“Boyfriend?” the driver asked, amused at something.
“We just met, actually,” I offered as he chuckled. I didn’t know what at, but it was a warm, friendly sound.
Pressing the back of my hand to my cheek, I realized just how red in the face I was and how exhilarated I felt. Maybe Silver Falls wouldn’t be all that bad.
One could hope, at least.
3
Julian De León
I tilted my head curiously, following the cab’s path long after most humans would have been able to, my chest tightening with every inch put between her and I. A low rumble nearly broke from my throat as my wolf howled in my ear, furious that we weren’t in that cab with her. Furious that there was another man breathing the same air as her. I attempted to shake myself, trying to clear my thoughts from the overwhelming emotions plaguing my brain.
I should have been with her. Keeping her safe. Marking her with our scent. Although, my jacket wrapped around her sexy frame helped for sure, and it would make shit clear on campus until I could get there.
This meeting was such bullshit. I knew I had deemed it somewhat essential before, but that was before I’d met Effie. Now it seemed stupid and rather childish. Although, I suppose it would be good to touch base with Caedmon and decide whether or not he should be informed of the change. The change that came in a small, curvy package that was way too fucking far away from me right now.
This meeting was going to be a quick one.
Normally I would look forward to seeing Caedmon, but considering Effie was on campus, I didn’t care about any of this bullshit. Couldn’t we just handle it over the phone? I suppose it was too late for that now. Running a hand through my hair with a sigh, I found myself wishing that her very light perfume of fresh snow and mint was still on me. In my space. I would need to fix that as soon as possible and get back to getting to know all about her.
Effie.
I didn’t even know her last name, but I wanted to know it. Badly. I wanted to know everything about her. I’d been on that goddamn train with her from Chicago, and it had only been in the last few minutes, while she’d been trying to carry that massive bag on her small shoulder, that I had finally made my move.
In part because my wolf had demanded it, even if there was a possibility that it would completely freak her out, some stranger approaching her. I couldn’t help it. It was a natural protective instinct that made itself known the moment I saw her. She was so tiny in comparison to her bag that watching her struggle with it felt like the purest form of torture. We couldn’t just have our mate carrying something that was nearly her size.
Mate. The concept seemed almost unbelievable.
I looked down at my phone, muttering a curse at the electric shock of anxiety my wolf sent through me. Neither of us liked the idea of her being away from us, and while I understood the necessity of it since her coming to the meeting would not only confuse her but make this situation messy as fuck with Caedmon, my wolf didn’t seem to give a fuck. Not that he cared about human hangups most days—it was one of the reasons I had to keep him under such lock and key.
I had felt Effie’s wolf the moment that I’d been close enough to scent her, my cock hardening to the point of pain, like how it was right now. My wolf had nearly escaped my control and ran out to greet hers, eager to show off and do whatever the fuck else he thought would keep her interested in us. While I didn’t necessarily disagree with the concept… I also knew he was a terrifying motherfucker, and the last thing I needed was to scare off my mate before she’d even learned my name.
With a tired sigh, wanting to stop his howling, I gave in to the urge to check on her, despite literally having seen her moments ago. I pulled up her number on my phone and shot off a quick message.
Me: Stay safe. Text me after you’ve signed in.
I sounded like a complete lunatic. I knew I did. I mean, seriously—what was I doing? I was all but demanding her to continue to talk to me? I had some serious problems, clearly.
Luckily, Effie had seemed to feel the very real connection between our creatures’ magic, to the point that she hadn’t questioned my odd protective and nearly possessive behavior towards her that had seeped out without my permission. I was a lucky bastard that she didn’t punch me in the face and walk away when I took her bag hostage. In part because I didn’t like her carrying heavy shit, but also, I knew she wouldn’t be able to leave me as easily.
I was pretty sure that made me a bastard.
Especially since now that we weren’t together, I was worried she would start to consider my behavior and realize how odd it was. After all, I had seen the hesitancy when I first approached her. Well… heat, confusion, and attraction, all showcased by the flush that had invaded her cheeks, and then… hesitancy paired with caution, the latter making me angry because for some reason she felt as though she had to be cautious around men. I didn’t disagree with the notion—most shifter men were pieces of shit—but I didn’t want her feeling that way around me. I wanted her to trust me. Completely. I knew that didn’t make sense since I was a stranger to her… sort of.
My brow furrowed, thinking through our conversation and getting the nagging feeling that my little mate was possibly a bit naive. That scared the hell out of me. SFU was not somewhere you could afford to be innocent to anything in our world.
I considered messaging one of the guys to keep an eye on her, just to make sure nothing happened until we could get back on campus. It was tempting, considering I had no idea how people would initially react to her. Effie inspired a reaction, to say the least. I couldn’t imagine someone seeing her and feeling absolutely nothing. I would claim that was actually impossible.
My wolf let out a deep growl, not liking the idea of anyone being around her yet. In fact, I was damn near positive that he would have preferred to hide her away. Lock her up in our dorm. Honestly, it didn’t sound half bad. Effie should not be alone on that fucking campus, that much I was sure of. It was the only thing I was sure of right now, besides the overwhelming urge to be near her.
I wanted to protect her. I wanted to keep a smile on her face. I wanted to fill her gaze with that flash of heat I’d seen when her light blue eyes had turned a shade of ocean blue. I wanted all of that. I wanted her. I could feel how fast my heart was beating, and while there was a completely strong, almost feral, physical reaction to her… it was more than that. There was a connection that occurred on a level that I didn’t even fully understand, something soul deep.
This was going to get complicated very fast. I could just tell. I was feeling extremes of emotions that I didn’t know I was capable of, all while my cock was frustratingly hard against my jeans despite knowing that we wouldn’t be getting relief any time soon… or ever, if she thought I was an absolute psycho.
The worst part? Just because she was my mate wouldn’t mean jack shit to the other shifters at our school, and considering bitten wolves were rare to start with, that meant most of the male population would notice her. Hell, even some of the female population. The only saving grace would be that most students were terrified of me and my pack.
Effie was a female bitten wolf.
Essentially, goddamn catnip to male wolf shifters of any variety. She quite literally breathed femininity, and her soft, plush lips and massive blue eyes had my entire body hardening with tension and lust. Both of which I had to fight, along with the aggressive urge to pin her against the train bench she had been slouched down on.