{CAROLINE}
"…Damn it," I hissed under my breath, clenching my fists. "That bloodsucker."
I dragged a hand through my hair, heart pounding harder now—not with fear, but with something far more unsettling.
"It must be that curse," I muttered, jaw tightening. "That venomous… euphoric aphrodisiac in their saliva."
I pressed my lips together firmly, as though I could seal the lewd thoughts away by sheer force of will.
"Yes," I said again, more insistently this time as hat pooled low in my stomach, settling in my core. "That must be it."
I repeated it like a mantra as I forced my legs to move, and I turned away from the shadowed corridor and made my way back toward the dormitories. Each step felt heavier than the last, my body sluggish, my thoughts tangled and unruly.
The night air did nothing to cool the lingering heat beneath my skin.
I hated it.
I hated that my body remembered more than my mind wished to acknowledge.
