Kindred (Book 1 The Kindred Series) (14 page)

   Panic tore through Cassie as she fervently shook her head.
“No.”

   Kara shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

   Kara slipped eagerly away to join the growing group of girls surrounding Devon. “You ok?” Melissa asked softly.

   Cassie nodded, though she knew it was a lie.
“Fine.
I’m going to head inside.”

   “I’ll go with you.”
   Cassie moved slowly away from the tree, wincing as she stepped into the harsh sunlight. She could almost feel her skin burning, her eyes watered as she squinted against the bright light. She left a wide berth around Devon, but she could feel his eyes burning into her as
she moved slowly toward the
much needed
shelter of the school.

   It was going to be another very long, very hard day
,
and she wasn’t at all prepared for it.

CHAPTER 6

   Devon was growing tired of being avoided. And she w
as going
well
out of her
way
to avoid him.
Though he sat at her lunch table again, she did not return to it. In fact, she didn’t even come into the cafeteria, for three days in a row. He was growing impatient and aggravated with her.
Every other girl in the school was throwing themselves at him. It was a fact that he was used to, but he
most certainly
was not used to women going out of their way to avoid him.

   And that was exactly what Cassie was doing. And she happened to be the only girl in the whole school that he even remotely cared about talking to
,
and getting closer to.
And now
, finally,
she was back in the cafeteria. He watched as she
glided
deftly through the crowd with an ease and grace that was captivating and amazing.

   Her hair was a golden shimmer in the
harsh
light as she moved toward the lunch
line. She was unable to move fast as she
was accosted by endless people. Though she spoke with everyone, and smiled brightly, he could sense her impatience. He was just as impatient as she was. He wanted her over here, with him, where he could finally try and talk to her
again
.

   He slid i
nto the chair that had become his, tapping his finger impatiently on the table as he waited for Cassie to reappear.
People slid in around him, and though they talked to him, he barely acknowledged them as his gaze remained focused on the wall she had disappeared behind. He still didn
’
t understand why he was so captivated with this girl, but he was. He dreamed of her every night, haunting dreams that left him shaken and unfulfilled in the morning.
He wanted more of her, he wanted to know what she felt and tasted like. Wanted to know what
she would
really
feel like in his arms, not just what her ghostly dream image felt like.

   “Hello,” he glanced over at Marcy
,
nodding briefly as she slid in
to the seat
next to him
and
lean
ed
annoyingly close.

   Devon shifted slightly, wanting to get further away from her. He knew he had a large group of admirers now; there was nothing that he could do about that, but Marcy
was
by far the most persistent and overt. She moved closer to him, her small hand dropp
ed
on
to
his arm. Cocking an eyebrow he turned slowly toward her, trying hard not to lose his patience with the cling
y
girl.

   She smiled brightly back at him, her leaf green eyes twinkling merrily. She chose to completely ignore the impatience radiating from him.
“Are you going to
come to B’s and S’s tonight?”

   Devon glanced back at where Cassie had disappeared, but
she
had not reemerged
yet
. He had not been back to the restaurant
since
he had first seen her. She had not returned
there either
in the past three nights, choosing instead to go to Melissa’s house with Chris. He was a little dismayed
,
and found himself more than a little pathetic for knowing that fact, but he did
.
F
or some reason
though,
he wanted to make sure that she was safe
at all times and had to know where she was in order to do so
.

   He tried to convince himself that this was true, but he knew in his heart that he was bordering on obsessive and stalker. Neither of those were things he had ever thought he could be. It was a brutal realization to
know
that one girl could make him become something that he could barely recognize. But then again, it had been
a
nother
girl
that had
completely changed him in a way he had never expected
before
.

   But Cassie was an exceptional girl
,
s
he was a unicorn, he realized with a start
as she reemerged from the lunch line
.
She was a
rare, never
i
magined find, but one that he was never going to
release again. She even reminded him of a unicorn with her graceful mannerisms,
golden hair, and bright violet flecked eyes.

   Her smile was easy and bright as she conversed with the girls by her side.
He had only known her for a few days, but he had come to realize that she was
never
alone. There was always someone by her side, demanding her attention. It was an annoying fact, especially when she was so giving of her time with them, while she ignored and avoided
the hell out of
him.

  
M
ark
swiftly approached her
, honing in like a missile upon its target
. He walked briskly, with a stride that was not to be deterred. Devon’s senses went on high alert; he stiffened as he sensed an undercurrent of anger and impatience running through the boy. He arrived at Cassie’s side, touching her elbow to grab her attention.

   She turned slowly toward him, her eyes widening slightly as she took a small step back. Anger rolled through Devon
as Mark
moved
closer to her
.
U
sing his height as an intimidation factor
,
he bent slightly over her. Cassie’s eyes narrowed fiercely, her shoulders straightened as she tilted her chin up proudly. Though
Devon
was impressed
by
her show of strength and defiance, he also wished that she would simply back away. He s
ensed an instability and anxiety
within Mark that worried him
, and he knew that the boy would snap if pushed t
o
o hard. And Cassie seemed intent on pushing him away.

   Devon
rose to his feet, with every intention of intervening
. Her safety was his number one concern, and around Mark,
he knew that
she was not safe.

   Chris appeared at her side suddenly, using his shoulder to push slightly past Mark.
Chris
smiled brightly at Mark, but there was tension in his solid frame
,
and no sparkle in his sapphire eyes. He spoke briefly to Mark for a moment while gently nudging Cassie further back
. Cassie did not look pleased to be pushed out of the way.

   Chris finally managed to disentangle t
he
two
of them
from Mark, though Mark glared after them as Chris continued to nudge Cassie toward the glass doors
at
the back of the cafeteria. He suddenly recalled Melissa’s words
on his first day. The senior’s sat outside when it was nice out.
Until now, h
e had not noticed
that
a
fair
amount of senior’s
w
as
missing as his table was packed with girls, and they would not leave his side as long as he remained inside.

   And if he moved outside right now, they would only follow. The last thing he wanted was a gaggle of giggling teens following him around while he tried to talk with
Cassie
. He watched her as she moved stiffly toward the doors, her tray clenched tight in her hands, her head held immobile, and her neck straight. He could feel the
stress
radiating from her, the st
ruggle that waged throughout
.

   He also felt the snapping
point when she lost the struggle and her he
ad turned slowly toward him. T
he impact of her gaze was like a lightning bolt as it seared through him,
it
sizzl
ed
thr
ough his dried veins and caused
his deadened heart to vibrate with pulsing electricity.

   She hesitated briefly, her eyes warm
ed slightly;
a wave of heat flood
ed
her porcelain cheeks. Her long dark lashes swept swiftly down, shadowing her startling eyes as she bowed her head. Her golden hair fell forward, hiding her face as she hurried
on
.
She
dropp
ed
her sunglasses back into place before following Chris outside
.

   Disappointment filled him as he turned
a
way from her, his anger sparked
as he caught
sight of Mark. He was staring after Cassie, annoyance and irritation radiating from him.
Mark
hesitated for a moment longer before turning and slinking over to a table packed with boys just as large and muscular as he was. They were all wearing black and gold jackets with a
white horse on the back of them.

  
Devon
had no idea why they were all wearing the same coats, bu
t they seemed to think that the jackets
were special as none of the boys were taking them off
,
even though the cafeteria was hot. Devon shook his head, not understanding human customs at all, and least of all not understanding teenage customs.
Staying here for much longer was going to drive him crazy, but he wasn’t leaving here without finding out exactly why he was so drawn to Cassie.

   And that meant finally getting closer to her.

   He turned back to Marcy
, deciding to use her clinginess
to his advantage
for a change
.
“What do you know about Cassie?”
   Marcy was slightly taken aback as she leaned away from him, her eyes widen
ed
in surprise before narrowing fiercely. He should have taken a different approach
,
he realized belatedly
,
as he recognized her jealousy
and anger instantly. “Why?”

   Devon shrugged negligently. Leaning closer to Marcy, he placed his hand briefly upon her arm, hoping to soothe her.
“I am simply curious; Mark seems to truly like her.”

   She relaxed slightly, but her eyes still radiated distrust.
“He’s liked her for awhile, but she just strings him along like she strings Chris
,
and everyone else along.”

   Devon quirked an eyebrow, tension and anger radiated from Marcy, along with a strong wave of jealousy
. He wondered if it had been Mark
,
or Chris
,
that she had liked
before
he had walked into this school and
she had
bec
o
me
fixate
d
on him. “I thought she and Chris were just friends.”

   Ma
rcy shrugged, her eyes darkened
as her nose scrunched slightly. “That’s what they say, but I doubt it. There is something strange about
that
relationship
,
neither one of them
really
date anyone else.” Her bitter tone confirmed the fact that it had been Chris she liked
.