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7

Summer

“ H ello again, mystery girl.”

My whole body groans at the sound of his voice. I thought this school was supposed to be big. How is it that I have run into this guy not once but twice in three hours? I glance at him dismissively before returning my attention to the salad bar. That look has shriveled men’s egos in the past. This dude would be no different. I add some lettuce to my bowl and move down the bar to find the tomatoes. Angel boy follows me, relaxed, at ease, and undeterred.

“You’re everywhere, huh?” I pile some chicken and croutons onto my salad and place it on the tray. Connor swoops in and picks up my tray, carrying it for me.

“I mean, I do go to school here.”

I put a hand on my hip, quirking a sardonic brow. “Do you offer this service to all the freshmen? Or is it just the ones you make out with?”

His smile brightens, almost blinding me. I hate how handsome I find his stupid, cheerful face. “Nope, just you.”

“I feel so honored.” I try to grab the tray back, but Connor dodges me. He shifts it easily out of my reach and turns on his heel, walking away toward our table.

I growl and stalk after him, praying to every god that Alice hisses at him and scares him away. It’s worked on everyone else. I blink in disbelief when Connor gives Alice a dazzling smile and sits down at the table. In response, she plucks the carton of blood from the tray. She glances at me and shrugs, and I don’t even try to hold back my eye roll. I sit beside Alice, leaving as much space as possible between Connor and me.

“So, how’s your first day going?” Connor smiles at me, and I want to slap him. How can he be so immune to my fuck off face? It’s sent men cowering before. Instead, he almost appears to enjoy it.

“Don’t you have like… friends or whatever?” I wave my hand dismissively, spearing lettuce onto my fork a little too aggressively.

His smile only widens. “Yep, tons.” Connor waves toward another table crowded with people. They are all watching us, and I recognize a few from the party, including his brothers. Several whistle at him, cheering him on, and I bristle. I am not some prize to be won, dick.

“Go get her, Con!” one of them hollers.

Connor turns back to look at me, his blond hair falling over his eyes. “Plus, being student body president doesn’t hurt either.”

I widen my eyes and gasp, clapping excitedly. “No way! Really? You are the student body president?”

Alice snorts beside me, sipping on her blood. Her eyes ping between us, watching the show.

Connor snickers. “Oh, yeah. My extra-curricular list would shock you.”

“Oh my gosh, so popular and busy! Your friends look so cool, too.” I drop my smile and narrow my eyes at him. “Go away.”

“Yeah, we’re not… group activity people,” Alice says, the distaste clear in her tone. She takes another deep drink from the carton of blood before deliberately flashing her fangs and licking her lips, painting them red. What happened to my territorial vampire? Why isn’t she hissing at this guy? She hissed at someone who had simply walked too close to me earlier.

Connor’s smile only grows, his teeth blinding against his tawny skin. “Wow, someone’s prickly.” He scoots closer to me, pressing his thigh against mine and lowering his voice. “I didn’t have anything to do with throwing you out. That was my brother.”

I spear a crouton a little harder than I meant to, and it shatters beneath my fork.

He moves in closer, his breath brushing against my ear. “Are you going to tell me your name now?”

“No.”

“Why?”

I keep my eyes on my salad, though I can hear the pout in his voice. I can even picture it on his stupid, perfect face if I try. I turn to face him. Irritation prickles beneath my skin, but it is mixed with something similar to admiration at his relentlessness. “Wow. You will just not take the hint.”

He raises a brow, the picture of innocence. “Which hint would that be?”

I have to bite back my smile and train my face into an expression of irritation. “Go. Away.”

“Tell me your name.”

I stand up. “Bye.” I nod at Alice before turning away from him and walking toward the exit.

“Tuatha De Daanan,” he calls, his deep voice seeming to carry over the other conversations in the cafeteria. I freeze and turn to face him, narrowing my eyes. How had he figured out my name already? Who told him? His gaze remains locked on me as he stands up and strides toward me with unhurried grace. I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone so sure of themselves. There’s something extremely attractive about it.

Alice stands up and moves closer, watching us raptly, hungry for the drama.

“How did you figure out my name?” I ask, lifting an eyebrow and putting my hands on my hips.

He stops just a breath away, so close his cloud and citrus scent washes over me. I have to crane my neck to look up at him, and I hate that he’s so much taller than me. Dick. It’s just another absurdly attractive quality. I’ve always been extremely into big guys.

Connor slowly lifts his hand and pushes a lock of my hair behind my ear, his strong fingers lightly tracing the tip of my ear. “I didn’t, but these tell me exactly what your last name is. Plus, Ambrose said it in class this morning. There’s a game on Friday. Be my date to the after party?”

“No,” I say. Batting his hand away, I lift my chin and narrow my eyes. I would rather die than let him know this might be working on me.

“Why not?” His lips quirk into that knowing grin. He expected that answer, even maybe hoped for it. He’s enjoying the chase. No doubt it’s normally easy for him with those panty-dropping dimples. Good luck cornering me, angel boy. I’ve been running from bigger and badder than you for a long time.

“Bye, angel,” I say and turn away. Alice hurries to catch up, linking arms with me as we leave the cantina.

“Gods, you want to fuck him so bad .”

“W-What? No, I don’t!” I sputter.

“Please. Your eyes are practically black, and,” Alice sniffs at me, “I can smell your pheromones.”

“Stop. No, you can’t.” Fuck, can she?

Alice snorts. “So, you don’t want to ride him into the sunset and wave at the passerbys?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” I’m saved from defending my cooch’s extremely tattered honor as we arrive at class and take our seats, though Alice keeps throwing me knowing looks and occasionally crude hand signals.

“Welcome to Intro to Species. I am Professor Draco, and I will be your instructor throughout the year.” I am once again taken aback by how handsome he is. His face is angular and attractive, and you can tell he’s honed his body over the years. “It’s nice to see such a variety of species this year. I look forward to getting to know you all. Next year, you will be given the option to specialize in a particular species if you so choose. For example, there are Celestial Studies for those wishing to study the Heavenly Host or Infernal Studies if you wish to study those they war with. My specialty is Shifter Studies, those like myself who can change into a different creature. I would love to welcome you into my advanced classes in the future.”

I pull out my textbook on shifters and leaf through it, trying to identify the type of shifter Professor Draco is. There are so many possibilities. He could be a wolf shifter, but he doesn’t have the same untamed energy I remembered from the few I’d met. Tiger? It could be. I’ve never met one of those. But he said creature , not an animal.

“Ah, we have an enthusiast in the class!” I snap my gaze up, noticing that everyone is looking at me. Professor Draco smiles at me.

“Oh, sorry, professor, I’m just fascinated with shifters and the different types.”

“Please don’t apologize for enjoying my subject, Ms…”

“Tuatha De Daanan.”

He smiles kindly. “Right. I would like everyone to pair up and research the other species. Try to partner with someone of a different species, but I’m aware this particular class has a majority of sorcerers.”

Much to her relief, I quickly grab Alice as my partner, and we spend the next hour researching various things about each other. At the end of the class, we hand in our findings. Professor Draco gives me a searching look, and our gazes lock, his golden eyes mesmerizing. It makes me feel like he’s learning more about me than I want him to, and I almost take a step back. My instincts scream at me, but it’s not what I sense when the headmaster is present. It’s not dread or terror. It’s reverence . After a long moment, he smiles and nods as if agreeing to something I said.

Alice nudges me, and I shake my head. She tugs me toward the door. Yet even as we leave the classroom, I can feel Professor Draco’s gaze boring into my back, his golden eyes piercing through me like a blade.