Shadow Mate - Jen L. Grey Page 0,31

both at the mercy of our bond even though we wanted to fight and deny it. "No."

"She was trying to apologize for that night at the party. Like that would make it all better." Liam's face scrunched up. "You interrupted before I could tell her that there were no take-backs or do-overs." His cold demeanor slipped back in place.

It was almost as if I had imagined the intimate moment that we both shared.

"What did I tell you?" Evan arched an eyebrow and somehow came off like an iceberg.

"I..." I was floundering, and both assholes were letting me. This isn't how fated mates treated each other. Maybe fate had it wrong for us. "Don't worry. I'll make sure to steer clear. I hadn't meant to run into him here … I'll just be going." I reached for my bag and turned on my heel, rushing to the door.

A hand grabbed my arm pulling me back and turning me around. The buzzing already told me who it was.

"You weren't dismissed." Liam's eyes were back to the dark blue that almost appeared black.

At least this version I understood. I took a deep breath, steadying my heart. Though I refused to cower. "I didn't ask for your permission."

"I wanted to clear the air so there isn't any miscommunication going forward." He took a step toward me, but his eyes dilated as he glared into my eyes. "Never kiss me again. Got it?"

"Don't worry ... It wasn't memorable anyway." My heart felt as if it shattered into pieces, but he would never know he broke me. I jerked away, breaking his hold on my arm, and lifted my chin in the air. "Now I know why that rumor is going around."

"What rumor?" He moved to grab me again, but I dodged it.

"That you're a horrible lay." I opened the door and forced my voice not to break. "A kiss is an indication of how someone is in bed, and let's just say you're not that much better than subpar." I turned away and walked down the hallway.

"Hey." Liam's voice was low with warning.

A growl laced Evan's words. "Leave her alone. You're letting her get into your head."

"No, I'm not," Liam growled in response.

Yeah, I didn't have time for that crazy. I rushed down the hall and found my classroom relatively easily. As I entered, Tripp waved me over to the only empty seat, which was right in the front middle section. As I slid into the desk, I arched an eyebrow. "What happened to the back row?"

"I got here later since I had a class right before." He rolled his eyes. "So it was slim pickings. Just be glad we got to be next to each other." His eyes narrowed on my lips. "Umm, your lipstick is all over the place."

Great, I looked like a clown. I unzipped my backpack and pulled my handheld mirror out. Luckily, it was a pale pink, so it wasn't super eye-catching. I wiped the smudged lipstick from my face and put my compact in my backpack.

"Welcome." The professor strolled into the room. He was an older gentleman, probably in his sixties, but was dressed impeccably. He still had a full head of black hair, and he tugged at his red polo shirt as he set his briefcase on the ground. "My name is Professor Johnson." He glanced at his watch and clapped his hands. "And class has now officially started."

I glanced around, wondering if I recognized anyone. The only person that looked familiar was Gertrude from comp class earlier this morning.

"Many of you probably are wondering why you would need to take a class about shifter history." The professor went to the whiteboard and picked up a dry erase marker. "All of us take it for the exact same reasons that humans take their history class. We should know about our heritage and learn from our past mistakes."

"Mistakes?" Gertrude snorted and shook her head. "What is there to learn? It's all in the past."

"I'm glad you asked that question." Professor Johnson placed his thumbs through the belt loops of his khakis. "It's important to learn about the past mistakes so, going forward, we don't make them again."

"And things happen in cycles." I remembered that from high school. "Wars happen every ten to fifteen years just as pandemics happen every so many years."

"Exactly." The professor's eyes lit up at my comment. "So, if they are happening cyclically, then we should know the triggers and look for the signs so we're