His grin widened.
“But you will because you’ll want my help to get rid of what I’m smelling.”
I wrinkled my nose at him and faced the front of the room where Belemina watched us from her seat. She winked at Fenris.
“Adira swapped out the human for you? I’m not sure if I should pout or cheer.”
“Cheer. That’s what Eliana’s doing.”
Her gaze flicked to me.
“Yeah, real cheerful there,” she said before focusing on the instructor.
I shot Fenris a dark look before lowering my hand from my lips. Though I tried, it was impossible to pay attention to a lecture on how humans like to congregate in parks, which made for easy feeding. Instead, my thoughts drifted to where I should start looking for the druids.
The class ended with me hearing very little.
Fenris stood and waited for me.
“Care to tell me a tale while we walk to Self-paced Science and Algebra?”
“Once, there was a werewolf who was too nosy. He died. The end.”
He chuckled and tucked his hands into his jean pockets, in that relaxed way he had about him, and followed me from the room. I, however, moved a bit more aggressively through my peers than normal, and a few stepped hastily out of my way after a glance at my expression.
“I think I might need to collect on my payment a little early today. Whatever happened this morning put you in a bad mood,” Fenris commented when we reached Ashlyn’s class.
“You’d be in a bad mood, too, if you had to endure the morning I had,” I grumbled, trying not to make eye contact with Eugene, Ashlyn’s hopefully temporary replacement.
“Do you think so?” Fenris asked.
His question gave me pause, and I looked at him as we sat next to each other. Did I think Fenris would be in a bad mood if Piepen had sprinkled on him? No. Fenris never seemed to be in a bad mood. In fact, he probably would have clapped the annoying little brownie on the shoulder and offered him more man-to-man advice.
Sex advice from Fenris.
My insides went hot and cold at the thought.
Instead of answering his question, I picked up my tablet. The equations danced in my vision and didn’t settle into any sensical meaning. My mind was too busy dwelling on the fact that Fenris was a better person than I was. What was wrong with me?
“Advanced Algebra? Nice. Are you hoping to be an engineer or architect?”
Setting the tablet down, I took a long-suffering breath.
“We both know that will never be an option for me.” I met his gaze. “Fenris, you need to complain to your father that Adira changed your schedule. She’s meddling with your future. I might never be able to leave here, but you will. You need to study.”
He leaned in with a grin.
“I’ve already passed everything. The only reason I don’t have my mark yet is that I’m not mated. I’m here to spend time with the ladies, whichever ones they see fit to throw in my path. You’re this week’s flavor, and I don’t mind the change.”
“You passed everything?”
“Yep. Don’t forget these classes are online.”
“So you’re just here because you’re mateless?”
“Yep.”
“Since when?”
“All my life.”
I gave him a flat look, which only amused him further.
“I mean, how long have you been attending classes with no other purpose than to be around the females?”
He looked at me thoughtfully.
“It was the summer after you arrived. I’d had the brilliant idea that, if I finished all my work, they’d give me my mark, and I could spend a few years traveling the world. Apparently, single wolves aren’t allowed to travel.”
“I’m so sorry, Fenris. I hadn’t realized how trapped you were.”
He shrugged.
“It’s not so bad. I just needed to adjust my thinking.”
I didn’t see how that could make his situation any better, and he chuckled at my skeptical expression.
“Instead of thinking of myself as trapped, I consider myself in charge.”
I snorted.
“I’m serious. The pack leaders are worried about me finding a mate, so they order pack runs. To keep things interesting, I’ve turned them into games of hide-and-seek. The girls are less disappointed when nothing happens since they’re having fun. The pack leaders don’t say anything because I’m spending time with the girls like they want. But even though I’m doing what they want, I’m not really. You know?”
I slowly nodded, seeing what he meant.
“You should try it. Adira might give you orders, but you’re the one who decides how to carry them out.”
I thought of Adira’s not so subtle order to go to the Roost nightly.
“I’ll think about it,” I said.
“You have a lot you’re thinking about. I can’t wait to talk about all of it in Self-Discovery.”
“Like you haven’t been talking about it enough?” Eugene said with a bland glance at Fenris while he stood by Yanet.
The dwarf rolled her eyes at us. “Some of us are actually trying to learn here.”
A flush crept into my cheeks, and I murmured a quick apology before picking up my tablet.
Fenris relaxed into his chair and seemed to lose himself in his thoughts. As much as I tried not to do the same, I kept going back to what he’d said. Everyone was always trying to get me to do what they wanted. The more I fought it, the more they pushed. Adira wanted me to start hanging out at the Roost. How could I do that my way? I loved the music and hanging out with Ash—
A heaviness settled in my chest. Why was I thinking of appeasing Adira instead of getting out there and finding Ashlyn? Because, for a selfish moment, I’d forgotten. I hoped that wherever Ashlyn was, she was safe and unharmed. The thought of her shivering and hungry as she wandered the expanse of Uttira ate at me.
“You okay?” Fenris asked softly.
“Yeah. Fine.”
The bell rang, saving me from further explanation. We walked in silence to Self-Discovery and found LuAnn waiting at the door. She stopped us from filing in with the other students.
“Good morning, Eliana. Adira has modified room 11B for you. Fenris, Adira would like you to accompany Eliana on her self-discovery for as long as you’re able.” The bell rang again, and the last student hurried in around us. “I’ll check on you both in a bit.”
My stomach sank as LuAnn closed the door, leaving Fenris and me in the hall. I could only imagine how Adira modified the room for me.
“Come on,” he said. “I still want to hear about that smell.”
I cringed and continued down the hall toward our assigned room.
“I really don’t want to talk about it.”
“An answer like that is only going to make me more curious.”
“You’ll survive your curiosity.”
He gave me a speculative look then opened the door for me.
“I thought my curiosity was going to kill me.”
Distracted by the current topic, I managed several steps into the room before the décor registered. The space looked nothing like a classroom and everything like a dominatrix’s bedroom.
The scent of Fenris’s ever-present lust wrapped around me so tightly that I jumped when the door closed with a gentle click. I could taste his sweetness through the skunk flavor lingering in my mouth and fought to breathe through my growing panic. My hands shook, and my hunger roared to life, clawing at my insides.