His gorgeous girl was pissed, and it took everything in him not to laugh. He could feel the heat of her hazel eyes glaring at him as he quickly copied her notes, his legs securing hers from under the table to prevent her from running.

"Angry bunny. Such a cute, angry little bunny." Zev hummed, causing Nox to bite his lip to stifle the laugh bubbling in his throat.

Her warmth and scent made him feel so calm and at ease, that he was contemplating marching down to the labs and demand that they replicate her scent, and sell it.

"Okay, wow. I really am becoming a creep."

"No, no. I think you were on to something."

Nox rolled his eyes. Of course Zev would agree with that messed-up of an idea. He wrote a few more lines of her pristine notes, stopping for a second to admire her handwriting, then continuing again.

He only paused to clamp his legs tighter around her own as she began wiggling again in an attempt to free herself.

Nox wanted to feel bad about basically keeping her hostage with him at the library, but if she were a supernatural like himself, she'd understand why he's keeping her.

Despite Zev's inappropriate thoughts, he really, really needs her presence to solidify their bond, which would take more time since she's human, and also seems to be set on not being involved with him.

Guadalupe wiggled again, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Nox looked up with a slight smirk. "Bella, stop struggling. I'm not letting you go." She huffed, crossing her arms with an adorable pout. Nox looked down quickly.

'Well, it's not like anyone would be worried about me.' She thought darkly, relaxing into the comfortable library chair.

Her thoughts drifted to Lance and Tara, both halfway across the world on fully-paid scholarships. She was so proud, and so happy for them, that when they finally left, she had cried for nearly a week.

Her family was too busy arguing among themselves to notice that she even existed. Her grandfather would probably be the only one to notice that she was out later than usual, and when she came around, he'd make sure everyone else knew too, and come up with all kinds of vulgar assumptions that would sound nothing like her, and more like her promiscuous cousin.

The thought dampened her spirits.

Nox noticed the change in her mood, and shifted his legs slightly to gain her attention. "What's wrong, bella?" he glanced up from the page, half-filled with notes, and narrowed his eyes at her frown.

She shook her head, a few stray strands of dark hair sticking to her plump cheeks. He placed his pen down, and drew Guadalupe's legs closer to himself, effectively pulling her chair closer to the circular table. He diverted his eyes from her chest, squished against the table.

Silver clashed with hazel. "What's wrong, bella?" Nox questioned again, but he was met with the same answer. The pair continued to stare at each other: Nox trying to decipher the emotions in her eyes, and Guadalupe staring blankly ahead, struggling not to fall into his silver eyes.

She was beginning to realize that she had a bad habit of falling for muscular men and suppressed a sigh.

"It's nothing you should worry about, Nox." Guadalupe whispered, and he couldn't help but shiver at the way his name fell off her lips.

"I have to worry if it puts a frown on that gorgeous face of yours." He replied, smirking when he saw her trying to cover her flushed cheeks.

Guadalupe cleared her throat. "Well, like I said, you shouldn't worry about what goes on in my head."

"What does go on in that pretty head of yours?" Nox inquired, leaning on his elbows. "You know, from the moment I saw you, I wanted to figure you out; know what goes on in your head, and in your heart, a-"

"Why?" Guadalupe interrupted, feeling suddenly breathless and parched.

Nox cocked his head. "So I could love every bit of you. Even the darkness."

Guadalupe gulped, wincing as it stung. "What makes you think I have darkness in me?"

With his head still cocked, Nox blinked, then smirked. "Everyone has a little bit of darkness in them; some more than others."

"So, you're technically saying that I have every right to be absolutely terrified of you."

"Are you?"

"Yes." Guadalupe replied without skipping a beat.

"I don't want you to be."

"But I should, shouldn't I? Be scared of you."

Nox didn't answer; he didn't want to tell her, "Yes, but I'd never hurt you, or let anyone else hurt you. I'd rather die."

He didn't want to see that look of fear cross her face.

It was finally Guadalupe's turn to smirk; Nox couldn't believe how sexy she looked doing it. She leaned in on her elbows, bringing his attention from her face to her chest, then back to her face.

"I'll take your lack of an answer as a fat 'Yes. Yes you should'. You have a lot of work to do to prove to me that I shouldn't be scared of you. Are you up for that, Nox?"

He licked his lips, gaining her attention for a split-second, before refocusing on his silver eyes, now filled with mirth and something else she refused to recognize.

Nox leaned over the table, their noses almost touching. "I absolutely am. However long it takes, baby."

Guadalupe leaned away and rolled her eyes, ignoring the heat in her cheeks and hoping that Nox wouldn't notice either. He did.

Throwing caution into the wind, he inhaled deeply before asking: "Would you like to go out with me?"

Guadalupe was stunned.

She had never been asked before; not with Mateo. It was simply: "You, me, the cinema at 7. Got it?", and like the meek, weak idiot she was, she agreed.

Now, she was being asked in the same way as in books, and she was scared.

"Like... like a... date?" she asked hesitantly, and Nox nodded, a bit too excitedly. She stammered to give her response, internally battling with herself.

The light in his silver eyes died and she could feel his spirit dampen as he looked away from her. "It's okay, bella. You don't h-"

"Okay."

Nox paused, hoping he heard right. He was well on his way to apologizing for even asking, and now he thought that he should have just given her more time to gather her thoughts.

Hope sprung to life again in his chest. His eyes found her again, her hazel orbs hidden behind squeezed eyelids.

"Please don't make me regret throwing caution into the wind." She said as she slowly opened her eyes, being greeted by his beaming face.

"You won't. I promise, bella."

Her hands shook as she smoothed them down her sides.

The black dress Tara had bought for her last year fit so snugly now, and was too short not to wear with leggings. She paired her plain ensemble with her only pair of flats, and kept her twin buns from the day before.

All through the day, she couldn't help her nerves as she felt his eyes on her throughout the lesson. She knew he wanted her to look at him, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

Once class had ended, she sprinted out of the room and didn't stop until she was halfway home; a bad idea since she could barely breathe the rest of the way there.

A snare pulled up at her lips as she stared at the reflection. She could hear the voices of her female cousins, Mateo, and Denise in her head, criticizing the plump girl in a too-tight black dress and leggings.

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, and she was ready to rip the stupid thing off and spend the rest of the night coming up with an excuse to tell Nox when she saw him the next day.

"Hot damn, where you going Ada?" Guadalupe squealed and spun towards the voice of her eldest cousin. The hatch was wide open, and more heads popped into the open space, whistling and questioning her plans for the night.

"Yeah, Ada, where you going?" one of her younger cousins asked, and she tried to stop the heat rising to her cheeks.

"Uh, o-out with a f-friend." She stammered, and her other cousin gave her a look. "You mean the friend that walked across campus with your ass in his face?"

Guadalupe pursed her lips as the heat filled her cheeks and her cousins laughed; the older ones anyway. The younger ones were peering over a screen as one of them played Super Smash Bros.

"Apparently." Guadalupe whispered her response, and the older girl chuckled with a shake of her head.

"Well, have fun, Ada-girl." She said, smacking her hand against the wooden floor and disappearing into the orange glow of the hallway light.

The girls and younger ones disappeared, but the boys stayed, engaging in a staring contest with her.

"Is he another Mateo?" the eldest one asked, and Guadalupe shook her head.

"There's something about him... it scares me, but... he's good. He's good." The males nodded, and the eldest one pulled something out of his back pocket; a phone, Guadalupe noticed.

"Your mother sent this for you. It came today, and, uh, sorry for snooping. But I set it up for you." He said, holding the cellular device out to her.

"You mean you put a tracking app on it." Guadalupe deadpanned, and the boy flushed. "Y-yeah. After that whole fiasco with Mateo and Denise, you can't be too careful."

Guadalupe smiled. She had always felt a bit more comfortable around her male cousins than her female ones, mostly because they didn't care about her looks; just her gaming abilities.

She walked over to them and crouched, pecking his cheek. "Thank you." Still flushed, he stammered then gave up, waving his hand in a submissive gesture.

The boys made room for her to leave, and walked her all the way to the back door, evading the adults, crowded in front of the television watching a cricket match.

"Be safe Ada!" they called out as she walked down the street, and towards the campus library. She waved them off before turning the corner.

The late afternoon sun warmed her skin. The streets were surprisingly scarce, but all the better, she thought.

'No one to see me, no one to criticize me.'

As she approached the parking lot, she could see him, perched on the hood of his car, typing furiously on his phone. He looked so devastatingly handsome that she could feel her heart do somersaults in her chest.

She licked her lips, and swallowed against her dry throat. 'No chickening out. Just... leap for it.'

She picked up her pace, keeping her eyes set on him. His head suddenly snapped up and his silver eyes widened as his gaze landed on her.

Nox slipped off the car, not too gracefully, the sight of his gorgeous girl rendering him speechless.

In the confines of his mind, Zev was rioting, wanting to do nothing more than cover her deadly curves from the world; they were for his eyes, and his eyes alone.

He sent a deadly glare towards the disgusting teenage males, staring at his woman like a souped-up ride that they wanted to take out for a spin. They scrambled away, and he set his eyes on her again.

Nox gulped, wincing against the sting in his throat, and hoped that she didn't look down to see what the color of his pants were.

"Bella," he choked out, the words lodging in his throat. His gorgeous girl smiled shyly at him, coming to a stop only a few steps away.

"Hi." She whispered, biting down on her bottom lip, causing both man and wolf to groan low in their throats.

"Uh, are-are you ready to go?" Guadalupe nodded to his question, and he guided her to the front passenger seat, opening and closing the door for her. The interior was so nice and expensive-looking that she was afraid to even be sitting in the vehicle.

She clipped the seat belt around her, and clenched her hands in her lap. Her tiny handbag sat in her lap, only holding her new phone and her keys.

Nox slammed the door behind him, startling her. "Sorry." He whispered sheepishly, and despite her galloping heart, Guadalupe smiled. "It's okay."

Nox started the car, and they drove off, passing the bustle of the city and into the quiet forest, where Guadalupe had dreams of running free with its creatures; pure, inhibited joy coursing through her veins.

It was something that she kept to herself; her one source of true joy were those dreams.

As they continued to drive in a comfortable silence, with nothing but the sound of the wind rushing by their ears, Guadalupe inhaled deeply, a smile blooming on her face as the smell of the forest filled her nostrils. Nox glanced at her from the corner of his eye, smiling to himself.

"Judging by that look on your face, I'd like to think that you want to live in the woods." Nox broke their silence, and without looking at him, Guadalupe laughed softly, replying, "I'd move there in a heartbeat. Fresh, cool air, and nothing but Mother Nature, and the music she makes? Please, tell me where to sign."

Nox chuckled at her answer. "You'll get your wish soon enough, bella." He responded, glancing at her. She scoffed quietly, leaning her head out the open window. "One can only dream."

"And I'll make it come true for you, my love."

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