Chapter 65
Volik
Ifocus on my heartbeat as I cross my arms.
She wanted to review her notes before class started, so that is what she’s doing now, sitting at her desk, face in her laptop, with me standing in front of her desk.
I found the dean in the commons earlier, when I went to buy two coffees, two muffins, and two egg sandwiches—not sure what the girls would want to eat, knowing Nix did not eat dinner last night. Aside from my blood.
Jenny’s inquiry fresh in my mind, I told Henry that we did not need his help keeping students in line today.
I would be doing that.
Then I told him of the developments and the plan to put out a statement via Nix’s journalist this weekend.
He grinned like an idiot. I walked away.
Now, I am fulfilling my new life’s purpose of protecting Nix.
Footsteps sound in the hallway, and Nix’s heart tries to jump, but I inhale slowly and keep our heartbeat steady.
She’s nervous.
Worried about the reaction of her students. And the world. But I will not let her worry alone.
Still standing with my back to her desk, I turn my head and keep my gaze on the doorway as a trio of students walks in together.
Their whispers stop when they see me, and their steps falter.
I do not adjust my stance.
The one boy already smells sweaty, but the scent turns sharp when stress pumps through his system.
Da, you should be stressed about looking at my mate.
Even though they cannot tell where I am looking, I still make a point to shift my attention between all of them.
Their eyes might not be able to understand mine, but their nervous systems know when they are being hunted.
They scurry to the far back corner.
The next group comes in.
And the next.
Until it’s a steady stream.
I keep standing where I am. My body blocking the seated students from seeing Nix. My head turned toward the door. My eyes keeping the new students from looking at anything but the floor.
A handful of kids stop at the threshold, then spin away. Inwardly, I smirk to myself.
I do not need the dean’s attendance list.
I just need to stare.
Does not hurt that this is the same group of kids I threatened Wednesday morning.
There’s a soft click behind me as Nix shuts her laptop.
The clock beside the door indicates one minute past ten. Time for class.
I unfold my arms and put my back to the class as I turn to face Nix.
Bending, I plant my hands on the desktop, in a wide stance, keeping myself as a barrier. “You are amazing.” I keep my voice low. For Nix only.
“So are you,” she whispers back, her beautiful eyes looking up into mine.
My heart threatens to quicken.
Matching eyes. Matching hearts.
“Tell me if you want to quit.”
Her smile is instant, and her exhale is light. “A lot of money.”
“Da.” I dip my chin.
She reaches up and touches my cheek. And I have to fight down the purr that tries to escape my chest. “You’ll stay in the room?”
“Da.”
She pulls her hand back as she stands.
I straighten with her.
“You’ll glare the whole time, making sure no one is mean to me?”
I expand my chest with an inhale, making myself as wide as possible. “Da.”
Nix takes a deep breath, blows it out, then nods.
We move at the same time, passing each other next to her desk.
Nix’s eyes become visible to the room as she moves to the spot I just vacated. And the murmurs start immediately.
I stop a few feet behind Nix’s desk and face the class.
Anyone who is looking at her will also see me.
There are some phones out. There was no avoiding that and no use trying to control it. But Nix stays where she is, leaning back against the desk, and after a few moments, the students grow silent.
Her shoulders lift with another inhale as I keep our heartbeat steady.
“There have been some developments.” Furniture creaks as students lean forward over their tables, eyes wide, and I am certain Nix just gave them a glimpse of her beautiful, new pointy teeth.
“And as my Investigative Journalism class, it is understandable that you’ll have questions.
” Fifty hands lift into the air. “Yes, my eyes are black. And I have fangs. And…” She lifts a hand, wiggling her fingers. “This is not nail polish.”
More hands go up as people begin to murmur again.
I clear my throat, and the room silences as attention snaps to me before going back to Nix.
“But I will not be answering questions right now.” There’s a collective groan as hands lower.
“We are going to finish the section we started Wednesday to prepare for next week’s test. If you all participate, I will allow you three minutes at the end of class to confer with one another to choose two questions to ask me.
And choose wisely. I am not obligated to answer, so don’t pick something that common sense tells you is inappropriate.
” Murmurs start again. Probably everyone wondering if they can ask about sex, and I am torn between smirking and snarling.
But instead of intervening, I watch Nix hold up a finger.
“If you interrupt class, or spend the hour gawking rather than listening, I will answer zero questions. Got it?”
The class as a whole nods.
And I spend the hour watching my clever mate work.
By the time we reach the end of the second class, I think I understand why Nix wants to continue teaching.
She is good. Understanding. Understandable. Relatable.
She will not need me here as security for the rest of the semester, but I plan to stay anyway, even if it’s just to listen to her talk.
Nix was impressed this morning, during the house tour, when I explained that I make a lot of my own furniture, so I bet she would let me put an extra chair in here. Maybe even my own desk.
“And your second question?” she asks the girl standing two rows up.
The student glances at her notebook. “Do you expect the government to get involved, regarding the mate bond?”
Nix hums.
The first class asked her questions related to the physical changes.
If her sight was any different now. Seeing in the dark was something she and I had not yet discussed, but we will.
And what did it feel like to grow fangs.
Her jaw was sore when she fell asleep, and she woke up with them already formed.
The second class started similarly, asking if the changes occurred at the same time and what prompted it. Woke up with the change, and the exact cause is unknown, but I speculate it happened because I consumed some of Volik’s blood.
I had to work to hide my grin on that one as eyes widened and mouths dropped open.
“This is a good learning question.” Nix sounds pleased with the students’ choice.
“If this were for a story, that would be the question to ask the entities who have the answer. A local government representative. Calling your senator. That sort of thing. And you would keep your questions to me about me. Your first question was clever. Technically two, lumped into one. And even though I do not have a medical background or proof, I was able to tell you what I think, because it was regarding my person. This question, if the government will try to put itself into my life, will have an answer of pure speculation on my part. That being said.” She tips her head back and forth like she’s weighing options.
“I think they will try. I think they will use whatever reasoning they can think of to request a meeting. I think all their reasons will be bullshit, and their actual motivation will be to assess what danger I may or may not present.”
A low growl rolls out of my chest, and I make no attempt to hide it.
Wary gazes dart to me, but they seem smart enough to understand what is upsetting me. And it is not them.
Nix sighs. “I also think they will try to do the same thing with Volik.”
Phones are still out, students are recording. But Nix is acting like she does not see them. Keeping the appearance that this is her just answering a question to a class of students.
But I know her.
I know my Nix.
This is a calculation.
A message to them.
She keeps her head high. “And I think if they do that, they will find that nothing has changed.”
The girl, still standing in the aisle, lifts her hand even as she asks, “What do you mean by nothing has changed?”
“Whether or not I am physically dangerous. Whether or not Volik has gained size and strength. Nothing has changed about the status quo. The agreement between Alts and the world governments remains. If they pretend we are anything else… If our, or any other, government tries to take us. Test on us. Lock us up. That agreement will be broken.”
There are no murmurs this time.
No whispers.
Just silence.
Because these students understand what she’s really saying.
If anyone comes for us, we will destroy them.
With the cameras still on Nix, and me still standing behind her, I smile.