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Rafael asked.
    “I’m not trying to placate you,” Aric said. “I owe you. You kept her safe when I couldn’t.”
    “We both know she didn’t need me to keep her safe,” Rafael said. “She’s the power here. You and I are just along for the ride.”
    Aric shook his head, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. “If anyone had ever told me I would be … friends … with a vampire, I would’ve called them a filthy liar.”
    The smile on Rafael’s face was enigmatic, but keen. “I’m just glad she’s smiling again. I couldn’t do that, wolf. Only you could. For now, we’ll have to consider that a win for all of us.”

September

Five
    There’s something about going back to classes at the start of a new semester that is both exciting and mind numbing. Since everything is new, you haven’t had a chance to get disappointed yet. Since it’s the first day, homework is rarely an option. And, since it’s just an introduction, absolutely nothing of substance is even touched upon.
    I love the first day of classes.
    I didn’t get a chance to enjoy any of those things, because when I walked into my digital media class Monday afternoon, the man standing in front of the room was all-too familiar – and unwelcome.
    Sam Blake fixed me with a tight smile when he saw me hovering in the doorway. “Ms. Lake.”
    In exaggeratedly slow motion – mostly because I felt like my feet were encased in cement – I leaned back out into the hallway to double-check the room number. Crap. What was he doing here?
    I glanced down at the class sheet in my hand. “Where is Professor Halloran?”
    Blake raised an eyebrow. “He’s no longer teaching this class.”
    “Why is that?”
    “Professor Halloran’s personal life is really none of my concern,” Blake said. “I was just contacted about picking up an extra class this semester, and I agreed.”
    “I called the registrar’s office to make sure that this class wasn’t … that it was being led by Professor Halloran,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
    I was drawing a decent amount of attention from already-seated students, but I didn’t care. This couldn’t be a coincidence.
    “I already explained what I’m doing here,” Blake said. “If you have a problem, I suggest you take it up with the registrar’s office.
    “Don’t tempt me,” I shot back, considering my options. For his part, Blake was acting as if nothing was wrong. I still had no way of knowing what he remembered from last spring. Rafael had been vague and cryptic – as usual – but Blake’s purported ignorance was bordering on creepy.
    If he was acting, he was good. His sister was dead at my hands – literally. His entire plan to enslave captured vampires to wipe out the werewolf population was shredded when he found out I’d destroyed a very rare and valuable resurrection stone.
    And here he was, acting as if I was nothing more than a petulant student that irritated him from semester to semester. This just didn’t feel right.
    “Ms. Lake,” Blake said. “Are you going to have a seat? I’d like to get started. If you’re leaving, you should do so now.”
    I bit my lower lip. The smart thing to do would have been to switch classes. Now, though, my curiosity was getting the better of me. Ultimately, I made my way into the classroom and took a seat, fixing Blake with a pointed look as I settled. He didn’t seem put off by my attitude.
    Blake introduced himself to the class a few minutes later, charming the flirty girls in the front row with his easy and quick smile. If you were into the idea of trying to seduce your professor, Sam Blake was a young woman’s dream. He was young, in his early thirties, and his hair was dirty blond. His face was chiseled, his body trim, and he gave off an aura of approachability.
    I knew better than to trust anything that he said.
    The next hour and a half seemed to take two weeks. My body was so rigid in the chair, my back started to hurt. Blake