was brighter than the fireworks themselves, as we sat on a table in the school cafeteria watching the show. She was so damn beautiful, and every time she smiled, something inside me warmed in a way that felt distinctly strange for my vampire heart.

The cafeteria was packed with other students and staff, and it was by sheer coincidence that we ended up on the same table that we’d both come to know intimately, between breakfast and the mess that started it all. I wrapped my arm snuggly around her shoulder, and held her close.

I’d never told her what I’d done that night, and I never planned to. I couldn’t risk her not forgiving me. There was no reason it would ever come up anyway. I’d been a vampire long enough to know how to limit what thoughts I wanted to share with someone. She might not know what to do to keep her emotions and stream of consciousness to herself, but there was no reason I would ever slip.

She liked it when I touched her in her sleep the other night, anyway. I felt her consciousness the whole time, and I knew she’d been feigning sleep just so I wouldn’t stop. If such a thing excited her so much, then it was surely fine.

Surely…

“You’re being pretty quiet.” I said as I squeezed her shoulder. “Are you nervous? Do you still want to go outside and try to figure yourself out? Or would you rather go back to your dorm and spend this first night as mates in a more private setting? I promise I can sneak out in the morning without getting caught.”

“That sounds so weirdly normal.” Lila shook with quiet laughter. “Are we normal now? Is this a basic college relationship?”

“When you experience everything I’m going to do to you in that bed, you won’t be asking me that question.” I rolled my eyes in her general direction, and she cuddled up tighter against me.

“Let’s go outside. There aren’t a lot of months when we can do this without worrying about triggering you.”

“You might be surprised how many months I’ve figured out over the years. This won’t be our only opportunity. Most triggers are very avoidable.” Though I was the one who offered, I was, admittedly, a bit torn between wanting to help her figure out her bloodline and selfishly getting her in bed and keeping her there until we had to surface for finals. My mate bond wanted to enjoy the newness of our connection—maybe fuck the thoughts of other men out of her system—but Lila was all business. “But if you feel strongly about it, I’m happy to oblige.”

This wasn’t the honeymoon glow I’d imagined when I was told I’d have my own mate one day. While I’d sealed our pact partially out of spite for Adrian, it wasn’t like I was permanently tying myself to a girl I didn’t want to keep. I was fairly certain that wasn’t technically possible considering all of the consent requirements in bonding. The only step that didn’t require enthusiastic desire was the initial one sided claim.

Sigh.

I suppose we could have our happily ever after later. Considering she’d been practically dripping when she’d come back from her little adventure with the Sewing Club, and that she was still having heart palpitations every time she looked at my brother, I didn’t know what that would even look like.

It’s been a fucking day.

Lila smiled that soul melting smile of hers as she said, “I do feel strongly about it, and I’d really appreciate it.”

“As you wish, my lady.” I helped Lila from the table, and interlaced our fingers as I led her away from the crowd.

Something so small and innocent shouldn’t make my heart race, but right now, everything was making my heart race. The moon was blocked from getting in my head while we were within the buildings, but I was still going to blame magic.

I lead her to an exit on the far side of campus, but I hesitated when I reached for the door handle.

“You’re sure you’re okay with this?” I asked, maybe more nervous for myself than for her. On one hand, it wouldn’t really matter if I did somehow trigger my transformation tonight. I wasn’t afraid of being intimate with her, and I was honestly curious what it might be like now that we were mated. On the other hand, I’d almost killed her while transformed before we were mated, and I couldn’t say I had enough knowledge about mated hybrids to know for sure this was safe.

She had the advantage of remaining fully conscious through her shifts. I had no such luxury, and no ability to temper that.

Maybe being a Beta wasn’t as inferior as I’d always thought it was. The pheromones could be dangerous, sure, but unless you were a Beta rabbit shifter being hunted by werewolves or something, it must have been invigorating to be both fully transformed and in control on a full moon night. To have great power and no way to control it was the only aspect of my body that I would call a curse.

Lila looked at me, puzzled at first, then slowly understanding. “I’m not scared.” She said. “All that really happens to me is I get more confident. It’s you who should be worried.” With a carefree grin, she stepped forward and grabbed the handle. She pushed open the door with a sense of pride and unwavering courage that I had never seen from her before.

Lila really was growing into herself. I liked that bashful, timid, easily intimidated version of her, but knowing I played some part in building her up made this transformation far more satisfying.

In an instant, we were both bathed in moonlight. And just as quickly, I saw her shift right in front of my eyes.

It was subtle. If I didn’t know what to look for, I wouldn’t know it had happened at all. But between the intense amplification of her pheromones, the barely visible point to her ears that was nearly completely hidden by her long dark hair, and the slight sparkle in her eyes, she was distinctly no longer human.

Those signs, however, told me nothing of use. I needed to get her clothes off to find the more helpful ones.

“How do you feel?” I asked, a bit awestruck by the intensity of her power, that now flowed more freely into me than ever. It was as though her strength became my strength while we were bound like this.

“Fucking amazing.” She damn near moaned out those words. “I know you guys have your reasons to be afraid of shifting, but it’s so freeing for me.”

“It’s freeing for me too, but sometimes giving the raw instincts of both an animal and a vampire more freedom isn’t a good thing.” I chuckled as I approached her and placed my hands on her shoulders. “A shifter’s human side is often the only thing holding us back from truly being monsters of the night.” I distracted her with a well-placed smile, as I started undoing the buttons of her blouse. “I wonder what kind of monster you’re caging in here.” It wasn’t long before she dropped her gaze to watch me undressing her. She didn’t protest. Though I gathered she liked getting fucked in public, so that shouldn’t surprise me. It truly wasn’t fair how perfect she was.