I would still need to be cautious… but I couldn’t lie, the concern he seemed to show for me had me letting my walls down a bit. I mean, it was possible he wanted something from me, but that shoe had yet to drop. Instead, he had been focused on getting me food and making sure I was warm. I had never had someone take such a vested interest in my well-being before, and it was amazing.
I felt like the Goddess was probably getting tired of me, because I may have shot up another prayer hoping this wouldn’t backfire. Then again, maybe it would be better if that did happen. I mean, it couldn’t be healthy for me to feel this amazing because of one man being around me, right? That seemed like emotional dependence.
Maybe I really did just need some food and sleep right now. I wasn’t feeling like myself, and I worried about what that would mean for my decision-making.
Julian’s fingers tightened around mine again, almost like he was continuing to reassure himself that we were still holding hands. I don’t think he realized that unless he wanted me to, I didn’t plan on letting go. His warm, rough hand was much larger than my own, and the small action had me feeling far safer than I had assumed I would be today. Even amongst this overwhelming situation.
The six Eclipse buildings were aptly named as I studied the way they curved in a half-moon-like shape that followed a rounded circular driveway. In the very center of the space was a green area that was currently covered in snow with several massive pines growing skywards towards the icy blue skyscape above us. The shade matched almost perfectly the massive span of lakefront that I could see between each building we passed.
Despite the frigid nature of the environment, it was stunning, and I found myself eager to curl up in the dorms and watch as it snowed. I may have preferred to be warm, but the arctic wolf inside of me very much loved the snowy landscape.
I did wonder what it would be like to walk on the beach when it warmed up. The natural slope of land down towards the water looked like the perfect place to explore, and I wondered if Julian would join me. If we were still talking by then…
“This is a lot different than the city,” I admitted.
It was true—the massive amount of natural surroundings in comparison to the cold urban structures I’d grown up around reminded me of something out of a movie. Instead of loud trains hurling by your place every half an hour, there was the sound of icy waves crashing against the shores. It was a nice change, but a bit odd if we were being honest.
Even the surrounding town of Kirkwall seemed absent of any massive city structures, the taxi driver pointing out the beautiful small downtown area that we passed, somewhat reminding me of a Hallmark movie.
I loved those. I knew a lot of pack members, mainly Theresa’s friends that I occasionally interacted with, said they were cheesy, but it was one of the only channels that we had on constantly around the house during the holidays, despite both Theresa and Gerald claiming they hated it. Apparently they didn’t hate it enough to shut it off, which I was thankful for because they were already fairly strict on what I watched.
One aspect that had been nice about homeschooling? When they would leave for the day, I could watch whatever I wanted, but I’d always had to keep an eye on the door, because if they caught me watching something they didn’t approve of, I knew Gerald would lose it. Sometimes it just wasn’t even worth the risk.
I shivered, thinking about how scary he was angry, the way his light blue eyes would turn black and his fair skin would flush purple as his magic would surround him in an aggressive and terrifying way, making it feel as though he truly was going to shift. The concept had me twitching nervously as my wrist pulsed in pain. At least when it came to reading, they didn’t question it as much. I mean, they didn’t bother checking if I was actually learning anything from homeschooling, so for all they knew, everything I was reading was related to that.
“Where did you grow up in Chicago?” Julian asked curiously.
“In the Whitepaw Pack territory, South Side of the city.” I assumed he knew I was from Chicago because of where we had met. I honestly only knew the name of our pack and where the territory ended. I had no idea what other packs were nearby or how many were in the city as a whole.
In fact, how long had he been on the train? Did he live in the city or come from there? Was that the set of eyes I’d felt on me this entire time? I had so many questions, I was nearly bursting at the seams, wanting to ask him but afraid to. There was too much I didn’t know, and I was worried I would embarrass myself.
In retrospect, I should have taken a more vested interest in learning about the supernatural world, but at the time, I had wanted to spend as little time as possible focusing on it. Now it was biting me in the butt.
Julian pulled out his ID and turned to face me, confusion clouding his handsome face. “You grew up in a pack? And they just sent you here by yourself?”
I blinked at him, because I was confused in return by his line of questioning. “I mean, yeah—no one else from my pack would have applied here. I…”
I paused, not knowing if I was supposed to say the next part but deciding to risk it because I not only trusted Julian, which was probably naive of me, but I did worry that my situation was unusual.
“Effie?” he urged gently, his fingers brushing my cheek in a gentle but commanding touch. Despite the cold, my skin heated under his touch and gaze.
“I don’t even know why I’m here, Julian,” I admitted in a small whisper, the wind breaking past us and over our skin. “I just received an acceptance letter with a full scholarship about three days ago. I never even applied.”
The man instantly shuttered his emotions before he looked around, his eyes darting to the building next to us before he tapped his ID against a dark electric panel. It lit up green, and he led me into the foyer with an arm wrapped around my shoulder as if he was worried about something. I would have asked him what, but almost instantly I was surrounded by a warm blast of heat, making me sigh happily, loving that they had heating here because in our apartment building it had always been very hit or miss.
I imagined being on the lake made for some freezing nights, so this was a positive.
“We need to talk more about this later.” His voice was low and relaxing, but there was an undertone of serious concern that I didn’t completely understand.
Was it something I said? Maybe it had to do with not having applied here. Did he think it was a mistake as well? Surely they would have caught that when I signed in… right?
Instead of overthinking, I focused my energy on looking around the massive foyer and bottom floor we had just walked into. The floor, a gorgeous dark wood tile, was covered by an assortment of warm rugs and large, masculine furniture spread throughout the triangular room. Where the pointed end of the triangle would have been was a glass feature wall that showed off the lake. I couldn’t see all of it, the elevator column in the center of the room somewhat blocking the view, but I could tell that it was stunning.
There weren’t any other students down here, but I could smell an array of different scents. Some were pleasing, while others were neutral or bothered my nose. I stepped closer to Julian, inhaling his earthy scent as I curled into myself slightly.
“This is really nice.”
He looked down at me, his brow dipping as he probably wondered why I sounded so awkward. Instead of saying anything, he led me towards a dark pair of doors that opened into an elevator. Goddess. Living on the seventh floor of the apartment building at home would have been a much more pleasant experience if we had a functioning elevator. Unfortunately, it had always been broken, at least as long as I’d lived there. It was enough having to walk to the store, walk home with your items, but to also climb up all those stairs? Yeah, not very fun.