Page 18 of Cloak of the Vampire
“The wait wassoworth it,” another girl said, grinning.
I turned to look at Tansy, who was in her corner, staring into space while practicing the extension and retraction of her fangs.
“And theteacher!” Zoey sighed. “He’s so sexy, very fuckable.”
One of the guys she was talking to gave a snort. “In your dreams, maybe,” he said. “I’ve been here for two weeks already, and believe me, I’ve tried. I wouldn’t get my hopes up if I were you.”
“And you would think that since our Lord chose us, he’d be a lot nicer,” another girl said, pouting.
“We need to earn our place, remember?” one of the guys said. “We must work to earn our stay in the League. Maybe if you fail at your job, you’re kicked out?”
This was just silly. “He can’t kick you out,” I said.
Zoey and her companions swiveled to stare at me. “How come?” Zoey asked, frowning.
“There was a specific clause about it in the League System Agreement form we all signed,” I replied, and when their faces remained puzzled, I inwardly rolled my eyes. Didn’t anyone read the contracts before signing like blind fools? “Unless you breach the Secrecy Agreement, you won’t be kicked out of the League System. It’s illegal for a Lord to do so based on you failing at your job, for instance.”
The guy sighed in relief, but Zoey still seemed concerned. “What happens, then? If we are of no use to the League?”
I shrugged, unable to provide an answer. I honestly had no clue, but my gut told me there was something in this question that was worth looking into. Not that I’d planned on being useless; I wanted to stay in this League for one very clear reason, and being useless wouldn’t help my cause.
When the break was over, Abe returned to the classroom. Another man followed him inside, wearing black jeans, a black turtlenecksweater, a black leather jacket, and black boots. He had curly black hair that stopped right below his earlobes, bright-turquoise eyes, and a handsome, clean-shaven face. His body was like that of a swimmer, lean with broad shoulders, and he had a golden tan that seemed to be natural.
My breath caught, and my mind blanked out.
I barely heard anything Abe said. He was probably introducing the man to the class, but no introductions were needed, not for me.
The man’s eyes did a quick sweep over the class but didn’t for a moment rest on me. Could it be that he didn’t recognize me? My face hadn’t changed that much in the past few years—and neither had his.
I was deeply flustered and also completely and utterly scared. This man was one of the very,veryfew people who knew things about me I’d rather keep hidden. His being here was more than just an ill-fated coincidence. It was extremely bad news.
I was somehow able to maintain my outward composure, and it took all my effort to return my focus back to whatever Abe was saying.
“... show us his abilities,” the teacher completed his sentence and gestured over to the man.
To ... Logan, my first and last boyfriend.
I watched as Logan took a step forward. “Like Abe here already said, I’m Logan, and I’m Gifted,” he said, his tenor voice too familiar, yet it sounded like a stranger’s. “When I was human, I was really good at soccer, a rising star, a prodigy. When I was given the Imprint, the talent seemed to be more inherent than I would’ve thought.”
He turned to Abe. “Can I kick your desk?”
Abe sighed as if he knew firsthand what agreeing to Logan’s request meant. “Buy me a new one, will you?”
Logan smirked as he glanced over at the class meaningfully. Then he raised his leg and kicked the desk. It was almost a love tap, gentle and slow.
But that love tap resulted in the desk hitting the wall and shattering into a million splinters.
The class was deadly quiet as Logan snickered and gave us an unfamiliar devil-may-care grin. “My power lies in my legs, but I also have better stamina than most vampires. All because I was a talented soccer player.”
“Logan will be your gym instructor.” Abe grinned evilly when he saw the dread on some of the faces. “Don’t worry; he’s not going to kick any of you. The only thing he will kick is your butt.”
Logan grinned, too, as his eyes moved over the class. Again, they didn’t linger on me once, yet it seemed like his grin wasn’t as lighthearted when he turned to look back at Abe.
Then Logan said, “I’ll see you in a couple of days,” before he turned and left the room.
That’s when I made a split-second decision and shot to my feet. “I’m thirsty,” I said aloud. I couldn’t say I needed to use the toilet; one thing I had listened to was Abe’s explanation about how our digestive system worked now. The blood and food we consumed did not translate into nature’s call; instead, they were transmuted into energy.
While Abe turned a questioning look at me, I strode toward the door and left the room before he could give me permission to do so. Logan was already halfway down the hall, and I had to jog to catch up to him, my footsteps echoing off the floor.
