Page 59 of Confusing Hearts

“Oh, nothing really. I just wanted to see if you and Chase wanted to do something with me and Matt. I mean the girls know about me, but I figured with most of them away we could go out and do something together. I think it would be fun.”

“We could do that, but off campus. Too many eyes and way too many people know him for on campus,” I sighed.And too many gossips around, I thought.

Just in the few days since our bonding, word had spread that Chase Westin was off the market. Apparently he had gone to some social with his fraternity on Tuesday night and a couple girls tried to come on to him. He had repelled them, explaining he wasn’t interested, but they weren’t taking no for an answer. One of them tugged on the collar of his shirt and exposed his neck, and my bond mark. It had been the talk and shock of the entire school, but he hadn’t once mentioned who his mate was, just confirmed he was mated and off the market.

A part of me was grateful he had abided by my request to keep it to ourselves, but a part of me wanted nothing more than for him to claim me publicly and let every female in a hundred-mile radius know he was mine.

It had been a tough week just being apart from him, but to have to listen to “Chase Westin this . . .” or “Chase Westin that . . .” or “Did you hear about Chase Westin?” everywhere I turned was grating on my last nerve.

Our last Friday classes had been cancelled. Calculus was a study session only class, which I didn’t need thanks to Chase. Graphic design was an online assignment while Professor Stone was snorkeling in the Bahamas. And the photography instructor was currently on bed rest with complications due to pregnancy.

I was ready to get away from the ARC and thought for a minute about seeing if I could take the Jeep and head to the cabin a day early. Then I remembered Anita had a car too.

“Hey, you’re done with classes for the day, right?”

She nodded.

“Want to get out of here?” I asked.

“Sure, what do you have in mind?”

“I’ve just handled as much of this place as I can take this week. I’m ready to go home.” Anita’s eyes widened, trying to assess the situation. As if on cue, a group of Thetas sat down in the booth behind me.

“Still no word on Chase Westin’s mate?” one of them said.

“No, we think maybe she doesn’t go to the ARC. He was out of town all last weekend,” said another.

“I just can’t even believe it. He was always so much fun to play with,” the third added as the others agreed.

Anita got up. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” As soon as we were out of earshot she added, “I don’t know how you’ve put up with that all week.”

“It hasn’t been easy,” I confessed.

We walked the short distance to the lot where her car was parked. Once we were settled in and on our way, she cranked up the music and we jammed along with the radio. It felt carefree, and tension started rolling off me as we headed for the cabin.

As we turned off the road and drove up the long driveway, something felt off. Anita looked over at me with concern, feeling the shift in my emotions. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but my panther was suddenly very agitated.

She parked the car, but I stopped her from turning off the ignition. I looked around. Nothing was obviously out of place, or at least that’s what I thought at first—on closer inspection, I noticed the front door was cracked open.

I didn’t hesitate. I picked up the phone and called Chase.

“Hey beautiful, what’s up?” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

“I think someone’s in the cabin, Chase. The door is cracked open, barely, but it looks like it from the car at least. Everything here feels wrong. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s creeping me out.”

“You’re at the cabin?” he questioned.

“Yes, Anita and I wanted to get away for some girl time, so I thought I’d show her around.”

“Do not get out of the car, Jenna. I need you to listen to your panther. If she’s giving warning, there’s a reason.” He sounded calm, but there was an edge to his voice I didn’t recognize. “Help is on the way. Just stay in the car. Drive over to the mall or something if you need to. I’ll be there soon to check it out.”

As soon as we hung up the phone, Anita asked, “What’s going on Jenna?”

“I don’t know. Probably nothing. I’ve never been out here by myself and I’m sure I’m just spooked,” I confessed.

“So, this is the cabin?” she asked.

I nodded.

---