Chapter 15
Alistair
Fuck.
Touching Sienna was a mistake. Following that stupid pull inside my chest was bad enough, but kissing her neck and feeling her body against mine—
A groan settles in the back of my throat.
Fucking fated mates.
To my utter disappointment, she does not return to her bedroom where I could monitor her from the comfort of my own.
Instead, she pads the halls until she slips inside that little redheaded witch’s room, the door magically sealing behind her.
Not only can I not hear anything through the wood, but I can barely sense Sienna.
Without a completed bond, our connection is tenuous at best. With layers of magic in the way, it’s like trying to sense her through a snowstorm. Not impossible, but taxing.
I shouldn’t even try to begin with, yet I strain my body to its fullest capacity without shifting and catch glimmers of her essence just out my reach. At least she’s alive. Scoffing, I run my hand through my hair and lean against the wall across from Gemma’s bedroom door to keep an eye on it.
If Sienna tries to escape again, I’m going to have to carry her back to her dorm room.
She is far too much of a temptation to leave to her own devices.
My piss-poor mood sours once again. After that little display of power in the dining hall this morning, that vampire has ensured that the entire campus knows her scent.
It would be one thing if mine were intermingling with hers—everyone would know that she’s been claimed—but it’s not, because that other wolf’s scent still lingers inside her body.
My lips curls. He must have come extra hard inside of her last night. Not that I can blame him.
I’d do the same if I had her beneath me.
Closing my eyes, I drop my palm to the waistband of my silk pants. I wasn’t jerking off last night, as Sienna so ungracefully put it. I was mourning my mate’s intimacy with another.
How can she not feel what we are to each other? Is she so repulsed by me that she’s repressing our bond?
If only it were that simple. I envy her for that. The detachment. Or perhaps it’s the attachment to another that weakens her attraction for me.
Except . . .
I lick my lips and taste her blood on my tongue.
Feel the weight of her body beneath mine.
The heat of her skin as she trembled, moaning as I touched her.
Fuck. Any other woman would happily submit—bare their throat to me without a moment’s hesitation and spread their legs like their life depends on how quickly I can bury my cock inside their cunt. But not Sienna.
Not my fucking mate.
The rejection stings, fueling my agitation.
I snake my hand inside my pants and grab my erection, hissing through my teeth as it swells with heat.
Gods, it’s massive. Bigger than normal. Fuck.
Raking my bottom lip through my teeth, I narrow my gaze and focus on the barest glimmer of Sienna’s essence that I can feel through the door.
It stokes the fire inside my chest, and I tilt my head back at the memory of her body beneath mine.
We barely touched, yet I indulged as much as I could, unable to stop myself from erasing Revyn’s bite from her neck. The skin healed beneath my tongue, and the urge to sink my fangs into her flesh, to mark her as mine, was overwhelming.
So much so that I had to back the fuck off.
But witnessing the flush trailing down her neck, the tremors coursing through her body, the wide-eyed shock of lust in her glowing eyes—
I grip my dick tighter as my balls draw up. Fuck me, I haven’t masturbated since I was a teenager. Sweat breaks out across my skin, and I picture Sienna kneeling in front of me, popping open those pretty lips and taking the head of my cock into her mouth.
I’d make her choke just to prove that I can.
That it’s my cock she craves—this huge, pulsing monster that’ll split her pussy wide open—better than Revyn’s.
White hot agony rips through me as I come, diluting my pleasure and ruining the experience.
I ruin my pants, soaking them in what feels like an endless stream of cum as I work myself through the most unappealing orgasm of my life.
When my balls are finally empty, I wipe my hand on my shirt and wrinkle my nose.
My cock threatens to rise from Sienna’s scent lingering on my clothes.
I need a cold fucking bath. An ice bath. Dragging my clean hand down my face, I turn away from Gemma’s bedroom door, fully intending to stumble onto the grounds and plunge into the coldest body of water I can find, when I catch blood red eyes glaring at me.
Not this shit again.
“What are you doing outside my sister’s bedroom door?” He flashes his fangs in a clear threat. “Does she know that you’re here?”
“Of course not,” I answer, rolling my eyes. “Or she would have let me in to fuck her brains out.” Gesturing to my soaking wet crotch, I grimace. “Clearly, I wasn’t on the menu for tonight.”
The vampire tenses. “You’re Alistair Dire.”
How many people know my name in this fucking academy?
“Yes.” Extending my claws, I wait for his point. “And?”
“You already have a mate. Why are you—” His eyes widen like he’s come to the conclusion on his own. Good boy. “She’s with my sister.”
“Smart man,” I drawl, sarcasm dripping from my tone. “Sorry to disappoint, but redheads don’t do it for me.”
He glares. “That’s fine.” Nodding toward my chest—no, toward my ripped shirt—he hums softly. “You get into a fight with your mate?”
“She’s not my mate.”
“Yeah, right. Like anyone is going to believe that when you’re stalking her.”
“I’m not—” Sighing, I pinch the bridge of my nose. Two stalking allegations in one night means that I’m not being nearly as indiscreet as I’d hoped. My father’s going to explode once he finds out. “Whatever. I’m not taking her as my mate.”
A genuine smile graces the vampire’s lips, making him appear much younger than he likely is.
His dark brunette hair is cut short enough that I can see his skull, meaning that he’s younger than most other vampires enrolled at Heartsflame.
The older fucks love a low ponytail—or worse, a man bun. “How’s that line working for you?”
“Quite well, actually. You should try it.” Quirking an eyebrow, I jerk my chin toward the witch’s bedroom. “Telling yourself that you don’t have the hots for your sister?” I click my tongue. “Why else would you be lurking outside her bedroom door at night?”
“Actually,” he scoffs, “I’m here to keep an eye on your mate. She’s not like the other—” He stops speaking when he notices my expression and wisely changes his words. “Something’s different about her. Surely you sense it, too.”
Shrugging a shoulder, I feign ignorance and deflect as best I can.
If a vampire as young as this one can sense that Sienna is not a full wolf, we’re fucked.
It’s only a matter of time before someone guesses what’s different about her and she’s put on trial for a fate that’s not of her own making.
“She’s wild. Of course she’s different.”
Thankfully, the vampire doesn’t push the issue, likely not knowing any better. “I’ll keep watch,” he says after a moment, “and ensure no harm comes to either of them.”
That’s the one area in which vampires have the upper hand—they don’t need to sleep like the rest of us.
Not that I’m getting much as it is.
I nod in thanks. “If she leaves that room—”
“Push her back inside. Got it.”
A flare of anger makes my teeth clench. “Don’t touch her. But yes. Corral her back inside.” I shove past the undying one and try to breathe as I wind my way through the castle and onto the icy grounds. Being out here in the cold sucks, but I need to cool off. I need to get Sienna out of my head.
I need to stay the fuck away from her.
Sighing, I lie down on a snowbank and stare up at the clouds rolling by.
Veronica should prove a much-needed distraction, but the thought of stomaching more of her thinly-veiled flirtations makes me want to gag.
She nearly impaled herself on my flaccid dick at breakfast this morning.
We’re still two full moons away from heat season, but she acts like she’s on the verge of breaking into one at any moment.
Maybe it’s my alpha blood that turns her on.
More than likely, it’s the Dire name that gets her going. I’m sure if my father were widowed, she’d be climbing into his lap before mine.
The thought makes me sick to my stomach.
Closing my eyes, I take deep, calming breaths. I need to sleep, but sharing the room beside Sienna’s has quickly become a nightmare. I couldn’t just hear Revyn pounding her into the mattress—and my bedroom wall—I could feel it in the marrow of my bones.
What a goddamn asshole.
A smirk curves on my lips as I picture his reaction to finding that sorry attempt at a claiming bite erased from Sienna’s neck, like it never existed in the first place.
Twice, that man has failed at securing a mating bond.
He should be mortified. Instead, his resolve will probably double.
Still, satisfaction rolls through me at knowing a hint of my scent will be on her skin for the next few days, no matter how deeply she scrubs herself clean.
If I’m lucky, it’ll remain long after Revyn’s scent has disappeared.
Then we’ll be back to an even playing field by the time the next full moon arrives . . . and the first event of this year’s Mating Games begins.
I’d been looking forward to them before meeting Sienna, but now that a vampire has taken an interest in her, I’m anxious. The winter event is always best for vampires to show off, and Callum will undoubtedly try to win Sienna’s favor.
It’s also a chance for me to let some of my power out and prove how viable an option I am as a mate .
. . to whomever my father chooses for me.
Resentment swirls in my gut, and the snow at my back melts as my body temperature rises.
I have to be at the top of my class, which means acing every exam the academy throws at me—but it has the additional consequence of luring in potential mates for Dad to choose from.
If I’m lucky, Revyn and Callum will also attract attention during Mating Games, which means that Sienna will be left alone. I can survive the next three years if she keeps her hands to herself and stays out of trouble.
But how likely is my wildfire to blend into a crowd?
A genuine smile pulls at my lips, and I laugh for the first time in weeks.
We’re all fucking doomed.