Wolf Bitten: Lunar Academy, Year One Page 6

  My breath hitched. I was torturing myself.

  “Looks like we’re all here. I’ll make my way around the room. When I come to you, I want you to tell me your name so I can put a name to a face,” Professor Trinity said.

  I groaned internally while my wolf paced. She was picking up on my emotions and didn’t know what to do.

  Once roll call was over, Professor Trinity did something I hadn’t expected. She asked us to turn to the person beside us and tell them three interesting things about ourself.

  I shifted to talk to Cynthia, but she’d already began chatting with the guy beside her. My throat tightened. Talking to Holt was my only other option. Fate was being hilarious today as she constantly pushed the two of us together.

  What was I supposed to tell him? I couldn’t think of three interesting things about myself to save my life right now. Still, I had to try.

  “Hey,” I said, not knowing how else to start a conversation with him. Especially after everything.

  “Hey, yourself.” An easy smile spread across his face. My wolf settled, and so did my erratic heart.

  I licked my lips and dropped my gaze to the floor. I could do this. “So, we have to tell each other three things about ourselves.”

  “Ladies first.”

  My lips pursed together. Always a gentleman. I’d hoped he would have taken the lead on this so I could copy his questions. “Well. Hmm.” My teeth sank into my bottom lip. I couldn’t think of a single thing he might want to know about me, let alone one to get the ball rolling. “Three things. Let’s see.”

  “It doesn’t have to be anything crazy,” he said to reassure me.

  It actually took some of the pressure off. “Right. Okay, I had a perfect GPA my senior year in high school. My favorite color is teal. And, I like lemon-flavored things.” A satisfied smile twisted my lips as I brushed my bangs from my eyes.

  There. That was easy enough. At least I thought it was. Until I looked at Holt.

  He stared at me as though he was waiting for me to continue. No, that wasn’t it. He seemed unimpressed with my three things. Heat crept up my neck.

  “Were those not good enough?” I asked, being serious.

  “Eh, they were okay. I just already know them. I was hoping to learn three new things about you.”

  I searched his face for any sign that he was joking, but didn’t find one. “What do you mean you already know them?”

  How was that possible? I was positive I’d never told him my GPA in high school. Maybe he would be able to guess my favorite color, but I didn’t think I’d ever told him that either. And, I knew I’d for sure never mentioned lemon being my favorite flavor.

  Holt shifted on his navy blue pillow, and ran a hand along his jawline. The scratchy sound of his fingers against his stubble had me wanting to rub my fingertips against it. There was something about a guy with five o’clock shadow that did things to me.

  “They’re obvious. Everyone knows you’re smart, so you having a perfect GPA in high school isn’t any surprise. Hell, you probably have a perfect GPA here. Right now. As for teal being your favorite color, anyone who isn’t colorblind can guess that. Your nails are always teal. Your wallet is teal. And, so is your backpack.” He flashed me a cocky grin.

  “Okay, well I bet you didn’t know about my love for all things lemon,” I countered.

  His grin grew. “You always seem to have an endless supply of lemon candies on hand.”

  I didn’t know what to say. He’d been watching me. Close. Part of me was excited by this new knowledge.

  “I’m guessing you want me to say three more things about myself, then. Ones you wouldn’t know. Right?” I asked while secretly hoping he said no.

  “Absolutely.”

  My stomach dropped. Crap. Now, I had to think of three more things to tell him. My worry was in vain because immediately three more things came to mind—how much I liked him, how much I wanted to kiss him again, and how being close to him had my heart feeling like it was about to pound out of my chest. None of those passed my lips, though.

  “I love photography. Nature scenes are my favorite. And, I miss my dog.” I looked at him, hoping to see some sort of acceptance of my answers flash through his eyes, but all I saw again was his desire for me to say more.

  “That’s two. You still owe me one more,” he said.

  I shook my head. “That was three. Photography. Nature scenes. My dog.” I ticked each off my fingers as I spoke.

  “Oh, sorry.” He chuckled. “I thought your love of photography and nature scenes were one thing.”

  “I forgive you,” I teased. “Your turn. Tell me three things about you.” I tried not to sound eager to hear what he had to say, but I really was.

  “All right, three things about me.” He licked his lips, drawing my attention to his mouth. Immediately, I was tossed back to the memory of last night and how they’d felt pressed against mine. “I love good barbecue. The works. Pulled pork. Barbecue chicken. Ribs. Brisket. I could eat it nearly every day. Fishing is one of my favorite pastimes. Bass fishing. Trout fishing. Both are fun. I’ve never much liked fly fishing, though. And, for my final thing, I guess I’ll say that I have a tattoo and a piercing.”

  I arched a brow. That last one wasn’t something I’d been expecting. However, it was the one that had me the most excited.

  I gave him a once-over, searching for his tattoos but mostly for his piercing. “I’m not seeing any piercing. Is it in a crazy place?”

  Did he have his nipples pierced or was he into freaky stuff and had something lower pierced? Hadn’t my hands been all over his solid chest last night? I tried to think back to if I’d felt anything suspicious beneath the cotton of his shirt.

  “No crazy place. There’s not an earring in it, so you probably can’t even tell it’s there.” His fingers lifted to smooth over his brow. “Technically, it was only pierced for about forty-eight hours before my coach noticed and made me take it out. There’s scar tissue there if you touch it just right.”

  I wanted to touch it. I wanted to touch him. But I refrained.

  “Cool,” I said, hoping I sounded nonchalant and not as fascinated as I was. It was fun trying to imagine what he had looked like with his brow pierced. I bet it had made him look even sexier.

  Not that he needed it.

  “As for the tattoos, I guess it’s really considered two pieces, but they form one.”

  My interest piqued. “Can I see?”

  Holt glanced around the room. Was he making sure everyone was focused on their own conversations, or was he checking to see where Professor Trinity was because his tattoo was in a bad place? I sort of hoped it was in a bad place. My cheeks heated at the thought.

  When Holt untucked his shirt and lifted it to reveal his muscular chest, my face caught fire.

  Dear lord, he had a nice body.

  “What do you think? Normally, people have questions about what it means or why I chose it,” Holt said, pulling me back to the moment.

  I blinked once, and then averted my eyes from his amazing body to the tattoo inked across his skin. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen.

  A beautiful wolf took up his entire left pec. Its mouth was open wide, and its sharp fangs dripped with saliva as it bit down on a skull. The skull was detailed to the point of nearly looking 3-D. The shadows and shades of its hollow eyes were impressive, but it was the open mouth, releasing a silent scream that drew me in. Pain. Agony. Sadness. I felt it all was reflected in his tattoo.

  My throat pinched tight.

  “It’s… um... wow.” I was at a loss for words. Never had I seen anything like it. “What does it symbolize?”

  I shifted my gaze to lock with his, knowing a person didn’t get a tattoo of this caliber without it meaning something to them. It wasn’t like getting a Chinese symbol you thought meant mystery when you were drunk and out with some friends.

  This was different.

  Holt released the edge of his shirt, coveri
ng his tattoo again. “Maybe one day I’ll tell you,” he said with a wink.

  Professor Trinity spoke again, and I remembered we were in class. My attention shifted back to her, but for the remainder of class, all I could think about was Holt—his tattoo, his abs, and his lips.

  When class was over, we headed to the back of the room where the bin was and tossed our pillows inside.

  “I showed you my art,” Holt whispered as he leaned closer to me than necessary to toss his pillow into the bin. “Now, how about you show me yours?”

  “I don’t have any tattoos,” I said before I could think through what he was asking.

  He laughed. “I’m talking about your photography.”

  My heart kick-started. “Oh, right.”

  I rarely showed anyone my photographs. They were for me. No one else.

  “What time tonight works for you?” he asked. “I mean, are you free?”

  “Tonight? Um.” My mind blanked as I struggled to remember if I had anything I needed to do. Was this a date? Or was it truly about seeing my art? Tattoos were art. I knew that. But this felt like maybe it was something more. “Anytime, I guess.”

  “How about seven? I can come over then.”

  “Come over? To my dorm?”

  “Yeah. Unless you have your pictures on your phone.” He ran a hand through his dirty blond hair, his green eyes never wavering from mine.

  “Oh. Right.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “No. All the good ones are on my laptop. I’ll have to weed through them.”

  Panic clawed its way up my throat. I wasn’t ready to show him anything yet. I needed to find the right files. There were a few I had in mind.

  “So, does seven work for you, then?” he asked.

  “Could we move it to seven tomorrow night?” I hated to ask, but knew I needed time to prepare. Something flashed through his eyes, but it disappeared before I could label it.

  “Okay, yeah. Sure.” Holt smiled. “Seven tomorrow night. Works for me.”

  “Great.” My mouth grew dry.

  Holy hell. I’d just agreed to hang out with Holt Taylor tomorrow night and show him my art. Summer was going to lose her freaking mind.

  Holt

  I thought I’d been clever in asking Tori to show me her art since I’d shown her mine. I wasn’t exactly sure where the idea or words had come from, but I was glad they found their way to me, nonetheless. However, I was disappointed when she’d said she would rather meet up tomorrow night at seven.

  Beggars couldn’t be choosers, though.

  I swiped my ID card—which was also used as our form of currency—in the vending machine and punched the buttons for the bag of chips I had my eye on. Next, I got myself something sweet. I’d made it through the first day of classes this semester unscathed and felt like celebrating. I could’ve saved myself money and celebrated by eating a few of the cookies Mom sent me home with, but I’d had so many already that I was sick of them.

  “Hey, Holt,” Teddy, one of the first guys I met at Lunar Academy besides Walker, said as he stepped in line behind me for the vending machine. “It’s cool we have a class together this semester. Although, Professor Blades sounds intense.”

  Professor Blades was the teacher of the Strength Training class they offered here at the academy. He had to be from the Wolf Blood house, though I couldn’t be sure. All the teachers here seemed to either wear a black tie or they didn’t wear a tie at all. Professor Blades was one who decided to forgo the tie.

  “Definitely.” I nodded.

  “I’m thinking he’s Wolf Blood,” Teddy said as he rocked on his heels. “What do you think?”

  “Same.” I stepped out of his way so he could get to the machine. “They all seem to have that same level of intensity.”

  Except for one. Lee Twain was the only member of the Wolf Blood house I thought of as a nerd. The dude had a serious comic book obsession. And, even during fight club, he was an awkward character. Intense wasn’t a word I’d use to describe him.

  “I think it’ll be a good class, though. I’m down for burning off some of this pent-up energy. I still haven’t gotten used to it.” Teddy scratched his head. A look crossed his face that I could relate to—it signified he felt overwhelmed.

  “I know what you mean.” I slapped him on the back. “I’m sure it will get better, though. There has to be a point where everything on the inside balances out.”

  It was the first time I’d said the words out loud, but it wasn’t the first time I’d thought them. I knew there was some truth to them because I’d seen it. Within myself. Balance was obtainable. You just had to break—or bend, depending on how you looked at things—the rules a bit. Fight club was how I did that. And, so was Tori. Being around her seemed to ease my mind and my wolf all at once.

  I started to walk away, but Teddy spoke again.

  “How much do you think Professor Blades can bench press?”

  It was a topic shift, but I didn’t mind.

  I stepped to the soda machine and swiped my card. Mom would have a fit if she saw me loading up on so much junk food. She was all about homemade meals with simple ingredients. Processed foods were the devil in our house.

  I’d missed out on so much growing up, but I was healthier for it so there was that.

  “I’m not sure, but I’m willing to bet whatever it is, it’s way more than I can.” I chuckled.

  “Right? The dude is seriously ripped. I’d pay to see someone go against him in a fight.”

  I nodded. “Oh, yeah.”

  My mind filled with faces from fight club. All of them were students, but I was positive there were a few teachers and staff members everyone would love to see on the roster. Professor Blades was one of them, but I couldn’t imagine who’d want to go against him. If I had to pick someone, I’d pick Bryant, though. The guy was as ripped as Blades and just as intense.

  Now that would be a fight I’d pay money to see.

  I didn’t mention a word about it to Teddy though. He wasn’t part of fight club, which meant he wasn’t allowed to know about it.

  “I’ll see you later.” I popped my soda open, took a swig, and started for the stairs.

  I held my snacks tight and my soda tighter as I jogged up them. If I couldn’t shift, or fight, or be around Tori tonight, I had to do something to settle my wolf. When I didn’t focus on something—anything—I felt myself slipping into that huge sea of depression I struggled daily to avoid. Cardio was something to focus on. It was something to help settle not only my mind, but also my wolf. Professor Blades mentioned the same during Strength Training earlier today. He’d said it was how he kept his two sides from warring with each other.

  It was in that moment I became grateful I was Wolf Bitten and not Wolf Blood. With all the inner turmoil I had going on already thanks to my wolf, I knew I wouldn’t be able to survive if a vampire had been tossed in there, too.

  I’d almost made it to my dorm when something besides my snacks appeared in my right hand. Excitement pump through me. I knew what it was without having to look.

  An invitation… to fight club.

  I set my drink and snacks down in front of the dorm door and unfolded the scrap of paper that had magically appeared in my palm. I had no clue if there was a timer attached to it, but I remembered from previous invitations that it would disintegrate soon, leaving behind only the faintest hint of magic across my fingertips.

  Midnight. The woods. Everyone fights.

  My wolf howled out his excitement as a wicked smile twisted the corners of my lips. This was exactly what I’d been waiting for—a way to release some pent-up energy and keep myself in check.

  The paper started to disintegrate. In two seconds flat, it had completely disappeared. All that remained was the faint scent of magic and a tingle of heat tickling my hand.

  I brushed my palm across my slacks and then bent to retrieve my soda and snacks from the floor. A wide grin plastered to my face. I whipped out my ID card and entered the dorm. Walker
was unbuttoning his uniform shirt when I stepped into the room.

  “Holy crap, got the munchies?” He eyed my snacks.

  I chuckled, my mood inexplicably happy. “Yup.”

  Walker’s brows pinched. “What’s up with you? You’re too happy. It’s freaking me out.”

  I laughed and shook my head as I set my things on the desk we shared, and then kicked off my shoes. “Am I not allowed to be in a good mood?”

  “Not this good of a mood. Unless…” His brows lifted to his hairline.

  “Unless what?” I opened my bag of chips and shoved a few in my mouth before loosening my tie.

  A smirk twisted across Walker’s face. “Unless you managed to get some action during your first day of classes. Tori kiss you again? Maybe give you a little something else?”

  “Fuck off.” I threw a chip at him.

  He held his hands up as though surrendering. “I’m just sayin’ that I’ve never seen you this happy. It can only mean one thing.”

  “Whatever, dude.” I rolled my eyes. Still, my grin wouldn’t die down.

  “Okay, so you didn’t get any sexual favors. And, she didn’t kiss you. That can only leave one thing.”

  “What would that be?” I asked, humoring him.

  “You asked her out, and she said yes.”

  Damn, he was good.

  He wasn’t that good, though. My good mood wasn’t solely because of Tori and the somewhat date we had tomorrow night. It was also due to fight club happening at midnight.

  “You did, didn’t you?” Walker pressed.

  “Yeah, I did. Tomorrow night. Seven o’clock. I’m supposed to meet her at her dorm.”

  “Bow-chicka-wow-wow,” Walker said as he made this obscene gesture of smacking someone’s ass while he danced around the dorm.

  Sometimes, the guy was a total tool. Even so, I still loved him.