Page 36 of Wolf Mate

Yeah, this was already goingstellar. I could feel the million questions she’d ask when we were alone.

The other girl tossed a lock of her dark, long, wavy hair over her shoulder and turned to Raffe. Something I couldn’t name poured from her as she pursed her pouty lips and sighed. “When people learn she’s rooming with yourcousin,it’ll make your public display this morning harder to believe.”

Tearing his gaze from mine, Raffe focused on her. “Josie, you act like I knew about this. I knew Lucy was rooming with a human, but I didn’t realize it was Skylar. We need to switch Lucy to another apartment.”

Lucy’s mouth dropped. “Excuse me, why amIthe one who has to move?”

Out ofeveryoneon campus, I’d been assigned to room with Raffe’s cousin? I’d always had bad luck, butthisseemed like some sort of demented karma. I was certain I’d never screwed anyone over even close to this. I might have exposed some kids’ secrets by accident when I was younger, thinking I was helping them work through things, but I’d never purposely done anything mean. Nothing worthy of experiencing my own personal hell.

If Raffe and Josie were hanging out here, I’d be more than happy to go. “If you find somewhere else for me to sleep, I don’t mind moving.”

“Lafayette should be able to fix this.” Adam lifted a hand. “One of them just needs to call him.”

Scoffing, Lucy shook her head. “I already did. This is the first semester where there isn’t any flexibility. Every person has a roommate, and no one else has called in yet requesting a switch.”

“What about the residence hall?” Keith leaned forward. “I’m sure something could happen there.”

I’d live there just to get out of here even though the thought of sharing a single room with someone and a bathroom with an entire floor had sweat pooling under my arms. If my magic got volatile and I needed to be alone to calm myself, I wouldn’t be able to get away from prying eyes.

I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around my waist to dampen the fizz. The vibration that occurred just before a hum was in my blood.

“It’s the same problem with the residence hall.” Lucy ran her hands through her hair. “But he’s supposed to let me know when something opens. We can figure it out then.”

I thought of the deer and locked onto that image to calm myself. Noises became muffled. Something creaked, maybe someone rising from the couch, but I didn’t dare open my eyes. I was only just getting myself under control.

“It’s a temporary problem. Better than a long-term one.” That was Adam.

“That’s a horrible idea,” Raffe said, his voice closer to me than I’d expected. His scent filled my nose, and I opened my eyes as he placed his hands on my shoulders. His mouth pressed into a line, and his forehead creased with worry. “This is why Skylar can’t room with another supernatural or human under any circumstances. She’s struggling to control her magic.”

The buzz that had happened earlier when I’d touched his arm vibrated through the sleeves of my sweater. It wasn’t as intense, but it was enough to ease the intensity in my blood. The fizzing ebbed to a mere jolt.

Had his touch made that big of a difference? What did that mean? Trying to regain some sense of control and balance, I straightened my shoulders. It was easier to get myself under control with Raffe next to me and away from Josie. How pathetic wasthat? “It shouldn’t be a problem much longer.”

He arched a brow. “What do you mean?”

“Slade helped me determine the trigger, and I now understand that the way I was trying to control it wasn’t the answer.” In fact, deep breathing and other things people advised me to try had made my anxiety run rampant. “But it’s not coming naturally to me yet, so I need to keep practicing.”

Raffe’s jaw twitched. “Isn’t thatnice?”

“Maybe she should room with a witch,” Adam interjected. “If Slade can help her, maybe a witch could—”

Raffe spun around and growled, “Absolutely not. Until we know more about what she is and what’s going on, we keep her close. Maybe Lucy rooming with her is a good thing.”

Once again, he seemed to have a split personality. “You just said that Lucy should move.” I almost felt like he was playing head games with me, saying one thing and then contradicting it. Being nice one second and then blasting me in front of everyone because his daddy told him to.

“Yeah, I’m with her.” Josie crossed her arms, an eyebrow arched. “What’s going on with you? You normally don’t change your mind within five minutes.”

Raffe’s shoulders slumped, and his brow furrowed. “You’re right. At first, I agreed with you. I thought people might question why my own cousin was rooming with someone I said was trouble. Dad doesn’t want it known publicly that she’s someone of interest until we know more about her. We thought a public display of rejection would persuade the humans to stay away.”

Hot anger swirled through me, and my blood fizzed again. “You and your dad are just going to isolate me and watch me like I’m an experiment to see what I’m capable of?” No wonder Slade had told me not to trust anyone with this information. If they learned I had ancient, rare abilities, what would they do to me?

Blowing out a breath, Raffe lifted his hands. “No. You aren’t an experiment, but we aren’t sure how to proceed. You aren’t a supernatural, but you aren’t fully human either, so we don’tknow what laws and restrictions should be in place for you. Until we can determine all that, we need to limit who’s around you.”

In other words, I was a prisoner.Fuck that. “I came here to go to school. I can’t not go to classes.” My blood hummed, and the wooden coffee table shook like the desk had earlier.

“What the—” Josie’s hazel eyes widened, and fear seeped from her, adding to my heightened emotions.

“That’s not what I meant.” Raffe’s voice was calm. “You’ll attend classes, but I’d rather you hang out with people whoknowabout your abilities as much as possible.”

---