Obsession (The Mate Games 1)

I tried to elbow her in the ribs, making her laugh as she sidestepped my blow. It almost distracted me from the fact that Noah’s presence caused crackling energy to snap through the room.

I hadn’t seen him since the stabbing. I remembered dancing with him. How his hands had wandered, and the way he kept trying to steal kisses but would purposely miss my lips until I’d been crazy with the need for him to just do it already. I remembered the taste of his blood as he forced me to drink, and how after the first taste, he hadn’t had to force me at all. And then... nothing.

Crickets.

He’d totally ghosted me.

I mean, we weren’t exactly dating or anything. But I thought maybe we were starting something. He’d made it pretty clear he was interested in me and then completely fell off the face of the earth. Granted, I’d been unconscious, and Caleb had mentioned how he’d told everyone to stay away. Still, I thought Noah might care enough to wonder how I was doing, at the very least.

Our eyes locked across the room, and for a second, I thought maybe I’d misunderstood everything. Maybe he was just respecting Caleb’s rules. I started to smile, my hand lifting in a little wave.

Thenshewalked in, and all my naïve musings exploded right in my face.

Any hint of emotion I’d thought I’d found in his eyes was gone. Hidden behind a mask of bored indifference as a stunning redhead, her skin creamy and perfect, slid her arm through his. Noah barely spared her a glance, but the mystery girl gave him an adoring look as she trailed her other hand up his arm, leaving no doubts as to the claim she was making.

“Who is that?” I growled, not recognizing the sick, twisty feeling in my stomach.

Moira’s eyes narrowed. “Callista Donoghue. Resident queen bee and spoiled little bitch. Heir to the Donoghue family fortune, and—if she’s to be believed—fated mate of the one and only vampire prince himself, Mr. Noah Blackthorne.” Moira’s expression shifted, and she gave me an appraising once-over. “You might want to steer clear of her until you get your wolf thing sorted. Callie can be a real piece of work.”

My brain was still stuck on the part about Noah having a fated mate he’d never mentioned. He was promised to someone, and all the while, he’d been running around with me, doing what exactly? Making a fool of the new girl? Playing with the broken little wolf? What could he have possibly hoped to gain by starting something with me?

Maybe you were just supposed to be another notch on his bedpost. Why does it have to be any more complicated than that?

Thinking myself the world’s biggest fool, I forced my lungs to exhale and shook off the sense of betrayal that I had no right to feel. Then I tucked my arm through Moira’s and said firmly, “Come on, we’re going to be late.”

So far,weapons and defense class had turned out to be nothing but boring lectures about politics, peacekeeping, and the history of conflict between species. Vampires can turn nearly any creature into one of them but, unless they were human first, their victims rarely survive. Shifters can change at will, not just with the moon—spoiler alert, I knew that one. The fae can’t lie but are masters at bending the truth to fit their needs. Witches use elemental magic to harness their power and are thought to be the most dangerous of all. This wasn’t news to me, but it seemed to be important for Professor Sanderson to drive the reminder home, so we all were forced to listen. Until today.

“Where is Sanderson?” I asked as Moira and I took our usual seats in the third row of the large auditorium-style lecture hall. Close enough to be seen and counted but far enough away to avoid the professor’s flailing arms during one of her impassioned speeches.

“Maybe she’s given up on us.” Alek’s voice came from behind, the feel of his breath on my nape sending a spark of attraction through me.

I couldn’t forget that kiss we shared, even if it was simply because we were locked in the heat of the moment, our combined energy needing something—somewhere to go. He trailed one finger across the bare skin of my neck and leaned close before whispering, “As much as I like it when you wear your hair up, you should reconsider. You’re vampire bait, showing off that pretty throat of yours.”

My gaze traveled across the room, as if pulled by a magnet, before it landed on Noah. The vampire prince sat with one arm draped over the back of the chair next to him, legs spread, posture casual and sexy. His focus wasn’t on Callie, who sat next to him, nor was it on the other vampire talking to him. No. Noah Blackthorne was staring daggers atme.

Heat blossomed between my thighs, and I had to clench them together in an effort to control the arousal I didn’t want to feel. The vampire’s nostrils flared, eyes burning as a slight smirk twitched the corner of his mouth.

“Fuck, if I was into dudes, I’d be so turned on right now,” Moira muttered.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat and forced myself to look away from Noah, especially when Callie slid her gaze to me and then ran her palm up his thigh. I didn’t know what drew me to him, aside from his vampire magnetism, but I had a literal Norse god next to me who made me smile and kissed me like I was the only thing he needed. What did it say about me that I was attracted to them both?

Before I could examine that any further, the door to the lecture hall opened, and Professor Sanderson strode in, her wild red curls resembling a fiery halo that frizzed out around her head.

“Oooh-weee, it must be mating season in here. You can smell the pheromones a mile away,” she said in her strong southern accent. She had to be from Texas or one of the other southern states in America. There was no denying her roots with that twang. “Now, come on, y’all. There’s fixin’ to be a serious fight brewing in these parts, and I need you ready. That means you need to be on your feet and heading for the locker rooms so you can change for some hand-to-hand training today.”

“Excuse me, professor?” Callie raised her hand, putting so much sugar in her voice I nearly gagged.

“Miss Donoghue?”

“What do you mean, change?”

Professor Sanderson looked her up and down, tutting as she took in Callie’s patent leather spike-heeled Mary Janes and tightly fitting, extremely short dress that was a parody of a schoolgirl uniform.

“You won’t get far in that, girlie. Vamp or not, your classmates will have the upper hand. Now, everyone go change. Your lockers are already set up with everything you need. Put on each piece you find in your locker, y’all.”

The class let out a unanimous groan, but we filed out, heading for the locker rooms. There wasn’t much different from a typical human school when it came to this space. Rows of benches, gray lockers, bad lighting, showers. Pretty much your standard fare. It actually left me with a sense of comfort. It leveled the playing field a little.

Callie walked past me with her bitches in waiting trailing behind. She huffed but didn’t say a word to me.