To Love a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,40

He turns back to Declan, filling in the week's agenda amongst themselves.

Asher is still watching me and I avoid his eyes, busying myself with my pen and paper.

“You can look away already. She clearly has no interest in pikes either,” the wolf to my left says.

His words sting, said harshly and quickly, filled with hate and disgust. His name escapes me but his words are all I need to know about him.

Raske barely acknowledges the comment and continues planning with Declan. Kaino’s posture straightens but he ignores the comment, as well. Asher studies him for mere moments before adverting his storming eyes, choosing to stare at the table instead of myself. Gabriel stares blankly at the wolf across from him, the wolf who all but spit in his face. He doesn’t look away, his unseeing eyes seeing someone clearly for the first time in a long time.

My breathing accelerates as the word builds momentum in my mind.

Pike. Pike. Pike.

“They’re hybrids,” I blurt out loudly, almost a scream really.

The warrior stiffens at my side. I look up from my white, clean paper. Communication within the room has fallen away and once again all eyes are on me. I raise my head high and stare into the wolf’s dark hate-filled eyes.

“Pike is a slur and an ill-educated one at that. They’re hybrids. Just like you’re not a dog or a mutt,” I say looking his wide frame up and down. His werewolf status is apparent in his posture, his confidence, and now his anger.

He shakes in his seat next to me. His body trembles to release his natural form, a rage-filled form. But control is practiced in ten fold in this community. His fists are clenched on the table tops, his knuckles white, his eyes blazing. Briefly, a snarl escapes his quivering lips, his mouth turning snout like for just an instant before he takes deep breaths, reigning the beast back in.

“Obviously, you have no idea what my interests are. Because you don’t know me.” I stand, my chair sliding unevenly against the dry dirt.

I walk away in silence into the dark night. I let the full moon shine down on me, the beautiful clear light soaking calming thoughts into my messy mind.

I’ve just made it into the tree line, stepping over a large branch that is barely seen in the darkness, when a hand clutches firmly around my arm.

Fear and anger spark through my nerves, instinctively I grab the dagger at my waist and turn, plunging the blade into the mystic’s shoulder. Pain etches the face before me. But it isn’t the hate filled wolf from the meeting. Asher’s beautiful face is cast in the white streaks of moonlight that filters in through the leaves above.

I cover my mouth with my hand. I can’t believe I just stabbed him.

“Asher, I’m so s-”

His hands grip both of my arms and he pushes me harshly against a tree. A slight pain stings through my shoulder blades as the bark bites into my flesh. Confusion creeps over my face.

Then his lips press firmly against mine and I settle into him, the tension leaving me in an instant. He kisses me urgently and strongly, all of his strength pushes at the surface to be released as he kisses my lips.

“I can’t believe you said that,” he murmurs against my lips quickly before kissing me again.

His tongue slips against my own, caressing mine before his teeth rake over my bottom lip. He holds my head with both hands, his fingers pushing into my messy hair before his hands dive down and lift me in one swooping motion. My legs wrap around him as he holds me against the tree. My hands travel up his smooth chest and my fingers collide with something hard. With my lips still on his, my eyes flutter open and I see the hilt of the dagger still sticking out of his shoulder.

He kisses slowly down my neck. His tongue flicks over my pulse and my breath comes in uneven attempts.

“You spoke out in a room of silence,” he says, his breath hot against my neck as he kisses me there over and over again, building a warmth deep within me.

My hand drifts against his blood stained shirt until my fingers curl around the wooden hilt. I rip the blade out of him with a quick turn of my wrist before throwing it to the ground at our feet.

“Fallon,” he groans loudly into my neck, his muscles pulled tight beneath my touch