Page 26 of Monster's Melody

The moment I was free of the snakes, I pulled away from Vorzak and whirled to face him.

I wanted to yell at him for unleashing his snakes on me, but I didn’t want to hurt their feelings.

Damnit.

Before I could decide what to say or do,hewas yelling atme.

“What were you thinking?”he shouted.

I reared back.“About what?”

“I can’t believe you got close to a raging dragon.Are you insane?She could have fried you in an instant!”

“Me?I’m not the one who was challenging her.Or did you not notice how your snakes were hissing and riling her up?Oh, forget it!”I turned and stalked off, pausing only long enough to hook arms with Mikaela, who looked a bit shell-shocked, and with Kasi, who looked utterly amused.

“I have no idea what his problem is,” I snapped as I stormed off.

“Hey!”Vorzak yelled.“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Away from you!”I shouted over my shoulder and kept on walking.I felt bad for his serpents, of course, but not bad enough to put up with the man.

“Uh, do you think we can slow down a bit?”Mikaela huffed as she raced to keep up with my long strides.

“Oh, sorry.”I let go of her and Kasi, but kept walking, though at a slower pace this time.I glanced over my shoulder to make sure he hadn’t followed us and saw that he was still standing where we’d left him, hands on hips, glaring after me.

His snakes, on the other hand, were high in the air, much like they’d been when facing off with Nika, but this time, they were facing Vorzak, and if body language was anything to go by, they were telling him off.

Good for them.

“He spent two years ignoring me and now he’s all up in my business?I diffused the entire situation between his snakes and the dragon, didn’t I?”

“You did,” Mikaela said.

“Yep,” Kasi agreed.

“Exactly.Andthatwas the thanks I get?Him yelling at me?Well, fuck him.”

“Uh, I think that’s what he’s going for,” Kasi said.

Mikaela snickered.“I have to agree.”

“You’re both delusional.He’s got no interest in me and I’m over him.I’m so glad he’s not my mate after all.Can you imagine being mated to someone who ignores you ninety-nine percent of the time, but then for that one percent, they want to tell you what to do?Well, I don’t think so.”

I waited for Kasi or Mikaela to respond, but they didn’t say a word.

I glanced to my right, then my left, but neither one was looking at me.They were just staring straight ahead, not saying anything.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Mikaela said.

Kasi just shook her head.

“What?”I asked again.

“This is the same guy you’ve been mooning over ever since our first month at the Academy, right?”Mikaela demanded.

I rolled her eyes.“I told you.I’m over him.”