Page 1 of Confusing Hearts

Chase

Chapter 1

I dropped my bag on the floor and collapsed onto my bed. Three weeks at home had been enough. I loved my family, but they had tried to cram so much into my Christmas vacation that I was exhausted. I knew they loved me and didn’t want to waste a second of it, but I was ready for the break.

I had an easy semester of classes planned. My roommate was studying abroad, so even though I lived in the frat house with thirty-four other shifters, mostly wolves, I was looking forward to the space and the quiet. Okay, as quiet as a popular frat house could be.

Archibald Reynolds College, jokingly called the ARC, was a college specifically for shifters, all kinds of shifters. Archibald Reynolds had been a big proponent of shifter integration at the turn of the century. He had worked closely with our Grand Council that governed the wolf shifters to bring peace among all shifters, yet only in the last five years had there ever been a place to truly encourage that philosophy.

My brother, Liam, had been one of the first graduates of the ARC. I was in my third year now and loved everything about it. I had been raised in a wolf pack, like most wolf shifters. Going to the ARC had opened my eyes to so much I had never been aware of, or even thought about, if I were being honest.

The pack gave us securities that other species simply didn’t have. I had known my pack, the Westin Pack, was better off than most. I just didn’t realize how much so, until I went to college and got to know people with very different backgrounds from my own.

I groaned at the knock on my door. “What?”

“Hey man, heard you were back,” Matt Williams, one of my frat brothers, said, walking in and plopping down on my roommate’s bed.

Matt was a jaguar shifter, and while it was rare for felines and canines to mix, he had insisted on rushing Delta Omega Gamma his freshman year. We were in the same class and despite our differences, we’d hit it off immediately. He had put up with so much more as a pledge than I had endured. They even nicknamed him Kitty, and yet it never seemed to faze him. I asked him once why he was so determined to be a D.O.G. and he said that he had always admired the sense of group, of family, that was instilled in the wolf packs. Felines tended to be loners, and he craved that bond with other people like the canines had.

“What do you want, dude?” I asked him.

“There’s a new sorority that opened up two houses down. They’re having an open party tonight. You’re going, right?”

“I just got back. I don’t know if I’m up for a party tonight.”

“Chase Westin not up for a party? What happened to you, man? You’re the ultimate party animal. I’ve never seen you turn one down. Never.”

“My nephews kicked my ass. You try keeping up with a one-year-old and a seven-year-old hellbent on spending every waking moment with you. I love them, but I don’t know how my brothers do it. I’m exhausted. Need a vacation from my vacation.”

“You can sleep when you’re dead. Now get dressed and let’s go,” Matt told me, throwing my own phrase back at me. I had told my pledge class that every single day freshman year. It was what got us through to become full brothers of Delta Omega Gamma.

I kicked him out, grumbling in protest as I got dressed for the evening. A few minutes later I met up with Matt and two of our other brothers as we walked down the short distance to the new sorority.

“D.O.G.’s in the house!” Matt announced as we entered. Our friends scattered to check out the new place.

A tall, thin girl with long, straight, black hair approached us with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. She was sleek and sexy as hell. Despite the off-limits vibe she was sending, my interest in the night immediately piqued. I was up for a little challenge.

“Dogs are not welcome here,” she said with complete arrogance.

I grinned just enough that I knew my dimples were showing. Most girls found them irresistible, but this one seemed completely unaffected.

“You must be new here, 'cause I’m sure I would have noticed you otherwise.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t waste your breath. Your kind is not welcome here. My sisters and I just transferred. Most of us were forced to come to discourage this sort of nonsense and fraternization between species.”

“Oh, now, come on, darling,” one of my brothers, Brett, said, approaching and putting on his best Southern charm. “This is the ARC, where we encourage interspecies relations.” He waggled his eyebrows and for a brief moment the ice queen thawed.

Game on, I thought. “Ignore the coyote. What’s your name, gorgeous?”

She frowned at me. “You are clearly nothing but trouble.” She turned to Brett with a look of disgust. “Coyote?” She whipped her long, shiny hair as she turned and stalked away.

“Come on, Chase. What was that all about?” Brett demanded.

“Dude, you totally cut in on my game.”

“What game?” Matt laughed. “Hey, Ayanna.” The ice queen turned and cocked her head in interest. “Don’t be such a bitch.”

She hissed as she turned and stomped off.

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