Page 20 of Promised in Blood

She waggles her eyebrows at me. “I bet he wanted to delve a little deeper.” She snorts a laugh. “Maybe that’s why he was so pissed.”

My cheeks heat, but I can’t help but laugh along with her. “Cadence! He did not.”

“You never know. I mean, his vampire offspring sure seem super into you.” She presses her lips together like she’s revealed something she shouldn’t have.

“Yeah. I know that. But he wouldn’t be into me. He’s my professor.”

She lowers her voice. “Lots of the professors fool around with the students here. It’s not like a normal college. Especially wolves and vampires. They’re all very sexually charged creatures if you know what I mean.” She grins. “And you, Ophelia, are hot. Even Sienna has a thing for you, and in all the time I’ve known her, she’s only ever been attracted to other wolves.”

“She does not.” The heat from my cheeks races down my neck, and I have to shake my head to clear it of the mesmerizing werewolf I met in the library yesterday.

“Anyway.” I clear my throat. “You know how he is about not giving private lessons. I guess he agreed because of my friendship with the guys. And then when I forgot…” I wince, faking embarrassment and hoping she buys my flimsy story.

Cadence pops a fry into her mouth. “Well, I for sure would never forget a private session with that man. He is perfect. AndI bet he knows exactly what to do with a woman.” She finishes chewing with her eyes closed and lets out a dreamy sigh.

Unexpected jealousy washes over me, but I shove it aside. “Well, I’m not sure he’ll offer again after last night.”

She eats another french fry and licks her lips. “So did you do it?”

My heart stops beating. “Do what?”

She laughs. “The lesson. Did he calm down enough to give you your private tutoring? Or was he so mad he spanked you over his desk instead?” Another sigh escapes her, and she stares off into the distance. Is she imagining him doing that to her? Oh my word. I have to tell her about us.

Sienna approaches our table before I can find the right words. “Hey, girls,” she says. “Can I sit?”

Cadence beams at her. “Sure.”

Sienna sits beside me, her thigh lightly resting against mine. Recalling what Cadence told me a few moments ago has nerves fluttering in my abdomen. She tosses her long dark braids over her shoulder and beckons us to lean closer. “Did you hear someone burned down Professor Drakos’s office last night?”

Oh dear god. I’m going to die of shame right here at this table.

Cadence gasps. “What? Who? Was he in it? Is he hurt?”

Sienna shakes her head. “Dunno. I heard President Ollenshaw is pissed, and nobody knows what happened.”

My eyes dart between the two of them as they speculate about what could have happened, each new theory wilder than the last. And not a single one remotely close to the truth.

“I wonder if he burned it down in a fit of rage after Ophelia missed his tutoring session,” Cadence says with a giggle.

I finally snap. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Sienna bumps her arm against mine. “Okay, fire starter.”

Tears burn behind my eyes, and my throat closes over. “Please don’t call me that.”

She blinks in surprise. “Okay, I’m sorry.”

Despite my inability to make friends, my instincts about people have always been pretty good. And since that day in the kitchen when Professor Drakos told me I was something other than human, I have wondered if maybe whatever powers I had were responsible for that.

Those instincts are telling me now that I should trust these two girls. That I will regret it if I don’t. “When I was in high school, there was a huge fire, and people accused me of starting it.” I know that I technically did start it. The professor told me as much that day in the faculty library, but he also assured me it wasn’t my fault. “And it kind of ruined my life. The only good foster parents I ever had kicked me out, and I had to move into a group home and finish high school online.” I’ve been staring down at my half-eaten burrito the whole time I was talking, and I finally look up at Cadence and Sienna. My stomach twists while I wait for their reaction, and I fervently hope they don’t get up and walk away.

I have to swallow a sob when Sienna wraps her arm around my shoulder and gives me a quick but warm sideways hug. “I had no idea that happened to you. I’m so fucking sorry, O.”

Cadence reaches across the table and squeezes my hand in hers. “Yeah, girl. It sucks you had to go through that.”

“We know you didn’t burn down the professor’s office,” Sienna adds, her lips gently curving at the corners.

I close my eyes and try to melt into my seat. They’re the first real friends I’ve ever had, and I hate keeping things from them

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