Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
I was getting Goddess-damned tired of that game.
“Hi Avery, how are you?” Megan asked as she and Griffin came to sit at the table. They must have gotten through the line early. “I was kind of worried about you yesterday. I…oh…” Her voice trailed away as her eyes flicked up to the spot on my forehead.
Some Marks are more visible than others, especially to discerning eyes. I don’t know if it was because of the intense emotions Saint was feeling when he Marked me or just the fact that the Marks were more noticeable because we were both male, but mine was definitely prominent.
Megan’s gaze flicked from the glimmering Mark on my forehead to the left side of my neck and her eyes got even wider.
“Avery?” she whispered, sounding concerned. “What…uh, happened last night?”
“Nothing that would make good Breakfast table conversation,” I said as lightly as I could. “Speaking of which, I hope they have something decent for a change. Since I skipped Supper last night, I’m actually hungry for a change.”
Getting up, I sauntered towards the cafeteria line, keeping my head high as I did so. I knew the kind of abuse that was coming my way but damned if I was going to hide from it—I might as well get it over with, I told myself.
I just wished that Saint was with me. Having to show myself wearing his Mark without him by my side made me feel utterly alone and, to be honest, kind of abandoned. But since he seemed to want to play it cool, what else could I do but play along?
Nancy’s eyes widened as she saw the Mark on me as I went through the line, getting scrambled eggs and hash browns—a halfway decent breakfast for once. Her mouth dropped open when she saw the hickey that went with it, but luckily, before she could think of anything to say, I was through the line and getting my morning coffee.
I got it fixed perfectly with extra cream and sugar, just how I liked it, but just as I was about to go back to my table, an angry shape loomed in front of me.
“You got a lot to answer for, you fucking mariposa!” Juan Gonzales snarled as he glared down at me. “I know you put a spell on me to make me act like a damn cabron yesterday! Someone put that fucking poem you made me write on-line and now everybody thinks I want your faggoty ass as my ‘boyfriend’.”
“That spell wasn’t my fault—you’re barking up the wrong tree, Gonzales,” I said coolly, though my heart was racing. I’d been meaning to get up early and whip up a personal protection shield-spell to head off just this kind of trouble. But since I’d overslept, there had been no time to do it.
“You little—” He stopped, his eyes widening as he finally noticed Saint’s Mark on me. “Is that a Blood Mark from another male?” he demanded, narrowing his small, dull-brown eyes as he stared at my forehead.
I lifted my chin.
“Yes, it is,” I said. Raising an eyebrow at him, I added, “You have a problem with that? Feeling a bit jealous, perhaps?”
Juan made a face.
“It’s fucking disgusting! What kind of sick pervert would Blood Mark another male?”
“I would.” The low, dangerous voice over my left shoulder was familiar and I knew that Saint had finally showed up. Well, how kind of him to back me up, even though he was giving me the silent treatment, I thought waspishly.
“Well hello, darling,” I said casting a glance over my shoulder at him. “You’re a bit late to the party but better late than never. Juan here was just admiring the Mark you put on me last night.”
Saint ignored me—he was too busy glaring at Juan, who was glaring right back.
“You’re wearing his Mark too!” he snarled, staring at Saint’s forehead and making a disgusted face. “You let that mariposa Mark you? What the hell is wrong with you, Santiago? You under a spell or something?”
“The only thing wrong with me is the fact that you’re threatening what’s mine,” Saint growled. “I think I showed you the other day in the gymnasium what will happen if you touch Avery. You know what my Drake is capable of.”
As he spoke, he let just a bit of his Drake’s menace leak into his voice and I bet myself that if I looked at him again, his eyes would have turned from obsidian black to open flames.
Juan took a step back but kept glaring at Saint.
“Yeah, but I heard if you let your Drake out again you’re permanently expelled.”
Saint’s voice went soft and dangerous.
“If I let my Drake out, it will be to kill you and anyone else who dares to touch Avery,” he told Juan. “He is MINE.”
The last word was spoken fully in his Drake’s voice. It sent a shiver down my spine and it seemed to shake Juan too. As angry as he was with me, he had to know there was nothing he could do about it. I was under the protection of a cursed Blood Drake who was completely obsessed with me—I might as well have a loaded gun pointed at his face. Not that I would do that, but you get the picture.