Page 25 of Hooves & HeartStrings

thirteen

“Okay, this place is a lot better than I expected,” Hayes says.

I’m not paying him any attention because my mind is still on my pretty little mate who just left me standing here.

She might not be willing to talk to me right now, but I meant what I said. I’m going to prove to her that I’m sorry and that she means the world to me. Might not throw in the fact that I love her and she’s my mate right away. I’m trying to win her back, not send her packing.

“Lucius, you alright man?”

“Sorry, what?” I blink, turning around to find Hayes looking at me oddly. “Yeah, sorry what were you saying?”

“The room. It’s massive,” he says and I take a moment to really take in the room. He’s right. Brows raised, I find myself impressed. There’s not much to the room, just two beds, two dressers and two desks. But everything looks to be the right size for us. The beds are king and the desks have enough room for us to sit and work.

“The pamphlet does say these dorms are newly built. It’s like they designed it so that it’s big enough to accommodate monsters.”

Another point for Coral Springs in my book.

“That sexy little human tour guide did mention how eager the school is to make this program work. I’m just glad they are putting their money where their mouth is, if you know what I mean.”

Jealousy shoots through my veins. “What did you just call her?”

“Who?” He looks at me confused.

“The tour guide,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Oh.” He flashes me a grin. “Sexy. I mean, you have eyes, man, you have to admit, she is fine as hell.”

“Don’t talk about her like that,” I snarl, breathing roughly through my nose as my fists clench in anger.

“Ohhh, looks like Lucius has a crush.” Garrett chuckles as he steps into the room. “Relax, man. We haven’t even been here for an hour and you're already calling dibs on the pretty human? What would your mate think?” he asks and I want to punch that smug look off his face.

“That is my fucking mate,” I growl and his eyes widen.

“Wait, what? Really?”

“Yes. Were none of you paying attention when she introduced herself? She told you her name.” I swing my gaze between the two of them.

Hayes gives me a guilty look as he scratches the back of his head. “Not really,” he says hesitantly. “I was kind of distracted by her tits, if I’m being honest.”

“I’m going to fucking kill you!” I roar, launching myself at him. His eyes widen in surprise as he stumbles back, but I don’t get to take a swing at the fucker because Garrett grabs me and pulls me back.

“Hey, man, relax. We didn’t mean anything by it. We didn’t know she was your girl, okay?”

Chest heaving, I pull myself out of his arms and shoot a glare at Hayes. “Don’t fucking look at her like that again. Not her ass, not her breasts, got it?”

“Yeah, man.” Hayes nods. “Like Garrett said, I didn’t mean anything by it. Yes, she’s a good-looking girl. But she’s your girl. You're our best friend. We would never make a move on her.”

I can see the sincerity in his eyes. Both of them are known to be what some might call players, but they are loyal friends and I trust that they won’t try anything.

“Plus, this school is just swimming with sexy human girls.” Hayes cracks a grin.

“Yeah.” Garrett chuckles. “I don’t think we’re going to have any trouble finding a woman.”

“Oh,” Hayes pips up. “Maybe you could ask her if she has any hot single friends?”

“No.” I give him a blank look. “You are not going to fuck your way through my mate's friends. That's just a messy situation waiting to happen.”

“Fine.” He rolls his eyes. “We’ll look elsewhere.”

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