7. Rhys
RHYS
I shoved the phone against my ear as I stalked down the campus path, my fangs pushing against my gums. They wanted out. I just wasn’t sure what they wanted more: to rip out the jugular of that Simon guy or to drink the nectar that flowed through Soraya’s veins.
My dick twitched, pressing hard against my zipper. What was that term the humans loved? Fuck my life. Fuck it, indeed.
I knew what my dick wanted. Something it would never get. So I opted for murder instead.
“Problem?” Pax answered his phone with that single question.
“Yes, there is a goddamned problem,” I snarled.
“Where are you?” he clipped.
As if he had any right to ask.
“The better question is why you’d let a predator even breathe the same air as Soraya.”
Silence greeted me on the other end of the line for a few moments. “What are you talking about?”
I could hear the tendrils of panic in his voice, but I wasn’t sure whether it was for Soraya or himself.
“Simon.”
Pax blew out an audible breath. “He’s a sleaze, but he’s not dangerous.”
“Did you probe his mind?” I growled.
“You know my gift for that is not as strong as yours. I need to guard my resources, so I use it sparingly,” Pax ground out.
The thought that he hadn’t looked into a potential threat against my fated nearly had my fangs ripping free.
Fucking hell. I was already thinking of her as my mate. And that couldn’t happen. But there was no denying it—her blood called to me like no other’s ever would, regardless of the fact that she was a Luminary.
“Simon Kensington has been harming women for years. He cornered Soraya. Wanted to hurt her.” I barely kept my temper under control as Pax swore.
“Where are you?” he asked again.
“Rectifying the problem that you did not.” I hit end on the call and shoved my phone into my pocket.
I saw a flash of Simon’s auburn hair as he looked around.
Ducking behind one of the many ridiculous statues across campus, I waited.
He looked up at the sign for campus security.
His thoughts were so loud they practically screamed at me as he wondered if he really needed to follow through on my orders.
And then he did the stupid thing.
He walked away.
Men like Simon thought they were untouchable, but he would learn that he wasn’t.
I moved quickly down the path, fighting the urge to let my supernatural speed take over. It would be so easy, but I couldn’t risk it. Not at this moment.
In a flash, I gripped Simon’s arm, my nails elongating and piercing his flesh.
“What the fu—?” The douchebag’s words cut off as he took me in and paled.
“Si—can I call you Si?” I asked cheerily.
“Let me go, you freak. I’ll scream.”
My gaze connected with his. “You will not scream. You will not raise an alarm of any kind. You will come with me without argument.”
“I won’t scream,” Simon said in a sort of daze.
“Rhys,” a voice hissed from behind me.
I turned to see Pax running toward me. He knew me too well.
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
“I’m doing the human realm a service,” I muttered. “Though it sort of takes the fun out of it when their minds are this weak.”
Pax’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t think Soraya will notice her classmate going missing? One you threatened in front of her? I know you and your temper, Rhys.”
What he didn’t say was that I had triggers. Harming women, children, innocents of any kind made me snap.
“No one knows who I am. It won’t be a risk.”
Pax ran a hand through his hair. “You’re just making it so we have to leave sooner.”
I stiffened, a different sort of anger coursing through me then. “I know how to cover my tracks.”
“That hurts, dude,” Simon said almost dreamily.
My nails had extended more, digging deeper into his flesh. “It’s nothing compared to when I pull your still-beating heart from your chest.”
“That would suck,” Simon muttered.
“Suck, indeed,” I agreed.
Pax just shook his head. “Stop being so dramatic.”
I whirled on my friend. “He. Threatened. My. Mate.”
Pax’s eyes widened as realization dawned. “You feel it. The tether.”
It wasn’t a question. I wanted to deny it. I wanted to say that Olympia was a liar and a fool. But she wasn’t. Soraya Morningstar was my mate—and I’d die before I would let any harm come to her.
“Come on,” I snarled. “I need to kill this scum so I feel a little better.”