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It’s enough for me. I’ll apologize for using and teasing him later. For now, I lean in and let my lips graze over his jaw. My eyes close, but only for a moment. I feel white-hot outrage crawling up my spine, and I know that feeling doesn’t belong to me.

I look over Tyler’s shoulder as my lips move to his ear, and I see Eissa has turned away from Quilliyn. He’s watching me from across the room openly, with abandon. His face is a mask of pain and fury, and I almost smile because it’s exactly what I want.

What he’s showing on the outside is what he’s left me with inside.

How does it fucking feel, asshole?

There’s no response because of course there isn’t. So I cup Tyler’s jaw again, close my eyes, and lean in. My lips pucker seconds before I make contact, but just as our mouths connect, Tyler’s suddenly gone.

My hands close around empty air and my eyes fly open to find Eissa’s fangs out, clawed hand wrapped around a flailing Tyler’s throat as he shoves him against the window.

Before I can react, Quilliyn’s there. He puts one hand on the back of Eissa’s neck, the other wrapping around his wrist, and I see his mouth moving. I have no idea what he says, but after a second, Eissa lets Tyler slide to the ground, and Quilliyn drops to his knees, gathering him close.

I fucked up. I know it immediately.

I played with fire, and someone else got hurt.

Eissa turns to me, anger in his eyes, fangs long, claws extended further than I’ve ever seen. He takes a step closer to me, and while instinct tells me I should run, logic tells me that maybe acting like prey in front of a feral Vyastil is the wrong move.

Eissa takes a moment, breathing steady, then his claws begin to retract enough for him to sign, ‘With me. Now.’

I follow like I have no choice, and hell, maybe I don’t. We have the attention of the few people in the room, but I’ve lost sight of who they are. I’ve lost the ability to care as I follow my monster down the hall and into an empty room.

It looks like a place they used to hold classes, but now it’s full of boxes of protein powder and gym T-shirts. Eissa slams the door so hard I can feel it in my chest, then he turns and stalks forward.

My breath catches as he shoves me hard against an old weight bench. For a moment, I think maybe he’s actually going to hurt me. Especially when his hand closes around my throat.

But he stays gentle. His claws prick the skin, but instead of tearing my throat out, he leans in and rubs his nose over my jaw, then his tongue follows. It licks across my cheek, my mouth, my neck. He lifts my hand and laves at my fingers, and the more he does, the calmer he gets.

It takes me far too long to realize he’s going over all the places that Tyler’s skin touched mine.

I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do. Now that the situation’s calmed down, my fury is returning. The second I have full control over my faculties, I take him by the shoulders and shove him backward.

I think because he wasn’t expecting it, he actually stumbles a few steps away from me. And I know he isn’t acting because the look on his face is pure surprise.

If I weren’t feeling the way I am, I might have laughed in his face. Instead, I clench my jaw and raise tense hands. ‘What the fuck is your problem?’

‘He touched you,’ he fires back with angry, sharp signs.

‘And?’

His eyes go wide with disbelief, like he can’t understand why I signed that.

‘You don’t get to threaten people who touch me!’ I snap at him. ‘I’m not yours!’

I can see the war on his face. I can see the battle in his soul. I know he feels the way I do—an inexplicable pull toward me. A desperation for something he could have if only he reached out to take it.

And then his expression shutters and I lose him. His mind, which was open for just a second, is closed again.

‘Forgive me.’ He signs sorry, but mouths the English words, and I let out a barking, angry, bitter laugh.

“No.”

He seems startled by the sound of my voice. ‘Fine.’

I shake my head. ‘No. It’s not fine. It’s not fine! You don’t get to walk into my life whenever you feel like it. You don’t get to destroy my dates. You don’t get to let me finally start to move on, only to pin me to the wall and make me want you all over again. It’s not fair! You people say you’re not monsters, and then you act like this!’

My hands are shaking and oh…so are his.