whirls around, striding away without a glance back.
No scene, and no questions. That means I’m screwed. She’ll be watching me like a hawk now.
I follow her, but not before I glance at Saxon. There’s a promise in his eyes that this isn’t over.
7
Saxon
I tried to forget Aurora. In fact, I did my very best by returning to Havoc on the same evening she and her mother failed to wake Lucca. It was bad enough that every time there’s a failed attempt to rise him, my guilt quadruples. It was my fault Lucca went to hibernation early. If I had not abandoned my post to chase some random skirt, I would have prevented Boone from striking Lucca with a blade that had been forged with vampire’s bane.
The upscale club was brimming with humans, ready to have a good time either on the dance floor or in the arms of a vampire. My idea had been to fuck someone else to erase Aurora’s taste from my memory, but for the first time since I could remember, my dick wasn’t even remotely interested in any of the humans present.
I should have driven back home, but unconsciously, I end up at Bloodstone Institute. My pulse accelerates as I cross the gates of the building. I don’t understand my reaction. It’s definitely not the school that’s making me feel this way. I haven’t been here since I woke from hibernation forty years ago, and I was more than happy to keep my distance from the place until now. The world has certainly changed, but standing here, in front of the building erected as an ode to days past, it seems like the time hasn’t passed.
I’m not surprised to find Solomon Corvicus waiting for me in the entry foyer, wearing his trademark perpetual scowl. After all, he was just as glad to see me depart Bloodstone as I was to go. He’s the headmaster and the first familiar to ever be created, which means he’s immortal like us.
“Good evening, Saxon. I’d like to say it’s good to see you, but that’d be a lie.”
I place a hand over my heart. “Ouch. You wound me.”
All my mockery does is irritate the headmaster more. I can’t blame the guy for not being happy to see me. I did burn down the north side of the building the last time I was here. I learned my lesson, though. Do not try to build the tallest bonfire in town during a windstorm.
“Cut the crap. What are you doing here?”
“I came to visit a friend.”
“You don’t have any friends currently attending school.”
I raise an eyebrow. “How do you know? I’m a social guy.”
The headmaster snorts. “Yeah, I know what kind of socializing you like to do.” He looks at me intently, narrowing his beady eyes.
Solomon’s insinuation amuses me. I have to bite the inside of my cheek to avoid laughing. He could kick me out of here if he wanted to, so I’m not taking any chances.
“Uh, I don’t know what you mean.” I try to keep a straight face, but the corners of my lips twitch up.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake. Go ahead.” He steps out of my way and waves his hand. “I know a mated vampire when I see one.”
My entire body becomes a block of ice, frozen. All but my jaw, which currently hangs almost to the floor. “Come again?”
His bushy eyebrows furrow. “You don’t know?”
“I’m not mated to anyone,” I reply through clenched teeth. “That’s ridiculous.”
The male throws his head back and laughs, clutching his stomach. Fuck. He’s taking too much pleasure from this. It’s pointless to argue with him, so I keep walking, listing in my head a thousand reasons why his statement is bullshit. I’m not mated to Aurora. What a ludicrous notion. We’re not even the same species. Was there ever a case throughout history where a vampire found a mate in the human population? I don’t think so. And I’m pretty sure when the Nightingales left this world, the magic that created the mating bond went with them.
Yeah, Solomon has definitely gone mad.
It’s not until my feet lead me to the library and I see Aurora sitting at a table that I realize I didn’t make a conscious decision to come here. I had every intention of finding out where her apartment was. I still don’t believe in Solomon’s crap, but I have to concede this is weird as fuck.
To prove that his theory has no merit, I don’t walk to her immediately.