Page 6 of Fated to the Wolf Prince

FIVE

Brielle

Humiliation, burning and miserable, nearly ate me alive as I ran full-tilt through the front door of our dormitory, and streaked back up the stairs toward my room. My roommate hadn’t been there when Gael dropped us off, but after fifteen minutes of waiting, I’d come back down to grab my own suitcase. Of course, it hadn’t been there. So I’d wandered out front, looking for Gael—and heard his voice coming from the back of the building.

What I’d heard after that nearly broke me. The man, Kane, thought I was his mate? And hedidn’t want mebecause I was too weak?

All my worst fears were confirmed in that one moment, and I didn’t stop to think, just bolted. I was going to take a shower hot enough to burn away the embarrassment of this awful encounter, and then never make eye contact with the man again as long as I lived. He thought I was his mate? He had another thing coming. I didn’t want a mate at all, let alone a pompous one who cared more aboutdesignationthan a person’s character. He could take his mate bond and stuff it, right up his egotistical arse.

I slammed the door to my room shut, flipped the lock, and shoved open the bathroom door. The big, beautiful tiles and the gleaming bathroom fixtures were blurred by my tears as I wrenched open the glass shower stall door and cranked the water all the way to hot. I was going to scrub the memory of his hurtful words right out of my skin, if that’s what it took to forget his dismissive, hateful tone. I stripped off my van-scented clothes and kicked them into a pile, then rested my forehead against the crystal-clear glass door, letting my eyes flutter closed while I waited on the water to heat.

At least no one else knew. I would never speak a word of it, not even to Leigh and Shay. There was no need to spread my humiliation around, and surely he’d be avoiding me, so, no harm, no foul.No mate either.

An insistent knock at the outer door pulled me from my self-righteous anger. It was probably my roommate. Didn’t she have a key? I pushed the bathroom door closed, so our first meeting wouldn’t be with me buck naked. The room began filling with steam as another persistent knock pounded on the door. With a groan, I grabbed one of the fluffy white towels from the floating shelf on the wall, and wrapped it around myself. It coveredmostlyeverything, but I had a little more junk in the trunk than the average wolf, and there was a slit over my thigh that I couldn’t get closed.

Maybe she’d lost her key. I stomped across the room, trying to force down my annoyance in favor of a friendly smile I really wasn’t feeling. I’d let her in, say hello, and then lock myself in the bathroom. We could get acquainted tomorrow. When I snatched the door open, it wasn’t a she-wolf on the other side, butKane. The one who not only thought I was his mate after one glance, but who’d also immediately dismissed and rejected me. Standing there, looking hotter than sin, while I was in—

I felt the blood drain from my face as we locked eyes, and then his dropped to skim down over my towel-clad form. The look was as potent as a physical caress, and I hated my traitor body as goose bumps appeared on my skin everywhere his gaze trailed over me. After a moment, his attention snapped back up to my face, and we stood there in heavy silence.

My anger began to build, shoving away the desire that he’d pulled up from my belly with his blatant perusal. I took a step back and slammed the door as hard as I could. But rather than a satisfyingthwackinto the frame like I’d expected, he stopped the door with lightning-fast reflexes, fingers wrapping around the edge and pushing it carefully back open.

I bit my bottom lip as it swung wide, revealing his thundercloud expression. He wasn’t snarling—yet—but he waspissed. His anger and dominance hung thick in the air, and this close, I could smell his addictive scent—orange and cinnamon, like a delicious, glazed gingerbread cookie. My mouth was watering, which was absolutely the wrong reaction to a pissed-off alpha. Why wasn’t I freaking out right now, or, I don’t know—dissolving into a puddle of psi-wolf goo on the floor at his feet? A question for another time, when he wasn’t looking at me like he wanted to set me on fire for breathing.

“Why were you eavesdropping on our conversation?” There was a hint of a growl to his question, and I bristled at the insinuation that I was somehow in the wrong.

“Excuse me? Are you kidding me right now?” I took an angry step forward, the back of my arm nearly brushing his chest where I clutched my towel tighter—crap, I was still naked—to cover my boobs. “Gael was supposed to find someone to help bring up one of my bags, and when it wasn’t here, I went down looking for it. I heard his voice and walked around toask him where my bag was.”

He lifted a single eyebrow—skeptical of my story, no doubt—even though it was true. We wouldn’t worry about the part where I’d sagged against the building, more distraught than I had a right to be about his frank and unkind assessment before I’d bolted.

“I’m sorry you had to overhear that.”

I rocked back on my heels, shocked that he wasn’t fighting me, angry, accusing… He was just going to apologize? When he was the one who’d said the mean things to begin with?

What was probably meant to appease my temper only stoked it higher.

I stepped forward and surprised myself with the growl edging my words. “Yes, poor weak woman, too beneath you to be considered as a true mate. I couldn’t possibly handle being told you don’t think we’re compatible. Well, listen here, buddy—I don’t want to beyourmate either! So, stay away from me, and everything will be just fine.” I had taken an unconscious step forward, but didn’t realize it until his eyes lit with amusement, and he dropped his gaze down to take in my arm, pressed tightly against his T-shirt-clad chest.

Suddenly flustered at the heat radiating off him, I took a pointed step back inside the room, not dropping my glare.

“What’s your name, little wolf?”

The words were barely more than a low rumble, so why did they hit me like a streak of liquid heat straight to my core?

I pursed my lips, stubbornly refusing to answer. Then he stepped forward, crowding into my personal space. He was close enough that the little hairs on the back of my arm brushed him, but nothing more. Nottruecontact. So why was my arm tingling like I’d stuck my finger in a light socket? Flustered again, I tipped my head back, looking up at his softening expression as he studied my face like he wanted to memorize it.

No, he doesn’t want you! He thinks you’re weak and unsuitable!

The little voice in the back of my head was still screaming at me, but when he lifted a large, tanned hand and offered it to me, palm up, my breath caught in my throat. My own hand floated up without my permission, hesitating briefly before sinking slowly down to brush against his waiting palm.

As soon as my fingertips brushed his calloused skin, I felt it.Heat. It exploded through me, feeling like a thousand stars bursting, flooding my veins at once. I gasped, pressing down into the sensation, and clasping his palm against my own.

He grunted, rocking back slightly on his heels, as we stood there like idiots, holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes.

“Hey, Brielle, what— Oh. Well,hello there, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Delicious. What’s your name?” Leigh’s flirtatious voice sent a prickle of unease through me, and I barely bit back a snarl at my best friend. When he stepped back and turned to answer her, he dropped my palm, and I felt the loss like a physical wound.

“Kane.”

The single word fell from his lips, but it didn’t click until I heard Shay’s soft gasp from behind Leigh.

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