Page 2 of The First Year Continued (Marked Blood Academy #2)

Roxy

They violated all the rules by staying with me, but I was so grateful.

Desi had stayed with someone else—I wasn’t sure who, but I’d heard Sol talking to her in the hallway, sending her away.

Another broken rule, but since she probably landed with another girl, she’d be able to claim they were studying for whatever class they shared.

And I had no desire to send the males away.

Fearing to be alone, I was more than relieved when they announced they were all staying.

Just one, I’d have had to turn down because I didn’t trust myself not to attack again.

And it seemed I had extensive strength, if I’d been able to hold Odin in place while I drank from him.

It wasn’t something I’d planned or even seen coming. One moment, I was me, and everything was chill and happy, the next, my fangs were sinking into Odin’s throat, and I was drinking his blood.

When the hell did I get fangs? Or start drinking blood?

My twin bed was not exactly roomy, something that made me sad because I craved the nearness of all three of them, but also relieved.

What if the fangs came back?

Never imagining I’d get any sleep, I no sooner closed my eyes, than Sol was shaking my shoulder. “Roxy, you need to wake up.”

“No. Tired.” I rolled onto my stomach, bringing my pillow with me to cover my head.

“Sorry, sweetheart.” He sat on the edge of the mattress and rubbed my back with such gentleness, I nearly melted. “If we don’t go to class, we’re going to have bigger problems.”

I let him guide me onto my back again and pushed to sit against the headboard. “Bigger than me becoming a vampire and eating all my friends.” I grimaced. “Sorry, drinking them. That’s about as big a problem as anyone could have.”

“You’d think.” He eased the covers down and tugged me onto his lap. “But we’re not sure exactly how the venom is affecting you, and I hesitate to say you’re fully a vampire.”

“Why not? I sure acted like one last night.” My gaze fell on Odin, still asleep in Desi’s bed and pale as milk. “Look at my victim.” A dreadful thought followed that horrible word. “Oh goddess. Did I turn him as well? Is he a vampire now too?”

“Again, there are reasons to think you are not, at least in the traditional sense. Yes, you bit him and apparently grew fangs, but I want to point out that you are sitting in a pool of sunlight. And you’re not dead.”

“Oh.” I blinked in the glare, but certainly was not turning to a cinder. “My stomach hurts, though, like a bee sting kind of. Could that be a reaction to the sun?”

“I don’t think so.” He shook his head. “Maybe you do have a bite of some kind.”

I drew back in horror. “Another bite?”

“Like a mosquito. I think you’d have noticed a bee. Here, pull up your shirt a little and let us see.”

Since I was wearing a sleep shirt and shorts, that didn’t sound too embarrassing, so I lifted the hem above my navel.

“A mosquito bite would be itchy. It wouldn’t hurt.

So I— What the hell?” Two perfectly round marks, with blood crusted at the edges, adorned my belly.

“Did one of you bite me while I was sleeping?”

“None of us bit you.” Sol stood up from where he’d been lying on the floor and came to look. “But someone or something did. And it wasn’t during the night because I never closed my eyes.”

“It had to have happened before I attacked Odin.” As my voice rose, the wolf in question’s eyes opened. Shadows ringed them, and his lips were nearly void of color. I did this to him.

“Morning, Roxy. What’s all the fuss?” I’d nearly killed him and he asked that?

I couldn’t find words, but Evander turned me on his lap. “Look. She’s been bitten a second time. Thinking that might have something to do with what happened.”

He sat up slowly, grimacing. “Roxy, when did it happen?”

I searched my memory, pushing past the guilt that filled most of it.

“I don’t know, but it looks so fresh.” It had to be yesterday since a shower would have washed away the mess around the two marks.

But when? Where? And the big question. “How did a vampire get on the grounds? With all the security, I doubt an unauthorized squirrel could get through.”

“I have another bite as well,” he said.

More guilt washed over me, and I climbed off Evander’s lap. “Of course, you do.” I’d put it there, and it was not two neat holes, either. It lay beneath his collar, but I remembered what it looked like. “I hope it won’t get infected.”

“I don’t think that’s the danger we’re worried about.

But remember, the guys disinfected and bandaged it with some supplies from the bathroom.

” At least this school provided those! He offered me a smile, but the strain in his face did not ease.

“And I wasn’t referring to this.” He tapped his shoulder. “But this.”

Lifting his shirt, Odin revealed a pair of wounds similar to mine but more healed.

“When did that happen?” I asked, leaning in to look more closely. “It’s not very old.”

“I noticed it a while back, but I didn’t want to say anything.”

Sol and Evander crowded in to look as well. They didn’t comment, but they didn’t have to.

I did. “When you noticed it—were you already here at Marked Blood?”

“Yes. If I’d had it before, they would have spotted it in the examination. It was quite thorough.”

I shuddered at the memory. Of course, I’d been under the care of the healers for more than just admission here. My injuries were quite severe, but there had been some parts of my treatment that had no relation to my injuries.

Evander rocked back on his heels. “You were both bitten here. Within the school walls. By someone or I should say something that shouldn’t be here.”

“That is far less than reassuring.”

The guys didn’t want to leave me alone, but Desi was going to come back to get ready for class, so I shooed them out and headed in to take a shower.

Rebandaging my bite, I tried to treat it like any injury instead of something that might mean the end of my life as I knew it.

This school was kind of like a prison, but it was better than a real one or, worse, execution.

Any of those things could happen to someone who was found to be a danger to their fellow students.

My behavior the previous night would be proof of that to anyone.

I hurried to dress and only crossed paths with Desi long enough to tell her I’d fill her in later and thank her for giving us the room. She grinned and started to say something then sobered and nodded. Clearly, I didn’t look like someone who had fun all night with three hot wolves.

Shaky, but hoping for another chance to live and make things work—maybe not bite anyone else—I settled in for my first class of the day, Vampire Wars.

Excellent.

After that, I had shifting, and Evander was in that one with me. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. If I couldn’t shift, he’d probably protect me, in fact, I was sure he would, but what would happen then?

Why would they want any part of me if I couldn’t shift anymore?