13

What time did classes start? It was almost nine in the morning. I’d figured this place would be a lot busier.
“Half the students stay in the dorms here.” He accelerated and rolled up his window. “The other two hundred or so, like yours truly, live off-campus either in Shadow Ridge, Shadow Terrace, or Shadow City itself.”
“Shadow Terrace?” I’d never heard of that city.
“Yeah, that’s the city on the other side of the river. We didn’t have a large enough population at first to protect both sides, so the vampires took it over.” He shrugged. “The wolves protect our side for Shadow City since all the shifter council members are wolves. The vampires need human blood, and protecting the other side helps them stay under the radar and funnel blood in for the residents.”
“Wait…” The thought turned my stomach. “Are you saying you all allow the vampires to kill humans?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Not at all. They compel visiting humans to donate blood under the ruse of a local blood bank. They aren’t allowed to directly feed from humans since that eventually makes them lose their humanity and can bring the kind of attention we don’t want to our area. The whole point is to blend in.”
There was so much I didn’t know. “So only wolves are on the council?” That seemed surprising with all the races that lived there.
“No, there are twelve representatives. Three of each race,” Killian explained. “Three vampires, three angels, three witches, and three wolves who represent all the shifter races.”
I mulled that over as we drove down the tree-lined road, straight toward a large brick building that had to be at least a hundred yards long and two stories high. In front was a grassy greenway where a few students were sitting with breakfast and books while others were walking into the building.
As we got closer, the road bore to the right toward a large parking lot that looked mostly full.
This was more along the lines of what I’d been expecting.
Killian pulled into the parking lot and parked underneath a tree. “I have a ten o’clock battle strategy class, so let’s haul ass to the coffee shop.”
“How far is it?” I didn’t want to complain, but these shoes weren’t the most comfortable.
“In that building.” He nodded to the building beside us. “It’s toward the back, so not far. I want to be there to introduce you to the coffee shop manager, Carter. He’s one of my pack members, and he owes me for helping him out on his English paper.” He got out of the truck.
At least it wasn’t across campus.
I turned to open my door and found Killian already there. He opened it and held out a hand to me.
“What are you doing?” I was more than capable of getting out of the truck by myself.
His eyes flicked toward the building. “Remember, we’re dating.” He took my hand and helped me down. “So I’m treating you like I would a girlfriend.”
“Oh, right.” That made sense. My irritation eased. “So that begins now?”
“Yeah.” He chuckled and interlaced our fingers. “That is the arrangement, right?” “I know. I forgot.” That wasn’t smart to admit to him.
He shut the door and guided me in the direction of the building. “Well, let’s try not to forget around people, okay?”
He was counting on me. I couldn’t let him down. “You’ve got it.” I stepped closer to him, our arms brushing. I hoped I was doing this right, because I’d never dated anyone in my entire life. Watch him go to hold my hand, and I wind up shaking his. There were so many ways I could mess up.
The fact that his presence was comforting but nothing more than that surprised me. He was very good-looking. Probably the most attractive guy I’d ever seen, plus he was kind. Why didn’t I find him more desirable?
My skin started buzzing, and I wasn’t sure why. Anticipation? Something seemed to tug me toward the building, but maybe it was nerves. Shit had been getting weird lately, so maybe this was my new norm.
The wind blew, lifting my skirt. I managed to use my free hand to catch it before my borrowed panties were revealed to the world. I hated to wear someone else’s underwear, but with a dress, I hadn’t wanted to chance showing off my kitty. “How many classes do you have today?” I grumbled as I glared at the air around me.
“First off, I’m thinking the wind isn’t scared of you.” He smiled so wide dimples appeared on both sides of his cheeks. “And I have two-Battle Strategy and Supernatural History. Classes that are expected of me since my pack is responsible for defending Shadow City.”
Well aware of the irony, I stared at those dimples. No wonder so many girls fell into bed with him. “And what am I supposed to do while you’re busy?” The thought of hanging around all of these supernaturals by myself alarmed me.
“Trust me.” He winked.
We walked past a girl who took a quick breath. I turned my head toward her and regretted the decision immediately.
If looks could kill, I’d be dead.
My internal joke fell flat. Death wasn’t funny.
“You okay?” he asked.
“That girl is giving me a hateful look.” I nodded behind me. “I have no clue what I did to make her dislike me.” I sniffed toward each shoulder, wondering if I smelled.
He laughed loudly. “You don’t stink, and I hooked up with her last weekend, so that’s probably why. I don’t want to be tied down, you know?”
“Really?” No wonder she was pissed. If it’d been me, I would’ve beat the ever-loving shit out of him. “How the hell are we going to get everyone to believe you drastically changed your ways?” “When you know, you know.” He smiled tenderly at me and brushed his fingers against my cheek.
“Save it for everyone else.” I wrinkled my nose, trying like hell to hide my laughter.