Blood Lust

Chapter Four: Kamryn

I walk into the school, feeling more self conscious by the second. My lazy outfit stands out from all the try-hards.

Everyone seems extra happy, or maybe I'm just too tired to wear a smile. Father had woken me four hours before my alarm was scheduled to even attempt to do so.

"You have to be alert and ready for anything." He'd said, dragging me to the backyard for our routine morning training.

"Couldn't you have waited until the sun was up or something? I'm pretty sure the birds are still asleep," I complained, yawning loudly to exaggerate my point.

"Stop whining. You'll thank me later. Now, warm up and we'll work on close combat."

After training, I didn't even have time to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

I look back down at the small piece of paper with my locker number. It's been a week and I still can't seem to remember where it is. Although, I guess I could just search for Nix. It's where we've been meeting lately.

"What crawled up your ass and died?"

I look up, finding Phoenix leaning against my locker with her arms crossed at her chest.

"Your face, that's what," I grumble, fumbling with the lock before it pops open. I look at the schedule I keep taped to the inside of my locker to see which books I would need.

"Here." Phoenix ignores my attempt at a horrible joke and shoves a piece of paper at me. I blink a few times, then realize it's an old photo. More specifically, a photo of us as kids down by our favorite hiding place. The creek in the woods.

"Where did you find this?" I ask, feeling my grumpy mood lighten a bit. The smile on my face is wide and excited.

"I have all our old pictures. Thought I would help move the locker decorating process along." She smiles, seeming satisfied with my reaction. I've always loved to see her smile; it was so beautiful (when it was genuine). And, well, you had to look past the sharp teeth...but still.

I take the magnet Phoenix offers and stick the photo on the inside of my locker door.

She leans in closer. "Listen," she says softly. "There's something I-"

"Hey, Kamryn!" A peppy voice calls out. I turn and see who it is. It's that chick Caroline. God, when will she ever take a hint? She's been bothering me since school started.

"Hey, Caroline." I greet politely.

She takes that as an invitation for a full conversation. She inserts herself between Phoenix and I, not so subtly pushing her back a bit.

"Tell me, what's a guy like you doing with this freak?" She jabs her thumb behind her towards Phoenix.

"Phoenix's an old friend," I reply, not trying to sound rude. But it's taking everything I have not to scream at her. "What's up?"

"Well, you know how homecoming's soon?" Caroline asks. "I was wondering..."

Shit. No way am I going to a dance with her. "I already have a date," I lie. "Nice talking to you." I make eye contact with Phoenix, and we head down the hall, leaving Caroline to seethe at the rejection.

Once we've made it to the library, I lean against the wall. We have some time before classes start. "What is it?"

Phoenix has tears in her eyes. A sight I'm not used to seeing. "I've told you how strict my coven's become ever since my parents took over, right?"

"I mean, yeah. I thought you were handling it okay. Did something change?"

She takes a deep breath. "Next month, my parents are forcing me to bind to someone."

"And...what does that mean?" I'm starting to feel uneasy.

"It's like a marriage, I suppose. This shitty tradition our parents love so much." Phoenix sweeps her hands through the air, her voice full of anger and frustration.

The pain in her eyes makes my chest hurt. I can feel my wolf pacing with anger, not liking the idea of someone upsetting Phoenix.

"I'm guessing from your lack of enthusiasm, he's an ass-hat." I say, hoping to make her smile, at least.

"He's an idiot! And the biggest ass kisser I've ever seen. It's disgusting."

I watch as she digs around in her bag. She pulls out a small vial of blood and takes a swig. I've never understood the need for blood with vampires. I guess it's the same as our wolves needing fresh meat. It sates a hunger that human food can't quite reach.

In a burst of confidence, I reach over and grab Phoenix's hand.

"You know you'll always have me. No matter what. I can even beat him up for you," I say playfully.

Her face lights up as she tries to hold back her laughter. "As tempting as that sounds, I need you to stay out of trouble when it comes to the coven." She leans closer to me, wrapping her arms around my torso, and squeezes tight. I never want to let go. "Mom and Dad are looking for every reason to go after your pack."

"Don't worry, I'll stay out of trouble. Besides, we still have to train our unicorns once we find the door to Narnia."

That earns a laugh, and I feel a weight lifting, knowing Phoenix's not in such a sour mood anymore

"You're such a dork," she mumbles.

I'm about to respond, when I hear the faint click of a camera shutter. I turn and see some kid hiding behind one of the bookshelves with her phone aimed toward us.

"Caroline's gonna flip," she giggles to her friend.

What the hell? Instinctively, I bare my teeth, feeling my chest tighten. Phoenix whips around in horror. "Um, excuse me?"

"Text it to the group chat. They'll know what to do," the friend replies.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Phoenix shrieks.

"Exposing your dumb ass. Duh," the girl says, rolling her eyes. "Everyone knows Caroline's got the biggest crush on Kamryn. And we just caught you stealing her man."

Phoenix hisses, lunging at them. I hold her back.

"Ew. You really are a weirdo." The girls strut out of the library, flaunting the photo that plagues their screens.

Phoenix's eyes are wide, and so are mine. I know what she's thinking: if our parents find out about this, we're so dead.