“That seems to be the case.”
Her smile broadened as if she was surprised River had answered her. He thought about just brushing her question off and steering it back to the project, but he didn’t. He continued to hold the meaningless conversation. River could pretend like the best of them to be a friendly person, he just tended not to. It wasn’t a necessity for his survival.
As the meeting came to a close, River packed up his work with a clear goal in his mind. As long as he knew exactly what was needed of him, he was fine. He hated being placed in groups where they weren’t sure how to divide up the task or some people were too incompetent to be trusted, so the group met often which meant River had to constantly change up his schedule. But River had gotten lucky that time around with his group members having somewhat of a brain.
River made it two steps out of the library before he felt eyes on him. He glanced around, but before he could find the person watching him, Vygus ran up to him.
“Master,” Vygus shouted.
River shook his head and turned, walking the opposite way of Vygus, ignoring him even as people looked at them with curiosity. River’s skin itched with the number of eyes on him. He resisted the urge to rub his arms and walked at a quickening pace, but he knew Vygus would be right behind him. There was no way River could outrun a werewolf.
“You’re angry,” Vygus said he slowed his pace to match River’s, easily catching up to him. He inhaled sharply, his body brushing up against River in all too familiar way.
River said nothing as he continued to walk.
“I texted you,” Vygus said.
River chewed on the inside of his cheek as he tried to get a handle on his thoughts. He wanted nothing more than to shout at Vygus, but River didn’t do that. He didn’t make scenes; he didn’t draw attention to himself. But since being involved with Caydem and Vygus, his life was steadily changing. His control over himself was gradually slipping through cracks River had never noticed before.
“Master,” Vygus said, moving to stand in front of River.
River stopped short of colliding with Vygus. There were fewer people around, but still, River had no desire to talk to Vygus out in the open especially with the werewolf calling him master. River stepped around Vygus and continued his trek across campus to his dorms. Vygus sighed but easily kept step with him. River had hoped the six minutes it would take to make it across campus would be made in silence. He was wrong; Vygus spoke the whole time, about nothing River had an interest in, but it was better than the werewolf making a scene. He spoke at a regular volume about some job he did, and River let it become background noise as they walked. River never commented on anything, but Vygus seemed to be content with that.
River pulled his keys out of his pocket and opened the door to his room. Vygus was hot on his heels. River placed his backpack where it always went and opened his closet. Vygus stood in the middle of the room, and River nearly ran into him.
“Go sit down,” River said in a clipped tone. Vygus moved toward the bed, and River cleared his throat. “The floor. I don’t want my bed messed up.”
Vygus swallowed audibly, and River turned from him, not watching to see if Vygus would listen. Instead, he got ready for a shower. He checked his watch before taking it off and placing it on his desk. River said nothing as he walked out of his dorm room and straight to the community showers. If Vygus decided to get up and leave, then fine, but even as River thought about it, his stomach turned with discomfort. He clenched his fist. What the hell was he feeling? He should be elated if the wolf decided to leave, yet that wasn’t what he felt at all. River started to grind his teeth as he cleaned himself. The warm water washed away the suds from his body. Light scratch marks decorated his chest and left hip. It seemed to be Vygus’s favorite place to dig his claws in. River let his fingers linger there for a moment, tracing the healed flesh.
He let his mind bask in whatever it was trying to grasp, but before he could truly understand what was going on with himself, he snatched his hand away and rinsed the rest of the soap off. He was out in the appropriate amount of time and made his way back to his room with a towel hanging low on his hips. River didn’t know why, but when he opened the door, his eyes instantly went to Vygus, who still sat on the floor his legs crossed, looking bored.
Vygus’s green eyes caught River’s, and the wolf smiled at him, his smile reaching his eyes and crinkling the corners. What was that like?
River pushed the thought away and let the door close behind him as he made his way further into the small square room. River took the towel from his waist, making sure to dry off thoroughly. A deep growl behind him had River glancing over his shoulder at Vygus. His green eyes were trained on River’s ass, his lip curled up in a snarl.
“What?’ River asked.
Vygus finally looked up at him, and there was anger in his eyes as his fingers shifted into claws. Vygus made sure to keep his hands on his legs, shredding the washed-out jeans he wore and not the carpet in River’s dorm room.
“Do you really have to be with the bloodsucker?” Vygus asked with so much disdain in his voice.
River turned back around and continued to get dressed. Caydem and Vygus both knew about each other, and they both hated that River spent time with either one. River wished they would see he didn’t ask to spend time with either of them; they’d found him. In order to avoid the questions and both supernaturals effectively throwing temper tantrums, River made sure to scrub his body before going to see Caydem and hide the scratch marks on his body with large Band-Aids. For Vygus, River washing multiple times after a visit to Caydem and a day in between seeing Vygus seemed to work, but apparently the two had been leaving little clues on River’s body for each other to find.
“You can always leave.” River said.
He slipped his arms in a white button-up that had dark blue polka dots, then turned to look at Vygus. Gone was the angry stare, but River could see the werewolf was still annoyed. River sighed and walked over to Vygus and squatted down. Vygus’s head instantly shot up, gazing up at River. He didn’t have the words or the know-how to soothe Vygus. River wasn’t even sure why he wanted to. Vygus’s gaze traveled down River’s face and body. His shirt was still wide open, and Vygus licked his lips. River stood.
“No blood,” River said.
Vygus made a whining sound but placed his hands behind his back and moved to sit up on his knees. He leaned into River, and his nose brushed against his abs. Vygus bit his flesh hard enough to make River suck in a sharp breath. Vygus looked up at him through his thick lashes before letting go and licking the red spot he created. Vygus continued to bite River’s torso, following it up with licks.
River allowed it to continue for a few more minutes before he pulled away. Vygus whimpered and River ignored it. His stomach was beet red, decorated with multiple teeth marks. River paid it no mind as he buttoned his shirt. He rolled the sleeves exactly how he liked it and grabbed his watch from his desk. He wrapped it around his wrist and buckled it, before checking the time. Vygus technically had messed with the time slot, but River didn’t feel bothered by it.
Fully ready to go, River opened his door, grabbing his other backpack that had the supplies that he grabbed for his appointment with Vygus and shut the light off.
“Come on.”