Page 2 of Bite Me

“No way. That’s my mom’s recipe. It’s perfect.” That look of disgust in her eyes brings me back into my body.

Who the fuck am I kidding? Even once would ruin me.

I shrug. “Whatever you say, thief.”

Desperate to get away from her, I wave her aside and leave, walking up the stands toward the exit. The world comes back into view, along with the dull clamor of the crowd, still cheering at our victory. My feet stick to the floor with each heavy step.

The relief I feel just feet away from her confirms what I’ve known for months. No one can know about this, especially not her.

Chapter One

Dacre

If I had known what I know now, I’d have never come to Doxlothia University. I’d have begged, betrayed, committed crimes—anything to avoid ever knowing her.

I’m an Everhart, a founding family of Doxlothia University with a legacy so significant that I can’t read a history book without finding someone I’m related to. So why is it that one woman has me hiding in the bathroom with a cold towel over my face?

Everharts don’t struggle. We don’t beg. We certainly don’t do what I’m doing right now. I take some soap, rub it into a paper towel, and dab at my shirt, leaving a wet, seeping stain. Ignoring the stares, I rake a hand through my hair. It’s not enough. Her scent is stained into the fibers of my shirt. I’ll have to change.

Staring at the ornate ceiling through the mirror, I’m reminded of how old this castle is and how every Everhart that came before me likely looked in this very mirror. Only they never looked so fucking pathetic.

The first time I saw her, I knew.

I’d heard rumors about her, her sisters, and their sweet blood when they arrived last semester. I traveled a lot with my grandfather as a kid, and once I met a man in Vviveren City with blood that smelled like rich honey. It’s a little overrated, or so I believed until I met her.

When I saw her for the first time, I walked past Emma as she entered the Luxxia House common room with that golden-blonde hair and sparkles shimmering across her cheeks, and I almost took her right there. It took seconds for me to turn into a feral animal at the smell of her.

Vampires are particularly sensitive to pheromones, and sometimes, those pheromones mix together with the smell of a person’s blood to create the perfect concoction for torture. It’s rare and only surfaces in full-blooded vampires.

I never thought it would happen to me. I wanted it not to be true. Even now, as I rub a hole in my shirt to wash out her scent, there’s a lingering hope that it’s some type of hoax. A sick joke someone decided to play on me, well-deserved payback for all the shit I’ve done. But no.

As if I needed the distraction of some human girl assigned to the same house as me, walking around and muddying everything with her scent. Every. Single. Day.

That’s why this is her fault.

The familiar prickle of disdain shoots up my spine. Because of her, I can’t go anywhere without the possibility of losing control.

I pluck at the hairs on my jacket sleeve, rejecting the urge to savor her scent. That smell, mingling with the scent of her sugar body scrub and pheromones, is enough to keep me desperately clinging to the sink. She always smells like that—achingly sweet. And that’s the problem.

Who am I kidding? This is partly my fault. How did I let her get so close to me?

I’m still dizzy from the aroma hitting me all at once. Usually, I have time to adjust and prepare. But this time . . .

She doesn’t know how close I was to tasting her.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I hang my head. Shit.

I rummage for my phone, cringing through the familiar chiming ring.

The screen lights up with my sister’s face close to the camera.

“What’re you doing?”

“Uh.” I search around for any good explanation. As if I’m going to explain my current issues to my sixteen-year-old sister.

“Ew. Are you in the bathroom?”

“You called me.”