Page 4 of Pack Kasen: Part 1

If I don’t keep her on a tight leash, we’ll be hunting moles all night.

But the part that knows rules are important and has always lived by them loves this moment where rules no longer matter. Where I can just be me.

I can be free.

2

KAT

The next morning, I decide I need to check something out.

Three of my exes are dead. One is still alive. So he’s either going to be the next victim, or he might know who is behind the Gregson College Campus Killer. I know for sure he can’t be a werewolf like I am.

Skipping class makes me feel sick, but some things matter more than graduating with a perfect attendance record.

I head for a dorm that I haven’t been in since last year. I smile at the guys I remember, and nod at those who are vaguely familiar. All are football players.

Doug’s room is on the second floor, and when I reach it, I knock firmly on a familiar door, rocking back and forth on my flat heeled ankle boots as I wait.

Further down the hallway, a door snicks open and a familiar voice calls out.

“Hey, Kat. Long time no see.”

I turn to smile at yet another member of the football team. “Hey, Pat. How are you?”

Patrick is in sweats and a navy varsity hoodie so sweaty he couldn’t have long returned from a workout. He winks at me. “All the better for seeing you.”

The auburn haired linebacker is a flirt, but he’s harmless so I play along. “You find a girlfriend who will handle your bullshit yet?”

“Not yet,” he says as the sound of Doug moving around in his room briefly distracts me. His eyes flick from me to the closed door and his smile fades slightly. “I’m holding out for someone special. See you around.”

With that, he retreats to his room as the door in front of me swings open.

I come face to face with Doug, my ex-boyfriend. He’s half-asleep at 9:30 in the morning, and the room behind him is a mess.

“Hi.”

He blinks bleary blue eyes at me as he scratches light brown hair sticking up in all directions. I itch to smooth the strands down, the way I used to when he pulled his helmet off after practice.

“Kat, hey. What’s up?”

Doug Hart is the star quarterback in the football team. A country boy from Wyoming who, for a short, sweet time, claimed my heart.

If I wasn’t what I am, and he isn’t what he is, I might have built a life with him.

“Do you have a minute?”

He gives me a penetrating look as he shakes off the remnants of sleep and takes a step back, holding the door open for me. “Sure. Come on in. Sorry about the mess. Want a drink?”

I take in the room in one sweep. Takeout containers, an overflowing hamper of dirty laundry, college books, and, surprisingly, a hot pink thong on the floor beside his bed.

His eyes bounce from me to the thong, and his smile is awkward. “Uh, that isn’t?—”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

“I don’t, but I’d like to,” he says, his tone sincere. “Ryan borrowed my room last night. Coffee?”

I believe him. The only lie he ever told me was the one when we first met.

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