Shifters lived everywhere, but really? What were the odds? She took several deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heartbeat. Students moved around her and stared as she blocked their paths.
After several moments, she focused her thoughts. She needed to relax.
Clint, Buck and Rock seemed nice enough. Not like Daniel at all. Yes they had been nosy, but they hadn’t tried anything with her. And they hadn’t tried to intimidate her into joining them.
She removed the campus map from her bag, located the student center and took off in the direction it told her to go. She slipped on her sunglasses, and her thoughts turned to Clint again. In a pack she’d be safe. She slowed her pace and her racing heart. This was a good thing. Liam hadn’t asked her to join his in their time together. Neither had Clint, but she’d barely spent any time with him.
She needed to find a pack and maybe eventually a male to protect her. The thought of finding a new guy made her stomach sour again.
* * * * *
Natasha spotted Cara sitting at a table in the sandwich shop.
“How was class?” Cara pushed half a roast beef sandwich Natasha’s way.
“I missed most of it.” She took a bite of the sandwich and groaned. She loved meat.
“Make any friends?” Cara waggled her eyebrows.
Natasha laughed. “Sort of.”
“Do tell.” Cara bit into her sandwich, her gaze never leaving Natasha’s face.
“Well, a group of guys came in and started talking to me. They were pretty nice.”
Cara’s eyes lit with delight. “Guys? Men? Males? Names?”
“Uhm…Clint, Rock and Buck.”
Cara stopped chewing and her expression fell. She sipped her soda and then swallowed. “What did they want?”
“Who I am. Where I’m from. Stuff like that. Why? Are they in the local pack?”
Cara set down her sandwich and took another drink. She glanced away. “Clint’s dad is the big Alpha around here, and rumor has it that Clint and his college sub-pack are into some pretty crazy stuff on the full moon.”
“What kind of stuff?”
Cara shook her head. “You should talk to Liam about it. He helped a girl named Cindy, who runs with Clint now. Liam would know more than I do.”
Butterflies flittered around in her gut. “So Liam’s an Alpha. How long has he had his own pack?”
“Liam isn’t a member of any pack.”
Natasha stared. “A lone Alpha?” It wasn’t unheard of, but it was exceptionally rare.
“Liam’s pack growing up… Let’s just say they weren’t what a pack should be. He’s happier being alone.”
Natasha bent in close to Cara. “Are there a lot of…us here?”
“More than some places. The only ones I’m aware of here at this school are Liam, us, Clint and his packmates and a few others. Why?”
“I dunno. When I was told that I was being relocated, I didn’t think it would be to a place crawling with our kind.”
“Believe it or not, the best place for us to be is with others of our kind. In a pack, there’s protection and solidarity. Plus it’s easier to blend in with a pack. You know that. In a pack, we aren’t individuals, we’re a group.”
“So are you part of a pack?”
Cara took a sip of her drink and stared at the table for a minute. Finally she looked up but refused to meet Natasha’s eye. “No.”
Chapter Five
Natasha and Cara walked through the student center checking out the different clubs. Natasha had been very active at her last college, spending all of her off-hours socializing and hanging out with new friends. Socializing had caused the eventual end of her relationship with Daniel. His jealousy and possessiveness had become overwhelming, and in the new setting of college, she’d realized just how stifling he and his group of friends had been.
She rounded a corner and ran smack into fraternity row. Someone called her name and she glanced around. Clint stood several booths away with Rock, Buck, several other guys and a voluptuous brunette with piercing eyes.
“Asha! There you are!” Clint called. “Come here!”
Cara gripped Natasha’s arm firmly. “I think we should head to class.”
“Asha! Woman of my dreams!” Rock crooned, falling to his knees.
Clint kicked him in the butt and he fell on his face. Buck and the others burst out laughing, and Rock got to his feet.
“Asha!” Clint held his arms wide. People stopped to watch the scene.
She tucked her hair behind her ear. He was Alpha-in-waiting and his father was Alpha of the area. “I can’t deny him. Not in front of everyone. You said it yourself that we’re safer in a pack. Come with me.”
Cara looked at Clint and then at Natasha. “I’ll save you a seat in class.”
She nodded and headed toward the booth. Rock whooped and hollered as she got closer.
“Knock it off.” Clint punched him in the arm. Natasha stopped a few feet from Clint at his fraternity booth.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey yourself.” He hugged her, making her stiffen. She breathed deeply, trying to keep her fear at bay. “You took off pretty fast from class. I didn’t have time to invite you to our party this weekend.”
“Party?”
“Yeah.” The brunette female stepped up and laid her arms over Clint’s shoulder. “It’s very exclusive. Invite only.”
Natasha met the girl’s scrutinizing gaze.
“This is Cindy.” Clint jerked his thumb over his shoulder.
“Hi,” said Natasha.
Cindy threw a fake beauty-queen smile smeared with corvette-red lipstick and then dropped it immediately. Clint stepped out of Cindy’s reach and handed Natasha a flyer. “Come. It’s gonna be loads of fun.”
“Uhm…” Natasha glanced at the piece of paper.
“No,” said a deep voice. The paper was pulled from her grasp and shoved into Clint’s chest.
Natasha turned to find Liam looming behind her.
“Knock it off, Liam.” Cindy stepped forward and bumped Natasha, making her bag fall to the floor.
Liam grabbed her by the arm. “Asha, you have class.”
His tight grip on her shoulder shot a shiver through her like a lightning bolt. The scars from the glass ached at his touch, and memories of Daniel digging his clawed hand into her shoulder beat into her mind.
“We just invited her to a friendly beach party. There’s no harm in that,” replied Clint.
“With you, there’s always harm.”
Natasha’s body shook with the memories. The feel of the car as it bumped over Daniel. The howl of pain.
Her stomach pitched violently. She tore from Liam’s grasp and ran for the exit.
“Way to scare the girl, Liam,” Rock said as she hit the door and threw it wide. Her sandwich came back up just as she got her head in the nearest trash can. More memories pummeled her like a violent hailstorm. The smell of her own blood. The echo of gunshots raining down around her. Daniel coming around the back of her car and banging on her window. She heaved again, but her stomach was empty.
“Hey.” A heavy hand touched her shoulder.
Natasha spun away and shoved. “Don’t touch me.” She connected with Liam’s chest and he stumbled back several feet.
He raised his palms.
She gasped and looked around frantically. She wiped her mouth with her hand and sucked in huge gulps of air. Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them back.
People walked in and out of the student center, eying them. Finally, her heart slowed and her breathing evened out. Liam watched her for another minute and then walked toward her slowly.
He tried to hold together his anger over seeing Asha with Clint. Her first day and already Clint had spotted her. It was bad enough he’d gotten Cindy. L
iam would be damned if he’d allow a traumatized girl like Asha to fall into his trap as well. He’d only suggested she start school so he could get her out of the house and keep a better eye on her. A girl with as much brains as she had would be accepted into USC or UCLA for sure. She deserved that, and he was going to make sure she got it.
From his vantage point across the walkway, he saw she was ready to bolt.
Her eyes flashed, and he approved inwardly. It was a good sign. She was finally waking up. Fighting back against what had happened to her. Standing up for herself. He put his hands down and took another step toward her.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I had no right to touch you.”
“No. You didn’t. But I shouldn’t have shoved you. I’m sorry. It’s just when you put your hand on my shoulder… That’s where the scars are.”
Liam nodded. Of course.
She scanned the ground and spun in a circle. Panic marred her features. She took in the quad as if calculating the best exit strategy.
“Asha!” Clint pushed open the door.
Her head snapped up.
Clint held her bag. She rushed forward and took it from him.
“Thank you. I must have dropped it.”
“Yeah, well, if someone hadn’t been such a jackass, you probably wouldn’t have.” Clint’s gaze traveled to Liam.
Liam clenched his fists and bit back his urge to tell Clint where he could go.
“Anyway—” Clint looked at Asha, all smiles. It was Liam’s turn for a sour stomach. “See ya in class.” Clint pulled her into a hug. Asha stiffened and didn’t return the hug, but she didn’t push him away either. It made Liam grit his teeth till he was sure they’d shatter.
Clint stared at Liam over Asha’s shoulder, tempting every fiber of Liam’s body to rip him to shreds.
He let go of Asha. “See ya.”
Asha watched him, then turned to Liam. She covered her eyes with her sunglasses.
It was okay. She was too good for him, and he wasn’t getting involved anyway. Clint was probably the kind of guy she dated. Alpha-in-waiting, money, going somewhere in life. He was just a lone wolf without a pack, relocating wolves and running a bike-repair shop in his spare time. An Alpha by default, not by right.
“Can I walk you to class?” he asked.
“Are you afraid I can’t make it on my own?” The corners of her mouth turned up in a playful grin.
“No…I just—” He just what? Wanted to make sure she got there unmolested? That was the truth, but he doubted she would buy it. “Let me walk with you so I can make sure you’re okay. You looked like you were about to pass out a minute ago.”
“I’m all right. I just…” She flapped her hands around and then pressed one to her brow. “Got overheated for a moment.”
He nodded. “Well, I’d like to make sure I’m there if you get hot again.”
Natasha crossed her arms over her chest and cocked an eyebrow. “Really? You like seeing me get hot?”
Liam’s skin tingled. “No…I didn’t mean… That came out dirtier than I meant it. Oh, come on. People are staring.”
He took off in a determined stride. How did she know just how to get under his skin?
“Liam,” she called.
He stopped.
She pointed in the other direction. “Isn’t the building that way?”
* * * * *
They’d been walking for almost five minutes when Liam slowed his pace.
“I’m sorry again for pushing you,” she said.
“Already forgotten. Except for the bruise on my chest. Ouch.” He rubbed his sternum.
She laughed and smacked his arm. She was silent for a moment and he looked over at her.
“When you grabbed my shoulder inside the student center, it sent a flood of memories…of that night…”
She wasn’t ready to tell him what had happened to her. That was okay. Whatever it was, Liam knew from the injuries he’d seen, it hadn’t been pretty.
“Why don’t you like him?” she asked.
“Clint?”
“No, Gandhi. Yes, Clint.” She glanced up at him.
Liam thought about all the reasons he didn’t like Clint. The list rolled out through his mind longer than Santa’s naughty list. Maybe if he told her, she’d stay away.
“He’s selfish,” he finally said.
“Lots of people are selfish.”
“Yes. But he doesn’t care about lots of people. It’s a bad quality to have in a packmate. Selfish people like that get others hurt. Sometimes killed.”
Natasha stopped walking and stared at him.
His gut clenched. He’d said too much. “Come on, you’re gonna be late.” He picked up the pace, and she hurried to catch up.
* * * * *
Liam doodled in his notebook. His pencil sketched out the roundness of her blue eyes, the pouty cupid’s bow of her upper lip, the slender hand that had grabbed his to say thank-you weeks before.
It’d been a long time since he’d even thought of a female. His luck had never been good in the love department. Between picking the wrong kinds of girls and being terrified of accidentally bonding to the wrong one, he’d pretty much sworn off getting involved three years ago.
In wolf society, once you bonded to a female, that was it. Bondings were usually a conscious thing, the meeting of a wolf’s soul with another wolf’s soul. When it came to sex, though, lust could be mistaken for love and bonding had occasionally happened. It was uber-rare, like with his poor mother, but if it happened, there was no going back. Your wolves always pulled the two together, even if your human counterparts couldn’t stand each other. He’d seen firsthand how that accidental bonding had killed his mother.
Getting tangled into that kind of mess with Asha was as good as a death sentence for her future. Being saddled to him. No pack. No security. No money and fancy things like she was accustomed to. It wasn’t fair to her, and in the end she’d hate him for it.
He blew out a hard breath and covered his face. He was getting too close. For the last two years, he’d tried to forget his failure to protect one female he’d cared about and now here he was, putting himself on the line to protect another. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t open himself up again.
His eyes closed, and he saw her face. The way she tucked her bangs behind her ear. Her heavenly jasmine aroma, shy smile and pained eyes. The way she constantly surprised him with her wit and intelligence. All of it called to him. Begged him to protect her.
Liam’s phone buzzed.
Natasha: Thanks for trying to help.
Liam: No problem.
Natasha: I know I’m not the easiest.
Liam: It’s my job. It’s cool.
No response. Liam’s heart thundered. Stupid, Liam!
Natasha: Thanks anyway.
Liam: You’re welcome.
He put his phone away, looked at his drawings and ripped them from his notepad.
Chapter Six
Natasha pulled into the garage later that afternoon, shut off the engine and yawned. The day had taken more out of her than she’d anticipated. She got out and stretched. A scent hit her, and she whirled around and stared out the open garage door.
“What’s wrong?” asked Cara.
Her blood coursed through her veins and she gripped her keys tight, fighting the instinct to hop back into her car and bolt. “Shifters.”
Cara sniffed the air. “It’s okay. It’s just Clint’s dad. He comes around sometimes just to check out who’s staying here since we get new shifters that come through.”
Natasha relaxed a fraction. She snuck to the edge of the garage and peered around outside. She inhaled again. The scent was an hour old. Maybe two.
“I promise it’s okay,” said Cara.
She headed back inside the garage, a
nd she and Cara ascended the stairs to the first floor of the condo. Cara went to the kitchen, but Natasha continued to her room. She peeked out her windows and then threw her bag on the bed, kicked off her sandals and plopped on top of the turquoise and chocolate comforter. She lay there for a minute, forcing herself to relax. “I’m safe,” she intoned over and over until she almost believed her own words.
The corner of her room was still littered with debris and shoeboxes from her shopping sprees. Empty bags of chips and Coke bottles overflowed her trash can onto the floor. She gazed at her bathroom, littered with more boxes for makeup, toiletries and other miscellaneous items. She couldn’t study in such a mess.
Grabbing the remote to her stereo, she turned it on, letting the music fill her head as she danced around her room cleaning up. When she finished, she took the bags down to the community dumpsters and walked between the garages to her unit. She breathed in the fresh air and let the sun shine down on her skin. She’d never been to California before, but the beautiful weather welcomed her with open arms. It was so different from Virginia. Not as green, but it had woven into her sinews and become a place she enjoyed.
She hopped up the stairs to her room and shook the contents of her backpack out on the bed. The light blinked on her pink phone. She flipped it over and held her breath.
Liam: Hey, were we supposed to meet at the bookstore?
Her heart sank. Crap!
Natasha: Sorry, I totally forgot! Tomorrow?
She needed the rest of her books before Wednesday.
Liam: No problem.
She wanted to say more, to keep him on the phone. As much as she didn’t want a relationship, she found herself intrigued by him. He tried to be cool and aloof, but there was more to why he hated Clint than just the Alpha-in-waiting selfishness. Had Clint gotten someone hurt?
The fact that Liam held back showed his good character. He didn’t try to force his ideas on others, a rare quality in an Alpha. The idea that he wasn’t being nice just because he’d been paid to had popped into her mind more and more frequently lately.
She threw her phone onto the bed. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t ready to get involved. So no matter how much her skin heated at the sight of his leather-clad body on his motorcycle, he was off-limits.
Promised at the Moon: Shifter Rising, Book 1 Page 4
