by Tamara White
“I very much look forward to getting to know you and uncovering every little secret you might be hiding,” he rumbles seductively. I have to fight the urge to shiver in response.
With a grin, he uncrosses his arms and reaches into his back pocket. He pulls out my winnings and hands them over, his fingers grazing over mine as he does so. When I go to pull my hand away, he moves lightning fast, gripping my wrist and pulling it to his face. To an unwitting observer, it looks like he’s merely pressing a gentle kiss to my wrist, but I know exactly what he’s really doing. He’s inhaling my scent, most likely trying to determine what I really am.
I clench my fist around the money in my hand, and concentrate on that little thread of power inside me. As I speak, I enunciate each word so there’s no chance of him misunderstanding me. “If you ever touch me without asking again, I will make sure you no longer have use of either of your hands. Is that clear?” I say as I pull my hand from his with a sharp tug.
His eyes narrow, but it’s not anger I see in their depths. No, it’s a lust so primal that it sends my heart racing.
I should have remembered that wolves get turned on by a dominant female, but I just never gave it too much thought. It hasn’t ever really been a problem since I've been isolated from wolves my whole life, other than Seth and Drew.
Now that I think about it, what were the chances I'd end up on a college campus with wolves as students? Or that I'd meet one I like. Hell, I'm pretty sure I like Alex too, but only time will tell I guess.
I don’t stick around, not trusting myself, or the things that I am feeling for a complete stranger. I walk back through the crowd of people gathered. Some of them steer clear of me, seeming afraid, but others cheer and hold up fists for me to bump, which I do with a grin. I make my way inside and then through the frat house towards the front entrance. The people inside are still partying, completely oblivious to what happened outside. I guess since most of them are wolves anyway they don’t really find it unusual for someone to walk through the house bloodied and bruised. The few girls who do notice my appearance don’t say anything or ask me if I’m okay, which is just fine with me. Right now, what I need is a shower and to figure out what the hell just happened.
I don't bother looking for Frannie before I leave, not in the mood to deal with her endless questions. Besides, if she hasn't already found a guy to hook up with, she'll probably just be pissed I interrupted her search.
After leaving the frat house, I hurry back across campus to my dorm building. Once I'm back in my room, I gather up my toiletries. Then I walk into our shared bathroom to take a scalding shower, all the while thoughts swirling in my mind. The last time I was this intrigued by two people, I ended up dating the both of them.
Seth and Drew were both my friends for a year before things evolved into something more. They knew it would be impossible for me to even begin to choose between them, so they agreed to date me together. I would go on alternate dates with each of them, and if I ever needed time to myself, I would just say so. Then, when I found out what they were and that they were both my mates, it all just made sense. And it all worked out well, at least until jealousy became a problem and Drew demanded I make a choice.
Done with my trip down memory lane, I get out of the shower, glad that the water washed away all my tears. After drying off and throwing on a bra and panties, I climb into bed. I hope beyond hope that Frannie does not bring back another guy tonight, because I may just snap. I need a good night’s sleep, not to be forced to listen to her fake orgasms while she has sex with whatever random guy she found tonight.
I close my eyes and pray for a dreamless sleep, or if not, at least one filled with happy memories of my mate. I refuse to acknowledge that what I felt in Kaden’s and Alex’s presence tonight was very much like how I felt when first meeting Drew and Seth. It’s just a coincidence. It has to be.
But even as I drift off to sleep, my mind chuckles darkly. There’s no such thing as coincidences.
I'm not sure how long I've been asleep for, but the creak of the door opening wakes me from a peaceful dream. The sound of Frannie's giggles makes me roll my eyes. I close my eyes, trying to ignore the sounds of my drunk roommate as she stumbles into the room. But then a moment later, I hear a grunt from someone who’s definitely not my roommate. Frannie moans quietly into the room and I growl in annoyance. With a huff, I sit up on my bed and flick the bedside lamp on.
She and her guy freeze at the sight of me awake and I glare back at them angrily. "Seriously? You know I'm fucking sleeping in here. Why the hell couldn't you go fuck him back at his place?" I bite out, exasperated by their lack of common courtesy. I mean, I expect it from Frannie by now, but are there really no guys out there who would rather have a relationship than a quick lay?
They scramble out of bed, staring at me in shock. They’re both already half naked and out of breath. I get to my feet and quickly throw on a tank top and tights over my bra and underwear set. Sometimes I like to sleep topless, but I quickly realized that wasn’t a good idea with Frannie as a roommate. In addition to not wanting a complete stranger to see me naked, some of the guys she's brought by have not exactly been the gentlemanly type. They think just because she gives herself up so easily, it means I would do the same.
Thankfully, I haven't had to resort to anything more than threats yet. That’s been enough to get rid of them so far, but I always fear the day it will escalate to the point I have to physically defend myself against one of them.
Once I'm dressed, I grab my bag and throw my phone, wallet, and a spare set of clothes inside, as well as the books I will need on Monday. I don't have a plan other than getting a hotel for tonight and tomorrow night. I really need a break from this shit and to get a decent night’s sleep for once.
Frannie and her 'date' stand around, frozen in shock, as I storm about our room, making sure I have everything I need. Once that’s done, I stomp my way to our door.
But before I can leave, Frannie seems to find her backbone. "It’s my room too," she says boldly.
I pause with my hand on the door handle and turn back to glare at her smug face, transforming my own into a sweet smile. "Yeah, you're absolutely right. It's OUR room, but if I go to administration and tell them there's a guy in here, it won’t just be you that gets in trouble, he will too." I smirk knowingly.
The guy's face pales at my obvious threat, fear taking over his features. For some reason, the campus administration seems to crack down more if a guy is found in a girl’s room than they would if a girl was found in a guy’s room. Hypocritical I know, but that's just how it seems to work here.
I don't hang around for a reply, instead walking out into the hall and slamming the door shut behind me. I use a little more force than necessary, but according to the time on my phone, it's a little past two o'clock in the morning, which means I got less than two hours’ sleep. And I tend to get pissy when I'm tired.
I hike my bag up higher on my shoulder as I make my way down the stairs to the ground floor, contemplating what hotel to go to as I do.
Thank God I'm only on the second floor and not the fifth, because I would be beyond pissed if I had to walk down five flights of stairs at two in the fucking morning. The stairwell door makes a fucking loud ass screech which wakes the whole damn floor up every time it opens. While I don't want to be responsible for waking up the whole fucking dorm, I have no choice if I want to get out of here. So, I throw it open quickly and hurry out into the common area.
I head from there straight out into the chilly night. Almost instantly, I find myself regretting the choice of tights and a tank and begin to shiver slightly. Taking a seat on the bench just outside the dorm building, I pull my phone out of my bag with a sigh. I start Googling the hotels nearest me, wishing for the millionth time that I could access my trust fund. If I could, then I’d be able to rent my own place and avoid all this shit entirely. But no, Aunt Dee thinks after the accident I became too much of a hermit and decided I needed to
make friends.
That wasn’t really true. It's not that I didn't want to make friends, it was just that I sucked at making friends with girls. I'd much rather have a guy as a friend, that way I’d know if he ever had a problem with me, he would be upfront and honest about it, rather than bitch about me behind my back.
Unfortunately, the one friend I did make after Seth and my parents’ deaths thought I wanted something more than a friendship, going so far as to start taking me on unofficial dates. When I realized what he was doing, I had to remind him I wasn’t interested in a relationship as I was still grieving. But he couldn’t seem to take no for an answer, so I was forced to distance myself. Which has been hard, because the wolf side of me craves company and the comfort of others, but the human side of me overrode that instinct.
On a positive note, though, Aunt Dee only controls my trust fund for another month. Halloween to be exact. Then after that, I will have full access to the account. I don't know if I can tolerate Frannie for that long without strangling her, though.
I spend the next hour sitting on the bench, calling hotel after hotel, hoping one of them will have a room. But I should have known my luck wouldn't be that good, not with the Labor Day holiday and the parade. Giving up, I throw my phone in my bag with a sigh and lean back, closing my eyes.
Looks like I'm going to spend my night on this horrible ass bench, which mean tomorrow’s morning class is going to be hell. It's the one class I have on Sunday and while it doesn't start till nine a.m., I know I won’t be able to concentrate, especially on just a few hours’ sleep. And since I need to pass this class, I'm probably just going to end up stressing myself out more about it.
I think through my options, wondering if I could just skip my class, and talk to the professor about making up the work later. But since I started a month later than everyone else, I'm already playing catch up. I can't afford to fall even further behind than I already am.
After who knows how long of trying to come up with some kind of solution that will allow me to get some sleep and still make it to class tomorrow, I hear footsteps approaching. I stiffen, waiting for whoever it is to pass me, but then their scent hits me.
"Katie?"
I open my eyes at the sound of Kaden's deep voice. His gray eyes look down at me with concern, and he moves to take a seat beside me.
"You okay?" he asks.
I pull my bag onto my lap cradling the only thing I have on me in a nervous gesture. When I'm anxious, I always seem to fiddle with something. I sigh and look up at the night sky, wondering how soon the sun will come up. It’s already starting to get light and it’s only three a.m.
"Not really." I refuse to look at him, not wanting to see the sympathy in his gaze. I hate when people pity me. I've had enough of it to last me a lifetime. "My roommate seems to have a habit of bringing back random guys to fuck each night, which means I'm stuck listening to it, so I don't get any decent sleep. Tonight, I snapped and walked out."
"Why don't you get a place off campus?" he suggests. I laugh into the sky at the absurdity of his question given my current circumstances.
I turn my gaze to meet his, jealous of how easy it is for him. He has a whole frat house of rooms to choose from, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have to put up with an annoying roommate either. As for me, though, I can’t do shit about my current living situation without my aunt’s say so.
"Because my aunt seems to think I need to make friends and that having a roommate is the first step to that. So until I gain access to my trust fund, I have to do as she says. But you can bet the day my trust opens to me, I will be moving my ass somewhere off campus and far away from Frannie.”
My words are met with silence and I sigh, feeling like an idiot for telling him all that. But a moment later, he surprises me by speaking. "Do you want to stay at the house tonight? You can sneak back up to your room and grab a spare change of clothes, plus whatever you might need for classes."
I study him carefully, wondering if this is some kind of ploy. "You're not doing this as some kind of trick to get payback for me kicking your ass, are you?"
It honestly wouldn't surprise me if it was. Guys typically aren’t happy when they get their asses kicked, and the fact it was by a girl? Well, I imagine his pride is a little hurt.
He chuckles and pushes a few loose locks of chocolate colored hair behind his ears. "No, Katie. This is just me being nice to a girl who is stuck out in the cold in the middle of the night without a place to stay. Besides, you’re still a wolf, even though you lost your mate. We take care of one another."
My eyes mist with unshed tears and I work to keep them from falling. Seth was a lone wolf, having abandoned his pack after his parents died and his brother became Alpha. The thing was, though, that Drew didn’t want him out in the world on his own, so he followed after Seth and convinced him it was in his best interest to go back. That was until he met me. During the time Drew, Seth and I were in our relationship, Drew would have to take off sometimes to care for the wolves in his pack, but he would never be gone for more than a few days at a time.
It was always in my plans to visit the pack with him someday, to meet everyone and learn more from them, but it just never happened. I always wondered what would have happened if I had actually gone to visit with Drew’s pack. Would they have treated me as one of their own like Kaden is now? There’s no way of knowing, but it means so much to me, a wolf I barely know offering me the comforts of the pack.
I blink my eyes to clear them of any tears. Then I smile at him, hoping he doesn't notice how his words affected me.
"Okay then, yes please. I already have spare clothes, so I’m good on that front. But I just want to make it clear first, I won’t owe you anything for this. This is nothing more than me accepting a place to crash. Okay?"
"Fair enough. Before we head back, though, I have to pop over and grab one of our guys from one of the other dorms. I got a call from one of the pledges who warned me that he’s getting worked up over a girl he thinks may be his mate. So I need to get him out of there before he reveals himself without permission."
Shit, that's definitely not good.
"Alright, let's go then," I tell him, rising to my feet. I completely understand the urgency of the situation. I do feel for the girl, though. Having been through that situation myself, someone with no knowledge of the existence of supernatural beings then told you have a mate, well it’s definitely not easy.
Then again, I was a special case. I thought they were both my mates, which was only the partial truth, since they both knew Drew was my true mate. By the time I knew any of that, though, I was in love with both of them and couldn't bear the thought of choosing just one.
See, a true mate is that one person destined for you above all others. The two of you bond on a level so instinctual, that it's like you’ve been together lifetimes when only mere weeks have passed. You can still mate with another wolf and form the same kind of bond you would have had with your true mate, but it takes a lot of commitment. Something that Seth and I definitely had. We wanted each other enough to make things work. And while we did have our arguments, I loved him more than words could describe.
What makes the present situation more volatile is that if this wolf reveals himself to his human mate before the Alpha gives him permission to do so, it’s grounds for execution.
I learned that shortly after the hunting incident with Seth and Drew. Even though Seth only shifted to prove what he said and stop me from shooting Drew, as Alpha, Drew had to present him to the pack for judgement. When they were about to go back to the pack so Seth could stand judgement, Drew confessed to me that if the pack decided to punish Seth, he would be executed and that Drew would have to be the one to carry it out. Such was his burden as Alpha.
Needless to say, I was so not okay with one of my mates being killed by the other one. Something woke up inside me then, a power I never knew I had. That was when we learned I was more wolf than we had originally thought. I grow
led at him and used a low threatening voice to tell him that if he killed Seth, I would kill him too. To my surprise, Drew accepted my terms, not because he wanted to but because the power behind my words choked him into submission.
Drew, Seth and I sought out answers from my adoptive parents as to how it was possible for me to command Drew in such a way, which is when we learned my biological parents were not just wolves, but were each Alphas of their own packs.
When they gave me up, they told my parents it was forbidden for Alphas to conceive because the children born of such unions went insane.
After learning this, I questioned my adoptive parents about the other children my biological parents had. I found out that all four of my siblings came from my birth mother’s previous relationship, making them my half brothers and sisters.
Neither Seth, Drew or my adoptive parents knew what would come of me as the child of two Alphas, but when I didn't go insane after using my Alpha command on Drew, they figured there was no cause for alarm.
After that first spark of power, other abilities started presenting themselves. Speed, strength, sense of smell, improved eyesight and enhanced instincts. I practiced my new skills with Drew and Seth until I was comfortable with them.
I follow Kaden over to one of the other dorm buildings. As we get closer, you can tell by the loud shouting and growls that the situation has escalated beyond that of a normal boyfriend and girlfriend spat to that of a wolf being denied his mate.
The words shouted back and forth between the two of them make that abundantly clear. The wolf yells insistently, seeming to grow angrier with every word he speaks.
A petite woman stands in the middle of the room with angry tears running down her cheeks as she screams at her mate, who is obviously just as worked up if not more so. Kaden and I rush over to the open doorway. He holds out his arm to hold me back as he steps into the room.
