Chapter 3 - Hana

I knew moving so far away would make me homesick. That’s only natural, though. While thousands of students surround me and have Pam as a roommate, it’s not the same. As unique a character as Pam is with her love of rugby, or more so an intense appreciation for the rugby player physique, her love of the occult wasn’t the same. Nothing could replace living in the pack house with Daddy, Aurelia, Rosie, and CJ, with various pack members dropping in during the day. 

I missed the familiarity of home but also how unpredictable it was. Even with Silvercloud having moved out to start his mated life with Persephone, our house was the hub of activity and outrageous events. And when I wanted peace from the pack, I could always drive over to the ranch to ride on Ashes and enjoy a quiet meal with Grandma and Grandpa Christian. 

That homesickness is the primary reason I opted to wear my boots like a security blanket today. I didn’t care that I’d been getting weird looks all day. I know cowboy boots aren’t the norm over here. Most girls around campus wore flats, sneakers, or heels. I wore a pair of cute heels yesterday, so it’s not like I always wear my boots. I just felt particularly homesick this morning. I’d only had one person ask me why I was wearing cowboy boots in one of my morning classes. Otherwise, it’s just been an odd look here and there.

Of course, that trend couldn’t carry on. When I walked into my only evening class, I got a couple of raised eyebrows from some girls when they noticed my boots. I ignored them as I took an open seat at the front of the room. I may have been ignoring them. However, that didn’t mean I couldn’t hear them.

“Is she for real? That outfit is nice but ruined with those tacky boots.”

“I was wondering where the smell was coming from.”

“Ew, that’s just gross.”

It’s not the first time I’ve had people whispering about me. It’s just the first time in a long time it’s happened. People stopped whispering about me in the pack eight years ago after I beat the crap out of Tim Torrez in training after he shit-talked about my status in the pack and human nature. Beating the shit out of these condescending bitches, while may monetarily make me feel better, isn’t the answer. I don’t need to get in trouble here. This isn’t the pack. Here, I could face assault charges or, worse, expulsion. 

It was easier to ignore the rest of the class and get my things out to be ready for when class was called to order. Ignoring my peers was easy. Ignoring the man staring at me at the front of the room was impossible. I’ve been gawked at plenty in my life. I was stared at at every gathering I’d attended in the last two years. In those instances, I understood why I was getting that attention. 

At the gatherings, I was the only human. I also inherited my mother’s looks. Not to sound narcissistic, but she was beautiful enough to get my dad to stand against his father and have her at his side, even briefly. However, beyond those reasons, I got looks at gatherings mainly because I am the Bloodmoon Princess. 

This man, who I assume is the teacher, wouldn’t be staring at me because of my title in the pack. No one here knows about that. This also meant he shouldn’t be staring because I’m a human. Everyone here is. He could be staring because I’m the only student not chatting, wasting time. That’s a preferred reason for him to be staring.

The way he was staring, the intensity in his dark brown eyes, was a little unnerving, not exactly in a bad way. I don’t know how to explain it. He’s not the first good-looking man to look at me with desire. Even Daisuke didn’t look at me with the kind of hunger Mr. Weeber was, and Daisuke is the only guy I’ve had sex with. The longer he looked at me, the more I felt my body react to his gaze.

Logically, I knew letting my mind wander to that taboo place was wrong. Mr. Weeber is one of my teachers, and there are rules about such things. It doesn’t matter that he looks much younger than my other teachers. I shouldn’t let myself be turned on by his gaze, but I think any woman in my position would be. He’s not rugged like the men in the pack; even with his well-trimmed beard and mustache, he looked more clean-cut. There was something ethereal about him.

And then it hit me. That ethereal vibe, the fair skin, the hungry look in Mr. Weeber’s eyes, and the evening-only class. It all added up, and when I noticed the very subtle red in his eyes, I knew it. I put thousands of miles between myself and my dad’s werewolf pack only to land myself in an English class with a VAMPIRE for a teacher. Now, I was truly unsettled by his attention. I’m no vampire’s meal. 

I couldn’t, of course, call him out on any of it. I needed to play this the right way. I needed to be strategic. I’ve dealt with enough vampires back home, primarily with Dani. We are in a classroom full of humans, all unaware of what our teacher is. I couldn’t turn this into something. I had to be subtle. When I called it to his attention that he was supposed to begin class, I thought it worked until he started to speak.

The German accent was subtle but noticeable if you paid attention. I never thought I’d consider the accent sexy, yet it was. I shook my head, reminding myself not to allow myself to be tricked. He was a vampire. I don’t know what kind of abilities he may possess. I needed to stay on my guard. He had singled me out, which didn’t bode well for me. 

While I tried to focus on the lesson, my mind was going over multiple scenarios. Some vampires prefer to be on their own, staying away from their own like Dan. But many preferred to live in clans. I had done my research and wasn’t aware of any clans in this area, but I’ll have to triple-check that when I get to my dorm. Perhaps Dani would have insight into vampires in this region. I couldn’t decide how to handle him until I knew if he was part of a clan or a solo vampire.

As I took notes, I realized the girls in class were looking at our teacher like lovesick pups. I wasn’t sure when they all noticed our teacher was attractive, but they certainly weren’t hiding their interest. I considered if swaying others to him, making them forget their senses was his gift. Vampire abilities were possibly more varied than werewolves, even more so as not all werewolves have a gift, but all vampires do. If it were his gift, I’d need to be extra cautious and never be alone with him. 

Despite the attention he was getting from the others in class, Professor Weeber’s eyes kept returning to me. Either he’s decided I was his next meal, or somehow, some way, he knew who I was. Though if he knew who I was, he must either be the dumbest man I’ve met or have a death wish to target the daughter of a powerful alpha. I doubted he could know who I was. All my paperwork has mom’s last name on it. 

“And that is the end of our time.” Professor Weeber declared to the reluctant sighs of several women in class. “I know it’s hard to step away from Sophocles, but we’ll pick this up at our next lesson. In the meantime, feel free to read ahead so we can discuss it in greater detail next time.”

I rolled my eyes at the number of girls that hurried to his desk. I should feel some level of concern for their safety. They are, after all, unwittingly throwing themselves at a vampire. Yet I couldn’t bring myself to care. If he makes a meal of any of them and they turn up dead, I’ll have better reason to take action against him. If he’s a smart vampire and only feeds what is necessary to survive before sending his victims back home without memory of what happened, I won’t have a reason to kill him. 

“Miss Yashida!” He called after me as I was near the door.

I sighed, cracking my neck as I turned to face him. He’d left his admirers and was too close for my liking. I arched my brow, wishing I had some vervain on hand. I’d have to check what supplies I brought with me. Yes, I thought I was moving somewhere free of the supernatural, but that doesn’t mean I came unprepared to protect myself. I’d feel safer coming to this class if I had vervain.

“Yes, Professor Weeber?” I asked, keeping my hand on the door, ready for a quick exit.

His smile was disarming. Yeah, I’m certain his gift is something in the presence discipline. It’s the only way I can explain why his proximity and that smile could make me feel weak in the knees. If I were one of the other girls, I’d easily succumb to the charms. I’m not just any human thought. If he thought I was an easy target, he would find out the hard way I’m not.

“You forgot your pen.” He smiled, holding up the gold-plated pen Uncle John and Aunt Sarael gifted me when I was accepted to Yale.

“Thank you, sir.” I smiled politely as I took the pen back.

“Anytime, Miss Yashida.” His words were polite, yet his tone was seductive as he intentionally made our fingers touch.

His warm touch didn’t fool me. I knew well enough that vampires could drink enough hot beverages, especially if they’d recently fed on fresh blood to create the illusion of being warm-blooded. I knew the truth. No blood was pumped through his veins. His heart was as useful as Austin Shelton in an ass-kicking contest. No offense to Austin, okay, maybe some, but he has admittedly turned out to be a decent person, and it just took losing a limb to make it happen. 

“Ahem.” 

I glanced over his shoulder at his fan club, annoyed at me for stealing his attention. Foolish females. It’s as if they had no self-preservation instincts whatsoever. They had no clue they were prey and willingly placed themselves close to one of the apex predators. I used their annoyance as my chance to be smart prey and escape.

“I’ll leave you to your fan club. Goodnight, Professor.” I nodded.

I quickly took my pen, spun, and left before he could stop me. I needed to speak with Dani and ensure I had vervain before my next class with Weeber.