Page 1
Story: Seth
Chapter One
Seth
Seth kept his head down as the pen in his hand absently wandered over what used to be a blank piece of paper, trying to ignore the group of girls near the front of the classroom who had been trying to get his attention for the past fifteen minutes.He could hear his name randomly thrown into the conversation, but chose not to engage them; he knew where that would lead.Each time he’d turned down their offers of getting coffee or an invite to a campus party, they seemed more determined to find something he wouldn’t refuse.It wasn’t as though he didn’t want to find a girlfriend.But when he had tried dating a few times throughout the years he’d been in college, he been unable to find any woman who attracted him for very long.
He’d made the mistake of asking Emily for a date, the one who had been trying the most to get his attention several rows away since he’d walked into the classroom, and it had been a disaster from the moment he’d picked her up for dinner.She had taken a picture of them together at her front door and then proceeded to text her friends through the entire date, clicking pictures of her hugged to his side, until he’d called off the date and drove her home.After that one time, he had no desire to do it again, but he couldn’t seem to escape her and her friends’ presence.
Although he’d been excited when he’d first started college two years ago, he was glad to be graduating after this last semester so he could start working full-time with Liv in the lab.Along with Hunter, Liv and he hadn’t gotten any closer to figuring out what made an immortal unique.An immortal’s blood—whether shifter or vampire—could fend off diseases and had the ability to regenerate, but there was no clue in the cells as to why.It intrigued Seth, although he hadn’t wanted to or planned to become immortal.But if they could find out the specifics, then he could protect those closest to him, those he considered family.
And although he chose to concentrate on his career instead of trying to meet the right woman, he couldn’t help but feeling lonely from time to time.He knew that the possibility of finding someone for him at school was slim.With his future his top priority, he could push those thoughts aside and concentrate on graduating.And after watching Kai with Liv and Reaper with Ara, he knew that he couldn’t settle for anything less than what they had.
But in order to move on, he needed a couple of classes that he’d put off until the last semester of his senior year.He had no interest in economics, but he needed it as a requirement to graduate.Determined to keep his head down and concentrate on studying, he blew out a breath as he leaned back on his chair and hoped that this semester would pass quickly.
Picking up the sound of the back door closing, Seth glanced to his right.His eyes narrowed as he scanned the woman who started down the stairs of the auditorium classroom and took a seat a couple of rows down from him.A hoodie covered her hair and her face but something about her movements, quick and efficient, drew his eyes over her.She must’ve sensed his scrutiny because once she was seated, she glanced up and met his gaze.
Beautiful.It was the one word that came to mind when he gazed into her silver eyes.He had suspected when she had walked into the classroom, but her eyes confirmed his suspicions.He watched as she scanned her surroundings before she settled her gaze back on him.He couldn’t help the tilt of his mouth, a smile that was for her alone.He widened his smile when he could hear the audible intake of breath from the short distance away.
He found himself disappointed when the professor walked in and started class, grabbing her attention away from him.Over the next hour, he couldn’t have recited one word of the lecture and right before class ended, he slipped out the door she had come through.He leaned against the opposite wall and waited for her exit.
Time seemed to stall for several moments before the noise of shuffling feet reached him.Most of the class exited through the main doorway near the front of the classroom; for a moment, he thought she had gone with the crowd.He breathed easier the moment the door in front of him swung open.He watched as she raised her hand to readjust the hoodie over her hair but froze when she spotted him leaning casually against the wall.She dropped her hands to her side, and he was able to see her without obstruction for the first time.
It took him awhile to drag his gaze from silver eyes that were similar, yet completely different.His gaze traced over her long lashes that brushed against her skin as she blinked in surprise.There was a sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks but what drew his gaze was her mouth.Her lips were full and two-toned, peach and pink.They opened as he continued his silence while assessing her.Her reddish-brown hair framed her face, and something deep inside Seth’s chest kicked, hard.
When he thought that she might not be interested, her gaze dropped to his lips before continuing down.Her eyes scanned him until he felt as though she was already intimate with his body.He was grateful for the assassins and their training regimen over the past couple of years because he had managed to fill out a bit and added muscle to his mostly tall, gangly frame.
“Hey gorgeous, I’m Seth.”
He wanted to reach out and have some tangible proof that she was real and standing in front of him in that moment in time, but he knew that she would run from him before he learned anything about her.And it was crucial that he got know her.
Instead of reacting to his endearment or his introduction, she leaned closer as her eyes roamed over his face.Before she pulled back, she took a deep breath.“Why do you smell like vampire and several species of animal?”
He didn’t answer her question right away, unable to speak for a moment.His eyes closed as her voice washed over him, smoky and sexy as hell.He opened his eyes and took a step closer to her, but froze soon after.Although her question had seemed innocuous, he took in her tense stance as she maneuvered closer to the exit.Her eyes darted around them.She sensed danger, and he knew that he would have to explain before she bolted.
“My family are immortals.Both shifter and vampire.”He told her the truth, but the minimal amount of information she would need to stop her movements.He counted on her curiosity from his statement that she wouldn’t run from him.“What’s your name, gorgeous?”
Although she didn’t relax her stance, her eyes stopped darting toward the outer door and she stilled.
“Aubrey.But…you’re human.”Her confusion was evident in her words.
“Family isn’t always formed because you share the same blood.Sometimes you find your family along the way, and I found mine right next door and they happen to be immortals.”He kept his voice low.No one knew and he liked to keep it that way.
As he watched her eyes brighten at his words, he took a step forward and stretched out a hand.He had no idea whether he was going to caress her face or reach for her hand, but they were interrupted before he made contact.
“Seth, honey, are you ignoring me?”
Shit!
Without moving his gaze from Aubrey, he flinched at the sound of Emily’s voice so close to him.He tried to sidestep her, but she gripped his arm and pulled him in close to her chest.He sent a look of apology to Aubrey and cursed silently as he spotted the hurt flash across her expressive eyes.Wanting to explain Emily’s actions to Aubrey and ask her to get to know him, he spent a few seconds trying to subtly release Emily’s grip before he used some of his strength to pry her off him.Emily still didn’t release his arm; instead, she clutched him tighter, until he turned and sent her a look that had her immediately dropping his arm.A breath of relief escaped as he took a step away from her.
Movement from his periphery had him turning back to Aubrey and this time he cursed aloud.She had moved to the door that led to the parking lot, but before she stepped through, he caught a sad smile as she met his gaze.She slipped out without a word.
More curses erupted from his mouth as he took off after her, pushing through the doors into the damp darkness.He listened for any sounds of footsteps or a car starting, but he knew she had already disappeared.While keeping an eye out for Aubrey, he took his time as he walked to his SUV.Disappointment coursed through him.But as he started the engine, he knew that he had a week.A week to figure out a way to get to know her without scaring her off for good.
Seth
Seth kept his head down as the pen in his hand absently wandered over what used to be a blank piece of paper, trying to ignore the group of girls near the front of the classroom who had been trying to get his attention for the past fifteen minutes.He could hear his name randomly thrown into the conversation, but chose not to engage them; he knew where that would lead.Each time he’d turned down their offers of getting coffee or an invite to a campus party, they seemed more determined to find something he wouldn’t refuse.It wasn’t as though he didn’t want to find a girlfriend.But when he had tried dating a few times throughout the years he’d been in college, he been unable to find any woman who attracted him for very long.
He’d made the mistake of asking Emily for a date, the one who had been trying the most to get his attention several rows away since he’d walked into the classroom, and it had been a disaster from the moment he’d picked her up for dinner.She had taken a picture of them together at her front door and then proceeded to text her friends through the entire date, clicking pictures of her hugged to his side, until he’d called off the date and drove her home.After that one time, he had no desire to do it again, but he couldn’t seem to escape her and her friends’ presence.
Although he’d been excited when he’d first started college two years ago, he was glad to be graduating after this last semester so he could start working full-time with Liv in the lab.Along with Hunter, Liv and he hadn’t gotten any closer to figuring out what made an immortal unique.An immortal’s blood—whether shifter or vampire—could fend off diseases and had the ability to regenerate, but there was no clue in the cells as to why.It intrigued Seth, although he hadn’t wanted to or planned to become immortal.But if they could find out the specifics, then he could protect those closest to him, those he considered family.
And although he chose to concentrate on his career instead of trying to meet the right woman, he couldn’t help but feeling lonely from time to time.He knew that the possibility of finding someone for him at school was slim.With his future his top priority, he could push those thoughts aside and concentrate on graduating.And after watching Kai with Liv and Reaper with Ara, he knew that he couldn’t settle for anything less than what they had.
But in order to move on, he needed a couple of classes that he’d put off until the last semester of his senior year.He had no interest in economics, but he needed it as a requirement to graduate.Determined to keep his head down and concentrate on studying, he blew out a breath as he leaned back on his chair and hoped that this semester would pass quickly.
Picking up the sound of the back door closing, Seth glanced to his right.His eyes narrowed as he scanned the woman who started down the stairs of the auditorium classroom and took a seat a couple of rows down from him.A hoodie covered her hair and her face but something about her movements, quick and efficient, drew his eyes over her.She must’ve sensed his scrutiny because once she was seated, she glanced up and met his gaze.
Beautiful.It was the one word that came to mind when he gazed into her silver eyes.He had suspected when she had walked into the classroom, but her eyes confirmed his suspicions.He watched as she scanned her surroundings before she settled her gaze back on him.He couldn’t help the tilt of his mouth, a smile that was for her alone.He widened his smile when he could hear the audible intake of breath from the short distance away.
He found himself disappointed when the professor walked in and started class, grabbing her attention away from him.Over the next hour, he couldn’t have recited one word of the lecture and right before class ended, he slipped out the door she had come through.He leaned against the opposite wall and waited for her exit.
Time seemed to stall for several moments before the noise of shuffling feet reached him.Most of the class exited through the main doorway near the front of the classroom; for a moment, he thought she had gone with the crowd.He breathed easier the moment the door in front of him swung open.He watched as she raised her hand to readjust the hoodie over her hair but froze when she spotted him leaning casually against the wall.She dropped her hands to her side, and he was able to see her without obstruction for the first time.
It took him awhile to drag his gaze from silver eyes that were similar, yet completely different.His gaze traced over her long lashes that brushed against her skin as she blinked in surprise.There was a sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks but what drew his gaze was her mouth.Her lips were full and two-toned, peach and pink.They opened as he continued his silence while assessing her.Her reddish-brown hair framed her face, and something deep inside Seth’s chest kicked, hard.
When he thought that she might not be interested, her gaze dropped to his lips before continuing down.Her eyes scanned him until he felt as though she was already intimate with his body.He was grateful for the assassins and their training regimen over the past couple of years because he had managed to fill out a bit and added muscle to his mostly tall, gangly frame.
“Hey gorgeous, I’m Seth.”
He wanted to reach out and have some tangible proof that she was real and standing in front of him in that moment in time, but he knew that she would run from him before he learned anything about her.And it was crucial that he got know her.
Instead of reacting to his endearment or his introduction, she leaned closer as her eyes roamed over his face.Before she pulled back, she took a deep breath.“Why do you smell like vampire and several species of animal?”
He didn’t answer her question right away, unable to speak for a moment.His eyes closed as her voice washed over him, smoky and sexy as hell.He opened his eyes and took a step closer to her, but froze soon after.Although her question had seemed innocuous, he took in her tense stance as she maneuvered closer to the exit.Her eyes darted around them.She sensed danger, and he knew that he would have to explain before she bolted.
“My family are immortals.Both shifter and vampire.”He told her the truth, but the minimal amount of information she would need to stop her movements.He counted on her curiosity from his statement that she wouldn’t run from him.“What’s your name, gorgeous?”
Although she didn’t relax her stance, her eyes stopped darting toward the outer door and she stilled.
“Aubrey.But…you’re human.”Her confusion was evident in her words.
“Family isn’t always formed because you share the same blood.Sometimes you find your family along the way, and I found mine right next door and they happen to be immortals.”He kept his voice low.No one knew and he liked to keep it that way.
As he watched her eyes brighten at his words, he took a step forward and stretched out a hand.He had no idea whether he was going to caress her face or reach for her hand, but they were interrupted before he made contact.
“Seth, honey, are you ignoring me?”
Shit!
Without moving his gaze from Aubrey, he flinched at the sound of Emily’s voice so close to him.He tried to sidestep her, but she gripped his arm and pulled him in close to her chest.He sent a look of apology to Aubrey and cursed silently as he spotted the hurt flash across her expressive eyes.Wanting to explain Emily’s actions to Aubrey and ask her to get to know him, he spent a few seconds trying to subtly release Emily’s grip before he used some of his strength to pry her off him.Emily still didn’t release his arm; instead, she clutched him tighter, until he turned and sent her a look that had her immediately dropping his arm.A breath of relief escaped as he took a step away from her.
Movement from his periphery had him turning back to Aubrey and this time he cursed aloud.She had moved to the door that led to the parking lot, but before she stepped through, he caught a sad smile as she met his gaze.She slipped out without a word.
More curses erupted from his mouth as he took off after her, pushing through the doors into the damp darkness.He listened for any sounds of footsteps or a car starting, but he knew she had already disappeared.While keeping an eye out for Aubrey, he took his time as he walked to his SUV.Disappointment coursed through him.But as he started the engine, he knew that he had a week.A week to figure out a way to get to know her without scaring her off for good.