Chapter 1 _Thristing for her

Chapter One

JACKSON

It was a shame Asher Callaway had to die tonight. And that I would be the one to kill her. But there was nothing I could do now that I'd caught her scent. Not after two solid days of her existing in my space. Hawke Hall was my domain, the place I ruled without question because it bore my family name. Until now, I'd spent the last three years in complete control. Until her.

She called to me. Drew me to her with that irresistible, decadent scent. Made me mad with hunger. Desperate with need. Obsessed.

My father told me stories of how mother had tempted him, how her blood had been like no other. I'd never experienced it until now. I was hunting her. Not because I wanted to. I had to. I had to sample this irresistible creature. To know if she could possibly taste as delicious as she smelled.

Each one of her rhythmic footfalls teased me as she jogged through the campus trails, her measured breaths and elevated heartbeat strong in my ears. It took everything in me not to rush to her and sink my fangs into her throat, just as it had each night as she went about her routine. Tonight, I was within arm’s reach, ready to take her, but that would mean it was over almost before it began. The monster in me wanted to draw it out, to savor the chase, because once I had her, that would be it.

She slowed to a walk, hands on her hips as she stared up at the moon and sighed. "This is it. This is what you get for being different. You finished college but still ended up being shipped off to a glorified boarding school for the supernatural’s elite to keep you out of trouble. You"

Her voice was smooth and silky with the barest rasp to it. Music to my ears. If I killed her, I'd never hear it again. Perhaps I'd turn her instead. Make her mine forever. The thought had merit. Except, of course, for the fact that she was the princess of the Callaway wolf pack. Something told me her family would take issue with a Hawke vampire draining her dry and then making her one of us. We didn't want to start a war now, did we?

Her sharp intake of breath had me slinking into the shadows as she glanced over her shoulder in the direction where I'd been standing. "Is someone there?"

I smirked. Someone was definitely there. A predator. A hunter. The creature who'd change her life irrevocably.

Not tonight, though. I'd keep myself on the edge of euphoria a little longer. It was more fun that way.

As she rounded the corner, I kept my distance, now following just to ensure my prey returned safely home. I couldn’t risk someone else catching her. She was mine. Whether she knew it yet or not. Her dark hair swung back and forth in the high ponytail she wore, the ends brushing her shoulders and calling attention to her slender white neck. I wondered if her skin would change from porcelain to pink when she blushed and her blood rushed to the surface. Instinct took over, lengthening both my cock and my fangs. Arousal pulsed through me, eclipsed only by my hunger. I wanted her with every cell in my body.

"Everything all right there, Jackson ?" The Irish lilt of Father Jericho Sylvester's voice stopped me mid-step.

"Priest." I acknowledged him with the barest tilt of my head.

His jaw clenched at the title, a reminder of his past life as a man of God before he'd been turned into one of my kind. "Leave her be, Mr. Hawke. She's not for you to toy with."

"My instinct says different."

"Do not think your family name will exempt you from consequences if you kill her. The war—"

I waved my hand. "Yes, I know. The Families are on thin ice as it is, a war will start, death, bloodshed, etcetera." We had shared a relative peace between the head Families of our supernatural kinds the last twenty-five years. Since my father took control of the Hawke vampire kingdom and created a sort of treaty with the remaining shifter packs and witch covens. The alliance was nothing short of fragile after our kind spent centuries trying to rule over every preternatural species in existence.

I sighed heavily into the darkness. "No blood was spilled."

He arched one dark brow. "Yet."

"I will keep my distance."

"See that you do. You may be a prince, but I'm still in charge here."

I scoffed. "You're a professor. You have no control over me."

"One call to your father and you'll spend a week in the well. You know as well as I that he won't hesitate to isolate you if you pose a risk to the stability of our world, Jackson Hawke."

I shrugged, trying to play it cool, but I'd spent two days in the well back home once simply so I'd know to fear it. My father was still ruthless when he needed to be.

"Keep her away from me if you want to ensure she's safe."

"You're hunting her."

I swallowed past a burning throat. Yes, I was. "I can control myself."

"Perhaps she'd be safer living in my quarters until you've found a new distraction."

A low snarl escaped before I could stop myself. The thought of Asher spending any time in this man's home, sharing his space and his air, made unreasonable jealousy unfurl in my gut. Vampire or not, he was still a priest. A veritable eunuch, castrated by his faith and vow of celibacy. He couldn't have her, even if he wanted her. She was mine to claim.

"She's fine here. We're separated by three floors of concrete. I won't ravish her until she asks for it."

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his dark slacks, a wary expression on his face. "Goodnight, Jackson . Best get behind closed doors before you lose hold of your monster."

I shook my head before turning away and heading off in the direction Asher had.

Which of the dorms in this hall was hers? My gaze swept over the doors, senses on high alert as I searched for her, but all I smelled now was a mixture of creatures, from vampire to shifter to witch. Until I caught it again as I stepped into my elevator. Sweet and rich with a darkness I couldn't name. Unlike anything else. Asher Callaway called to me, begged me to claim her. To taste her. I palmed my aching cock as the doors to the top floor opened, and I strode to my suite.

I would have the beautiful little shifter if it was the last thing I did. And it just might be.