22. Kyren
Chapter twenty-two
Kyren
Professor Campbell was completely and utterly boring.
How did I end up like this? Following around a professor when I should be trying to win over Jack. It’s been a week since the black market and nothing. No leads. No mysterious group meetings.
Wake up, spend an obsessive amount of time fixing her hair and makeup. Go to breakfast. Go to class. Go to lunch. Go to class. Go to dinner. Hang around her office then go back to her apartment and bed.
Why couldn’t Fawley watch her? He’s her colleague. Isn’t that why he’s undercover at the academy?
The longer I followed her around the academy, waiting for her to do something that proved she was part of the group that attacked Jack, the more I believed we’d been lied to.
“So?” Tate asked when he came back to our shared dorm room later that day. “Anything new?”
I looked up from the book I was reading and shook my head. “No, and I’m not following her anymore. I attached one of my shadows. If she does anything out of the ordinary, I’ll know it.”
“But Kyren…” Tate crawled up the bed, pulling the book from my hands. “This is for Jack. You should be on that wretched woman like glue, not watching from afar. How are you going to do anything if she decides to go… I don’t know… across town? You can’t shadow that far away.”
“Then I’ll deal with it then.” I grabbed for my book, but he kept it out of my reach, making me strain for it.
Dropping my hand, I scowled. “My time is far better served watching over la mia than watching that woman. Besides,” I snatched the book with a shadow when Tate let his guard down, bringing it back to my hands, “make the hunter do it. It’s his job. ”
Tate laid beside me on the bed, flicking his tongue over his lip ring. “You’re really going to leave Jack’s protection up to him?”
I didn’t look up from my book this time. “I know what you’re doing. Stop.”
His fingers trailed up my chest, stroking along my jaw line. “Come on, you know you want to get the jump on these bastards before Julian does. It’d show Jack you are really committed to keeping her safe now.”
I rolled my eyes. “I can keep an eye on both Jack and the professor from here.” I let my shadows cloud my eyes, watching through them to see the professor once more staring at herself in the mirror.
“The professor is tweezing stray hairs,” I told Tate dryly, then switched over to Jack and abruptly sat up on the bed.
“What is it?”
The panic in Tate’s voice should have been enough to bring me back from the scene, but a low growl escaped me as I watched the hunter put his hands all over Jack’s body.
They were in a room with mirrors all around. Different kinds of weapons lined the walls. Daggers. Racks of poles. Even throwing stars. The rational side of me told me they were training. That the only reason he was grasping her hips right now was to help her train.
Except she was smiling at him. Laughing as they spun around the room until she had him pinned on the ground sitting on top of him.
“Kyren, baby.” Tate grabbed my shoulder back in the bedroom, pulling me out of the shadow’s vision. “What’s wrong?”
Flashing my fangs, I climbed out of the bed, moving around the room with a fury as I got dressed. “He thinks he can make me do all the work while he gets to reap the benefits. Oh, no. I don’t think so. That pendejo is going to pay.”
“Wait, what?” Tate stared at me with growing confusion, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Who?”
“That hunter,” I spat out, shoving my feet into my shoes. “I spent all day tracking his damn professor, and he’s over there, putting his hands all over our girl.”
Tate chuckled shaking his head. “Oh, babe. You’re gonna have to get over it.”
“Get over it?” I paused midway through putting on my jacket. “Get over it? Jack is ours. Not his. He can’t just touch her whenever he wants.”
Snorting, Tate picked up the book I’d been reading, lazily flicking through the pages. “Yes, he can. And if you want Jack to be with us, too, then you better get on board with the new reality.”
I seethed as Tate walked toward me, his hands cupping my face. “Sharing is caring. Be the bigger man, don’t let him see that he gets to you, or he’s going to just rub it in your face.”
My eyes narrowed, muttering under my breath. There was nothing logical about this overwhelming need to keep Jack away from the hunter. It was all pure possessiveness. And yet…
I knew Tate was right. If I went over there, throwing fangs at the hunter while Jack wasn’t a hundred percent sure about me again, then I could lose her for good.
Scowling, I pulled my jacket off, crumbled it into a ball, and threw it across the room. Collapsing on the edge of the bed, my shoulders curled inward as I hung my head.
“Hey, hey.” Tate sat next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “He’s not that bad. Just remind yourself that he cares about Jack just as much as we do and wants to keep her safe. Plus, she loves him.” He lifted my head, brushing his lips against mine. “Just like I love you.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll give him a chance.” I groaned, tilting my head to the side as Tate kissed along my chin and down my neck, his hands already going to the front of my pants.
“But, if he thinks he’s going to keep pushing his duties off onto me so he can spend time with Jack, then I can’t be held responsible for what I do next. ”
“Of course not,” Tate murmured, dragging his teeth along my collar bone. “It has to be fair.”
“Right, fair,” I repeated, letting him lean me back onto the bed before suddenly sitting up, pushing Tate’s hands away.
“Then how is this fair?” Suddenly, I was on my feet again, pacing the room.
“I’m here trying to win Jack over again, and he’s making sure that I’m nowhere near her. Chasing after dead end leads.”
Tate huffed, leaning on his elbow on the bed. “They aren’t dead ends.”
“Yes, they are,” I shot back. “The professor hasn’t done anything to indicate she’s one of the rebels who attacked Jack.”
“Okay, fine.” Tate groaned, rubbing his face. “What do you suggest we do?”
I grabbed my coat and jerked it on. “We need to be more aggressive with this. No more following her around.”
Tate shoved to his feet, holding his hands out to me. “Now hold on, Kyren. What are you planning to do?”
“What I should have done in the first place.” A wicked grin spread across my face. “Get answers. My way.”
Before he could stop me, I wrapped myself in shadows and reappeared in the professor’s apartment. Still preening herself in the mirror, she didn’t see me at first. Then her eyes locked onto mine, and she let out a blood-curdling scream.
This may be easier than I thought.
A half hour later, I licked the blood from my fingers as I appeared on Jack’s doorstep. I made sure there was no lingering blood from the professor on me before I pushed the doorbell.
A few moments later, a human male opened the door. He had Jack’s dark hair and nose and smelled distinctly like someone bonded to a vampire. This must be her biological father, Darren.
“Can I help you?” he asked, skimming me over with a bland expression. He and Jack definitely shared some of the same facial expressions. They could almost be twins, though I had no desire to kiss her father.
“I’m here to see Jack,” I announced.
Normally, I’d have just popped in with my shadows. But, since I knew she was still training with the hunter, I decided this made more of an impression. I wasn’t going to hide in the dark like some dirty little secret. I was loudly and boldly claiming her for all to see.
Darren’s lips pressed into a tight line before he moved to close the door. “She’s busy.”
I opened my mouth to protest when a female voice beat me to it.
“Darren, stop that.” A pretty blonde woman with Jack’s eyes shoved the door back open, scowling at Darren. “Don’t be so rude. Hello.” She grinned at me, holding a hand out. “You must be Kyren. I’ve heard so much about you.”
I stared down at her hand, realizing this was Piper. Jack’s mom. The woman who killed my sire.
For a moment, I just stared at her hand, in awe of how far I’d come. Just a few weeks ago, I would have wanted nothing more than to have this chance. I could get my revenge for Kleon right here and now.
Except all the anger and rage I’d built up over the years was nothing compared to the thought of how it would make Jack feel if I hurt her mother.
Sliding my hand into hers, I shook it. “Yes, I’m here to see Jack.”
“Come right on in.” Piper pushed Darren back, opening the door wider, while shooting a discrete glare over at the male.
“I think she’s in the training room with Julian right now,” Piper explained, gesturing for me to follow her.
I didn’t bother telling her I knew, since to most, my watchful shadows seemed more stalkerish than protective.
Darren followed behind us, not saying anything, but the disapproval wafted off him in waves.
My eyes ate up the house as we walked through the foyer under the stairs and down a hallway. I could feel the presence of several other vampires nearby, which I could only assume were Jack’s other dads.
I didn’t get a chance to wonder if they would appear because, when we reached the training room door, three large, muscled vampires appeared before me.
Two of them were twins, their matching glowers burning into my skin while the taller, darker skinned one simply watched me with an unreadable expression.
“Guys,” Piper drew out, crossing her arms over her chest. “Leave him alone. This is between him and Jack.”
One of the twins pulled his glare away from me to look at her. “But he could be here to hurt her. You killed his sire, remember?”
I had a feeling this was going to come up. Still, it was better to get it all out in the open and show them how serious I was about their daughter.
“Yes, you did,” I stated, turning their attention back to me. “And I would be remiss to not admit that I was angry for a long time. I wanted to hurt your family the way you hurt me. Then…” I trailed off, staring at the closed training room door. “I met her. And none of it mattered anymore.”
Piper cooed, her hand to her heart.
“That doesn’t mean you won’t still try to hurt Jack now,” the same twin snipped at me. “There’s been enough threats to her life. How do we know you were part of them?”
“Because I’d rather die than see her hurt,” I shot back, letting him see the fury in my eyes. “I will rip to shreds anyone who dares thinks to harm her. Even if that person ends up being me.”
For a long moment, we stared each other down before they nodded and stepped back from the door. I reached for the door handle except it opened on its own, revealing Jack and Julian on the other side.
“Oh! Kyren!” Jack pressed a hand to her mouth. “What are you doing here?” She quickly looked at her parents and then back to me, her mouth opening and shutting, unsure of what to say.
“Don’t worry,” Piper reassured her. “We’re good. Right?” She sent a scathing look at Jack’s four dads, who reluctantly nodded. A secretive smile crept up Piper’s face before she winked at her daughter, ushering the other four away from the door. “Have fun.”
“Kyren.” Jack stepped forward, a look of uncertainty on her face. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but aren’t you supposed to be following Professor Campbell?”
“Neglecting your duties already, I see,” Julian added on, shaking his head. “I knew we couldn’t trust him with this. I should have just done it.”
“Yeah,” I clipped, glaring at him, “you should have. I’m not one of your hunters. And the professor was a waste of time, she has a whole stack of paper that was charmed to not have a scent.”
Jack’s brows furrowed. “Then who wrote the note?”
I smirked, tucking my hands into my pockets. “Did you know your hunter here isn’t the only professor sleeping with a student?”
Julian shot me a dry look.
“You think this student took one?” Jack wrinkled her nose. “Do they hate me so much they’d sleep with Professor Campbell just to get to her charmed paper?”
“Don’t know,” I shrugged, “but I do know the name of the werewolf who she gave one to about a month ago.”
“That’s great!” Jack’s eyes widened, her hand whipping out to smack the hunter on the chest, “Julian, isn’t that great?”
Julian didn’t answer me, watching me as if I were something he was hunting, categorizing all my strengths and weaknesses. Then he sniffed the air, leaning toward me.
“Is that blood?”