by Tl Reeve
She waved at everyone as a small murmur of conversations rippled through the crowd of people. She caught bits and pieces of it. Most were talking about her last name…again. What the hell is going on here? “Hi. It’s, uh, great to be here.”
“Her stuff is in her car, so you know what that means,” Christoph stated. “Get your lazy asses up and help us get her settled.”
Natasha frowned. “No.” She winced at her tone. “Sorry. What I mean is no thanks, it’s cool. I’ve got this. You’re having a party.”
“Nonsense,” Jackson replied, taking her hand and bowed. “Your highness.”
Natasha snatched her hand back and scrunched up her face. The fuck? “I am not a princess.” She pointed to herself, not sure why she’d suddenly become nervous. “Human, nobody.” Had they really thought she was royalty? Is that why they were giving her weird looks? Maybe he’s just being a sarcastic asshole, and here you are spazzing out. Way to make a first impression, she chided herself.
“My mistake.” Jackson glanced over at Christoph who shrugged. “Anyway, as the newest member of our makeshift family, it would be an honor to help you get settled. Plus, the faster we get this done, the quicker you can relax by the pool with a refreshing drink.”
“Don’t drink the punch.” The girl who reprimanded Bell earlier came up beside her. “I’m Zoe, Bell’s sister.”
Natasha’s gaze flicked between both girls. No way in hell. They were as different as night and day. Where Bell had been blonde and blue-eyed, Zoe had black hair, violet eyes and a full sleeve tattoo on her right arm. She wore more leather than Natasha owned, and it seemed had a fetish for bracelets—leather, rope, or chain it didn’t matter, they were bunched up on her left wrist.
“We take after each of our parents,” Bell stated.
“But, not by much,” Zoe added then hitched her thumb in Bell’s direction. “She’s the weird one of the family.”
Bell gasped, then stuck her tongue out at her sister. “Anyway, some of us are missing. Shelly and Joy are signing up for some classes, and Raquel moved out.” A contemplative look came over the girl’s face. “She said her brother is starting his first year of college and he can’t stay here yet. He’s only sixteen, so, like Emma and Bodhi, she has an apartment off campus.”
Natasha absorbed everything Bell told her. As they entered the house, another guy sat on the couch near the sliding glass door. He didn’t even look up from his book when they walked into the house. Bell stopped beside him and laid her hand on his shoulder. He glanced up and gave her a brilliant smile. “This is Utah,” she said as she signed as well. “He’s family and also decided to join us here. Utah is our only tiger.”
Natasha cocked her head to the side. A deaf shifter? No way. They were supposed to be invulnerable to human maladies. She waved at the guy who inclined his head. “It’s really true what I read online.” She covered her mouth, embarrassed she’d said such out loud. “Sorry.”
Zoe snickered. “Don’t be. My sister is a regular Duddley Do Right.”
Bell groaned. “Shut up, Zoe.”
“I think it’s great,” Natasha said. “You’ve made this inclusive community here. You guys should be proud of yourselves.”
“Thank you.” Bell led her upstairs while the others trailed behind. “So, do you have any questions so far about anything?”
Tons. Like why Jackson had said your highness. Or why she had night classes. Plus, the whispering… “Do all first years have night classes?” Okay, so, not subtle but she’d been a little bummed none of her school time would be spent outside soaking up the sun.
Jackson came up beside her. “No, they don’t.” He gave her a curious look. His eyes were different, almost iridescent in color. “Those classes are usually reserved for our night dwellers.”
Natasha laughed. “Night dwellers? You mean, vampires?” So far, everyone had been so different than the people in Blue Creek. Where she came from everyone lived and worked together. Here they liked to keep people apart. Weird.
“So much more,” Jackson replied. “Demons, unseelie fae, witches…”
“Okay, so the fae thing is a little unusual, I’ll admit that much,” she replied.
Jackson gazed at her again as though trying to put pieces to a puzzle together. “Are you sure you’re human?”
Well, duh. Her grandmother had been human as had her grandfather. “I think I’d know if I was anything other than human.”
He nodded. “True.”
“Well, I’ve never heard of it,” Bell stated. “If you’d like, I can have the Dean of Students take a look at your schedule and see what he can do to remedy the situation.”
“Oh, I don’t want to go through all that. It’s only for a semester. I’ll get day classes during the spring term.” She waved off their concern. “So, which room is mine?”
Bell motioned to the door closest to her. “You’ll be sharing with Shelly. I hope that’s not a problem.”
“Not at all.” She’d grown up with her brothers, having a sister would be nice. “I can handle the unloading, like I said. Go back to your party. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Bell sighed. “You’ve got a lot to learn about us.” She linked her arm through Natasha’s. “If I know my mate, he’s already recruited everyone and they’re waiting on us.”
Sure enough, when they stepped outside, everyone had been positioned near her car. Christoph had his arms crossed over his massive chest. He looked every inch of his alpha personality. When he spied Bell, his features softened then mixed with something else when Jackson stepped forward. Interesting.
Natasha had a feeling that even though her classes had been screwed to hell and back, she was going to enjoy being at TSU. She pulled her keys out of her pocket and went right to the trailer. “It’s not much. Like I said, I could have done it.”
She opened the door and stood to the side. Everything she wanted with her fit in medium sized packing boxes. Each box had been stacked properly to give her the maximum amount of space. She hauled the first one out, and Bodhi, she believed, grabbed it out of her hands, then started for the gate.
“Welcome to Turnskin University,” Bell whispered, placing her hand on Natasha’s shoulder.
“Thanks.” I think…
Two
Since everyone had been so helpful, it didn’t take very long to unload her trailer. It gave her plenty of time to not only get to know her new housemates, but also relax, which after the last couple of weeks she had, was worth it. It also gave her time to do a little exploring as well. The quickest way for her to learn where her classes were located, along with the more important places like the library and cafeteria, was to walk around. Hopefully, if she learned her way around during the day, she’d be able to get around at night without any issues.
It was still weird to think about her classes being at night. It also didn’t set well with her, especially after the way Jackson kept looking at her. Oh well, not my problem. Natasha shrugged it off. She wasn’t there to be liked, she was there to get an education and start her new life out in the great wide open. Too bad it felt a little too confined for her right now.
Being in the house with everyone and seeing the mated couples interact as they helped her unload the hauler, sent a pang of jealously through her. She hated it. She promised herself she wouldn’t allow what she saw affect her anymore. She didn’t need a mate or a companion to complete her. Besides, if the guys at the house were any indication, the school was filled with hotties. She’d get the hook up sooner or later, and those would tide over her insatiable need to find the “one.”
Ugh, don’t be so stupid.
Back home, others had given her a wide birth most times. Guys and girls. Sure, she had friends, but they were few and far between. Her grandmother said it was because she could be a little stand-offish sometimes. She thought it was because they could sense something different about her. Of course, the difference was that she’d been human and the majority of them were shif
ter. It also had to be weird seeing her grandfather and her brothers Erik and Sebastian, and then her.
She’d been the gangly kid. A square peg for a round hole. She didn’t talk much in the beginning, and Natasha chalked it up to the trauma of her mother dying, though she couldn’t quite remember it. She’d also been the one more at ease reading than rough housing with the other shifter kids.
“Get over yourself. No one cared.” Yet, she did. She’d obsessed about it sometimes. She’d dream she’d been born a wolf and every male loved her. She had her choice of mate and they’d fall at her feet to please her. They were silly daydreams, imagined by a thirteen-year-old pubescent girl who wanted to do cool shit like all the others.
Her grandmother convinced her to try out for track one year during high school. Told her humans could participate just like anyone else. Yeah…not so much. She had a feeling they all dialed it back so not to kick her ass as badly as they had. She quit two weeks later. Then Liam had the bright idea she should join the Miss Blue pageant for the summer fair. That had been more humiliating than anything. Where all the girls had these cool talents besides their impeccable good-looks, Natasha had her love for cosplay.
She could laugh at it now. She could only imagine what she must have looked like getting up there looking like Lady Ceil from Phantomhive, then reciting her favorite parts from the anime and manga… Nonetheless, she’d been cut from the competition shortly after her talent section. Too bad they didn’t understand Japanese was majestic as fuck.
Afterwards, no one pushed her to do anything else. The majority of the time she stayed holed up in her room reading or spending time with her best friend Sadie, who she missed so much right now. The people here were so different, and Sadie would have balanced them out. Oh well, she didn’t have time to dwell as it was. According to her schedule, she had Intro to Philosophy in a few short hours. Which meant she needed to hurry up and find her class, then hightail it back to the house to change. She needed a shower badly. Maybe people are giving you sideways glances because you’re rank.
She glanced down at her map as she stopped in the middle of the quad. The tables from earlier were gone and the place had emptied out pretty quick. The oranges and reds of the setting sun caught her by surprise. She’d been there since noon and now… Shit… it’s four. Her first class started at seven. Why couldn’t she find this damn class? She started across the open area, but stopped short when she saw a help wanted sign. You don’t need any distractions right now. Keep going. Unfortunately, her feet had other ideas. She stopped in front of the poster. The college radio station needed a night host. Three days a week for four hours a night. Might as well apply. Until she could figure out what was going on with her classes, she’d be with the night dwellers anyway. She pulled the tab hanging from the bottom of the paper, then glanced at her map one more time.
The radio station had been marked by a red star. Why can’t the classes be indicated the same way? Since she’d been feet from the radio station, she decided to check it out. Even if she didn’t like it, hopefully those on the inside could tell her where her class was. As she drew near, the soft music she’d heard while on the trail became louder. She noticed right off the bat they enjoyed alternative music, which was a plus in her book. She could work there. You have no experience though. What she didn’t have in experience she could make up in ingenuity and her ability to pick stuff up pretty quick. Natasha opened the door and noticed that it wasn’t like any radio station she’d ever seen.
The small room had an open, inviting quality to it. To the left, the actual sound board and equipment needed to run the station, to the right shelf after shelf of vinyl. A small part of her squealed at the thought of touching them. A guy appeared in the booth, holding a cookie and a cup of something to drink over the table beside the equipment. The guy seemed pretty intense, especially when he clenched his jaw protruding the muscles there. He wore black retro-frame glasses over grey...no mercury…colored eyes. His sandy-blond hair stuck up in different odd angles, which only sharpened his strong features. He wore a yellow sweater pushed up to his elbows, exposing the corded muscles of his tattooed forearm. She debated between shifter and vampire, but neither fit his broad imposing form.
“Hey there.”
The feel of a hand on her shoulder caused her to jump. Lost in her musings, she hadn’t heard anyone approach. “Hey, sorry.” She tried to steady the erratic beating of her heart, however it only got worse when she turned to look at who’d talked to her. Holy shit. He was Asian—Japanese, if she had to guess. He had his hair styled in a mohawk streaked with purple and blue highlights. When he turned his head, she took inventory of the small tattoos on his neck and behind his ear. She wondered absently if they went lower and if he’d let her see them. Bad girl. The guy in the yellow sweater placed the headphones on his ears and seconds later, the light alternative music changed to something darker and a little more insidious. Her pulse grew sluggish and her body swayed to the music. She’d never heard anything like it before, yet her soul yearned for it.
The guy in front of her cleared his throat, snatching her from her thoughts and embarrassing her even more. She glanced up into his eyes, which were brown for the most part, but also held a hint of red to them. His full lips pulled into a smile as he continued to stare at her, which only caused her gaze to lock on the double piercing at the corner of his mouth. Holy Jesus that should be illegal. Natasha felt herself sway towards him.
“Not a problem,” he said, not taking his eyes off of her. “What can I do for you?”
Unable to form the words to say, she squeaked. Embarrassment flooded her. Her heart started to race. The guy standing in front of her inhaled. His nostrils flared and she swore she’d never seen anything that sexy before. “I-I’d like to apply for the job.” She shoved the small tear away she gathered from the poster in the quad into his hand. “This. Please.”
He glanced down then quirked a brow. “You ever work in a radio station before?”
Natasha shook her head.
“Journalist student?” He pressed.
Again, she shook her head. “I…well…see, I can talk and…”
“Talking is good.” He chuckled softly. “Come on. We have to change out the commercials in a minute.” He motioned for her to follow after him.
“I don’t have much time,” she blurted out, unsure why the guy had thrown her for such a loop.
“Then we better hurry.” He winked. “My name is Keiji.” He held his hand out to her.
“Na—” A warm current of energy surged through her as she grasped his hand. She let out a shuddered breath. “Whoa, sorry. I’ve never been this tongue tied before. My name is Natasha.”
“Good to meet you, Natasha.” The way he said her name made her want to rip her clothes off and demand he fuck her then and there.
“Likewise, Keiji.” She said his name little more breathless than she’d meant to. “So, this is where the magic happens?”
His gaze became hooded. The hint of red in his eyes swirled. “Yeah, you can say that.” He stepped closer to her. “What are you?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer and instead, buried his nose in the crook of her neck and inhaled. The groan he let loose sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine.
And you were afraid you wouldn’t get any. She untangled herself from his embrace. “I’m…” She swallowed hard. “Human. I lived with shifters. My grandparents, my brothers and I are human.”
He stepped toward her again. “No, it’s more than that.” As if on cue, the music stopped. “Shit. Uh, if you want to fill out the application by the door. I really have to get back to work.”
O-kay. “Thanks, for…whatever?” She tilted her head to the side not sure what just transpired between them. “Bye.” She headed out of the studio and grabbed the application from the small table by the door, where he’d said it would be.
As she stepped outside, she replayed what happened between them. She’d never seen a shifter sniff another
’s neck in greeting—well she had, just not her. What are you? His words whispered through her mind as she followed the path back towards the quad. “Shit!” She stomped her foot. She meant to ask him where her class was located. She’d been so distracted by Keiji she completely forgot. “What the hell is wrong with me?”
Natasha trudged back the way she came, hopefully, Bell or her sister Zoe could tell her where she needed to go. The campus dwarfed her expectation. There’d been something new to see at every corner — finding the right buildings had been a little overwhelming. She crossed the campus in record time, and when she saw her new home away from home, she breathed out a sigh of relief. Then groaned. She hadn’t asked for a key before she left. She’d needed some space and figured going out would give her a chance to acclimate herself to her new surroundings. Now, she felt like an asshole.
She walked up to the front door and knocked. How embarrassing she had to knock on her own door to get inside. A second later, the door opened, and a girl wearing glasses the size of her face and rainbow suspenders greeted her. “Hi! I’m Shelly. You must be Natasha. Bell said you forgot your key and to be on the lookout for you. Come on in.”
“Interesting,” Natasha muttered.
“Huh?”
“I forgot to ask for a key,” she answered.
“I’ve done the same!” The girl laughed. She had this infectious happiness to her. Her clothes were a little too tight for Natasha’s style, and her vibrant red hair lay in a mess braid down her back. The girl was quite curious.
“Small world. Say, is Bell around?” Though she didn’t have time for it, she had to figure out what the hell was going on around her. Not even in school six hours and weird shit was happening to her. Plus, she still had to find her class.
