Filed To Story: Chasing the Rejected Luna's Heart (Clara & Liam) Book PDF Free
It was a dangerous game I was playing, and I knew it. Not only because there was no way in hell the little gestures and behaviors my animal brain wanted to read as cues of interest were anything more than kindness. For all I knew, the guy was straight-up gay, and even if he was bi or something like that, that didn’t mean he would be into me. I wasn’t enough of a narcissist to think the fact that every unmated male in my pack had been gunning for my attention from the moment I hit puberty had anything to do with me rather than the power that had once been a guarantee to whoever took my hand.
It was still about ten minutes before my bus arrived, and the stop was already crowded, so I decided to take a stroll around the lake. I had only ever seen it from the train’s window, and it was still twilight, so I didn’t feel as vulnerable heading out there alone.
Then again, if I didn’t allow myself some room to breathe, what the hell was the point of all this hard work? Besides getting up close to a guy I couldn’t have for a myriad of reasons.
My skin felt like it was on fire even more than usual, and I could definitely use the fresh air. I walked down the mildly secluded path, but twilight gave the trees surrounding it an ethereal rather than eerie vibe.
As soon as I saw the edge of the water, my breath hitched. The waterside wasn’t immediately accessible, but I came to a stop in front of the railing keeping the path separated from the drop-off below. From the train, the lake hadn’t really looked all that impressive. Up close, with the first twinges of moonlight rippling across the cobalt surface of the waves lapping gently at the shore, it was like something out of a dream.
I stood there for a while, just enjoying the cool night air caressing my cheeks, easing the heat under my skin slightly. The air felt electric, much as it had on the night of my mating ceremony. Even the moonlight trickling down onto my skin seemed to have a substance, like fingertips gently brushing across my bare flesh.
A strange melancholy washed over me, adding a bitter tinge to the beauty around me. Maybe it was the reminder of the ceremony. Despite the fact that it now felt like an eternity ago, I also felt like I was back in that moment.
The phone buzzing in my pocket brought an abrupt end to the strange sense of d?j? vu and I took it out, frowning when I saw Liam’s name on the screen.
So he hadn’t given up entirely. Must’ve just had a busy couple of days.
What I did next was definitely not the most rational thing a person on her own in a relatively secluded area could’ve done, but if I didn’t do it now, I knew there was a damn good chance I was going to cave to the temptation to pick up that phone the next time it rang. Then, all the work I had done to separate myself, to fight off the lonely ache deep within my soul that only something I could never have would fill, would be for nothing.
I tossed the phone over the railing and into the lake. It hit the surface with a satisfying plop before sinking down beneath the water.
I needed a new one, anyway. As long as I still had a connection to that life, however tentative, it was going to feel like an option. A way out that simply didn’t exist. And I was no longer going to leave myself open to Liam’s bullshit. The only thing worse than being the trash he had thrown away was being the trash he kept on the side, just close enough to assuage his guilt and keep him from feeling like he was missing out.
He could go fuck himself, just like the rest of them.”You really hate telemarketers, don’t you?”
My spine stiffened at the sound of a familiar voice, but the shiver that ran up it was of far more concern. Not for any of the appropriate reasons, either. I turned around and found myself staring at the man who had rescued me not so long ago. I had convinced myself a combination of shock and confusion had me remembering him as far more appealing than he really was. Except…nope. He was all that and more. Far more appealing than anyone had any right to be, vampire or otherwise.
He was dressed in all black, having traded his sophisticated coat for a leather jacket and T-shirt, but despite the comparatively casual clothing, he still looked out of place in such a mundane setting. Mundane compared to him, anyway.”Alexander,” I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. I folded my arms, instinctively putting distance between us. Gorgeous or not, there was still something undeniably intimidating about him, and after what Sam had told me, I was even less inclined to trust his altruistic motivations. “Following me now?””Whatever gave you that idea?” he asked in a flat tone, although there was a hint of amusement shining in his eyes that kept me from feeling too presumptuous.”Fairly sure this doesn’t count as your territory,” I told him, raising an eyebrow. “And it’s pretty ballsy to show up on a werewolf’s stomping grounds on a full moon.”
He chuckled, taking a step forward. I resisted the urge to step back. “This is no-man’s-land,” he said pointedly. “I’m permitted to go wherever I like.””And yet you prefer slumming it with the peasants,” I shot back. “Did you get bored of being in a gothic castle?”
He gave me a sharp smile, white as the moonlight on his skin. “So, you figured it out.””Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked, having to admit I was curious what he was doing here. “And why were you out there that night?”
He shrugged. “Like you said, I get bored from time to time.””So you go around saving damsels in distress for fun,” I scoffed.
His grin widened. “On occasion. Of course, it’s rare that I go back to said damsel’s tower later to find it empty.””So you have been following me,” I accused, not sure whether I found it more unbelievable or concerning. Flattery was definitely the wrong response.”Never said otherwise,” he answered, taking another step. He looked over my shoulder the way I had come. “I see you found your own kind.”
I wasn’t sure just how closely he had been watching me, or if he simply smelled the other shifters at the gym on me, but either way… “Figured I could use some self-defense classes. I’m sure you can imagine why.”
He studied me intently like he was trying to figure out something that was troubling him. An annoying puzzle he couldn’t solve. “You’re an odd one, Lavinia. You know that?””So I’ve heard,” I said, blowing a puff of air through my nostrils. “Must be true if the lord of the vampires is stalking me.”