Clarissa's POV

Dante seems to sense the tension between Anya and me.

“Let’s get to class, everyone.”

He always tries to keep things calm between us. She may have the others fooled by her recent change in behavior, but not me.

“Take Anya with you,” Damon tells Dante.

The four of them have the same class, unlike me.

“Where will you be?” Anya asks him.

“I want to make sure Clarissa gets to class without anyone hara.ssing her.” He explains to her.

My heart does that little jump when he makes small gestures like this to keep me safe.

“I think she’s old enough to care for herself, Damon.” She tells him gently, but I can hear the edge in her voice.

“It is okay-“

“Shh,” He shushed me. “I’m dropping you to class “

I try to hide my smile as Anya practically glares at me. I’ve managed to win this round.

“Has anyone been bothering you lately?” He asks me as Atticus, and everyone else separates from the two of us.

I try to walk as slowly as possible; I want as much alone time with him. I don’t think he realizes how slowly I’m walking; he’s too preoccupied with waiting for me to answer his question.

“No,” I lie. “Everyone is behaving. They must after you threatened them about one hundred times already for the year.”

He shrugs his shoulder, and I try not to stare at his bulging biceps.

“I still think I haven’t done enough to protect you from them. And I can’t be by your side every second to keep you safe. It’s been bothering me, especially since I don’t know if you’re lying to me to keep me out of trouble.”

I bite my lip, and his eyes drop to them. His gaze lingers there for the first time, and I’m not sure if l saw the color fade from his face for a second.

He quickly looks away and scratches the back of his neck.

“We’re here. Remember to tell me if anyone is being an ass. I can be a fucking bigger one when it comes to your safety.”

Don’t melt, Clarissa. Don’t you dare melt! Ah- too late. I’ve already melted like ten times since I saw him this morning.

“I will.”

I attempt to walk around him, and he moves to block me from the classroom entrance.

I gasp as my body bounces into his. My hands reach out for support; they’re now pressed against his chest.

My body freezes from the contact.

“W-what are you doing?” I stammer.

I can barely breathe from how close we are. It’s the

first time that I’ve been able to touch him like this without using some excuse, and I love how warm his body feels beneath my hands.

I never want to move from this position except to bring him closer to me.

“I mean it, Clarissa.” He insists. “You must tell me if anyone is hurting you.”

I gaze into his pretty brown eyes.

What about him always makes my heart race like it’s on a marathon? I could have fallen for any other guy in the world; why did it have to be the one off-limits guy?

I can’t stop as my hand travels up his c.hest to his face. Damon’s breaths are faster now that I’m touching his cheek.

“l promise that I will tell you.” My eyes stare at his throat as he swallows.

That little movement has always been sexy to me, but only on him. Damon clears his throat and puts some distance between the two of us,

“I’ll see you after class.”

He doesn’t say anything else as he storms away from me. It’s the first time he’s ever left without watching me walk into the classroom.

Did I overstep my boundaries this time?

It’s not like I tried to kiss him.

I take a deep breath, now was not the time to think about him and how he made me feel. The class had already started. I push the door open, and all eyes are on me as I apologize to the professor for being late.

He doesn’t scold me, but it’s only because he’s

scared of the Fawns. I would be okay if he had something to say to me; it was my fault for being late.

I didn’t care that I was, however, because I’d gotten to see Damon. That was the real reason I was late for class. It’s because I was waiting for him. I was waiting for him to drop me to my class, just like he’s always done.

I spot the dirty looks from the girls in front of me almost immediately. I didn’t expect anything less.

They were the Gemma sisters. Gemma was their last name. And they were rich, just like the Fawns.

Everyone in this school was. There were very few poor students here who were lucky enough to get a scholarship from the principal.

The unlucky part was that they were all bullied by girls like the Gemma sisters. This is why I was also bullied.

Because I was poor, even though the Fawns family had adopted me and my life was much better than before, even after my adopted parents died in the car accident.

Damon's parents have always taken care of me as there own, they have loved me from the time my adopted parents brought me into the family and after they death, his parents automatically took over the parents role.

I was still initially from an orphanage.

It didn’t matter who I was now; I would always be the poor girl to them. I never knew who my biological parents were; I still don’t know. And I don’t want to.

They gave me up as a baby.

Why would I want to know the cowards that left me when I couldn’t fend for myself?

I hurriedly walk over to my seat and bury myself in the chair; I hate how much they all stare at me. They always made me feel uncomfortable.

“Today’s class is all about teaching you how to connect with your inner wolf,” Sir Axel says for my benefit. “I’ve seen many werewolves make the mistake of not being one with their wolf, and in turn, it affects how powerful they can be.”

Leslie Gemma pelts a paper at me when Sir Axel turns around to write on the board.

I open it and am surprised to see what is written.

“I know your secret.”