“What is this?” Hannah mentioned there was a barn for the vampires and agricultural students to use, but this was so much bigger than any I’d ever seen. It was at least three stories and the width of two or three of the dorm buildings.
“This is where we raise livestock.”
“I’m not allowed to be here.” Not that I made any move to back up or leave. I was curious. Why was there a farm? What did they need livestock for? Were a lot of vampires also farmers? I’d never heard of that, but stranger things had happened.
“On the weekends, we can bring guests. We just have to make sure to sign you in. They mostly keep it off-limits so the animals aren’t disturbed too much. Our teachers want to make sure they know our scent, so they’re more relaxed around us. Too many unfamiliar people make that difficult. But I’m not going to take you in there anyway. We’re going to the back fields.”
He stopped next to the wide, black doors and wrote our names down on the clipboard hanging from a nail. “This way.”
We walked along the barn toward the fence. Theo opened the gate and waved me through before shutting it firmly behind us.
“These are normal animals, right?”
He chuckled. “As opposed to shifters?”
I stopped and covered my mouth. “Oh, no! That’s not what I meant.”
He shook his head. “Then what did you mean?”
“Like, there isn’t a chicken with an alligator tail or a horse with an eagle’s head.”
“What have you been learning?” He barked out a laugh. “No, Saige. There are just pigs, cows, chickens, sheep, horses, and llamas. They’re all completely normal.”
“That’s good.”
He pumped his elbow into my side, making me giggle. “Either you have a wild imagination or some of the others have been feeding you stories.”
“Hey, I just learned this world existed a week ago. I’m still in a state of shock. I’m not sure what could surprise me at this point, but mutated farm animals wouldn’t even come close.”
“I can’t even begin to imagine what this has been like for you.”
He was the first person to say that.
We walked through the pasture and reached another fence. Theo whistled and leaned against the chest-high wood. I waited for something to happen, but nothing appeared.
“Just wait,” he whispered close to my ear. His warm breath sent a shiver down my spine. He smelled like expensive cologne, manly and woody. I wanted to lean into him and let it wash over me.
Instead, I kept my sanity in check and watched the tree line for movement. After several long, silent minutes, two figures appeared. A silky black and a white and brown horse trotted toward us, neighing and throwing their heads up and down.
“There you guys are,” Theo called in a loving voice. “You kept us waiting.”
The beautiful animals stopped next to the fence, stretching their necks as Theo rubbed them both from shoulders to chin and back again. They were acting like puppies. I grinned, and he glanced back at me, smiling wider than I’d ever seen. It was different this time though. He wasn’t being flirty or teasing. This was pure joy.
“Come on,” he encouraged.
I scooted closer and held out my hands for the horses to sniff. I wasn’t sure if they did that, but I knew dogs liked to, and it seemed like the right thing. The black one hesitated, standing closer to Theo, but the brown and white one shoved its nose against my palm and tilted its head up like it was asking for me to give more rubs.
“Her name is Paisley, and this is Rex.” He climbed onto the fence to sit and brushed his hand over Rex.
I continued to give Paisley scratches. “I like her.”
“I think she likes you too.” He watched me, and I ducked my head to keep him from seeing how much I was blushing.
“Are they yours?” I asked without looking at him.
“No, all the animals belong to the school, but they were just colts when I got here so I’ve been around to help raise them.”
“Why are these animals here?” I finally worked up the courage to meet his eyes, but they darkened at my question. He focused back on Rex.