by Tl Reeve
“The vice president of my sorority, Sigma Epsilon Xi, quit this morning. We’re going to lose our charter if we can’t get more pledges at the games.” Bell frowned.
“Get one of your cabinet members to join you,” she answered, not seeing the issue.
“None of them want to participate. I thought I’d, you know, throw caution to the wind, promote you to VP, and have you join me.” Her cousin gave a tight laugh.
“You can’t promote someone who is not even a member.” Nor did she want the Greek life. Filled with snobby bitches and drunken assholes—present company the exception—their idea of “fun,” didn’t settle well with her.
“You officially became one this morning at nine a.m. when I added you to our charter then held a vote in which you became vice president by default.” Bell grinned.
Hayden groaned. “By default you mean no one challenged you for the position or threw their hat in the ring?”
“Luck of the draw, I guess.” Bell shrugged. “Look, I know my sorority can be one of the best ones at this college, but I need your help, Hayden. Please.”
“Fine.” She looked at Zoe who snickered beside her sister. “You knew, didn’t you?”
“Maybe a little bit. She came to me and asked for a little advice,” she said nonchalantly. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll be there with my VP, too.”
“And which sorority do you belong to? Gothics R Us?”
“Hardy, har, har.” Zoe rolled her eyes. “Actually, I have badass pledges and members. We’re Xi Beta Xi.”
“You say this as if I should care.” Hayden gave her cousin a droll stare.
“Eh, it’s just cool to say the name. Xi Beta Xi.” Zoe spread her hands out in front of her as if the name would appear front and center on a marquee.
“Anyway, there is a mixer Friday night. You’ll need to attend—”
“Bodhi will be there, and so will Christoph,” Zoe jumped in.
Hayden turned her attention to Zoe. “What about you, mouth?”
“I got asked out by one of those falcons. Rocky. He’s hot in that muscular-biker kind of way. He’ll be at the mixer. I told him I might say what up, or whatever Friday night.” Her cousin’s gaze didn’t meet hers. In fact, the girl did everything in her power to look anywhere but her.
“Zoe Dryer.” The girl’s attention snapped to Hayden’s. “You found your mate, didn’t you?”
“Hell no. I’m not mating. He’s just some guy. Easy on the eyes and everything like that.” She shrugged.
“You did. I am telling your mom!” Hayden teased.
“Don’t you dare! I will kick your ass, Hayden. I mean it.”
Hayden knew the girl did, too. Where Bell had a dainty quality to her, and liked being a girl, Zoe had a rough edge. She reminded Hayden of their father at every turn.
“I’ll call your dad and tell him you’re sending them a letter and to refuse it,” Zoe added.
“Not scared. Besides, he’s not home. He’s at the doctor’s office with Loraine. I’m going to be a big sister,” she squealed, changing the subject.
“What?” both girls said in unison.
“When?” Zoe asked.
“Is she okay?” Bell questioned.
“This spring and, yes, from what Blake’s note said, all is fine. I’ll call home later and get you guys more info, promise.” She slipped the letter from her hand into the mailbox and exited their dorm. “So, what are you guys doing tonight?”
“Study group for me. Tattoo 101 for her,” Bell quipped, pointing to her sister.
“Nice.” Hayden high-fived the shy girl. “Perfect delivery, too.”
“Thanks.”
“Oh ha-ha both of you. For your information, I have an interview at the radio station. Hopefully, if they like me, I’ll have a job starting tomorrow.” Zoe headed in the opposite direction from them. “Have fun with your nerdfest.”
Hayden faced Bell. “So, about her mate….”
Chapter Two
Nico ran through the hills behind Turnskin University. His paws ate up the wet soil as though demons chased him, and perhaps they did. Anger coursed through him as he wove around the bushes and up the path toward the clearing. His end game? Reach the cliff located almost at the top. A favorite place of his, and one where he could clear his mind while the sun rose, welcoming the new day—even if it was another day without his mate—without Hayden.
He’d been a morose fucker, for sure. After doing this run every day for the last two years, he didn’t know why he continued to do so, especially when today wouldn’t be any different.
Hope.
Once he reached the peak, memories of a not-so-distant past swamped him. Nico shook his head in an attempt to clear it, but it didn’t work for shit. Sitting down on his hind legs, he looked skyward as a thin streak of the morning sun appeared. The change fascinated him. Muted blues and purples mixed with the bright yellow-orange line of the sun as it gained its foothold on the horizon.
His lips curled up in a wolfish smile as he remembered the first time he met the gangly fourteen-year-old girl. Her long black hair flowed freely down her back, and her sparkling blue eyes were full of life. Hayden took his breath away. So full of energy, she always asked some weird question and talked a mile a minute while she bounced around.
The second he saw her—scented her—he knew she’d be his mate. Cotton candy and sunshine all rolled into one. With his newfound knowledge also came understanding. He would have to wait for her. She had to grow up, and Nico bided his time, becoming her friend.
Weekends, when he didn’t have to work, they’d play Call of Duty—her favorite video game—or take hikes and watch movies. He taught her to hunt and track. He even taught her how to clean, load, and fire a handgun. They discovered together she had a talent with guns, and earned her marksmanship quickly. He had done everything in his power to help her hone her skills.
On the flip side, when her father had discovered what they had been up to, Jace had been none too pleased with either of them. He freaked the hell out when he caught them practicing on targets deep in the woods. Dude became scary as hell when angry, but, then again, so did all of the Raferty brothers. Thinking back on it, he supposed with his penchant for doing stupid shit, this had been the one time he should have gone to her father, but he’d never do anything to hurt his mate. And what do you call getting drunk and having a one-night stand?
A fuckup of epic proportions.
Images of the day he broke Hayden’s heart filtered through his mind. In a singular event, he’d destroyed his tiny mate and best friend. Not a day went by he didn’t regret his actions or wonder how he could get her back. Of course he had no one to blame but himself. His buddies from work wanted to go to the bar, and he’d jumped at the chance. He wanted a night of fun. Run with the boys. Instead, he got wasted and brought home a petite blonde. He knew he had sex with her, but why he didn’t shove her out the door and send her home, he didn’t know. The knock at his door early the next morning shouldn’t have surprised him. Hayden would’ve wanted to spend the day at the swimming hole, and, in all honesty, he’d been excited to see his little wolf, too. Then the chick he brought home opened her mouth, and the spell between them had been broken.
Shock, tinged with disbelief and pain, dimmed her bright-blue eyes before she took off with him yelling after her. Her mournful howl echoed in the early morning air. Torn between running after her and giving her room to grieve, he stood rooted in his spot. The woman he’d shared his bed with, whose name he conveniently, maybe purposefully, didn’t know, came up behind him. “What’s her problem?”
“None of your concern. I had a good night, now leave.” He brushed past her, storming back to his room while calling himself all kinds of names—stupid fucking asshole being the best—and gathered her clothes. He threw them at the woman standing in his living room with a dumbfounded look on her face. “Sex doesn’t make a relationship, sweetheart.”
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Nor did being a cheating, low-down, dirty bastard like him.
Huffing through his snout, he lay in the cool grass. For days, he’d caught whiffs of his mate’s anguish and followed the scent only to be stopped by her uncles or her father. Yep, no one hurt Daddy’s little girl and saw forgiveness. Nico didn’t have an excuse for his actions that day. The worst part of his self-created hell was Hayden never talked to him again and ignored any attempts he made to speak to her if he did catch her out by herself. Had she given him the chance to explain, he would have told her fucking that chick had been nothing—a release, a bodily function. He didn’t love her, and he sure as hell didn’t want the woman as his mate. But, when push came to shove, Hayden would stand her ground while he only made excuses for what he’d done.
Not my proudest moment.
At the time, he’d justified it. She’d been seventeen, way too young to mate. Besides, he’d made a promise to himself to allow her to grow up, to spread her wings and know who she wanted to be before he mated her. Wolf shifters were a dominant, possessive lot, so he knew once he had her, he’d never let her go. Lies, all lies.
Now, he sat in the same spot, morning after morning, in constant turmoil about what to do with regard to the situation. Nico knew exactly what his wolf wanted, what it yearned for—his mate. Yet, his wolf, a creature of habit, wanted to mark and claim her, taking what rightfully belonged to him. If only it would be so simple. For the man, it would always be a more complex situation, and he had to make the wolf understand marking her didn’t heal a broken heart or shattered trust.
He knew Hayden. A stubborn, prideful wolf with a strong moral code wouldn’t take his bullshit answers. Nico had also learned, from his conversations with Loraine—one of Jace’s mates—Hayden held fast to the knowledge of him cheating on her. Nico had broken their bond. A point he couldn’t fight because he had.
Especially when it came to his little wolf.
So, buddy boy, what makes this morning different? Perhaps time, or perhaps he’d grown a pair of balls and wanted to fight for what belonged to him and to hell with the silly ass plans. Nico knew he had to explain what happened that night, and continue to do so until she listened to him. He’d make it quite clear right off the bat he wasn’t going anywhere. He would gain her love and trust back, no matter the cost.
He had no other options.
Running back down the trail, he moved faster because, for the first time in a long time, he actually felt like he had a plan to achieve some resolution to his problems. He’d fight tooth and nail for his mate, do whatever he needed to do to get her back.
In a flash of white light, he shifted to his human form then stretched and rolled his neck. He grabbed his discarded clothes off the rail where he’d left them then padded to his room. He had a poli-sci class to get ready for.
“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” Bodhi’s sarcastic tone wasn’t lost on Nico as he stopped short of his room. “Where have you been hiding out?”
“I’ve been where I’ve always been.” He pointed to the dorm. “Right here. What do you want?” If it hadn’t been for Bodhi and the email telling him it was time to claim his mate, he’d have stayed in Window Rock. As it stood, until that moment, he hadn’t even known how to approach her.
“It’s good to know in the two years since I told you to get your ass here you’ve tried to make amends. I mean, damn, man. What the fuck are you waiting for?” The obvious disdain in his voice didn’t shock Nico.
“I guess I’ve been trying to figure out what to say, without making an excuse.” He shrugged.
“Bullshit, that’s an excuse, too. Sorry ain’t going to cut it either.”
Thank you, Captain Obvious. “As a matter of fact, I have a plan now.”
“Interesting because I’ve got some good news and some bad news for you, too.” Bodhi had a superior look on his face. “Which do you want first?”
“Does it really matter what I want?”
“Nope, just thought I’d be polite.” Bodhi reached into his back pocket and pulled out a flyer. “This weekend the Greek Shifter Games are going to begin playing out here on campus. Two people from each of the fraternities are going to square off in different types of battles to see who is the best of the best. Sixteen will square off, only five will win.” He made it sound like they’d be fighting in the Thunderdome. Two men enter, one man leaves. Not terribly foreboding at all.
Nico cocked a brow. “And this means what to me?”
“I know for a fact Hayden will be participating with Bell as a lady of the sororities. Each sorority is matched up with a fraternity.” The smug look on his face didn’t falter as he stared Nico down.
“Hayden’s not in a sorority, though.” He might not have talked to her or spent any time with her, but he did have ways of finding out stuff. If it made him a stalker, so be it.
“As of nine a.m. this morning, she is the vice president of Sigma Epsilon Xi.”
What the fuck? “How?”
“Bell needed the pledge, and I put a bug in her ear about helping a friend out.” He grinned. “Namely you.”
“Wait, so you arranged all this shit, and now you want me to participate in these games? Have you forgotten I’m not part of a fraternity?” Though the odds were stacked against him, the spark of hope blooming in his chest didn’t dim. But he did promise to squash it before he planned out their life together, especially if his little she-wolf rebuked him in public and took another for a mate. Reality could be a cruel, spiteful bitch sometimes. He was grateful she’d so far not pulled the rebuke card on him.
“That’s the bad news.” Bodhi pulled a small, plain card out of his back pocket and handed it to Nico. “The games are by invite only. Since you’re not part of a fraternity, you’re going to have to call this service and see if they can work a little magic for you.”
Nico flipped the card over. 555-ROAR greeted him in big, bold script. Below it sat IM handles, Facebook links, and emails. The only thing missing? A midnight infomercial. Has college life gotten you down? Do you wish there was something more out there for you? Now you can make it happen with a single phone call to 555-ROAR! Yes, ROAR, a fucked-up well of wishes that will probably never come true. “What’s the catch?” There’s always a catch.
“You have to do what they say when they say it and answer their questions,” his friend replied.
“And you’re sure they can get me into this little battle of brawn?” He flipped the card over one more time and saw the names Hui and Min. Interesting names.
“They’re the ones you need to talk to.”
“You’re not answering my question.” He glanced up at Hayden’s twin.
“Stop looking a gift horse in the mouth,” Bodhi snarled. “I’m giving you a way to fucking prove you’re the one for my sister. Now either get your head in the game or move the fuck on. My twin has been through enough with you. She doesn’t need any more disappointment.”
Ouch, that stung. “All right. You’re on. I’ll call them right now.”
“That’s the spirit.” Bodhi smacked him on the shoulder as he stepped past him. “Oh, and by the way, there’s a mixer before the games and a ball after the games. All participants are required to attend.”
“Son of a bitch.” He groaned as his friend’s laughter echoed off the walls of the building.
Nico walked into his room and grabbed his phone. He contemplated leaving a message, but if this were a legit business and if they could help him, he wanted to talk to a person, not a machine. Dialing the number, he waited.
It rang twice before a soft masculine voice filled the line. “Yes?”
What, no fancy introductions? No thank you for calling 555-ROAR? “Uh, hi my name is Nico Lopez. A friend of mine gave me your card and—”
“Yes.”
“Yes, you’ll help me, or yes, you know you have cards laying out for people to grab?” When he didn’t get an answer, Nico blew out a brea
th and slumped onto his bed. “I did something pretty awful to my mate. I need to win her back. What good is living alone? There is this GSG thing going on starting this weekend at Turnskin University. I need in the games. I need an invite. According to my friend, there are only sixteen spots. Can you make this happen?”
“Tomorrow. Be ready.” The line went dead, and Nico sat there for a moment staring at the palm-sized piece of metal and plastic.
“Tomorrow? What the hell?” Did the guy mean he’d have the invitation to him tomorrow or someone else would call him? Confusion swirled and mixed with a healthy dose of doubt. If this little idea of Bodhi’s didn’t work out, he’d be back to square one.
However, deep in his knotted guts, he knew this had to be the only way to win his little wolf back. She needed to see he’d walk through fire for her. Do whatever it took to be the man she needed him to be. To forgive him when, in the last two years, he hadn’t been able to forgive himself. That day, with the sheet wrapped around his waist, alcohol seeping from his pores, he knew what might happen if she showed up, and he’d taken the coward’s way out.
He knew Hayden loved him because he loved her, too. And the idea of giving his heart to her without fear, of being the mate she needed, scared the shit out of him. So, he went out knowing Hayden would be at his apartment early the next morning, got drunk, and brought home a woman he didn’t care about at all to send his little wolf running. To protect his already shattered heart and to shelter himself from the abject terror of being rejected again like his family had rejected him as a pup. And you’re a fucking bastard for doing it, too.
Yeah, maybe. Maybe he didn’t deserve a second chance to make all this up to Hayden. Perhaps he should forget about the games and go home. But the spark of hope that lit inside him while he sat on the cliff flickered and grew brighter by the second. He couldn’t leave yet. He had to see this through, even if it meant losing his little wolf forever.
Chapter Three
Hayden stepped into the cafeteria and immediately spotted her brother. Her sure strides ate up the distance between them, and, when she stood just out of his line of sight, she stopped. “Hey, I have something to tell you.”
