Xavier's POV
By the time we got to her room, she was a whirlwind of panic and fury—ranting about how this was all my fault, how we could've gotten caught, how I dragged her into it. And the thing is… I kind of liked it.
Not the guilt part. Not even the yelling.
Just… her.
She was fire wrapped in skin, storming up and down the room, hair wild, voice sharp. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes sparking in the dark—and all I could think about was how tempting her neck looked when she was worked up like this.
I tried to focus. Tried to count the seconds, regulate my breathing, look bored and unaffected.
But she smelled too good.
Like adrenaline and sugar and something uniquely her.
It was driving me insane.
When she finally gave up pacing, she moved toward the window, keeping an eye out for the patrolling staff. Still no opening. So she cut the light and flopped down beside me like the bed owed her a favor.
And that's when things got… harder.
She didn't just lie down. She curled into the space beside me—close enough that I could feel the heat of her skin, close enough that if I moved half an inch, my arm would graze hers.
I kept my eyes closed.
Kept still.
But every sense I had was tuned in to her.
Her breathing. Her heart. The slight shuffle of her limbs.
And then… I felt it.
Her eyes.
She was watching me.
I could feel it—intense, focused, curious. The way her breath hitched slightly, the way the mattress shifted just a little as she leaned in.
I stayed frozen.
Then—soft fingers brushed through my hair.
Slow. Careful. Like she didn't want to wake me. Like she was memorizing what it felt like.
And I—
I almost lost it.
A chill ran down my spine. Not from fear. From restraint. Every instinct screamed to open my eyes, grab her wrist, say something, do anything.
But I didn't.
Because for the first time in so long… someone touched me like that. Without expectation. Without fear. Without knowing what I was.
And I didn't want to scare it away.
She pulled back eventually. Rolled away. Curled into herself on the edge of the bed.
I waited.
Counted the seconds.
Until her breathing evened out, soft and steady.
That's when I let my eyes open.
She was asleep now, back to me, blanket barely covering her. Her arm curled under her head like a kid trying to nap in class.
Peaceful.
Vulnerable.
Mine.
I hated the thought. Hated that it felt true.
She wasn't mine, can't be. I do not deserve her.
I sat up slowly, careful not to disturb the bed, trying to get a grip. The scent of her was all around me. Invading me. Daring me to stay.
I couldn't.
I needed air. Distance. Something that didn't taste like her.
I crossed the room, made it to the window.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The alarm went off.
I spun, quiet and fast. She stirred but didn't wake.
I walked back, turned it off, and looked down at her again.
A tiny shiver ran through her.
God.
I reached for the blanket and pulled it over her carefully, gently tucking it in around her shoulders.
She sighed in her sleep.
I shouldn't have stayed.
I shouldn't have looked at her like this.
I definitely shouldn't have leaned down and—
I kissed her forehead. Barely a ghost of pressure. Just skin to skin for half a heartbeat.
Then, low and quiet—only for her, even if she wouldn't remember:
"Good night, mi Cielo."
And I was gone.
Out the window, into the dark, trying to forget the feeling of her hand in my hair… and failing.
*******
By the time I landed on the other side of her dorm window, the pull in my chest had turned feral.
Her scent was still in my throat. Sweet and maddening. And the taste of her—though I hadn't even touched her—was etched into the back of my mind like a curse.
I moved fast.
The campus was quiet, shadows long and still beneath the flickering lamplights. Mt. Olives always looked like something out of an old, haunted novel at night—gothic spires, marble arches, that looming bell tower no one ever used. It was beautiful. And sinister.
Like everything about this damn place.
But I didn't stop to admire it.
I headed for the back edge of the school grounds, where the forest rose dark and silent behind wrought-iron gates. "Off limits," the signs said. "Surveillance enforced."
Cute.
The enchantments were stronger than the security systems anyway.
I passed through the locked gate without slowing, slipping between shadow and mist like I belonged there—because I did. The trees swallowed me whole, familiar and ancient. Their roots twisted like veins, their silence pressing down like a secret.
I ran.
Faster than sound, faster than thought—until I was deep enough that the school lights were just a memory.
Then I stopped. Let the hunger bloom.
I could feel the forest life around me—heartbeats thudding soft and fast in the distance. Rabbits. Foxes. A herd of deer too close to the west. Normally I wouldn't bother. Wouldn't waste time on prey that couldn't scream.
But I couldn't… not tonight.
Not after her.
Something had changed in me.
I'd fed on humans for years—quick, clean, consensual when I could help it. And when I couldn't… well, I made it painless. Mostly. I was still cursed, not a saint.
But now? After she waltzed into my life like she belonged here,
I couldn't do it.
Not even to a stranger.
So I turned toward the deer.
It was skittish, sensing me before I even moved. I dropped it cleanly—fast, silent, no struggle. My fangs sank in, and warm blood rushed into my mouth. Bland. Earthy. Nothing like what I craved.
But it was enough.
Barely.
I let the body fall gently, and stepped away, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
I was still a mess inside.
Still thinking about her sleeping face. Her fingers. Her breath near my neck.
But at least I wasn't starving anymore.
---
The forest quiet was fractured the moment she stepped into it.
Kiara's presence cut through the trees like a curse, familiar and suffocating. Her heels crunched softly over fallen leaves as she emerged from the shadows, head tilted like she was amused to find me here.
"Didn't peg you for the brooding woodsman type tonight," she said, voice like silk dipped in poison.
I didn't answer.
Didn't even look at her.
"You smell like her," she added, circling slowly. "Pathetic little human, have you drank from her yet? ."
Still, I said nothing.
But I could feel her smile curve wider.
"Tell me, Xavier…" Her voice dropped, eyes gleaming. "Did she scream your name when you drank? Or is she still too innocent for that?"
I turned my head slowly. "Don't."