Page 5 of Wolf Mate

Snapping my head forward once more, I hurried to my car, determined to forget Raffe and the eerie sensation of the woods.

“Everything is fine,”I told my parents for the hundredth time, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. My poor lilac comforter was taking the brunt of my frustration. I yanked on the edges, smoothing out the wrinkles as I finished setting up my room. I moved away from my new queen-size bed and took in the room, which was far nicer than I’d expected.

I heard some shuffling on their end, likely a hand covering the speaker while they whispered to one another. They always thought I didn’t know what they were doing, but it wasn’t hard to figure out, especially since it happened every time they were worried about me.

Waiting for them to say whatever else was on their minds, I snatched the string of butterflies I’d cut out of craft paper to hang up and add some purple to my room. All shades ofpurple were my favorite colors. I hadn’t expected the room to have a small chandelier, but it was perfect for what I had in mind. I removed my lilac sneakers and climbed onto the bed then threaded the butterflies through the curved arms of the light fixture so that the butterflies hung down like a cascading chandelier of their own.

“We know you try, honey, but … try not to do those … things.” Mom sighed then laughed as if to lighten the mood.

Sometimes, I believed they regretted adopting me, and honestly, I couldn’t blame them. I was weird, I freaked out teachers, and I’d been expelled from a few schools because parents refused to let their kids attend class with someone who petrified them. I did believe they cared about me, but I didn’t fit in with them. Hell, my own biological parents had given me up, and I’d never once wondered why. Iwasa freak. “I’m going to try really hard, Mom. I don’t like it when thosethingshappen either.”

“Of course, none of that matters to us. We love you,” Dad interjected. “But if you want to make friends—”

It was the same speech they’d given me millions of times over my twenty-one years. You’d think they’d have realized it didn’t help. “I know. I know. I love you too.”

The door to the apartment opened, and I stiffened. “Hey, my roommate just got back. I need to go.”

“Oh. Okay,” Mom said excitedly. “Just remember—”

“Noted, Mom.” I didn’t let her finish. She’d already said it five times in the past five minutes. “I’ll call or text you two later. Love you. Bye.” I hung up and jumped down from my bed onto the fake wood floor.

“Skylar?” a warm female voice called out, and my blood went straight to fizzing.

Ugh. My hands grew clammy as footsteps walked down the small hallway between our rooms, and a girl stuck her head in my open doorway.

I swallowed and immediately felt inadequate. Her long caramel-brown hair hung over her shoulders, highlighting her light olive skin and delicate features.

“Hey, I’m Lucy. Sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived.” She stepped through the doorway, her hauntingly luminous gray eyes scanning my room and stopping on me. She sniffed, and her brows furrowed. “Something came up, and I had to leave.”

“No worries,” I squeaked then cleared my throat. With her looks, she fit right in with Keith, Raffe, and Adam, which meant the two of us probably wouldn’t get along. “I’m Skylar. I got delayed too, and I don’t blame you for not waiting.” I rubbed my hands along my jeans, discreetly wiping the sweat from my palms.

“I figured something came up,” she said as her gaze landed on the painting I’d hung on the cream wall over the bed. “Nice artwork.”

“Thanks.” It was a picture of a purple sky on a cloudy day with messy purple, pink, and white flowers that appeared to be wet with rain. It brought me calm when I needed it, and I’d pulled it out first thing after I’d moved everything into the room.

An awkward silence descended, and the fizz damn near increased to a hum. Fear clawed into my chest, and I felt naked. I shouldn’t have come here. I couldn’t even escape to my room because I had to share this small apartment with her, including the one bathroom.

Lucy glanced at her watch. “The bookstore closes in an hour. They stayed open for students who arrived last minute. You could still go if you need to.”

In other words, she wasn’t willing to take me there. That wasn’t surprising. “Yeah, I should do that.” I needed my booksfor tomorrow, and that was an amazing excuse to get away from here and explore the campus. “Thanks for the information.”

“Sure.” She ran a hand down her gray EEU shirt, which showed the outline of a black wolf and a silver full moon. “Anytime.” She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and yawned. “I gotta get some things ready for class tomorrow, or I’d offer to go with you.”

“No worries.” I sensed she was lying, but I wouldn’t call her out on it. At least she was being nice.

“Yeah. Okay. Text me if you get lost or need anything.” She lifted her phone then spun and left just as quickly as she’d arrived.

That had gone well. And what was it with all these people sniffing me?

When Lucy’s bedroom door closed, I hurried past the sterile gray dresser and headed through the den and kitchen out the door. The hallway was surprisingly empty. In all the shows I watched, students were always hanging outside their rooms in the hallways. Maybe that happened in the residence dorms and not here.

Lucy and I lived in an end unit. Apartment doors lined the light-gray hallway walls, and my sneakers padded over the dark-gray carpet to the elevator.

On the ground floor, I marched through the double glass doors and headed across the road toward the student center.

The damp wind filled my lungs, making things feel not quite so bad as I walked between two massive brick buildings that were damn near identical, except the one to my left was taller.

Some guys were playing frisbee in the open area between the buildings and the student center. I watched as they laughed and joked with several girls who lay on blankets, all of them comfortable in their own skin and with friends … two things I’d never experienced.

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