I was also glad that she had enough respect to not act like some of the women on this campus. Unlike other shifters, the blood-bonded packs made a point of not fucking around casually with others. Well, at least we didn’t, and I was pretty sure Caedmon’s friends felt similarly. There was absolutely no point. Since the start of college, we had been just waiting for our mate, knowing it was possible we wouldn’t find her until after we graduated. Luckily, that wasn’t the case. I think they had hoped this school would attract the best mates, and in the case of Effie being here, that was definitely accurate.
I didn’t know exactly how to describe the surety that came with Effie being my mate. It was instinctual and unquestionable. There had been her scent. Then the way my wolf and I had reacted, the world heightening into pinpoint focus upon first meeting her gaze. Even the automatic way I grabbed her hand when we were at the train station. All of it was just natural. She was my mate. She was our mate, and I had never been so damn sure of something in my entire life.
“Why the change?” Effie asked softly as the woman adjusted all of her information for room and board. I somewhat loved that I had so much control over the system, despite not using it often. Then again, I had a feeling I would do pretty extreme shit for Effie, so maybe I would be using it more often than not.
“I want you close to me,” I admitted, only half explaining the truth of the situation. Her cheeks turned pink but she just nodded, not saying anything.
Was it wrong I loved her slightly shy mannerisms? Everything she did was fucking appealing to me.
“Here you go.” The woman offered my ID back as I realized we would need to get Effie’s as well at some point. Without another word, I led her from the room, knowing that she needed to eat whether she admitted it or not. My wolf was demanding it.
“What are you in the mood to eat?” I asked curiously.
Her brow furrowed. “I have no idea… honestly, I hadn’t thought past breakfast yesterday. It’s been a rather hectic couple of days.”
I blinked, letting out a low rumble, realizing she just admitted to not having eaten in more than twenty-four hours. Yeah, absolutely not. I ushered her into the small corner store in the union and began to point out an assortment of options, gathering a basket’s worth of shit. She was going to need far more than this, but it was going to have to work for now. Plus, my wolf was literally clawing inside of me, trying to get out or for us to take action to provide for her. My eyes moved to the bag I was holding, knowing there was no way that she had anything close to what she needed or deserved.
That would need to change.
“More.”
The low growl in my head had me nearly rolling my eyes because I didn’t think we could purchase anything else from here without causing a scene, so I would need to order some food to the dorms. Plus, I honestly think that it still wouldn’t be enough for him unless she had all the available food at her fingertips. I understood it, even agreed with it, but the change of having him so actively in my head was… a lot.
It was overwhelming just how much I wanted to give to a woman that I’d met less than an hour or ago. I couldn’t help it though—mating bonds were like that. I knew we would get to know each other better over time, but everything was instinctually telling me that this woman was the most important and most essential person on the planet. I didn’t disagree.
“I don’t need this much food,” she mused, looking up at me as I noticed a small smattering of freckles across her nose. Fuck. That was unfair. I swear, she turned more gorgeous the longer I looked at her.
As I pushed open the doors for her and we exited, I laughed lightly. “Who said this was all for you? I haven’t eaten today either.”
“Really?” She offered me a concerned look that had me wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing the top of her head gently.
As we crossed the icy, muddy street, the sound of a car horn had me scowling and looking over the top of her head to where a familiar truck had pulled up to the crosswalk. Caedmon offered me a wave and grin before his eyes flickered to Effie, who was no doubt offering him a curious glance. I almost laughed as I saw the instant change in his expression.
Good to know I wasn’t crazy.
Urging her ahead, I tried to offer him a warning look to chill out, but he didn’t see it, his gaze completely fixated on her. Not that I blamed him. Effie hopped over an icy puddle and I found myself smiling, distracted from glaring at the bastard.
When I looked back, his truck was backing up and driving up the Eclipse community driveway. Caedmon was going to scare the living hell out of her.
“Effie?” I kissed the top of her head, drawing her attention.
“Yes?”
“I am going to apologize in advance for what is about to happen.” I ran my fingers over the back of her neck, causing her to shiver slightly as she leaned into me. The sound of a heavy car door slamming shut had me raising my gaze back to where Caedmon was storming over.
“Are you fucking serious, Julian?” he demanded, his voice harsh and filled with anger. “This is why you needed to get back to campus, and you just decided to not fucking tell me?”
I frowned as Effie winced, shrinking back into me. Surprisingly, or maybe not so much considering the circumstance, worry flashed across Caedmon’s face at the sudden hesitancy in her mannerisms. He looked back at me and ran a hand over his face, clearly not knowing what to say.
“Effie,” I provided as she looked up at me, “this is Caedmon. He’s an asshole.”
“Effie.” He pinned her with a look, seeming to absorb her name and ignoring my insult. “How fu—how long have you been here?”
I chuckled at his attempt to not swear.
“Thirty minutes, maybe more?” she reasoned quietly as I saw him relax. See? The bastard had thought I’d been trying to hide her. Which I sort of had been… but he deserved it, in my mind. It wouldn’t have been forever, just long enough to get her comfortable with everyone else. But that clearly wasn’t an option anymore.
“Where is she staying?” he demanded from me, any softness gone when not directed towards her. I could feel the curiosity coming off of Effie, and I wondered how the hell she was going to deal with his bullshit. Maybe she wouldn’t have to—he seemed willing to adjust for her already.
“In our fifth room,” I leveled as his jaw clenched. I fucking dared him to say shit. Instead, he looked back at our mate and took a hesitant step forward. My brow raised, curious on how he was going to handle all this. Honestly, I couldn’t lie—this was kind of amusing.
His hand came under her jaw as he looked for something before he swore, turning away and storming towards the car, leaving Effie flushed and confused. I didn’t feel bad for him, because we all knew this would happen eventually.
“What’s wrong with him?” she asked sincerely, looking concerned.
Where the fuck did I begin with that?
“I’ll explain after we eat,” I promised as we made our way towards Eclipse Three. Suddenly, I was very glad the other two were busy for at least a bit. I knew it would be a shit show tonight with Caedmon moving back on our floor and Effie being here. I could guess how the other two would react, and even in best scenarios, it was going to be a fucking mess, unfortunately. In part because I knew how pissed they were at Caedmon still—especially Dakota.