Page 21 of Savage Desire

“Let. Go,” I growl, the pouch clutched between us as my breath heaves with every inhale, all while he remains as unfazed as ever.

“You don’t need it right now, Little Witch. If you can knock me to the ground again, maybe I’ll give it back to you.”

“What’s your fucking problem, Wylder?” I snap. The pet name that I was melting at just the other day now infuriates me like nothing else. I’m done with his bullshit.

To my surprise, his grasp loosens and I stumble back a step, the sand now back in my possession, and I sigh.

When I take a step back, he takes a step toward me. “Witch or not, you need to learn how to fight, Polaris. You’re getting yourself all tangled up over a little bag of sand when you need to defend yourself.”

“It has nothing to do with the sand and everything to do with you being an ass,” I grind out, and he snickers.

“I can be what I want, and there’s nothing you can do about it. If I have to be tough with you to make you see how important it is that you get stronger, then so be it. If the consequences are you being mad, then so be it. What are you gonna do? Use your magic. Use your sand on me. Let's get to fighting,” he states, but I'm done.

A film of a red stains my vision and I dig my hand into the pouch, feeling the grains at my fingertips, but they don’t sooth me as I scoop some into my hand and launch it at him.

It connects with his face, and he shields his eyes, the hiss of a bite coming from behind clenched teeth tells me I fucked up, but I don’t wait around to find out.

Instead, I run.

8

WYLDER

Despite the sand in my eyes, I know she’s gone, making a run for it. My ears perk up with the first step she takes, but like hell am I going to stick around here as she tries to put distance between us.

She’s right to do so, I’m being an ass, taking my issues out on her when it’s me with the problem, but attempting to admit that outloud is more complex than thinking it. Keeping the revelation to myself is the only option.

Swiping at my eyes, I squint through the discomfort to find Minnie glaring at me from her mat two rows over. She points to her right and I catch a flash of silver hair before Polaris disappears around the side of the building.

Fuck.

I trudge after her, leaving the sand to irritate my eyes as I hone all of my senses on her.

“Mr. Aires,” Professor Drummond hollers disapprovingly, but I don’t bother to turn around. I can deal with her consequences later. Right now, I need to work on the ones I have with Polaris.

Thankfully, as I cut across the grass, I hear Lincoln’s voice carry through the air, attempting to soothe the professor, giving me the out I need to up my speed.

I rub at my eyes as I reach the academy building, the discomfort little more than a scratch now as I take a deep breath, searching for her sweet, intoxicating scent. It’s stronger than I expect, and the moment I step around the corner of the stone wall, I see why.

Her back is leaning against the wall a few feet away. Her hands are braced on her knees as she sucks in a breath and fails miserably as she opts to mutter a line of curses instead. Her silver curls hang over her face, shielding her from my view, and me from hers, while I take the moment of peace it gives me to inhale her scent.

I’d had no intention of being an ass to her.

Not one.

When Tatum promised he had smoothed things over with her yesterday, I was ecstatic. When I saw her across the dining hall this morning, I was even more ecstatic. It was all perfect until Bianca chimed up from her seat across the table, bringing me tumbling back to Earth, or Hell, whichever is the worst.

“When you’re done panting over your latest obsession, remember what was promised between our families.”

Bianca was right. I am infatuated with Polaris. Beyond words. Which is great and all, except for one fact, one major factor that threatens to bring me to my knees.

She’s not a wolf.

Not even a little.

She’s a witch. A fact that I hadn’t seen as an issue until I was reminded of the fact that quadrants don’t mix. Not since the blood kin curse was bestowed upon us all, long before our time.

Vampires stay tangled up in vampires.

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