Sorority Wolf

by Rebecca Royce

  She came suddenly and without warning. One second, she was enjoying the pleasure Kieran gave to her, and the next, she exploded around him. Stars flashed before her eyes, colors danced on the ceiling, and her core wept. She cried out his name, her muscles spasming again and again.

  Yes, this was pleasure. This was right. This was…Kieran.

  He called out her name, and she heard it dimly as her mind refused to function properly through her haze of pleasure.

  Any time Kieran felt up for sex, she was game.

  ***

  Awareness came back to her slowly. She stared up at the ceiling of Kieran’s frat house room. He lay next to her, not moving, although she knew he was awake because his eyes were open, staring up at the ceiling too.

  “I think there’s something wrong?”

  She pulled his covers up to shield her breasts. What did he mean wrong. “Come again?”

  “With me. There is something off with me.” He shook his head.

  Her heart rate kicked up. Had she hurt him during sex? He was human; she was a werewolf. Had she been too rough? She had never engaged in savage sex, but then again, she’d been trying to lose herself in the moment. Maybe she hadn’t held back quite enough.

  “Do you need a doctor?”

  “No.” He stood up, and she got a good look at his naked ass and the marks she’d made on his back while he crossed the room to put his boxer shorts. “I need to do a little family history on myself. Some genealogy, if you will. Figure out if I’ve made a terrible mistake.”

  “You’re not making any sense.” She hated the tears in her voice. “Did I do something wrong?”

  His gaze turned to her, and he stayed silent for a second before he answered. “Why would you think you had?”

  “Because we just did what we did, and you’re acting…different.”

  Kieran shook his head. “Did you need to be held or something?”

  Well, shit, that would have been nice. “No, I mean I’m not some sappy girl.” She stood up and grabbed her clothes off the floor. Lucky for her, he wasn’t a werewolf, so he couldn’t tell her scent changed with the lie. “Just forget it. Go get your family history or whatever. I’ve got things to do. Spying on Mellee.”

  “Great.” He smiled before he pulled her into his arms. “Come back here, and I’ll make it worth your while. I have lots of positions I’d love to try with you.”

  He was so all over the place.

  ***

  She walked through the dark, keeping to lighted areas as she went. As a werewolf, she could defend herself, but she kept up her pretenses. Most women stayed alert on college campuses; even the safe locations could be dangerous in the dark.

  The longer she knew Kieran, the less he made sense. Frat boy who hated the Greek life. Plotter who would take the time to get his fraternity brothers to flirt with her to pay back Mellee even though it didn’t particularly advance his plan. Hot, caring lover who became a senseless dope the second they were out of bed. What. The. Fuck.

  She stared down at her phone. It was a silly impulse, but she had no one else to ask. She texted the ROAR hotline again. Can I trust him?

  Not entirely. Came the reply. Or at least not yet. Why don’t you ask him? He’ll have to tell if you do. Tell him you wish to know his true nature. Use those words. Good luck. Not everything is always clear. The future is fluid. –Hui and Min.

  Well, she didn’t know who Hui and Min were, but they’d certainly given her something to ponder. What did “not yet” mean, and how did she get him to tell her about his true nature?

  Why can’t anything be simple?

  Her phone beeped, and she looked at the new message. The best things in life never are.

  She gasped. How had they known what she thought?

  A few minutes later, she arrived at the sorority house. No one would speak to her, but she had to get some info on Mellee, or Kieran would find her useless. Her stomach tightened. She dreaded the thought. He should want to have her around.

  Focus. She gritted her teeth. They were two weeks from the full moon. This had to all be taken care of before then, or she would lose her shit and end up killing Mellee during the shift.

  Alex had never killed anyone. She didn’t need to start.

  Three of the sisters stood on the steps of the House. They weren’t the ones who followed Mellee around.

  “Hey.” A tall blonde named Cara stood up. “Alex.”

  Alex took a deep breath. She hadn’t been ready for a fight, which was a mistake. She should always be prepared to go at it. “Hi.”

  Two other girls stood up. All three of them had blonde hair. Were there an inordinate amount of werewolves who were blondes? She’d never thought about it before.

  “You’re bracing as if we’re about to attack you.” Cara stepped forward. “We’re not. I swear. I actually want to apologize to you.”

  “You do?” She didn’t trust this, not for a second. This could all be a play, a game to get her to let them close, and then—wham—they’d hit her when she least expected it. She paused. When had she started thinking exactly the same as Kieran? Other than getting herself to Tide to get into Lambda, she’d never plotted anything in her life. Now, she saw conspiracy everywhere she looked.

  “Mellee doesn’t speak for the whole sisterhood. Personally, I had no idea what your mother had done. I asked my mom a few nights ago, and she explained it. The way I see it, if we’re living around humans, then sometimes we’ll behave the same as them. She needed to make her own decisions about her life. I say, ‘good for her.’”

  The other two sisters nodded their heads as if they agreed with Cara’s statement.

  “Um. Thanks. I’m not my mother. I only want my chance. I’ve never had pack.” Alex looked away before she could get emotional. She didn’t smell anything but the sweet easy scent of truth in the air. It carried with it the faintest aroma of peppermint.

  “Right. Well, keep your head up. Mellee is all right. I mean, don’t get me wrong, she’s a really big fucking bitch, but most of the time her heart is in the right place. With you, her issues were bound to be a problem.”

  Alex’s heart rate kicked up a notch. “Specifically with me?”

  The three women looked at one another. There was something unspoken happening, but Alex didn’t push her luck. Any wrong move and she wouldn’t get the information she needed. “Sure, well, what happened with her mother.”

  Alex walked to the steps and stood directly in front of Cara. “What about her?”

  “Well, you’re related. She’s your cousin. And when your mother fled pack, she destroyed the standing for the entire family. Things are just finally getting back in order.”

  Alex’s feet felt as if they had frozen to the ground. “What? I…I….”

  Cara’s eyes widened. “You didn’t know?”

  “No. My mother didn’t ever talk about her family. The second she left the pack to be with my father, they disowned her. I have no idea if I have anyone on either side of my family.”

  “Really?” Cara put her hands on her hips. “I don’t think Mellee knows you don’t. I think she thinks you are aware of your connection to her.”

  A sudden thought dawned on Alex. Did Kieran know this? Could he be aware? She pushed her dilemma away. She’d find out later. She had to gather more information while there was someone around to give it her.

  “Should I tell her I didn’t know? Do you think it would help things?”

  Cara sucked in her breath. “Maybe I should tell her. Between stressing about you and hiding the fact her parents’ marriage is falling apart—they can’t let anyone in the public eye know—she’s under a great deal of stress.”

  She stiffened her spine. Cara had just given her info she could give to Kieran. So why didn’t she feel wonderful about it? Her stomach turned. This was blackmail; this was the deal she’d made. He would help her, and she would give him info on Mellee.

  Except Mellee was her cousin. Did it matter? Was Alex
the kind of person who could betray family? Could she even consider the horrible woman family?

  Mellee certainly didn’t treat Alex with any consideration. Just the opposite, actually.

  Alex’s cell phone beeped, and she looked down at it. A message from Kieran waited for her. Come back. I want you again.

  Life was always so fucking complicated.

  Chapter Four

  Kieran took a sip of his bitter coffee, and then threw the rest of the java into the nearest trash receptacle. He hadn’t seen or heard from Alexandra in two days. Enough was enough. One way or another, she would face him today even if it was to tell him she wouldn’t be seeing him anymore and planned to renege on their deal.

  His jaw ached from the amount of time he’d spent clenching his teeth, and he was well on his way to having a headache.

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if she never speaks to us again, considering how you blew it.”

  He’d never get used to hearing his host speak directly to him, but at least he understood why it happened. When he’d come up to take a body, he hadn’t looked closely enough at the person he’d chosen. On the surface, Kieran had seemed the perfect selection.

  Good looking, rich enough he wasn’t going to leave college with any debt, but not so wealthy he was ever seen in newspapers. Smart. Good grades. Hard working. The guy had already positioned himself for future success. All a demon had to do was step in and alter the path a little to get true success.

  But it turned out his body had a lot more happening with it than he’d known. Kieran was half werewolf. His parents had broken a hundred rules getting together. Half-breeds were a rare find. If he’d known the man had any werewolf in him at all, he’d have never looked at him in a million years.

  Werewolves didn’t take possession well. They fought back, and the few demons who had tried to take them over had found what Kieran had discovered for himself—he was in big trouble.

  Neither of them would win the war, and in the end, the host body became a combination of both the demon and the werewolf. Except this was different. No one had ever possessed a half-werewolf before, not quite human, not quite werewolf. If Kieran focused all his energy to the problem, then he would win.

  Nothing would stop him from achieving his goals. Not even the previous occupant of his body’s objections.

  “You want to fight? I’m ready.” Half-werewolf Kieran laughed. “And when I’ve kicked you out, I’ll go win Alexandra, and all you’ll be able to do is watch from a distance, trapped back in hell as the pathetic creature you are.”

  Kieran ignored his internal problem. He was certainly not prepared to fight his problem in the middle of the courtyard with a hundred some odd students wandering around. Not when he had to find Alexandra and figure out what the hell happened.

  “You know you only desire her because I do.”

  That he had to respond to. “This had nothing to do with you whatsoever. You can take credit for my mood swings, but not for Alexandra. I found her all on my own.”

  He must look crazy talking to himself, and he didn’t really give a shit.

  “Ha.”

  Kieran finally caught sight of the blonde-haired woman he’d been searching for, and he stormed across the Common to get to her. No one ignored him and got away with it. Particularly when he couldn’t get the woman’s taste and smell out of his mind. She’d invaded his senses and then vanished? Fuck that.

  “Why are you avoiding me?”

  She jumped and turned around. Her eyes were huge as she stared at him. When she didn’t speak, he continued. “What’s the matter? Didn’t smell me? It just so happens I stayed downwind by accident. Wish I could say it was on purpose.”

  Alexandra looked left and right. “Kieran, we really can’t talk about this here. I’m sure you understand why.”

  “Okay. I won’t talk about it if you tell me why you’ve been avoiding me.” He put his hands on his hips and stared down at her. The wind blew at her hair, which made her look even more ethereal than normal. Shit, he had it bad for her.

  “Things have gotten complicated.”

  “Should I be insulted? I showed you a good time. You can’t deny it. Is this your MO? Have incredible sex and then scamper away, a scared little girl? Have an intimacy problem?”

  “Watch it.”

  “Kieran.” She spoke through gritted teeth, and her color rose. How is it possible the flush makes her even more beautiful? “This isn’t the time.”

  “Yes, it is. And you don’t get to dictate to me what I do and don’t talk about. Not ever.”

  “Wow.” She ran a hand through her hair. “You’re in a mood.”

  “Don’t avoid my question.”

  “Fine. Yes, I was avoiding you, but not because I have some sort of issue. There’s a lot happening, okay? I found out some things, and I have to deal with them. I needed some time and space to do it. Forgive me for not realizing you were so needy.”

  He took a step back. Her words struck him as if she had slapped him across the face. “Fine. I won’t bother you anymore, little girl. But keep in mind you’ve made an enemy today. One you won’t see coming.”

  She poked him in the chest. “Do you always scorch and burn when you argue?”

  “What?” He had no idea what she meant.

  “Tell me something. What is your true nature?”

  He sucked in his breath. “Who told you to ask me?”

  “Answer the question. You have to, don’t you? I asked it. So answer it.”

  “Gentle….”

  He ignored his body mate and bent over so he could whisper in her ear. She smelled clean and fresh. Currently, he hated her aroma. It reminded him of all he knew he would never have again.

  “What is my true nature? I’ll tell you. I’m a demon. I’ve taken over this body, and I’m your worst nightmare.”

  “There aren’t demons.” She rolled her eyes. “They’re just made up to scare children into behaving better.”

  “You’re a werewolf. You want to question whether or not things are real? Take my word for it, sweetheart; you had sex with a demon. The son of one of the most powerful demons in hell. ”

  He turned and walked from her, leaving her standing in the courtyard by herself. This had gotten rapidly out of hand. No one was ever supposed to know he was a demon. A cardinal rule of possession was to never get caught.

  Who the hell had told her to ask him that one phrase, stated exactly as it needed to be said, in order to get him to answer?

  “Was this your fault?” he asked his unwanted companion.

  “How could I have possibly told her? I didn’t even know myself.”

  The half-werewolf had a point, but he hated hearing it. Everything would be so much easier if he could only take out all of his aggression on the one thing he couldn’t seem to get rid of. But how was he to beat up someone who lived inside of him?

  “Or maybe you live inside of me. Did you ever consider the possibility?”

  “No.”

  He opened the door to his room and walked inside. When he’d closed it behind him, he gave in to the urge to pound on the wall.” Fuck all this fucking shit.”

  A surge of hatred rushed over him. It was an emotion he knew well. Most of his existence, he had bristled with it. But this time, it wasn’t from him; it was from Kieran—well, the Kieran who used to control his body.

  “Hey, guess what, dick head? While you were out there fucking around, I figured out a few things.”

  “What?” He shook his head. Things had been better when Kieran hadn’t been able to form words. Why hadn’t he appreciated the near silence when he’d had it?

  “I can take you down.”

  “I’d love to see you try.”

  His knees gave out, and he slammed into the ground. “Oh, what the hell?” His knees burned, and the snickering in his head made the pain even worse.

  “See I told you. You’re not staying in here. Not one more minute.”

  “Kieran.”
He couldn’t believe he had to do this. First, someone had helped Alexandra out him, and now his host threatened to beat him up? No way. No more. “I’m a demon and the son one of the most powerful demons in hell. Do you think I’m so easy to handle? One of us will be walking away from here, and I can guarantee it’s me.”

  “Are you all talk, or will you show me what you’re made of, asshole?”

  “Oh, I’ll to show it to you. Let’s do it.” He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Most demons would never have to face this kind of fight. Their hosts disappeared nice and easy without ever causing even a blip of a problem. But if Kieran wished for a battle, he’d get to feel the flames.

  “Bring it on.”

  ***

  Alex tapped her fingers on her desk and tried to pay attention to what her economics professor droned on about. She hated this class, had since her first moment in the lecture hall, and the only thing that had made it manageable was getting to stare at Kieran when he taught it as the teacher’s assistant.

  Today, he hadn’t shown up, and she wanted to pound him over the head with a very hard shovel for not being there. If she could be brave and come to class, certainly he could. He was the demon after all.

  She looked down at her phone and texted the ROAR line again, this time as inconspicuously as possible. If the professor saw her, then Dr. Boring would, for sure, confiscate her phone.

  Is he really a demon? She’d pondered it all night. Maybe he was just screwing with her.

  Yes.

  She groaned, which earned her a sideways glance from the guy next to her. “What?” She whispered at him. “You never talk to yourself?”

  He quickly glanced away, and she counted to ten to try to get her temper down. She couldn’t shift, and there wasn’t any way for her to get rid of the aggression which would make her feel as good as ripping into a squirrel or, better, a deer.

  Alex pushed her chair back and stood. Every eye in the room fell on her, and she tried to smile, but it may have come across as more of a smirk. Her emotions were all over the place. Who knew what she projected right then?