Void(57)

My cheeks flooded in embarrassment and other vampires around me snickered. My memory flashed back to Render’s kiss at the ball, and the way he’d drawn me in at Vampire Headquarters and licked my wound. It had been...erotic. If I closed my eyes, I could still feel the pleasure coursing through my veins, making me wish I could wrap myself around his body and dry hump him into oblivion. I was embarrassed about giving in so easily to that pleasure, but the chemistry between us was too strong to ignore. Not that I was going to admit that right now to Coach Willis in front of everyone, so I decided that the safest bet was to play ignorant. I didn’t want rumors spreading that I was Render’s blood whore, despite knowing that everyone saw. Technically, Render had never initiated biting me. But when his teeth had dug into my tongue and lip, I’d learned the meaning of bliss. When a vampire bit you with their venom, it was said to be one of the best feelings in the world.

“I don’t know,” I lied.

Everyone laughed at my answer, a few scoffed. One girl with long brown hair and black lipstick gagged in disgust like the idea of drinking from me was revolting. “Yes, well, I assume living with humans your entire life wouldn’t allow for many opportunities.” Coach Willis’s voice was gruff and humorless.

My knee bounced, revealing my anxiety. I wished Render or Gritt would get in here. Weird. When did I start thinking of them as allies?

Coach Willis whirled around, returning to the center of the gym. “Come up here, Void,” he ordered while pointing at the shiny floor beside him.

Dammit. I didn’t want to stand up. I wanted to sink into the bleacher seats and pretend I wasn’t really here.

“Why?” I asked warily.

I wasn’t sure why I asked. Probably because I had a death wish. Or maybe it was all my years of having an issue with authority figures. Mistress Cock could definitely attest to that. Coach Willis gave me a sneer, probably imagining the many ways he wanted to murder me. His fangs popped out slightly, letting me know that my guess wasn’t far off.

“I didn’t realize I had to give you a reason,” Coach Willis snapped. It was then that I realized he had an angry Southern accent, the type of drawl that he tried to hold back but couldn’t when his emotions were heightened. It was a deeply Southern twang, one you’d only hear in movies or in some backwoods town in Oklahoma. “How about you get your ass up here and do what I say? Otherwise I’ll have Headmaster Torne deal with you.”

I gritted my teeth. He knew damn well that by tattling on me to the headmaster, Torne would act like it was justification for expulsion. Maybe before, I’d just wanted to stay here so I could actually learn about my powers and have the chance to practice, but now, I had other reasons for wanting to stay. I wanted to figure out why I was so drawn to the paragons, to figure out why feeding from Gritt was different, plus our mate bond and Render’s craving for me. I didn’t want to leave yet.

“Look at her, too scared to go up,” Blaire whispered to a friend, making them all laugh.

I twisted in my seat to look behind me at the rows of vamps just waiting for an excuse to tear me down. Fuck that.

Standing up, I adjusted my skirt before tossing Blaire a wink and walking toward Coach Willis. Once I stood next to him, Coach Willis got a little gleam in his eye. He turned back toward the bleachers, scanning them. “Peaches, come here and help me demonstrate something, please?” he asked, gesturing toward a girl sitting up front.

I had to hold back a snort at her name. Peaches? Who the fuck named their vampire child Peaches?

“When bitten by a vampire, the experience can be very pleasant for the victim,” Coach explained while the Peaches chick made her way toward me. She looked like the typical vamp. Porcelain skin that had probably never seen a blemish, blood-red lips, and eyes bright but terrifying. She stalked instead of walked, body moving in a predatory way that had every hair on my body standing up. “Peaches, I want you to demonstrate this effect on the Void,” he said, holding his arm out to me like I was some sort of decadent treat.

My mouth dropped open in surprise. “Excuse me?” I asked before taking a step backward. I didn’t like this one bit.

Peaches didn’t seem bothered by the instruction, nor did she stop walking, despite my obvious discomfort. Instead, she smiled. “Sure thing, Coach.” Then the bitch flashed forward and placed her lips at the thudding pulse on my neck, making me freeze in shock.

I didn’t even have time to process what was happening before she sank her teeth into my skin, causing that pleasurable energy to flood me like fire. But unlike with Render, this felt wrong.

There was no attraction, no desire. It was like she was force-feeding me pleasure through a needle, and I was helpless to stop it. There was a toxic exhilaration transferring between us, and I hated it. “No,” I said, making the entire class erupt in laughter.

“What’s wrong, little Void? You don’t like it when someone takes something from you?” Blaire sneered. “Guess you know what it feels like now.”

Peaches laughed while her fangs continued to dig into my skin. I was helpless to stop the way my eyes rolled back and the heat pooled between my thighs. It was the worst kind of assault. It was taking my body and using it against me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. “Look, she’s gonna fucking come,” one of the guy vampire’s chuckled.

“Enough, Peaches,” Coach Willis said. “We need the blood bag to be full for the rest of my demonstration.”