LOGIN"I don't want it anymore," Shay lied. A terrible lie, at that, "I have not been at my best in here because of you. You distract me and make me do things I wouldn't do. Because of you, I didn't get any sleep last night and I was so tired today that I fell asleep in here. I could be going home right now, because you got in my way." "That's not how it works. It is not my fault I am so distracting and hot. You simply like me..." "Exactly," Shay interrupted, "I like you. Too much." "Good. Why are you all the way there, then? Come here—" "No. I feel just like you felt last night, except my feelings don't change so fast," Shay continued, her face so serious. God, the puppy was such a serious woman. It was incredibly annoying, "I like you so much, Ivan... and it's not just because I want to sleep with you. I think I have—or I could have if I don't yet—like... feelings for you. Romantic feelings." Ivan's mouth fell open and there were too many emotions going inside of him at the same time
He poked Shay in the stomach with the stick. Not enough to puncture the skin, obviously, but enough to make her wake up with a horrified gasp and for her heart to rise up like it would burst. "Ah!" she yelled, looking around trying to find an explanation for the pain in her stomach. When she finally found Ivan's eyes, she gasped again, "What the fuck?! What did you do to me?! Ah, it hurts!" "Stop fucking yelling before your guard dogs come avenge you," Ivan complained, then poked her again, "I only did this." "Ouch!" The puppy complained dramatically again, balling up on the ground to protect her vitals from Ivan, "Stop it." "If I wanted to murder you, you would've made it extremely easy," Ivan lectured as Shay continued to whine on the ground, her mind probably still half-asleep, "I'm surprised a werewolf would be as naive as to fall asleep out in the open like this, without her pack's protection." "I am protected here, the most protected I'll ever be. You cannot kill me," Sha
Ivan waited until Anton's footsteps disappeared completely to look back at Shay.He shook his head, unable to believe the woman was so deeply asleep in these conditions, with her pretty face resting on the literal dirt.Ivan didn't want to sit down on the ground, but he had no other choice now. Shay was out to the world and it didn't look like she would wake up anytime soon.Ivan sighed and took off his coat to place it on the ground next to Shay before sitting down. And now he had nothing else to do except look at her.But there were far worse things to do, Ivan guessed.Shay Hart looked devastatingly adorable when she slept. Peaceful and unaware of her surroundings in a way that made Ivan's chest feel too tight, too full, too... something.Her lashes were long enough to cast faint shadows over the freckles on her cheeks. Her heart-shaped lips were parted slightly and her dark hair fell on her forehead, making her look even younger than her already-short twenty years of living.That
Ivan had been meditating for two hours when he realized he didn't really have to do it. He had meditated for fucking years. So much, he often had to force himself out of meditation to be present.So instead of doing that, he wandered.He told himself he simply wanted to walk around and exercise, but he knew he was looking for something specific. Someone specific.Apparently, he would simply not stop thinking about Shay unless he finally sank his fangs into one of those delicious spots in that delicious body of hers. So, all night, Ivan had crafted a side plan.His main plan still remained: Ivan wanted to die.At some point in the past decade, he realized he depressed and officially done with life. He tried to convince himself that all vampires felt passionless and uninspired past a hundred years, but that lie was difficult to maintain because the more he looked around, the more he realized vampires were very rarely uninspired or sad. Most vampires found the way to make life fun. Alw
She expected to see the same instructors as yesterday, but the moment Shay and her disappointed friends walked into the courtyard, she saw something far worse. Her stomach dropped. "Told you," Adrian muttered, shaking his head and clasping her shoulder from behind, "I'm going to miss you. You saved my number, right? We're not that far away from each other... however, if you leave, I might actually have a chance to win this thing..." "Not really, I'm still better than you," Helene scoffed, then held onto Shay's arm, "I'm going to miss you too." "I'll miss you two as well. Very much," Shay admitted and sighed in absolute resignation, holding onto her friends as she stepped closer to the five vamps. Her four fellow novices... and Sera. She was there to give her the boot in the ass in front of everyone. Although, maybe she could argue her case? Shay's mother would definitely want her to. She would want her to fight them with facts. Sera never told her specifically that sex with a v
"I…" She swallowed, forcing herself to be courageous, whatever the response might be. "Something did happen last night. Ivan went to my bedroom. And I... let him in." Both of them snapped upright. Helene's eyes narrowed to slits. Adrian's jaw dropped. "What?!" Helene hissed, grabbing Shay's forearm like she could squeeze sense into her. "Shay, why would you do that?" "What the actual fuck?" Adrian whispered in shock, "Shay, what? Did he hurt you?" "No, of course not. He's... he's not that bad," Shay started, but her voice wavered, and she didn't know how to explain any of it. She had never planned to be this honest. Ever. "Oh, god, he brainwashed you," Adrian exclaimed in horror, lifting his hands to grab his hair in distress. Shay shook her head, still trying to come up with the right words, "Of course he did. He brainwashed you to make you his... blood slave or whatever they call it. What else could he possibly want?" "He didn't brainwash me, Adrian, I promise. Let me ta
"Well, now you're just making it sound awesome," Shay murmured, kind of bummed she wouldn't get to have it. Ivan moved his eyes away from her, exhaled hard and placed his hands on his hips, as if he needed a break, "So... this is it, then? You really don't want to do anything with me?" Ivan’s eyes
She wanted to go after him and ask more questions. She hated how confused Ivan made her every time he opened his mouth. Everything about him was a big confusing question mark. Because, why would he coach his opponent, possibly the strongest one in here? Shay was being realistic when she said th
"Are we all ready to continue with the next evaluation?" the female instructor asked, completely unshaken by the fifteen minute long interruption, "We are going to work on reaction assessment now. One partner stands still, the other throws an energy pulse. We'll measure reaction and response." Sha
The next morning, Shay woke up earlier than necessary, feeling unrested.Probably because she spent most of the night overthinking about that moment with Ivan Belov. And even after hours of doing that, she had no clue of what had happened. Not really.She wasn't entirely sure of whether Belov took







