Sterling Silver (Sterling Hunter Series Book 1)

Chapter 3

Or she would have, had his hand not snapped out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from causing a bloody, traumatic scene in the middle of her literature class.

Tabitha's gaze met his. His eyes narrowed, and he applied just enough pressure on the inside of her wrist for the pencil clatter to the floor. He let go of her wrist with finality, and turned his attention back to the front of class, at Mr. Noland as if nothing had happened. Tabitha's whole body shook. She couldn't control herself. If she didn't get out of there she would kill him in front of everyone. Her trembling hand shot into the air before she knew what she was doing.

Mr. Noland paused in the middle of a lecture she hadn't been paying attention to. "Yes Miss. Sterling?"

"I need to use the restroom," she said.

Mr. Noland nodded distractedly. Tabitha jumped to her feet and walked as fast as she could out of the classroom. Once the door closed, she ran. She sprinted down the hall and into the blissfully empty girl's bathroom. Tabitha splashed cold water over her face, trying to calm her senses, her instincts, and her nerves. Nothing like that had ever happened to her before.

Tabitha didn't know why she couldn't control herself in class. Sebastian hadn't tried to kill her or attack her at all... She could have killed him. Stabbed him in the middle of school and he would have desiccated in front of everyone.

Rule number two of being a vampire hunter: Keep the secret.

No one, no one could know that vampires existed. As a hunter Tabitha had an obligation to uphold that rule and keep the secret. If she didn't, she would be punished by the Carters, the hunter family – who were as much hunter royalty as Tabitha's family. Surprisingly, there were quite a few vampire hunters in their small town. For some reason Tabitha couldn't fathom, the Carters' ancestors had decided to make Rosewood their base of operations. Where they had settled and created the headquarters for the Moirai, the secret, worldwide hunter organization. Since then, hunters from all over the world came and lived there, drawn to the place.

Tabitha gripped the edge of the sink to stop her hands from wandering to her pocket where she always kept a vial of rowan. Go back into class and throw it at his head or... or... She took deep, even breaths, trying to calm her pounding heart, and ease the adrenaline rushing through her system, urging her to kill. He'd snuck past her last night and then today in class. How had she not sensed his vampirism to begin with?

She focused on her reflection, inhaling one more deep breath. Tabitha wiped her face dry before heading back toward class. Control. She needed to control herself. Tabitha kept her hands in fists at her sides as she entered the classroom again and went back to her seat. From the corner of her eyes she could see Sebastian shooting her an amused smirk that didn't reach his narrowed eyes.

Chelsea tapped Tabitha's foot with hers. Tabitha glanced up. A bead of sweat left an icy trail down her back. "What's wrong?" she whispered.

Tabitha shook her head and opened Dracula. The novel choice today did not help her need to kill the boy next to her. "I'll tell you later," she whispered back.

The rest of the class went on in painstaking slowness. Mr. Noland wouldn't stop talking and talking and talking. At any other time, Tabitha would have enjoyed the class but today, with a human eating monster next to her? Not so much.

The minutes ticked by until the bell rang, and Tabitha slid out of her seat, grabbed her backpack, and walked out. It took everything she had not to reach into her backpack and stab Sebastian in the chest. She would have to hold out until the end of the day when they met. Or she could lure him out of the school and stab him then... Or just get him alone and stab him. It wouldn't be too traumatizing if a freshman found a desiccated body in the janitor's closet, would it?