Ravenous

species able to beat them in a brawl.

But Perry was as yet unfazed. 'Spit,' he repeated slowly and firmly. 'It. Out!'

The ghoul growled, a disgusting sound like something rotten just come to the boil. That made Perry take a step back, but it was more a regrouping than a retreat. He drew himself up as much as his youthful dignity would allow and pulled off his glasses.

Without warning his lip curled up, his lower jaw dropping almost to his chest. Fangs sprouted from his gums in a painful-looking wash of blood and saliva. His mouth grew huge, pushing forward to accommodate more and yet more of those sharp white teeth. A long, lolling red tongue surged wetly past his jaws, questing toward the ghoul.

The growl that emerged from Perry rumbled like low thunder, rattling the pen on her desk and rising to a crescendo that vibrated Holly's breastbone. Hair stood up along her neck, her instinct to flee at war with the instinct to be small and invisible. After a long moment the growl finally stopped, but it echoed in the air, cowing the room into silence.

Holly blinked. Perry looked completely normal. He pushed his glasses back on and extended his hand once more. Without moving the ghoul spit out the mouse. It fell to the desk in a clatter of gummy, crushed plastic, the workings spewing like entrails to the floor. Perry looked at the mouse, his brow wrinkled in consternation.

'Consider yourself expelled,' he said, and walked back to the head of the class.

Holly sat. Alessandro sat. There was nothing like a werewolf for maintaining classroom discipline.

Chapter 18

Like a good teacher, Perry made the rounds of the workstations, making sure he had happy little students. When he leaned forward to see Holly's screen, she caught the musky scent that clung to weres, a smell that reminded her of oiled leather. It wasn't bad, just not human.

'Good,' he said, straightening. 'You're at the head of the class.' He looked at her curiously, his eyes a dark blue behind his glasses. 'I just wanted to ask, are you the Holly Carver that, uh, knows Ben Elliot?'

'Yes,' she said, trying to read his tone. Was the fact that he knew her good or bad?

Alessandro looked up from pondering an online auction of lingerie, obviously eavesdropping.

Perry pulled off his glasses, polishing the lenses with the hem of his oversized shirt. 'I heard about… Well, he's an idiot. If you need anything, you let me know. Anytime. I'm almost always here or in my office.'

After class Alessandro and Holly walked across the parking lot back to the main campus. It had started to drizzle, a thin, persistent wetness more mist than rain.

'Why would a ghoul take a computer class?' Alessandro said unexpectedly.

'Is this like a chicken joke?'

'No, I'm serious.'

Holly shrugged. 'I guess ghouls have aspirations, too.'

'Equal rights for all,' Alessandro mused. 'Interesting how that plays out.'

They walked along, moisture gleaming on the sidewalks. As the trees at the edge of the parking lot swayed in the wind, shadows brushed the glistening pavement. Holly turned up the collar of her coat. Alessandro seemed not to notice the cold.

'What was that comment about Perry being there for me?' Holly asked. 'That was awkward. Has our young professor got a grudge against Ben?'

Holly looked up at Alessandro. Beneath the streetlights he looked almost human, the pallor of his skin tempered by the shifting shadows. Her fingers longed to trace the angles of his face. I shouldn't be alone with him, and yet every time I turn, he is there.

'Perry is much like your Ben,' he said. 'A cherished son, brilliant, young, and always able to have whatever advantages money could buy. Perry's pack owns a large gravel company west of town.'

'Are you saying they're too much alike?'

'They would be very alike, except Perry isn't human, and Ben is one of those spearheading a petition to keep nonhumans out of the faculty. Support for his movement is gaining ground, and if the nonhuman teachers go, it won't be long before the open admissions policy will disappear. It's all part of the prohuman backlash.'

'You've got to be joking!'

'Believe it. Already Perry has to post a notice on his door warning students they are entering the office of a monster. Ben probably doesn't even know Perry is a competent sorcerer, and will only make matters worse if he finds out.'

Holly swore. This is ridiculous. The werebeasts' ability to shape-shift was hereditary, not contagious. They kept to themselves and, unlike humans, worked hard on maintaining civilized behavior. Ben had never mentioned any prohuman activities to her. Was he a bigot all along, and I didn't see it?

Maybe love really was blind, or else Ben was a better actor than she thought. 'So how did Perry know about me and Ben?'

'I don't know. Ben must have said something. Staff room gossip. They're in the same department.'

Holly felt sick. 'Great. Did Perry tell you Ben and I broke up?'

Alessandro tilted his head, studying her for a long moment. His expression was hard to read. 'Your grandmother told me. And I try to know everything about you.'

Holly swallowed, feeling her heart skitter. 'You know that's possessive and creepy, right? Like showing up at Mac's? Showing up here? Why do you keep doing this?'

'There is a demon on the loose, and it knows you.'

'Right. Yeah. I noticed. That mouse was hard to miss.'

He thrust his hands into his pockets. 'It's not that I don't have confidence in your ability to protect yourself…'

'And yet everywhere I go, you're always showing up. It's called stalking.'

He gave a single, short laugh. 'You don't want to see me? You want me to go away?'

Oh, great. 'It's not that. It's… It makes me feel helpless. I don't need that.'

He stopped walking and turned to face her. 'Are you sure you're not sending me away because I frighten you?'

How I feel about you frightens me. Holly ducked her head. 'Alessandro, we're standing in a movie cliche. Female student on campus at night, alone with the predator. I wouldn't be here if I didn't trust you with my life. I'm not stupid, and I'm not unprepared. If you or anything else jumps me, I will fry your ass with every scrap of magic I can summon. Got it?'

He gave a lopsided smile. 'And you are worried about feeling helpless? What is there left for me to do? Sometimes… sometimes I don't know how to approach you. Where I fit.'

His lost expression made her want to bang her head on a wall. Alpha males. 'I'm so not good at this.'

She felt the pull of his magnetism and the corresponding push to be free of his seductive influence. If it were only the vampire part of him, it would have been easy, but the man was every bit as compelling. 'I'm not trying to get rid of you, but you're my friend, not my private thug. I can't have you doing everything for me. I don't want a bodyguard twenty-four-seven.'

At that he nodded, his expression closing down. Despite her best efforts he'd taken her words as a rebuff. Irritated, Holly looked away. He just doesn't get it.

He pressed his lips together, a quick gesture of decision. 'Well, then let's even the account. As I said before, I need you to do something for me. Tonight.'

'Okay.' She almost sighed in relief. At least it was a change of subject.

'Let's go somewhere warm, where we can talk and you can stop shivering.'

Barnaby's Cafe and Tearoom wasn't technically on campus, but it was close enough. Dripping with faux Victorian atmosphere, the cafeteria-style eatery had etched-glass windows and an elaborate rolled-tin ceiling.

It also had the best bakery in town. Holly bought a brownie—not because she was hungry, but because it