Chapter 6: Forged in Blood: Chapter 4

Goosebumps cover every inch of my skin, and I shiver in the dank basement. My knees ache from the cold concrete floor. I want to go back to my dorm. I want these three assholes to stop messing with me. But despite their taunting, I’m not afraid. Not as afraid as I should be, anyway.

I mean, on some level I’m concerned about what they have planned for me, but I seem to lack the natural human instinct to feel true fear. I can sense when I should feel it—like when you’re watching a horror movie and you scream at the TV for the silly virgin not to go look for the source of the sound she just heard—but I don’t experience it the way other people do. Sadness. Loneliness. Despair. Hell yeah, I feel those all too acutely. But I’m rarely, if ever, afraid. And one of these days it’s probably going to get me killed.

Or eaten by three vampires.

My skin burns where Xavier’s hand clutches my jaw. He lets out a hoarse groan. “She’s gonna look so fucking good with your cock buried in her pussy while I fuck her sweet mouth, Kai.”

And now my face isn’t the only place that burns. My core contracts, and a deep gnawing in my belly has moisture building between my thighs. I do not want this. I do not. I chant the words in my head. Because they’re true. My body, however, appears to have missed the memo. Thighs trembling, I whimper when Xavier brushes the pad of his thumb over my lips.

There’s no rhyme or reason to the way I’m feeling. Sure, I’m inexperienced, but I’ve liked guys. I’ve been turned on and given myself plenty of orgasms, but this feels completely different. So much more. And there are no words to explain the raft of emotions that are currently overwhelming me. Despite every part of my logical brain screaming no, my body will not stop quaking with the anticipation of pleasure. Nothing about what they’re going to do will be pleasurable, so what the hell is wrong with me? Am I a masochist?

Baring his teeth, Axl rakes his eyes down my body, his hard length bulging against the zipper of his jeans. “Who says you two get to fuck her first?”

Before Xavier or Malachi can reply, the door bursts open like a tornado is tearing through the house. A tall silhouette fills the wide doorway, appearing like some kind of avenging knight. My foolish overactive brain immediately wants to call out Batman.

Batman steps into the room, a low growl vibrating through the air. So vicious in its warning, my three attackers take a wary step back.

“What the hell do you three think you are doing?” His dark, dangerous voice sends a chill racing down my spine. He steps into the light, and I recognize the face of Professor Drakos, dean of the history department. According to the girls who sat near me on the first day I had his class and spent the entire first lesson talking about everything from his star sign to his favorite color—black—Alexandros Drakos is also the faculty head of Ruby Dragon Society. I must admit, their level of research was impressive. As he stalks closer, my mind conjures all the irrelevant facts I learned about him. He’s apparently a Leo and is also a ruthless grader, cold and unfeeling, which they seemed to see as a challenge … and a turn-on. He keeps the shortest office hours of any professor, and he⁠—

“Just having a little fun, sir,” Malachi answers, interrupting my random juggernaut of thoughts and reminding me of my imminent peril.

“Fun?” He snarls, taking a step closer. “Take those cuffs off her and get her the hell out of here.”

Axl grabs my elbow in a bruising grip and angles his body so he’s facing the professor. “But she interrupted us eating tonight’s dinner. We brought her here to deal with her.”

How exactly do they intend to deal with me? That’s right, the eating me whole thing. My core contracts at the very thought. What the hell is wrong with me?

“And do you have a plan of how to do that without biting her?” Professor Drakos asks, his brow furrowed in a deep scowl. Feeling like I’ve stepped into some alternate reality, I shift my attention between him and the three guys. Is this some kind of hazing ritual? A weird act they put on to scare pledges? The lack of pledges in the vicinity makes that scenario unlikely.

“No. Do we need a plan where we don’t bite her?” Axl asks, drawing my attention back to him. His dark features are pulled into a frown, but he keeps a firm grip on my elbow.

The professor’s snarl reverberates through the room, making me shiver. “Yes, you need a plan. You bring this girl to my house, and you intend to do what with her?”

“We fuck with her and we bite her,” Xavier replies with a puzzled shrug, like this is a common occurrence for them.

“The hell you will!” I tug my wrist in an attempt to free myself from Axl’s grip despite being acutely aware of the futility of such an effort.

The professor shakes his head, his tongue darting out and moistening his bottom lip. “I forbid you from biting her.” His tone is calm and even now. “Let her go.”

Confusion ripples through the room, so tangible it’s as though I could reach out and touch it. My own confusion peaks when Axl uncuffs me, and I rub at the reddened skin on my arm where his fingers bit into me.

“But why can’t we bite her?” Malachi asks, his brow furrowed.

“Yeah, she’s just some nobody,” Axl adds.

“Hey!” I protest. Technically, that’s true, but still.

Glaring at me, Professor Drakos jerks his head toward the open door. “Leave before I change my mind and let my boys tear you to pieces.”

His boys? Now that’s something I’d like to unpick. My eyes flit between him and my three tormentors. Is he being serious about letting me go? Why is the notoriously cold and ruthless Professor Drakos sparing me?

Axl huffs. “I told you, she saw us. What if she talks?”

Professor Drakos’s eyes lock on mine, and a current of something runs through the air. He tilts his head to the side. “Who will believe the lonely little girl who couldn’t even get a roommate to share a dorm room with her this semester?”

His words cut me deeply, piercing my heart like a scalpel. Tears burn behind my eyes. Cruel jackass. At least his boys are open about being callous jerks, but he’s a whole other level of vicious. And how does he know I couldn’t get a roommate? How does he know a single thing about me? I’m just a nobody, right?

I wipe the tears from my eyes with the backs of my hands. “Yeah. Nobody will believe me.” The truth of that statement hurts more than anything else that’s happened tonight. “You assholes are free to bite anyone on campus.”

I snatch my backpack up from the floor and march away before any of them change their minds and stop me.