Devour (11 page)

“I guess it’
s time to announce you two. Head upstairs to be called. We all will announce you as a mated couple,” Mr. Gregoria says.

“Thanks,” I reply and then we quietly slip upstairs
to wait.

Cody can’t keep his hands off of me.
He has pulled me in for another kiss and I am helpless against him. I want him more and more each time we kiss. He’s something I never knew I needed but now can’t live without.

I don’t pull away until I hear our father
’s announce us and we have to head downstairs. We walk together down the stairs, hand in hand, a smile plastered to each of our faces.

“Here is Callie
Andell and Cody Gregoria, our first to be mated as a couple during this coming out!”

We stop at the bottom of the stairs and give the customary first public kiss.
Clapping and the sounds of well-wishers ensue. Our kiss is broken yet again by the sounds of Hannah. She is so getting on my nerves.

“Cody is meant to be my mate!
You stole him, Callie Andell!!” she screams out.

Anger flare
s up in me, but Cody just squeezes my hand tightly and I try to release some of it. How dare she. Cody is my mate. He is my true mate in every sense of the word.

“Excuse me everyone, but
Hannah here is mistaken. Callie and I aren’t just mates, we’re true mates.”

Everyone around us gasp
s. True mates are so rare to find. This should have shut Hannah up, but no. She is a still acting like child in the middle of a temper tantrum who still isn’t getting her way.

“He’s my true mate
, Callie!!!! You stupid cow, I will ruin you. Cody is
MINE
!!!!” she shrieks.

Now, I feel
the anger roll off of me. She’s bat shit crazy. There’s no other explanation. Cody has grown angry and impatient. He pulls me to him and wraps his arm around my shoulder.

“Don’t do this to yourself
, Hannah. I was never yours to have. I’m sorry if you felt that way, but it’s Callie. She’s my true mate and I can’t stand the thought of you ever doing anything to harm a hair on her head. Do you understand me, Hannah Monte?” Cody says in a strained voice.

Finally, someone got
her under control. Hannah’s parents grasped her from both sides and guided her out the exit. She won’t be coming back tonight.

Trying to take some of the negativity back off the spotlight, we kiss again.
Cody dips me down in a Hollywood style kiss and I grin at the crowd when we come up for air.

After our announcement and the crowd settles down, we part from our parents and head out to the dance floor.
People are still watching us, but it is with more curiosity than anything. We are true mates.

A slow song comes on for the “new couple” and Cody pulls me close.
I sigh and rest my head on his shoulder. The contact makes me feel warm and fuzzy. I have a buzz humming through my body, leaving me a ball of nerves.

We are quiet for most of the song, just basking in our newly formed bond.
I know this is only the tip of the iceberg and our bond will grow stronger as our seven days culminate in our union. I never realized how alone I really felt until this Moment of warmth and love.

Cody kisses the top of my head as the song comes to a stop and it is time to break apart.
I reluctantly step back and my eyes come up to meet his. I can tell his thoughts are along the same line as mine because his eyes have formed the telltale fluorescent halo around the pupils. I know my violet eyes are bright as well and that our true mate bond is apparent to everyone. The real evidence of our mating.

I turn and scan the crowd to look for Jane for the.
I hear gasping in the crowd and chatter has started all around me. Everyone has recognized our eyes. They know the truth of our mating. We are not only true mates, but royalty as well.

If our bond gives us offspring, our place in line for the throne will be secured.
We have a real chance of ruling our community. That thought sparks excitement in me. I am actually excited about the future, as long as it’s with Cody.

“What are you looking for Callie?” Cody asks me. vzyl

“I’m looking for Jane actually. I wasn’t able to tell her the good news earlier before we got announced.”

We didn’t have to look for long, because as soon as we ma
ke our way into the crowd, I’m nearly knocked over. Jane has thrown her arms around me in obvious excitement.

“I can’t believe this
, Callie! Of all the people to possibly mate tonight, I never expected it to be you in a million years. I’m actually jealous. Congratulations!”

I grin
at her excitement. “I still can’t believe it myself. I feel like I am in the middle of a fairy tale. I never thought this would happen to me. He’s my true mate, Jane. I am lucky to have found him. If you and my Mom hadn’t pushed me to try and make tonight happen, I never would have looked at Cody in that way. For that, thank you.”

“Girl, you are just a lucky bitch.
I can’t find a decent man here to save my life. They are all duds. I hope I find a guy when we go to college.” She looks deep in thought and then a sad look crosses over her.

“You will be mated by then.
We won’t be living together. That sucks. What am I going to do now, Callie?”

Cody steps up and grins at her.
“You can always get a place next to ours and see her whenever you want. We haven’t discussed it yet, but we will probably live in the campus apartments at least for the first year. By then, Lana will be there and you can room with her if you haven’t found your mate yet.”

Leave it to Cody to turn things around on Jane.
He is brilliant. I admire that.

“You know
, Cody, you’re smarter than I gave you credit for. It is a great idea. Thanks,” Jane replies.

“So
, Jane, do you want to come and stay on Wednesday? It’s probably going to be the last sleepover we can have for a while. I won’t be hunting on Friday either. The bonding ritual is Saturday and I will need to prepare. Besides, Mom won’t really want me to go now that I have found my mate. It’s kind of disrespectful to Cody.”

This seems to make Cody happy.
He leans over and places a kiss on my cheek. I feel tingles where his lips come in contact with my skin. I smile and Jane giggles.

“What?” I ask.

“Nothing, you guys are just so cute together, is all. I really am happy for you both.”

“I thought you had dibs on that one guy from earlier.
What happened?”

“It turns out Alice was a better fit for him.
They have decided to date.”

“I’m sorry.
I know you will find someone soon. You are a total catch and guys will be seeking you out after this, I know it,” I assure her.

“It’s cool.
I still have time before the ball is over. I’m off to flirt with hot guys.”

As soon as Jane sp
ins around and takes off, Cody pulls me to him and his lips settle on mine. I am grinning, even during the kiss. He pulls my bottom lip in his mouth playfully and I giggle. He’s going to be the death of me. Waiting to be with him until next Saturday will be torture.

When I fi
nally break the kiss, I search his face for any trace of uncertainty about our mating. I see only joy and excitement, but mostly his adoration of me. I hug him and then pull away.

“Can you feel the bond developing?” I ask him.

“Not yet, I just feel the need to touch you all the time. I can’t seem to let you go. It is going to be torture to be away from you after this.”

“This is all so surreal.
I can’t believe how lucky I am. You are amazing, Cody Gregoria.”

“I think that I’
m the lucky one. I have the most beautiful girl and you are all mine. You make me so happy, Callie Andell.”

I fe
el my eyes start to glow, but I’m not worried about it this time. Everyone knows Cody’s my true mate and it’s just a symbol of our love for each other. Before I devour him right where we stand, I pull him with me.

“Where are we going?”

“To get another drink, if that’s okay. I don’t want to come down off cloud nine just yet.”

We stop
in front of a waiter and Cody pulls two glasses off the tray. He hands one to me and we drink them down. My buzz is coming back and my gaze becomes glassy from all the blood I’ve consumed tonight.

After we finish our blood, Cody pulls me onto the dance floor.
I follow him, giddy with excitement. It’s a fast song and we start off dancing across from each other. Soon though, our pull draws us together and I’m in front of him, dancing against him. He slides his hands down the silk of my dress and I shiver.

F
rom behind, he kisses the back of my neck until he reaches my ear. He whispers into it and I draw a ragged breath from the sensation. “I could dance with you all night, princess. You have no idea how much you affect me.”

I did know how much he affected me
, though. My whole body is humming in a mixture of pleasure and excitement. My world has been turned upside down in a matter of hours.

When the song stop
s, we step off the dance floor for a break. Being that close has me all keyed up. I am about to suggest we step out on the balcony again, but Cody has other ideas.

“Let’s go say hi to some of my friends from school.
I would really like to introduce you to them. I also have to break it to Henry that we won’t be roommates next fall.”

“Sure,” I say, just happy to go anywhere with him.

He twines his fingers in mine and I follow him towards a group of guys standing around talking. I’m nervous about their reactions to me. I’m stealing him away from them. Sure he will still see them, but he’ll spend most of his time with me and he won’t be hunting anymore.

A surge of jealousy spikes through me at the thought of him feeding off random girls.
I have to tamp it down and remind myself that I am the only one from this weekend on. Then my heart plummets out of my chest and sinks in my gut.

I have all but forgotten my little problem.
Chase. I suddenly feel the blood drain from my face and am aware of just how serious things are now. I haven’t told Cody and he’s bound to find out soon. I can’t bear to see disappointment on his face. I love him, even though it is so soon.

Just before we make it to where his friends are, he whirls around and peers at me.
Concern lights his face up and I suddenly feel the guilt of keeping something so big from him. I tell myself it is necessary and regain my composure.

“Callie, are you alright?
What’s wrong? I can feel your anxiety. I guess our bond is forming.”

“It’s nothing.
I’m just worried about where we are going to live after Friday. We only have a week to find a place,” I lie.

“Don’t worry about that.
I’ll take care of everything. You just concentrate on our mating and how amazing we will be together.”

I grin, wiping all thoughts of Chase from my mind.
I let my blood high creep back in and I can tell Chase feels my relief. Thank goodness he bought my little, white lie. In truth, I really am worried about finding a place, just not to that extent.

“Okay, let’s go meet my friends.”

We walk, hand in hand, over to the group and stop just before we reach them. Talking ceases and I can see the guys checking me out. Their eyes are looking at me as if I’m naked. I suddenly feel awkward in this dress. I am mated, and only Cody should feel that way about me.

Apparently
, Cody feels that way too, because he lets out a growl. “Stop undressing my mate with your eyes.”

“Chill man.
I was just seeing who made my roommate so smitten. No offense, Cody,” Henry says.

“Just keep your eyes to yourself and it will be all good.
I plan to keep this one, hence the mate markings. Don’t make things awkward.”

Henry nodded and Cody turned his focus on the rest of the guys.
“The same goes for all of you.” Then he turns to me. “Callie, these are my friends. Henry, Jack, Bennie and Matthew.”