“Were you not listening the other day?” Rage smirked and rubbed his chin.
“Yeah, you asked what I was doing over break, and I said nothing.” It was the other day when we had been heading to class. “Also, you said that you were heading home early Friday.”
“Yes, and I said my family couldn’t wait to meet you.” Rage leaned over, getting close to me.
“Wait …” Maybe I wouldn’t have to be alone after all. “Were you asking me to go home with you?”
“Of course.” Rage scooted closer to me and grinned. “You’re going to, right? Otherwise, we can hunker down somewhere together.”
I shouldn’t be surprised. We were true mates, but I hated to impose on his family or ask him to stay with me. “If they are okay with me coming back with you, I’d love to.”
“Mom is beside herself.” Rage pulled at the collar of his maroon polo shirt. “So be prepared.”
“It sounds perfect.” I leaned over and kissed his lips. “I can’t wait.”
“Alright, this is kind of awkward for me. I’m going to head up to the clearing.” Damien stood and grabbed his plate. “Hurry up and eat. Madison just left the cafeteria.”
“Great, I can’t wait.” I cut another piece of French toast. For some reason, despite my impending doom with Madison, I was feeling pretty good.
As I headed through the last little bit of the woods that led me to the clearing, I couldn’t help but feel nervous. Last time Madison had kicked my ass. That was the only way to phrase it, it had been that bad.
The clearing came into view, and of course, the first thing I see is Madison in a dark red sports bra with black exercise pants. Her blood-red fingernails twisted her hair into a messy bun and slipped the black ponytail holder off her wrist, securing it in place.
Her fingernails were always that color. She either had to reapply it every night or somehow gotten them to stay that color permanently.
“I smell a dog.” Madison cooed as I took a step into the clearing.
“Well, I smell a leech.” Both her and Jordan’s attitude grated on my nerves. “Small world, isn’t it?”
Damien coughed, trying to hide his chuckle. “Alright now, play nice.”
“I thought the smack talk was supposed to be getting us in the right mood.” Maybe if I didn’t act as nervous, I’d feel more confident. Maybe …
“Awe, that’s cute.” Madison tilted her head and smirked. “See, I don’t have to pregame in order to want to kick your ass.”
“Well, I don’t think you’re cute, so I guess it’s kind of even.” The first thing she was going to do was try to take me off guard.
It was as if she’d heard my thoughts. She rushed me, her figure blurring.
Luckily, my training took over. I lifted my right leg, kicking it straight out in front of me. Madison’s chest ran straight into it, and her right uppercut didn’t reach me. Her body bounced off my foot a little. I pushed off my left leg and spun, kicking her right in the face.
Her head whipped back, and blood poured from her nose. “You bitch!” Her hand reached up and touched her injury. When she pulled it away, sticky blood clung to her fingers. “You’re going to pay for that.”
“Remember to keep it clean, ladies,” Damien called from several feet away.
I wasn’t stupid enough to divert my attention from the fight. It was going to be hard enough to keep up with tracking her movements.
Again, she charged me, but I noticed her leg beginning to stretch out into a kick.
Somehow, I squatted just in time to miss her attack and kicked my leg out, making her land hard on her ass.
Her pale green eyes filled with hatred. “You’re going down.” Instead of charging me, she stood and walked over to me. “Now it’s on.”
She blurred, but I had no time to glimpse what her target was. She hit me square in the jaw, and I stumbled back. Warm blood trickled down my chin, but I refused to be distracted. Tears threatened my eyes, but there was no way in hell I’d have let her see that. I cupped my jaw, acting like it hurt more than it did.
A smirk spread across her face as she stepped forward as if my blood called to her. “Did that hurt?”
Instead of responding, I punched with my free hand, hitting her square in the nose again. A loud sickening crack filled the air. “You broke my nose.”
That was one of the things that many humans had wrong. They think of vampires as indestructible, but their bones can break just like anyone else’s. It’s harder to do but possible. They just heal at a faster rate like all supernaturals do.
My jaw was killing me, and I couldn’t waste energy on being snarky.
Madison screamed a warrior cry and came in full-force. Her incisors elongated as she charged me full-throttle. She wasn’t holding back.
The shift overtook my body. My bones began to break, and my clothes ripped as I changed into my wolf form.
She hadn’t expected the shift and stumbled a few steps. She spun back around and clenched her fists so hard that her fingernails cut into her palms. “I’m going to kill you, mutt.” She marched over to me, her chest heaving with every breath.
Not wanting to be on the defensive, I growled and made my eyes fixate on her leg. I couldn’t let her know where I was planning to strike. I charged her and went straight for her neck.
She moved her leg but quickly caught on since I had jumped higher. She threw her hands up.
I wound up flying backward, landing hard against a branch. I whimpered as I quickly got back on all four paws. She was too fast, so I didn’t have any time to recover.
“Alright, that’s enough.” Damien stepped in between us.
“Like hell it is.” She lifted the back of her hand to her nose, wiping off the blood that was trickling from it.
The scent was sweet, not metallic. I learned that shortly after I bit Cole’s hand when I first got here. Vampire blood tastes like the most delectable chocolate you’ve ever tasted.
“She’s going to die.” Madison began to blur, but Damien must have expected it. Somehow, he caught her around the waist and threw her on the ground.
“This fight is over.” Damien’s voice took on the alpha edge he rarely used.
“I don’t have to listen to you.” Madison slowly climbed back onto her feet. “You aren’t anything to me.”
That’s what I hated so much about this school. There were so many entitled people thinking that they were on top. Although, what most of them didn’t realize was that there was more to being a strong leader than being a jackass or being able to do whatever they wanted. Maybe it was fortunate that I grew up so far removed because I’d have hated to act like one of them.
“Don’t make me kick your ass.” Damien's eyes glowed even more than usual. “Because I can, and I will.”
“Fine.” She stomped and clenched her hands into fists. “But she will pay for breaking my nose.”
“You injured her too.” He stepped toward me, moving into a protective stance that wasn’t too obvious. “Go on and head back. You both need a time-out before sparring again.”
“If you think time is going to erase me wanting to get even with her, then you’re sadly mistaken.” She raised her right hand, gingerly touching her nose.