Page 11 of Zodiac Demons

This left me with two options: Remove my glasses and kill everyone in the vicinity with unrestrained force, or be a good boy and fight my way out of this. Admittedly, I was not likely to succeed at hand-to-hand with either of them, so at least one of them was going to end up with organs made of stone tonight.

Is it too early in the semester for murder?

The consequences of killing other shifters were fairly high, but only fairly. The Beta, for sure, no one would miss, but even just lesser species of Sobeks were rare enough that someone might miss him. I personally felt the world could do with fewer Alphas, but that was a minority opinion.

Though I was more worried about the fallout with Omari than anything else. I’d signed up for Astrology Club instead of football, as I’d been trying to stay off his radar without giving him any additional opportunities or reasons to torment me, but murdering his asshole friends would not serve that purpose very well.

Devil’s grace, how is this my first week of school?

I was about to commit to committing a felony on at least one of them, when I picked up the scent of sage amidst the sulfur, at the same time that the Beta woman had thrown a fist into my face and knocked my gaze out of alignment with her boyfriend. Beau was released from my paralysis instantaneously, and he tightened down his grip again with new rage, before slamming my head into the lockers so hard, I saw stars.

“Looks like someone needs to teach you your place,” He snarled through gritted teeth, as I choked my own blood onto his balled fist.

Sigh. I was definitely going to be killing someone tonight.

I started to reach for my glasses, when the loud clang of a fist on a metal locker drew all of our attention down the hallway.

“I don’t really think he’s into it.” A blond man with an indisputably Alpha swagger approached us in the dark hall. I met his striking golden eyes, and something about them ensnared me completely. “So maybe you should back off?” He framed it like a question, but anyone who was listening could hear it was a threat.

“Maybe this is none of your business.” Beau jeered, flashing his partial shifted dagger-like teeth.

“You’re right, it isn’t.” The stranger shrugged, before he appeared behind the Beta woman in a flash of speed that could only be Vampiric. In a show of force that was near undetectable by even my eyes, he snapped her neck, and let her body crumple to the ground. “But now I’m your business.”

Vampire speed but he smelled like an Alpha? Was I mistaken, or was he a hybrid?

“You bastard—” Beau swung on him, but the blond man was behind him again in a flash. He had his fangs in his neck, and one arm twisted behind his back just as fast. Beau struggled, while this vampire drained him until all of the color left his face and his ability to fight was a distant memory. Like a falling tree, the Sobek Alpha dropped to his knees, no longer able to hold himself upright under the dizziness of blood loss. The interloper placed a hand on each side of his neck and squeezed Beau’s shoulders. “You’re about one pint away from true death,” he whispered, as he snaked a hand up to his jaw. “But lucky for you, you really don’t taste that great.” He lifted Beau’s chin, forcing the Sobek shifter to make eye contact with his assailant. “You spent the whole night with your girlfriend, watching the stars. You never met me, and you never met him. It was a peaceful night, and the reason you’re going to feel so sick tomorrow is because you drank too much.” With a playful smile and no further ado, he snapped Beau’s neck and let the brute crumple to the floor.

Compulsion. While there were technically many different blood parasites within the paranormal world, that cleared any possible uncertainty to his particular species.

Useful though. Vampires really did have a noteworthy arsenal of skills compared to most of magic kind.

I took a moment to adjust my glasses and fix the collar of my shirt.

“Glad that’s settled.” The vampire hoisted both bodies over his shoulders, before turning to me again. “Well, dealer’s choice on what you want to do with these. I gave him a nice script, so there shouldn’t be any retaliation when he wakes up, but if you’d rather, I don’t mind just… not letting him wake up. I could suffer that last pint, or I can just throw them out into the fountain and call it good for the night.”

“That’s good for now.” I heard myself laugh at the absurdity of the offer. “I could have done that myself, for the record, but I appreciate the assist.”

“Could you now?” He was devilishly handsome when he smirked at me, and I couldn’t explain why I felt my own heart stumble at the sight of it. “An Omega with a little bite. I can appreciate that.” He chuckled as he approached me with his hands in his pockets. He wasn’t much taller than I was, but there was something about him that was both deceptively charming yet intimidating at the same time. He stepped in, not a foot away from me, and I relaxed against the lockers under the shadow of his presence. “Want to get out of here?”

I shook my head. Though I appreciated the gesture, all I wanted right now was to be alone. During Purnima, even someone like him was a risk I couldn’t take. “I can’t be out after dark on a night like this.”

He tipped his chin as though he understood, and I wondered to what capacity he might truly know what I was implying. He was undoubtedly a hybrid, based on how intense that Sage scent was hitting me now, but I’d never met a hybrid Alpha before.

“Well, take care of yourself. If you need me, you have my number.” He winked, and I was about to say that I didn’t even know his name, let alone his phone number, but he was gone in a flash of speed before I could so much as take in the breath to speak.

I glanced at my phone, only to see the name ‘Marcus, Your Friendly Neighborhood Vampire’ now in my contacts.

I heard myself laugh, like a small release on a stressful night.

Typical Alpha arrogance, but… impressive none the less. Maybe I wouldn’t mind seeing him again.

Three days later, after having fortunately avoided any new conflicts with my brother or his Neanderthal friends for a few days, while also going about my week without ever running into the blond stranger again, I walked into the first session of Astrology Club with Professor Chase King—some manner of Alpha shifter, presumably of an astrological variety.

All of the panic and tension had left me, as I was settling into a routine. I’d worried too much, and everything was fine.

I sat down at a free desk, and I looked about the room, taking in the décor of stars and constellations. We started out with a quick round of everyone introducing themselves by their names, ages, and signs.

“Ceto, twenty-three, Gemini,” I’d said, short and sweet, before settling back into my desk. The door opened behind me, as someone arrived a few minutes late. I thought nothing of it, as the professor asked the new arrival to take a seat and introduce himself.