Page 4

Hands grip my waist, lifting me off the ground as I spin wildly before finally feeling the ground beneath me again, but it comes with a broad chest trapping me in.

With my hands pinned at my sides, I slip them into my pockets, feeling the familiar coin in my grasp, reminding me that everything’s going to be okay. It’s short-lived when he tugs my upper arm, pulling my hand from my pocket along with my precious coin.

I pray he doesn’t see it, but that’s delusional.

His gaze snaps to the ground, and before I can even process it, I see the golden glint in his hand.

His brows furrow as the world stills. I can’t suck in a breath, not one, as I try to gather the strength to snatch it out of his hand, but it seems in the midst of fight or flight, I’m frozen in place.

My gaze tears away from the coin, watching his every move.

His Adam’s apple bobs three times, his nostrils flare twice, and he sighs, long and heavy, before his blue eyes find mine.

He doesn’t speak, though. He simply releases me completely as he stuffs his free hand into his pocket, retrieving a matching glimmer of gold, and my heart thunders so intensely, I’m certain death is upon me.

Jaw slack, I gape between the two coins held side by side. All too quickly, he holds my coin out to me, dropping it into my palm. I finally steal a breath, relief flooding my chest as I find the words to speak.

“What does it mean?”

His lips purse as he secures his coin again, shrugging while he stares at me. “I don’t know, but I’m not ready for you to find out yet.” He grabs my shoulders, locking me in place. “I want you to ? —”

“What are you doing?” I blurt, noticing the swirl to his eyes, the blue turning darker.

He rolls his eyes. “Compelling you.”

Compelling me? I don’t like the sound of that.

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

“Don’t worry, Polaris. I have a feeling our paths will cross again. When that happens, I’ll let you remember,” he mutters, and I stiffen.

“Remember? I’m not forgetting anything,” I insist, and he shakes my shoulders lightly, regaining control of the situation.

“It’s cute that you think you have a choice. Now, you will ? —”

Smack.

My palm stings, panic clawing at my insides as I blink at him.

I acted on instinct, and his cheek turns pink as the air thickens between us.

“That’s hot,” he rasps, his tongue sweeping across his bottom lip. His declaration stuns me, leaving me exposed, and he doesn’t waste his opportunity.

The next thing I know, I’m in the dining hall. Memories forgotten.

My eyes widen, settling on the vampire draining all of the energy from the room, but just as quickly as my jaw falls slack, I’m blasted back into my thoughts.

Heading toward the main academy building, eyes alert, searching for Minnie, I barely get my foot over the threshold before I'm halted in my tracks.

The grip on my shoulder is tight, threatening, yet somehow familiar.

I don't get a chance to peer over my shoulder to see who it is; the opportunity is taken from me as they whirl me around.

My back hits the wall with a thud as I blink up at Blaze.

His presence is consuming, watching down on me like he can see the thumping of my heart, the swell of my lungs, and the flickering of my pulse.

Despite the worry rising in me, I sigh, shouldering the strength to face him.

"What is your problem?" His nose twitches, tongue darting out over his bottom lip as he continues to assess me, offering no inkling of an answer.

"Okaaaay, well, if we're done here, which I'm quite sure we are, I'm going now.

" My words are stronger than I expect, lifting my confidence even more as I move to shake out of his grip, but it only tightens.

"I don't think it's wise to be skipping through the halls with wolves."

I frown at him, his statement catching me off guard. I have no interaction with this guy, none that doesn't involve him being a total ass to me, but this is another level.

"What I do or don’t do and with whom I do or do not do it is none of your business."

His fingers flex against my skin as he leans closer, nose touching the tip of mine as he sighs. His free hand presses against my temple as he mutters under his breath, and a moment later I'm overwhelmed with the onslaught of memories flooding my mind.

Our last encounter flashes in my head. Blaze. B. The vampires. The compulsion. All of it.

I don't know what emotion to cling to first. Instead of trying to find the words, I slam my palms against his chest, attempting and failing to shove him away as he continues to crowd my space.

I repeat the motion, more weight behind the move, but he still doesn't budge.

"I can't believe you did that," I snap, and he shrugs, cocking a brow at me.

"Really?"

My lips pinch as my nostrils flare, and before I can think about my actions, I rear back my arm and slap him across the face.

My eyes widen in surprise, the reaction seemingly a familiar one in his presence at this stage.

I stiffen, my spine ramrod straight as I wait with bated breath for his response.

He doesn't keep me waiting long before his free hand grabs mine, hauling me closer as he presses my fingers against the outline of his cock through his pants.

What. The. Fuck.

"Do you feel how fucking hard you make me? Slap me again, but keep your hand right there and feel how I fucking pulse for you," he rasps, his dick twitching against my palm, and I shudder.

I gulp, unable to find a single word as he snickers. "Come on, Polaris. Aren't you going to slap me just for making you feel?" he goads, and I shake my head.

"You're unhinged."

He shrugs. "I've been called worse."

This man is insane. Worse than insane. "You're ridiculous."

"And you're… something."

I raise my eyebrows. I don't know what his retort was going to be, but that… I’m not sure about that. Taking a step back, I meet the familiar press of the stone wall behind me as his hand keeps my fingers wrapped around his cock.

"Blaze," I warn, but it goes unnoticed as he crowds my space, his lips settling at my ear.

"Do you like that? Do you like having a thick dick dripping with pre-cum from the mere touch of your hand?"

My thighs clench together. What the hell is wrong with me?

"Stop," I whisper, the word no longer holding the strength I had moments ago, and he knows it.

"Or what?" His lips brush over my ear, sending tingles down my spine.

My pulse thunders in my ears, the only sound stretching between us as I try to think of something… anything.

"Or I'll tell my friends."

"It's cute that you think I'm going to let you remember any of this," he states, leaning back just enough so all I can see are his eyes as he obscures the rest of the world from my view.

I feel the retort on the tip of my tongue, but I swallow it down. He effortlessly stole my memories last time, nothing is stopping him from doing it again. I'd rather not waste my time and effort.

"Is there a point to any of this, Blaze?" I ask, each word etched in defeat.

"It's aimed right at you. Just say the word," he breathes, thrusting his hips to grind his cock against my hand, leaving me breathless.

He did not just say that. Even worse, I'm wavering under the heat of his proximity.

It needs to stop, and it needs to stop now.

Trying to remember everything I've learned in combat class, I take a deep breath before I let my body take over.

Squeezing his cock in my grasp, he stifles a moan, and I use it as the distraction I need before I force all of my weight to the floor.

The thud rattles from my tailbone, up my spine, and down my legs, but it quickly dissolves under the adrenaline as I scoot to the side and out from the cage he created around me.

"Fuck," he hisses under his breath, but there's a hint of amusement to his tone that doesn't go unnoticed.

Pressing my palms against the ground, I rush to my feet, my sights set on the doors leading into the main academy building. But I barely make it two steps before arms band around my waist, pulling me back against a muscular chest.

Dammit.

I should scream, cause a scene, get him to back the fuck off, but then his lips are at my ear again.

"Your coin, do you know anyone else who has one?" he asks, his fingers splaying across my stomach as I struggle to breathe. So much so that I can't even find the words I need to speak. Instead, I shake my head, it's the best I can offer.

He hums, his breath blowing across my skin leaving goosebumps in his wake. "I can find out if you're lying."

It's a promise. An unnecessary one, but it still makes my lips press together with uncertainty.

"You won't find anything," I croak, and he somehow manages to inch closer, touching me from head to toe.

"Maybe," he breathes, hand inching higher from my stomach to my ribs. "Aren't you going to push me away?"

I scoff, my eyelids falling closed as I shake my head. "You'd like that too much."

"If I wanted it, I could have it," he states. I sense the threat, but it's not as prominent as he hopes, so I take another direction instead of letting him carry on down this path.

"Factions don't mix, Blaze. So why don't you run along and find some vampire to terrorize instead of focusing on me?"

He hums again, making no effort to move. "Factions don't seem to be an issue for you when it comes to the wolves."

"I didn't say factions were an issue on my end. I didn't know they existed until a few weeks ago, remember?"

Silence greets me, stretching out to the point that I'm nervously balanced on my tiptoes, waiting on bated breath for his mouth to move again.

"I'm trying to find a way to have the sigil holding your memories captive lifted.

Then, we will hopefully be able to understand your connection to the coin better. "

"Wait, what?" I try to spin around to face him, but he's locked in place, making it impossible.

"It’s been a challenge, but if nothing else, I'm resilient. I just need a little more time."

My chest heaves with every breath, his words weighted between us. "Why would you do that for me?"

"It's not for you," he states, relaxing his hold on me as if he remembers himself because of my question.

"I'm too selfish for that," he adds when I turn to face him, but he's not meeting my stare for the words to stick.

Clearing his throat, he rocks back on his heels, tucking his hands in his pocket for five whole seconds before he lifts them in my direction. "Now, forget ? —“

"Don't you dare," I warn, but it's pointless and I wake up leaning against the main academy building with no recollection of anything.