Page 106 of The Hunger
“I will.”
Calmer, but no more assured, I drove to school. By the time I got there, the lot was full, and I had to park near the trees. That meant I was shivering before I reached the door.
Ignoring the students lingering in the halls, I sent Fenris a text.
Me: Marco.
“Polo!” The shout rang through the halls, and I laughed as I continued walking. The halls started to clear as I made my way to the first session room. Fenris sat in his usual spot. Aubrey had the seat next to him. Unlike the day before, there were no open seats.
“Does this mean my attendance is no longer required?” I asked Lucas, who watched me closely.
“Not at all. Adira would like you to use coercion to obtain a seat.”
My heart almost stopped when I thought he was referring to my newly discovered gift. Then I realized he meant sexual coercion. That meant, in order to sit next to Fenris and get rid of Aubrey, I’d need to coerce her. And, based on her narrow-eyed stare, she knew it.
“I can’t begin until you take a seat,” Lucas said.
“All right.”
I kicked his chair away from his desk and sat in it with my feet propped up on his lesson plan, grateful I’d decided on jeans today. Then I boldly stared at Lucas, daring him to say anything. Which, of course, he did.
“I meant a student seat.”
Aubrey laughed and called me simple.
“And to be clear,” Lucas said, over the student sniggers, “when you coerce one of your fellow students, your aim is not to remove them but convince them to allow you to sit in their lap.”
A smile bloomed on my face. I knew just who—
“And it can’t be Fenris,” Lucas added, killing my humor.
Frustrated and wondering why I’d even bothered to come to school, I looked at Fenris. His hands were flat on his desk, and he wasn’t smiling. In fact, he was shaking with his anger. Seeing him so upset made my chest ache, and that thing inside of me moved. My eyes widened, and realizing what it was, I quickly pushed at it. It settled again. Rather than use my so-called gifts, I used my head.
“No, thank you,” I said.
“Excuse me?”
“I said, no thank you. No, thank you, I choose not to play Adira’s silly little games. No, thank you, I’ll keep your seat. And if you want to spend this session staring at me or trying to manipulate me into doing what Adira wants, instead of teaching something useful, I’m fine with that. I have nothing better to do with my time.”
Lucas gave me a long look, tugged his lesson plan out from under my canvas shoes, and started talking about how humans depend on service workers to keep their lives running smoothly.
No one was listening. They were all still trying to figure out what was going on based on the way their gazes were bouncing between me, Lucas, Fenris, and Aubrey. Fenris didn’t look at anyone else but me. Despite all the emotions in the room, I could feel his need. If it were a living thing, it would have consumed him whole.
“Just a moment,” I said, interrupting Lucas.
He actually paused.
“Fenris,” I said, standing. “Would you like to sit in this chair?”
He bolted for the front of the room, grabbed me around the waist, and had us both seated in Lucas’s chair before I could yip in surprise. Fenris leaned into me and inhaled deeply, making my skin prickle and my face flush. Doing my best to ignore the way his arms held me so secure, I looked at Lucas.
“No coercion necessary. Please continue.”
Lucas sighed and resumed his lecture. I didn’t miss the way Aubrey furiously texted instead of paying attention.
Slowly, Fenris relaxed his hold. I doubted he heard anything Lucas said, not that it really mattered. When the bell rang, Aubrey stayed in her seat. I did likewise. The rest of the students were slow to leave, dying to be witnesses to the drama they knew was about to unfold. The room eventually did empty, though, and Aubrey strolled toward us.
“Manipulate him while you can. He’ll be mine soon enough.”
