Page 37 of Wolf Mate

If he thought that would calm me, he’d learn otherwise. He and his father thought they could control my life, and that wasnotokay with me.

Yet my body still wanted to be by his side, the attraction strong.

“Maybe we should lock her up.” Keith snorted. “That’s the second time she’s lost control today. We should put a warning sticker on her.”

His mockery hit right where it hurt. My emotions roared, and the table splintered, each piece continuing to shake.

“Dammit,” Raffe snarled. “Adam, if he opens his mouth again, knock his ass out.”

Knowing I was on the brink of making something worse happen, I closed my eyes and forced the deer to the forefront of my mind. I wrung my hands, pretending I was sinking them into the mulchy forest floor as the deer and I stared at one another.

“You know what?” Lucy said, and someone stood from their seat. “There’s another way to resolve this. All of you,out.”

I could get behind that.

The table settled slightly, and Lucy said, “See?Youare the reason she’s upset, so leave. I’ve decided I don’t care what Raffe says. I don’t want a new roommate even after everything is settled.”

I could feel her concern and determination, and I opened my eyes to find her staring at me with a warm smile.

In the corner of my vision, Raffe flinched, but his face smoothed into a mask of indifference. If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve thought I’d imagined the expression.

“That’s good with me.” Keith stood and gestured at Josie and Adam. “I’m starving.”

“You three arealwayshungry.” Josie chuckled and rolled her eyes. “It’s bad enough that you’re wolf shifters—add in all the exercise from football and you guys want to eat all the damn time.”

“Sometimes, I wake up at night just to eat.” Keith rubbed his stomach. “It’s a perk of being who we are.”

Now that some of the negativity had eased, my emotions dropped back to a high fizz. I’d have to be careful until Raffe, Josie, and Keith got out of here. The two people who weren’t near-constant triggers were Adam and Lucy.

“He’s not even lying.” Adam hung his head. “One time, I got up and found him standing naked in front of the refrigerator door. Sometimes, I wish a vampire could alter my memories because that one is at the top of my list to forget.”

I swallowed my laughter, not wanting to set Keith off. I imagined that had been an unpleasant experience for Adam. Though Keith was attractive, I didn’t like him at all as a person.

“Oh my gods,” Josie groaned as she strolled toward me. “Why in the world did you put that image in my mind? That’s disturbing.”

“Don’t knock it until you try it.” Keith puffed out his chest.

I waited for Raffe to react, but he didn’t. In fact, he kept glancing my way every few seconds.

Keith and Adam walked past me without acknowledging me, but Josie stopped in front of me.

She licked her lips. “I know we had a rocky start, but I hope we can get past that since you live with my best friend.”

Any hope that this altercation would prevent her from coming over vanished. As long as I lived with Lucy, I was stuck being around Josie and Raffe. I nodded. “Sorry for breaking the table.”

She snorted. “Not my table, so no wood off my back.” She glanced at Raffe and arched a brow. “You ready?”

“I’ll meet you at the student center in a minute,” he said, authority lacing his voice.

“Yeah, see you there. I’ll be in the bookstore to check something out while I wait for you.” She marched out the door without giving him a kiss or hug.

Weird.

With the three of them gone, my blood settled into a low fizz, just enough to keep me uncomfortable. I was exhausted, especially after breaking the coffee table.

Lucy crossed her arms and glared at Raffe. “What do you want?”

“A chance to talk to Skylar alone.”

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