“No…Don’t be silly.”
There was a hint of command in my voice, and his eyes widened. But he held still as I traced the bruise with my fingers. The heat and swelling diminished, the color reducing.
I swayed, just from one foot to the other, but he grabbed my hand and gently pulled it away. “Blimey. That’s bonza.” He said. After scanning me closely as he released me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I swallowed. “I think so. Was it just me, or did things get kinda weird out there?”
His eyes gleamed with his beast. “It wasn’t your imagination.” He grimaced, glancing around before adding. “Part of the Dire mating bash, where they welcome their female into the pack, is a pack hunt.”
I stared blankly at him. For once, it wasn’t due to his Aussie slang.
He gestured somewhat vaguely with one hand. “They chase her.” His eyes flashed brighter. “Before they mate.”
Ice traveled up my spine. It had been real, the intensity in their eyes, the desire to prove themselves, the invites for me to run with them...
Matt watched me process, and his mouth pulled into a grim line. But all he said was, “Entire run was dodgy as hell.”
His eyes slid past me, and froze. I turned to see Sebastian looming over us. He was tall, but it was the sheer power of his presence that robbed me of breath. He wasn’t just handsome, he was beautiful, but it was an ethereal kind of beauty. Unworldly, very inhuman, and at the moment, cold as ice.
As I examined his features, it struck me again that the gray hair had nothing to do with his age—his face was completely unlined, and for just a second, as he gazed upon me, something indefinable passed between us. A hint of vulnerability glinted in those silver eyes.
Then it was gone, and his expression hardened. “Do you think you can keep up with me during our runs?”
I swallowed. “Yes, sir. I do.”
He nodded, his gaze taking in Matt, and then sliding over the Dires milling around us.
“Good,” he said, and walked away.
Matt glared after him. “Strewth, that bastard is intense.”
“Are all Bellati like that?” I asked. “Cara is so—sweet.”
Matt snorted. “Bloody hell, Angel. I have no idea. Not sure I want to know. But we’re going to be at his mercy. He’s teaching the obstacle stuff and is doing part of Night Games, too.”
I swallowed. I didn’t think I’d made a great impression, either. First day, and I’d gotten into a fight with a teammate.
I needed to do better if I wanted to become a bona fide Shade.
* * *
Matt and Mari came with me as I checked in on Trix at the Sabre’s suite.
“You have your written assessment this afternoon,” Kitani said while the twins happily squealed from somewhere in the depths of their apartment. “Why don’t you leave her with us until afterward?”
It would be better than leaving her in the dorm, so I agreed. We ascended to the cafeteria and grabbed lunch to go, which we ate on the back steps.
Mari was keen to accompany me to the library to prep for our written assessment that afternoon, but Matt grimaced when I declared my intentions.
“There is only so much sitting I can do, Angel,” he confessed.
“You don’t have to come,” I said.
He glanced around as we reentered the building full of milling, gabbing students. I caught the glimmer of beast eyes as several glanced my way.
Matt shrugged. “Maybe studying for this written thing isn’t a bad idea.”
I smiled up at him. “Well, if there are any questions on the Dragon war, you’ll know the answers.”
