The elegant furnishings in Hunter's dorm

  I don't know whether it is luck or fate that I haven't seen Hunter since, but I like to call it luck. The nasty looks thrown my way by other classmates and even people from years above have me ducking my head, making no eye contact with anyone.

  "This isn't like you." Jeremy musses as I dodge people leaving or entering the dorm. I just shrug and duck under a wildly waving arm, and make my way up the stairs. "You really need to pull yourself together." He calls after me from the hall as I make a beeline for our shared room. "It will blow over!"

  Not very likely. This crap has been going on for two weeks now so it won't blow over anytime soon. I groan as I flop face first on my bed. Turning my head so I can look at the wall covered with colourful photographs of my mother and smiling sisters, I am not ashamed to say that I feel a little homesick. Every day of my life for as long as I can remember, I have always regretted not having a older or younger brother. But now living here, I miss my sisters. Needless to say, I am looking forward to the holidays so I can go home and visit them. Seeing my mother's slightly sad grey eyes, I remind myself to write her a letter.

  "Go away if you are not Jeremy!" I shout as a knock sounds just as I sit down behind my desk, paper and pen poised to start writing. Hearing some shuffle of feet in front of the door and thinking that is the last if it, I lose myself in telling my mother and sisters about my latest achievements in school. I managed to get one of the highest score in history, which has always been a stumbling block for me as I always manage to mix up the years and dates of important information.

  Thinking nothing of it as the door opens and closes. Jeremy usually enters quietly; maybe a grunt of acknowledgement since I have been 'sulking' since my detention with Hunter. Jumping up from my chair as a heavy hand lands on my shoulder. In doing so, I squeeze the pen too hard and creating a blotch of ink on the paper and the several others under it.

  I turn to face the jackass who thought it was funny to scare me like this. Only to come face to face with a stranger's face. "Who are you?" Although I snarl, the dark haired, blue eyed boy doesn't seem too intimidated or frazzled. Hell, he even smiles a wide toothy grin with shiny, white, pointy teeth. Glaring at him with my arms crossed in front of my chest doesn't stop him from chuckling, making me wonder if I have lost my touch with Charm Speak when he talks in a timbre that is neither too deep or too musical.

  "I am Marcus Dumitru friend of Hunter DeSilva" His eyes quickly scan my face and upper chest as he sits down on my bed without invitation. "And as for your silent question, living with someone like Hunter for most of one's life will make you immune to quite some things." He gives me a saucy wink before he glances at the photo's near my pillow away from the door. "They your human family?" The look of open curiosity is slightly disheartening and I feel my anger dwindle.

  "That is Elina Chernov!" His eyes are wide as he turns back to face me, managing to pull his face away from where it was nearly merged with the wall. "I thought she had disappeared when the Count and Lady Elisabeth did. No one could find her or them among the ruins of the castle after the fire." He mutters quietly to himself, "No wonder no one could find her if she is hiding in the human world. The High Council will be so pleased to know that she is alive and well!"

  Even though he seems harmless, I have a gut feeling that Elina has her own reasons of not wanting to contact the High Council. "Again, what do you want?" I hate it when people don't get to the point of things. Marcus just raises an eyebrow at the obvious annoyance in my voice. Rolling my eyes at the sudden mischievous glint in his eyes I start tapping my foot as I wait for him to respond.

  My eyes narrow as he stands up in such a fluent motion it looks like he hardly moved at all. "You really hate waiting huh?" He tilts his head to the side grinning at some inside joke before he shakes his head and leaves the room.

  "Who was that?" Jeremy asked dazedly as he stares out into the hall before stumbling over something lying on the floor. I don't like the star struck look in his eyes when ours connect.

  "That was Marcus Dumitru, a friend of Hunter." I spit out venomously as I turn back around and return back to my letter. Not seeing Jeremy's wide eyes as he stares at me. "What?!" Snapping at him doesn't really help but it does make me feel a little better, to let out some of my build up frustration. He says nothing as I stomp past him to post my letter, he just shakes his head.

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  When I meet Hunter again, the week after, it feels like a punch in the gut as my breath leaves my lungs in a rush. He seemingly doesn't see me standing there, in the middle of the crowded corridor, and just as my shoulders slump with relief, he grips my upper arm and drags me off.

  "Wha—" My question is cut off aburptly as his lips crush mine shut. Instead of pushing him off or punching him, I freeze. I just stand there as a wide eyed statue, pressed up against a wall yet again. A groan leaves me as his teeth lightly nip at my lip and the sound seems to wake him up out of whatever daze he is in.

  Even though he snapped out of it, he still keeps standing pressed up against me. I don't fight as his tongue licks its way inside my mouth, exploring every nook and cranny. Surprising the both of us as he pulls back and I let out a whine. Blinking, a slow grin spreads across his face as he cups my cheeks. With his lips a hairs breath away from mine he whispers "I told you that you would give into me."

  The words softly spoken like sand filtering in through a sieve. "Wha—?"Confusion clouds my mind, what is he on about? What does he mean give in? I haven't given in to anything! That thought lost ground as Hunter's mouth closes over my raging pulse, sucking hard at the flesh. Marking. Claiming. Something stirs in me, something wicked and burning. It has me gasping for breath, my hands digging themselves in his thick hair. Whether to push him closer or to pull him off me I don't know. But I feel bereft of something the moment he lifts his head up, away from my skin.

  With my knees trembling, I am grateful for the support of the wall behind me. Slumping against it, I feel my heart jackhammer away in my chest. Making it difficult to properly breathe, "What have you done to me?!" He must have done something when I wasn't looking, for this is not normal. To have a sever reaction like this to a mere kiss is unnatural.

  A shiver of something dances down my spine as he tips my head so he can look into my eyes. I hold my breath as he cages me against the wall with his body, all my nerve endings tingling with his closeness. A deep undeniable need roars up from the most primitive part of my being. A need for his blood, his very essence, his everything. A need for it to all be mine and mine alone.

  Hunter chuckles lowly as he presses himself against me and I wrap myself instinctively around him. A startled female gasp drags my head up from the crook of Hunter's neck. The two wide terrified eyes are enough to overpower the instinct to cling to Hunter. Suddenly I am back in the present and I remember that I don't particularly like Hunter, let alone like him like that.

 Panic settles in my gut as my body doesn't respond to me at all. It is as if someone has poured cement in my bones as they stay locked around Hunter, no matter how much I order them to move. I feel my muscles obey, I feel them straining, pulling at my unwilling bones.

  "Stop panicking, it is not going to help." I don't like how quickly it dispatches at Hunter's softly muttered words. I don't need to look at his face to know he is annoyed. His whole body is tense, his breathing erratic. I can hear it whistle through his teeth every time he takes a breath.

  With considerably more effort than it should take me, I manage to slowly uncurl my right leg from Hunter's waist. I try to ignore the heat of his hand on my thigh as he holds it until my foot is firmly on the ground. My left leg is more stubborn then my right leg as it refuses to be move.

   "The both of you are gluttons for punishment, aren't you?" I barely acknowledge Marcus as I am too busy focusing on my left leg that is now nearly on the floor. The moment my left foot hits the floor, both my legs give out and I nearly topple over backwards. But thanks to Hunter's arms securely wrapped around my waist I stay up right. "You two better get a move on though." Marcus urges as I try and unfurl my fingers from his hair.

  "What are you doing?!" I exclaim as Hunter lifts me without problems and puts my legs back around his waist, muttering something along the lines of taking too much time under his breath as he speeds out of the room. The corridors blur together as Hunter moves swiftly but silently through them. He only slows down slightly as he enters a corridor I recognise as the one that leads to the cafeteria. My stomach rumbles at the mere thought of the noisy crowded place, but Hunter ignores it as he continues on. Past an alarmed looking Jeremy as he spots us as we whiz by.

  Trying hard not to enjoy the feeling of Hunter's muscles bunch up and relax as he runs, I focus on my surroundings instead. My eyes pop wide open at the sheer wealth that seems to stream down from the walls and ceilings as we enter an elegant Victorian building. Everything in the building looks like antiques or at least very valuable objects from the previous century or even older. Hunter has no eyes for any of it as he turns corner after corner and up a set of grandiose stairs.

  The sound of a door closing sounds loud to my ears and I flinch. I blink as I feel a soft matrass under my ass, much like the one on my bed. The heady scent filters in and my world narrows down to just Hunter as he stands panting lightly in front of me. Everything in me screams to edge closer to him, closer to that heady scent.

  "Where am I?" The unsteady sound of my voice grates on my skin like a piece of sandpaper. Grating on my every nerve. My body becomes fully alert as Hunter bends forward lightly, leaning on his hands dangerously close to my squirming hips.

  "My room."