Ruby was intimidating, but it was nothing on this woman. Her black, almost blue hair hung down to her waist, and her bright violet eyes flickered from Ruby to me before frowning. “Damn it, Ruby. What did you say?”

  I needed to say something, I knew I did, but I had absolutely no idea what to say.

  “I thought she knew!” Ruby whispered, looking panicked.

  My throat grew thick as I considered the reality of what they were saying. If I was their mate, and they didn’t tell me, there was a reason. It was possible they hadn’t been ready or didn’t know how. The larger possibility was that they didn’t want me as their mate, which hurt so much it wasn’t even funny. I suddenly wished I had my phone or that I could ask one of them. That was the easiest and fastest way to handle it. I just needed to be blunt and inform them of what Ruby had told me.

  What if I looked stupid, though? What if Ruby was wrong? How did I feel about having a mate, even? I didn’t even know my own emotions, so how was I supposed to examine theirs?

  Before either woman could say anything else, or I could ask for the other’s name, the woman up front stood. I watched as she wrote ‘Sue Falero’ on the board before turning towards her small but attentive class. Unfortunately, I was feeling anything but attentive right now. In fact, all I could think about was how I wished I was back in the other class with Caedmon before my day had turned into such a confusing toss-up of information that I didn’t know what to do with. At least the Ryder thing was less confusing than what they had just said.

  “Welcome to Shifter History and Groupings,” she began in a soft but firm tone, handing packs of paper out at the start of each row. I took mine, turning in my seat and offering the stack to the student behind me, feeling bad about ignoring his smile but finding myself far too distracted to try to make friends. Honestly, I was also afraid of what other information would be given to me that would flip everything upside down if I talked to anyone else.

  “My name is Sue Falero, but you can just call me Sue. I like to keep it pretty casual with classes this small.” She offered a small smile. “I am a second-year professor here at SFU and teach a myriad of different classes, but my doctorate was specifically focused on Shifter History in the past two hundred years. Since this class is a freshman requirement and all of you are in your first year, we will spend next class introducing ourselves to one another. Today we are going to mainly focus on running through the syllabus so you know not only what is expected out of you for this semester but what you can expect from me.”

  My attention began to refocus on the class at hand, her mannerisms very relaxing, and a slight string of excitement distracting me from my other thoughts. The more complicated ones. Although, it was frustrating, because the moment I started to look at the syllabus, all I could think about was the guys and how I wanted to know more about them.

  It was clear that a large portion of the class was focused around the different types of wolf shifters and their associated history. I ran my finger along the course outline and found myself smiling, happy to have a name for the other two types of wolves: totemic and lycan. Hadn’t Julian said Dakota was the first today in the cafeteria? So that would mean logically that Caedmon was a lycan, if the blood-bonded packs consisted of all four. I murmured the names of both under my breath as she began to go through elements of the course, her pronunciation assuring me that I was saying them correctly.

  Good. I didn’t need to look any more out of my element around these guys than I clearly already was. My fingers twitched to grab my new textbook from my backpack so that I could start reading about each type instead of waiting for when I got back to the dorm. Somehow I had a feeling Sue would notice me not giving her my full attention, so I kept my eyes on the syllabus, hoping that she wouldn’t call on me or ask my opinion. I didn’t need to draw any more attention to myself. Especially if it showed how little I knew.

  Hell, I didn’t even know if these books were actually mine or just for the semester. I’d been distracted enough by Caedmon that I hadn’t asked, and I was now regretting it, worried that if I somehow bent or marked the pages, that they wouldn’t take it back. I nibbled my lip as I ran my fingers along the smooth plastic surface of the desk I sat in, my eyes darting momentarily to the clock and wishing that this would also be a short class today. Despite my excitement for the course content, my urge to know if Ruby and the other woman were telling the truth was really beginning to pull on me.

  The time felt as if it dragged, Sue going through the class rules, as I occasionally noticed the two women next to me exchanging looks before looking down at their phones. Were they messaging one another? I frowned, feeling a bit jealous. Not because I wanted to be part of their messages, specifically—although it would be cool to be friends—but more that if I had a phone, I could message the guys. Also because their friendship was a reminder of how different and alienated I was from everyone else.

  Why couldn’t the person who applied me have done it a semester earlier? If I had started as a normal freshman, I probably would have managed to make friends. Possibly.

  Then again, maybe making friends wasn’t in the cards for me. While the guys had been different so far, it was possible the normal cruelness that I associated with other people could end up applying here. But that didn’t seem likely. I mean, Ruby had been open enough to reveal something to me that was so shockingly important that all I could do was be thankful for her.

  Frowning, I ran a hand over my face, hoping that this would be over sooner rather than later. I was starting to feel claustrophobic, my fingers tugging on my turtleneck to pull it away from my neck as my head spun. Panic edged through my body as I tried to refocus but failed horribly, leaving me completely and utterly distracted. So much so that when students finally began getting up and putting on their coats, I had to snap myself out of the haze I’d been in. I stood, sliding on my backpack, as I frowned, realizing that I had never taken off my coat. Goddess. I was a mess.

  “Ready?” Ruby asked. I looked up, surprised. Had they been waiting for me?

  “Ready?” I asked hesitantly.

  “Yeah, we are heading to the library for a bit, are you coming with or do you have another class?” the other woman asked curiously.

  “I’m done,” I offered.

  “Perfect!” She clapped as we walked towards the door, then turned and looked at me. “By the way, I’m Aanya.”

  “Nice to meet you.” I meant that, and despite my caution, I felt thrilled that they wanted to hang out with me. It was also distracting me from my panic.

  As we passed through the door, I briefly wondered if I should wait for the boys, but I didn’t want to inconvenience my friends. They would find me, right? Crap. I really had no way to contact them, and since arriving, this was the first time we had been apart, wasn’t it? I shook myself, pulling on a small thread of confidence, realizing that I needed to do this. Just in case they decided they didn’t want to be friends… well, mates, with me. If they didn’t, I could at least say I had two possible friends. Maybe. My wolf whimpered at the concept of being rejected by our own mates. I wasn’t naive enough to completely remove it as a possibility, though.

  “Where are you from, Effie?” Aanya asked as we walked outside. I shivered slightly, tucking my hands into my pockets.

  “Chicago,” I explained, walking on her one side as Ruby walked on the other, watching me with interest.

  “Same,” Ruby murmured.

  “I’m from Kyoto,” Aanya offered easily before sighing. “Okay, well technically, my parents are from there. I grew up mostly in New York, but they moved back there the minute I went off to college, so I guess I live there on holidays now?”

  I couldn’t help but smile at her rambling, finding myself wanting to ask her more about Japan. I’d never traveled in my life, but it had always been something I’d been interested in. Just one of those unattainable aspects I’d assumed wasn’t in the cards before leaving my pack.

  Maybe now I could find a way.

  Before I could respond, Aanya looked ahead, her eyes suddenly widening. We were passing a building, and I could see a gathering of different students coming out of it, but she immediately grabbed Ruby’s arm to pull her to a stop.

  “Ruby…”

  Ruby growled under her breath. “Fuck. I see them.”

  Then she was gone. Literally gone, as she dipped into the side entrance of the building we were passing without another word. I frowned in confusion as Aanya muttered a curse but hooked arms with me and led me ahead easily. She was shaking her head but dipped her gaze as a group of four massive men passed us, their energy similar to the men I lived with. My brows went up as I realized one of them was familiar.

  Aaren, right? I think that had been his name. He was the one that had been inside our room yesterday. Two of the men were deep in conversation as they passed, but Aaren looked up and offered me a flash of a smile and head nod. The last looked at the side entrance of the building Ruby had disappeared through, seeming confused, before shaking it off. They walked ahead and the odd moment was gone, leaving me with just Aanya and a ton of questions.

  “Why did she run?”

  “She’s running from fate, and somehow, impossibly, it hasn’t caught up to her after a full semester,” Aanya said mysteriously. I wanted to ask more, but I got the feeling that it was very much not my business, so I resisted.

  “This is the library.” She crossed the street, pulling me along, as I examined the modern glass building that contrasted the frozen lake and winter wilderness of the land around campus.

  “It’s beautiful,” I offered as we walked into the main foyer. There was an instant ease between the two of us that I didn’t fully understand, but for once I felt comforted and safe around a girl my own age. Maybe it wouldn’t be impossible to be friends. Although, I still missed the guys. I just wish I had a way to get in contact with them.

  “They will be here sooner than later probably,” she mused. I looked at her in surprise as we entered a warmly lit area.

  “How did you know—”

  “All over your face, plus, everyone knows that you have your mates.” She shrugged easily, seeming pleased with the information. “I am hoping that you can prove to everyone that this blood-bonded pack is a good idea. Ruby isn’t sold on it, and she… well, she needs to be.”

  Instead of commenting on Ruby and her clear dilemma, I frowned. “I don’t understand why they wouldn’t have told me. I have been with them since yesterday.”

  “Honey, finding your mate is a lot, and as a bitten wolf? Mate to four men? Goddess, I have two mates, and it’s way too much sometimes.” She flashed a smile, her eyes lighting up with something that made me think it was very much not ‘too much.’

  “You have two mates?”

  “Yes, my brother and I are kitsune shifters. We shouldn’t have mates, by all technicality, but that was clearly some bullshit we were told to get into arranged marriages. My mom apparently knew that because she sent us here and boom! Within two days I had found my mates. I’ll introduce you soon.” She wiggled her brows and flashed a smile. “They are twins.”

  I had so many questions, including what kitsune shifters were, but Aanya was already ten steps ahead of me, tugging me towards a table like she was hooked up to a battery. Immediately, she sat down, and I slowly lowered myself into the seat across from her, watching as she unzipped her bag and pulled out a smooth, expensive laptop. I briefly looked around, frowning at the lack of a computer bank, and I considered getting up to look around, but I didn’t want to admit to my new friend I didn’t have a computer. I felt like everyone had one.

  How much did one even cost? Maybe I could rent one from the bookstore, I know I’d seen them there. Before I could question if that was a possibility, a group of large shadows passed us, making me shiver as an odd sense of dread ran over me.

  I looked down after catching a glimpse of hard, cold features as Aanya kept her eyes down as well, her entire body going tense. Something no one would have noticed if they hadn’t been paying attention. I held my breath, hoping they wouldn’t pause or talk to us. I didn’t think they knew my new friend, even.

  When they finally passed, I let out a relieved exhale, not understanding my instinctual negative reaction to a group of people I didn’t know. Although, in some ways, I was more comfortable with it, because being scared of a group of intimidating men was nothing new.

  “Fuck.” Aanya shook her head. “Whatever you do, stay away from those assholes. In fact, just avoid the two other blood-bonded packs. The group living above you is fine, but they are the ones Ruby is avoiding, so try not to mention her around them. They are decent guys, but the other two groups are such fucking assholes.” I jumped at her cursing, which made it clear that she felt very strongly about that concept.

  “Good to know,” I muttered, wanting to know why Ruby was avoiding the other group. I had a feeling if I asked her she would tell me, but I also didn’t want to overstep any unspoken boundaries.

  “Okay, so,” Aanya said, opening up something on her computer, “it looks like we are starting with a chapter on lycan wolves on Wednesday. Not my favorite, but oh well. Then bitten, fenrir, and totemic. You will be partners with Ruby and I, right? The class is uneven, so we should be the group of three.”

  “Sounds fun.” I offered a soft smile as she nodded astutely and typed something down. I had a feeling that she was someone who really had her life together. I envied that, truly. I also had a feeling that she would know the difference between all the wolves and maybe be able to explain it to me quickly.

  Before I could ask her, though, we were once again interrupted, this time by a soothing, familiar dark energy that surrounded me. Aanya’s eyes widened at someone behind me as I tilted my jaw back to find Dakota looking down at me, his warm, rough hands touching my shoulders in a firm grip. I shivered under the heat of it.

  “You left without me,” he accused, a hand running up my throat and jaw. My breathing hitched as his eyes flared with something that had my entire center tightening.

  “Sorry Dakota.” I flushed slightly, leaning into his hand. “Aanya mentioned coming to the library, and I figured it was a good chance to check it out.”

  “Nice to meet you!” my new friend chirped, scanning over her laptop after a polite nod. I wasn’t positive, but I almost felt like she was purposefully avoiding looking at Dakota too much, and my wolf offered a pleased sound, clearly happy at that concept. Were we really that possessive? Yeah, it was possible that was the case.

  Dakota nodded in greeting before sitting down right next to me, his gaze still centered completely on me. It was overwhelming having someone like him give you their full attention. Even right now, his wolf was circling mine in a possessive way through our connection, making chills break out on my skin.

  “Oh, be right back!” Aanya hopped up, and I looked at her only briefly before meeting Dakota’s gaze again. I couldn’t help but be completely focused on… my mate? Was that true? The concept had scared me so much before coming to Silver Falls, but hadn’t I been extremely comfortable with these men since first meeting them? This connection seemed far different than any of the mating bonds that women in the pack at home had chosen. There was such a vast jump between the two, besides one being chosen and one seeming natural and almost instinctual to me.

  “Dakota?” I asked softly.

  “Yeah, little wolf?” He intertwined our fingers, bringing them to his lips as he brushed them gently in a compelling and sweet way.

  I let out a soft worried noise, giving into the urge. “Are we mates?”

  The question was simple, and there was really no way to misinterpret it. Yet his eyes glinted dangerously as he appeared to be slightly surprised, maybe even unprepared for my question, his grip tightening on my hand. Instead of responding right away, he leaned forward, cupping my jaw and seeming to gauge my emotions before pressing our foreheads together. The movement had me sighing happily, but I didn’t forget that he had yet to answer my question. My other hand slipped up his chest and my eyes darted down to his lips, wondering if he would be okay with me kissing him.

  I still wanted his answer, but being this close together? It was hard to resist the urge to have his lips against mine. Needing them on mine. Then, either reading my mind, or on the same wavelength… he did exactly that.

  Dakota kissed me.

  A small whimper escaped my lips as his large hand tightened on my jaw while brushing my lips, pulling back slightly for just a moment before he took my mouth in a hard, demanding kiss. I leaned into him, feeling inexperienced but unable to help myself when it came to exploring his mouth. My tongue hesitantly darted out to run against his bottom lip as he groaned, my head tilting back slightly as he deepened the kiss.

  I wanted to crawl on his lap, but I managed to restrain myself, gripping his shirt tight enough that when he began to pull back, my wolf let out a whine of frustration. Before I could stop myself, I nipped his bottom lip, and a vicious growl broke from his throat, making my entire body tremble with need.

  “Fuck, you are so goddamn beautiful.” His voice was rough and low as he ran his thumbs along my cheekbones in an oddly gentle motion. I pressed forward again, brushing our lips once more, as blood pressed between us. He tasted… amazing.

  “The mate thing?” I finally asked softly. See? I could be focused when needed.

  His throat produced a rumble. “Yes, I am one of your mates.”

  “One of them?” I echoed, my breathing halting slightly.

  Dakota nodded sharply. “It’s why I would suggest we wait to talk about this until later… specifically back at the dorms.”

  Oh.

  I blinked, a small urge of overwhelmed excitement running through me as I nibbled my bottom lip. Mates? The notion had me feeling both elated and cautious. It seemed far too good to be true. I didn’t deserve one mate, let alone multiple mates.

  My face heated as I started processing what that would mean. I went to go say something, needing more answers, but not knowing where to start… but then Aanya was there. My gaze flickered up to someone that was with her. Someone that legitimately surprised me.

 

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