Hendrix ✓

22 ★ I've been cold

I'll at least be able to get through the night. Maybe.

I make my body put one foot in front of the other down the crunchy, snow covered sidewalk. A slow jaunt through campus will help me. It's nearly painful, and not from the cold. In all honesty, I'm actually burning up from the inside. My whole body thrums with activity.

My distraction seems to be working well enough. Tree, snow, the dark sky flickering with barely visible stars through the white clouds. It's all beautiful, and yet my mind is occupied by another breathtaking sight.

I'm interrupted by a strange scent that has me wrinkling my nose. Sometimes my oversensitive senses punish me. The smell is awful and pungent, and I know that it's perfume before I even see the woman barreling towards me.

She slips on the slick ice, falling into me so I'm forced to catch her before she goes crashing down. I hear her heart beating, smell her awful scent, and I glare at her. She smells like arousal.

When she pulls away, I realize I know her from somewhere. I narrow my eyes on her blonde hair and small eyes. She's that female professor I met when I met with the school's president. Slowly, I ease her back until I'm no longer touching her. I try to hide my shiver of disgust.

"Oh, hey Professor Riley. How are you?" She asks in a phony voice. She's acting as if what just happened wasn't planned on her part. I doubt she would be going around trustingly falling into a stranger's arms otherwise.

"Hello." I reply coolly, eyeing her suspiciously. Her sickly sweet perfume has me holding my breath. It's becoming difficult to stand, that along with her disgusting arousal.

I'm not attracted to her, and I haven't even looked at another female since I found Hendrix. Speaking of Hendrix, I think of her to try to get me through the painful interaction with this creature.

"I haven't seen you around much. You're never in the break room, or in the cafeteria, or on campus in general. Guess you're a busy guy, huh?" She asks, and I nod. I don't know her name, I can't remember. It wasn't important information at the time, and it's not important now either.

"We'll have to hang out sometime, that is if you can ever find the time." She winks at me, and I think I might be sick.

"I'm very busy." I reply curtly, and it's not a lie. With Hendrix, the rogue hunt, and this stupid teaching cover, all of my free time is taken. Not to mention that I wouldn't want to hang out with this woman in the first place. Just looking at her hurts my eyes.

I came out here to clear my mind, not get tortured.

"You wouldn't free up any time for me? Not even a little?" She flirts, dragging a fingernail down my shoulder. I take a step back.

She's human. All it would take is a flick of a muscle to kill her here and now. Easy. Simple.

Unfortunately, I can't do that.

"Not even a little." I repeat, turning around and stalking back down the way I came. I hear her call after me, but I keep walking, picking up the pace until she inevitably gives up.

Tonight I'm retiring early. I can't stay awake remembering the way I hurt my mate, and the disgusting presence of the woman who wouldn't take a hint.