Page 19 of Kiki

At one point, I even questioned my sexuality but quickly recognized that while I could appreciate a pretty girl, I did not want intimate contact with them. And when I went to the lake, I had no trouble imagining some of those boys wearing even less than they currently had on. But when I went out with a few of them, it was only once, and I did not appreciate having to fight off their octopus moves.

Finally, I had come to the conclusion that only a mate would be worth the effort and emotional investment of a relationship. If I ever found mine.

Sitting in the front seat while Artemis drove back toward the school, I wondered if they would want me to come to their room. And what I would say if they asked. They seemed sure I was their mate, and my wolf rumbled in agreement every time that thought rolled through my mind. So…if they invited me in for a while, I would accept. Even if it scared me to death, my nipples were diamond hard inside the demi bra I wore and my panties uncomfortably damp.

Conversation on the way home was casual and friendly. I had steeled myself for having to talk about uncomfortable things in my past, but we instead chatted about classes and people at school and what might be on the menu in the dining hall the next day—which was never announced in advance but was always good. In short, our life in common, and nothing could have made me feel more included and welcomed to the Werewolf Academy.

They were so at ease with one another and didn’t seem in the least concerned about sharing my company. If these three were not my mates, then I didn’t want any at all.

We rode up in the elevator to our dorm floor and exited, still talking without any awkward pauses or topics I was not ready to address. I wasn’t sure if that was a deliberate decision or just how awesome they naturally were.

Or maybe everything I had heard about mates was true? Dare to dream…

“This is you.” Neo paused outside my door and bent to brush a kiss over my lips. “Thank you for a nice time.”

My knees went weak, and I braced myself against the doorframe as each of the other two followed suit. Kisses and thanks. Wow. “I should be thanking all of you. Dinner was great and that dessert we shared was the best part.”

Ian thrust out his lower lip in an adorable pout. “Are you saying we weren’t the best part?” The other two frowned, brows drawing down in a ferocious glare.

I gasped, reaching out to all three of them at the same time. “No. I didn’t mean that. Of course you were, I…”

Their laughter rang out in the hallway and while I glowered in return, the door behind me opened and I stumbled backward. Dahlia caught me and settled me on my feet again. She wore her favorite silky black pj’s, her sleep mask pushed up on top of her sleep-tousled hair. “What are you doing to my roomie and why is it so loud?”

All three jaws dropped, and the trio tripped over one another apologizing to Dahlia as if she was one of their professors who had caught them doing something naughty.

“It’s a school night, you know.” She propped her hands on her hips and squinted at them. “Our girl needs her rest. Now, if you ever expect to see her again in this lifetime, you will go home and think about your behavior.” And with that, she kicked the door closed and turned away from it.

I wasn’t sure what had just happened, but as footfalls moved down the hall, she cupped her hands over her mouth and fell back on her bed in what I could only describe as a fit, until peals of giggles escaped around her fingers. “You little minx. What was that about?”

She wiped her streaming eyes and grinned at me. “They kept you out until all hours and then woke me up.”

“It can’t be that late. We just had dinner.” I fished in my purse and pulled out my phone to check the time. “Oh gods. It’s almost three.”

“That’s right, missy. I assumed you’d gone home to bed with them, but instead, you are going to have to go to class on almost no sleep. Not good.”

I brushed that aside. “I’ve never needed a lot of sleep anyway, but it felt like we were just in the restaurant for such a short time. That place sure stays open late.” I pictured the caves in my mind and suddenly realized that by the time we left, we might have been the only ones left. The light was always dim, so it wasn’t as if the darkness in the corners stood out, but they must have been shutting off fixtures as the place emptied. “Wow. I guess nobody chased us out because Neo is friends with the owner.”

“Whatever it is, you need to get your fanny in bed and grab what shut-eye you can. I want every detail of your evening, but I’ll get it from you in the morning. Now…sleep!” She crawled between the covers and pulled her sleep mask down. “And brush your teeth quietly.”

I considered skipping the brushing entirely, but after all that chocolate, it seemed like a bad idea, so I did as instructed, quietly, and then grabbed my nightgown from the hook on the back of the bathroom door, changed, and fell into bed, sure I’d stay awake but falling into darkness within seconds. It truly had been another long day.

Chapter Seventeen

Despite my confidence about not needing much sleep, I was massively brain-fogged in the morning and gulped a large coffee before refilling the travel mug I’d been issued with my other school supplies. I appreciated that the Werewolf Academy was doing their best not to use a lot of disposables, unlike my high school that filled all the dumpsters and from there, the landfills. Even the takeaway snack either came in fully recyclable containers or, more commonly, ones that had to be dropped off later to be washed and reused.

Like the breakfast sandwich I grabbed in its adorable steel clamshell embossed with the school logo. I would tuck it in my backpack and drop it on the conveyer belt at lunchtime. My first class this morning was not math, which meant I didn’t get to see Ian, but as exhausted as I was, I didn’t mind. I just wanted to get through my classes and grab a nap after school.

Grateful my seat was at the back of the class, I slid down low, hoping to be unnoticed and wondered if I could manage at least a few minutes of closed eyes to carry me through the rest of my classes where the instructors or professors were more aware than this one. I mean…Shifter Art History? So far, it had been all about which of the famous painters and stuff throughout history were really among us. All theory, no real facts, and I would gladly swap it out for another study hall had it been allowed.

“Hey!” Someone tapped me on the arm, and I shrieked. “Calm down, I was just going to tell you, you dropped your…whoa!”

I blinked furiously, trying to focus, while at the same time close my mouth and stop the noise. At the front of the room, everything on the teacher’s desk—laptop, notebook, pens, sharpies, laser pointer, and whatever else she dragged in with her—had lifted into a whirlwind and was spinning gently as if in some kind of weird art display.

Kind of appropriate for the class but not for my life, and I stuffed my textbook and tablet into my backpack and stumbled for the door. No plan, just a decision to choose flight over fight. As the door closed behind me, I heard the thud and rattle of things landing on the desk then the distinct crash of breaking glass. Please let it be her coffee mug, but the outraged shriek implied something more like her laptop. Nothing I could do now except plan for my expulsion.

Why was I so sensitive to touch? I had not been in the past, although I’d never enjoyed uninvited handling. Probably why I reacted so strongly to the octopus boys. That was a thousand times stronger now, with even a delicate brush of my arm by someone, sending me into total freakout and unleashing the wind apparently.

I needed to be locked away somewhere before a pat on the back led to a tornado. I couldn’t even try to deny it all anymore. I was a danger to myself and others. I couldn’t pin down how any of it worked. Like…I was all the way at the back of the class, yet it was the teacher’s stuff that got caught up? Not the backpack of the student who had tried to get my attention? I found an alcove and sat on the carved wooden bench there, unsure where else to go or what else to do. Maybe the populace would be safe from me here.

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