Page 24 of Beginning Fate

Disconnecting the call, I moved quickly, taking a fast shower and getting dressed. I didn't want to waste time drying my hair, so instead I just threw it up into a messy bun, grabbed my purse, and left.

The drive over to the school was short. I was good with directions and understood the layout after yesterday's tour. I easily found the cafeteria and parked as close to it as possible.

When I got out of the car, I took a deep inhale of breath.

Mate!my wolf excitedly announced.

I looked all around me before I even realized what I was doing. And then I froze. Denny was walking toward me like he'd known I was going to be there or something. But he also didn't seem to see me there as he was too busy talking and laughing with the Alpha from Alaska and his mate that were on the tour with us yesterday.

I watched them for a moment. They looked like old friends with Denny showing no trace of unease around the Alpha. In my experience Alphas could be intimidating, especially to those outside their Pack. Did that mean Denny was an Alaskan wolf? I was pretty sure he hadn't mentioned it yesterday.

It was obvious the moment he realized I was there.

Our eyes met across the parking lot, and it felt as if the whole world faded in the background, only leaving the two of us to exist in that moment.

Oh shit! This is going to be harder than I imagined.

He waved. There was something dorky but endearing about him. It made me smile and my hand seemed to wave back of its own accord.

He said something to the couple and then jogged over to me.

“Good morning, Lauren. I hope you slept well. Kylie was worried about how exhausted you were from the drive in. It took a lot for me not to drive over and check on you last night. And I hope you're not upset that I didn't call about Kylie staying on campus. I did text you though. You saw it, right?”

I hadn't, but I also wasn't mad about it.

Pulling out my phone, I scrolled through and found the text.

“Got it now,” I said.

“Oh shit. I should have called.”

“No, it's fine. Apparently, I needed sleep. In fact, Kylie basically woke me up less than an hour ago. They should still be at lunch.”

“Well, I'm right on time then. Damon, Karis, and I were heading there too. Care to join us?”

It felt as if I could feel his nerves. Was he afraid I'd say no?

Even if I wanted to, I wasn't sure I could. I was far too curious about him. More so than I even wanted to admit to myself.

“I'd love to,” I heard myself say.

What was happening to me?

I'd never taken interest in a guy before. My life was far too busy to waste time on dating or even dressing up to attract a man. There was simply no room in my schedule for it.

But with Kylie staying here, I honestly had no idea what to do with myself now. I knew time was no longer going to be an issue. In truth, I was going to have a lot of free time on my hands with no clue how to fill it.

I couldn't think about that right now.

Butterflies were taking up residence in my stomach as we walked side by side. When the back of his hand brushed lightly against mine a shiver ran down my spine.

All the emotions were so new to me. I didn't know if I liked them or wanted to run away and hide from them.

As we reached the cafeteria, he opened the door and allowed me to enter first as he possessively placed his hand on my lower back and escorted me inside.

What was happening to me?

My whole body felt like it was on fire from his touch, but there was a part of me that wanted to lean in for more.

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