Chapter 9

AURORA'S POV:

"Rory? I’ve been looking for you everywhere!"

My heart stops.

Cali.

Of all the people who could find us right now, it just had to be her?

Arc's grip on my hand tightens. His eyes dart to the direction of her voice, then back to mine. Panic flickers across his face.

"She can't see me like this," he mutters under his breath, barely audible.

His fangs are still out, sharp and glinting under the soft parking lot lights. There’s no way to explain that away. No scarf is going to fool Cali when she's this close. She's a curious little cat.

She's already turning the corner, her voice drawing nearer.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, looking up at him. “You said if you feed, they'll retract?"

He nods slowly, uncertain. "Yes… but, Aurora-"

"You can drink from me," I blurt, chest tightening with both fear and something deeper I don’t want to name. "Just enough. Quickly. She’s almost here."

He blinks, stunned. "Are you sure?"

No. Not even a little. Do I really want to have my blood sucked? I don't even know. But honestly, I cannot find it in my heart to just abandon him right now. I feel a sense of ... protection towards him.

But I nod anyway. "Do it."

Cali’s footsteps grow louder. I can see her silhouette now, two steps, maybe three, from turning the corner fully.

"Now," I whisper.

He doesn’t hesitate. One hand snakes around my waist, the other gently lifts my hair. His touch is soft, reverent. And then-

A warm breath ghosts over my neck before his lips part, and his fangs press into my skin with a sharp, sweet sting. I gasp softly, not in pain, but in surprise.

It’s not what I expected.

The moment his mouth seals over my skin, a heat spreads from the point of contact and trickles down my spine. My knees weaken.

Aa His grip tightens around my waist, holding me firmly against him. His lips move slowly, carefully, and every pull of his mouth sends tiny shockwaves through my body. It’s intimate. Too intimate.

I can feel the rhythm of his feeding measured, controlled. He’s savoring it, and something about that thought makes my breath hitch. My hands clutch his shirt without even realizing it, grounding myself in the sensation. I can feel his heartbeat faster now, stronger, like mine is syncing with his.

And then, as quickly as it began, it ends.

He pulls away, eyes heavy-lidded and dazed, lips slightly parted. There’s a smear of crimson at the corner of his mouth, and the sight should terrify me, but instead… it looks like art. Forbidden, dangerous art.

"Thank you," he breathes, voice hoarse but full of something raw—gratitude, maybe, or something else neither of us dare name.

Then, as if jolted back into the moment, he quickly unwraps the scarf from his own face and drapes it gently around my neck, covering the bite mark. The motion is tender, almost possessive.

That’s when Cali finally rounds the corner and stops short at the sight of us.

Her eyes go wide, bouncing between me and Arc.

"Oh," she says, blinking. "Sorry...I didn’t realize you were… with someone."

Arc gives her a polite nod, all signs of his vampiric nature gone now. His expression is calm, almost charming, but I notice the way his chest still rises and falls a little too fast.

"We were just heading out," I say quickly, clearing my throat and stepping slightly away from him, though I still feel the heat of his hand on my waist.

Cali eyes the scarf around my neck, the closeness between us, the lingering energy in the air.

She smirks. "Right. Got it. I’ll leave you guys to it." She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.

Before I can even form a response, she winks at me and walks off, humming to herself.

The moment she’s gone, I sag against Arc’s chest.

"That was close," I mumble, my voice weaker than I'd like it to be.

He steadies me, hands gentle now. "Did I take too much?" His voice comes out tender. A tone I never thought capable for him.

"No," I lie, because I don’t want him to feel guilty. But my head is spinning and my skin feels flushed.

His eyes scan mine, soft with concern. "You sure?"

I nod. "Let’s just… get to your car."

He doesn’t argue. He keeps one hand on my back the entire way, as if afraid I’ll collapse. And honestly, I just might.

Because whatever just happened between us wasn’t just about survival.

It felt like something else entirely and I’m not sure I’m ready to face what that means.

The car ride starts in silence.

Arc pulls open the passenger door for me without a word, and I slide in, legs suddenly feeling like jelly. He shuts it gently, then walks around to the driver’s side and gets in.

The door clicks shut and for a second, the world feels… paused.

No Cali. No gym. No danger.

Just the two of us, the soft hum of the engine, and the lingering taste of what just happened.

He starts the car, hands gripping the wheel tighter than necessary. I glance sideways. His jaw is clenched, and I can tell he’s trying to focus on the road, not on me.

I clutch the scarf tighter around my neck, my skin still warm from where his lips had been.

"Are you okay?" He finally asks, voice low.

I nod, even though I don’t feel okay in the way he means. My body is fine, mostly. But my mind? Spinning. "Yeah… just a little lightheaded. I’ll be fine."

His knuckles whiten on the steering wheel.

"I shouldn’t have done that," he mutters.

"You didn’t force me. I told you to."

"That doesn’t mean it was right." He shoots me a glance, and something flickers in his eyes; something dark, conflicted. "You’re human. You trusted me not to lose control. That was reckless."

"Maybe," I admit softly. "But you didn’t lose control, Arc."

He goes quiet.

The tension in the car is thick, like static clinging to skin.

"You said you hadn’t fed from a human in twenty-eight years," I add after a beat. "Was it really that hard to stop?"

His fingers twitch slightly. "You have no idea."

I swallow.

We lapse back into silence, but it’s different now. Heavy with awareness. I rest my head against the window, letting the cool glass soothe my skin.

"You taste like fire," he says suddenly.

My eyes fly open. "What?"

He doesn’t look at me, just stares straight ahead. "Your blood. It’s… warm, obviously. But it burned going down. Not in a painful way. In a… alive way."

My stomach does a flip. I don’t know how to respond to that.

Then, softer, "It was the hardest thing I’ve had to stop in a long time."

His confession hangs between us.

I look down at my lap, fingers curling around the hem of my shirt. "Why didn’t you?"

He finally turns his head, locking eyes with me. "Because it’s you."

And that’s when I feel it again that pulse between us. The same one I felt in the locker room. The same one I felt the first time his hand brushed mine and my whole body lit up like a fuse had been struck.

He parks the car in front of my house, kills the engine. The silence that follows is deafening.

Neither of us moves.

"Do you hate me now?" he asks quietly, almost like he’s bracing for the answer.

I turn to face him fully. "No. I think I’m just… confused."

He exhales shakily. "Me too."

We sit there for another few seconds, eyes locked. Then he reaches over slowly, brushing his fingers against my jaw gentle, testing.

"I should go," I whisper, though I don’t move.

He nods, but he doesn’t lower his hand. His thumb brushes the corner of my mouth, lingering like he’s memorizing the feel of me.

"Get some rest," he says finally.

I nod, breath caught in my throat. "Goodnight, Arc."

"Goodnight, little seer."

I freeze. He realizes what he said a second too late.

I blink. "What did you just-?"

But before I can finish, he leans over and presses a kiss to my forehead, light as a feather, gone before I can even react.

"Sleep well, Aurora," he murmurs, then opens the driver door and disappears into the night.

And I’m left sitting there, heart racing, mind spiraling, wondering what the hell just happened… and how he knows I’m something I haven’t even told myself yet.