Cornered
~Aries~
The moment she walked through those double doors and into the cafeteria, my heart nearly ripped itself from my chest.
Taking my fox with it.
Everyone noticed her.
Most of the cafeteria had stopped eating just to stare at the strange mortal who looked more like one of us than one of her own kind.
Her skin.
Her eyes.
The delicate curve of her cheeks.
Everything about her looked wrong for a mortal.
She looked like she belonged among the beasts.
Her shoulders were stiff, and her gaze darted around the room as she took everything in.
There was an innocence in the way she looked at the world.
Like a curious child seeing something magical for the first time.
I watched her approach the buffet and begin filling her plate.
A lot of food.
Was she trying to sample every dish?
Could she even eat all that?
I want her.
Kyo’s voice echoed through my mind.
Go get her.
Bring her to our table.
No.
Not yet.
Aries, I will take over.
Go to her.
Kyo, I have a plan.
Can’t you be patient?
No.
Relax.
Seriously.
I don’t have a relax mode.
I felt him pushing against the barriers of my mind.
Relentlessly.
He’d never acted like this before.
Kyo, what are you doing?
I don’t know.
Everything in me is screaming to go to her.
To make her ours.
I’ll lock you up.
You shouldn’t threaten me with that.
The next instant, he slammed against my mental defenses.
Cracks spread through them.
Then they shattered completely.
I felt him seize control.
His focus locked onto her.
Immediately, he sent a wave of heat toward her.
I fought back, trying to reclaim control, but Kyo had completely lost his mind.
Kyo.
Stop.
No.
He shoved me deeper into the back of my own mind.
The little shit.
My body moved without my permission.
Without a sound, he followed her.
My anger surged.
Kyo and I had never been at odds.
Never.
Yet here he was, doing the impossible over a girl we’d barely even met.
Using our gift.
Manipulating emotions.
Pushing attraction into her senses.
KYO.
You’ve gone too far.
No such thing.
He forced me even farther back.
Then he turned the ability on me.
Heat spread through my body.
My thoughts blurred.
The bastard.
He moved closer.
Our steps were silent.
Predatory.
By the time she reached the hallway near the bathrooms, we were right behind her.
The janitor’s closet door flew open.
Almost ripped from its hinges.
Shit.
She squealed.
The room was dark.
Pitch black.
I knew she couldn’t see anything.
Kyo pulled her inside.
The door slammed shut.
He pinned her wrists above her head and buried his face near her neck.
Inhaling.
Searching.
Trying to catch her scent.
She smelled like spring.
It calmed my senses while driving them completely insane at the same time.
“P-please…”
Her voice trembled.
And somehow, that single word calmed him.
The madness faded.
The frenzy vanished.
I felt my fox settle.
Melt back into me.
He released her wrists.
Peace washed through both of us.
Slowly, my hand reached up.
I tilted her chin upward.
Trying to see her face.
She flinched.
Tried to pull away.
But not very far.
I snapped my fingers.
A tiny flame appeared.
Soft golden light filled the darkness.
Her eyes widened.
They traveled across my face, studying me.
The flame flickered, casting shadows across her features and deepening the impossible blue of her eyes.
My heart pounded.
Neither of us looked away.
I wasn’t even breathing anymore.
For a moment, the entire world seemed to disappear.
Just her.
And me.
Nothing else.
Then the flame vanished.
Darkness swallowed the room once more.
Silence stretched between us.
Heavy.
Electric.
I could still feel the heat lingering beneath her skin.
The heat Kyo had started.
My pulse hammered in my ears.
Neither of us moved.
Neither of us spoke.
Finally, I stepped back.
Putting space between us.
The moment the distance appeared, I could think again.
I straightened to my full height, towering over her.
I snapped my fingers once more.
A small sphere of fire bloomed above my palm.
Light returned to the closet.
And there she was.
Her skin seemed almost luminous.
Her eyes struck me like an arrow straight to the chest.
They searched my face carefully.
Fear lingered there.
But so did something else.
Curiosity.
The fear hit harder than I expected.
A punch straight to the gut.
Kyo, you god damn idiot.
He’d just destroyed every plan I had.
What exactly was I supposed to say after dragging a girl into a closet and terrifying her?
Kyo, you absolute fool.
I took a slow breath and met her gaze.
“Hello, Euphoria.”