Page 52 of Wolf Mate

All the while, I tried like hell to focus on the moment and push a certain sexy wolf shifter from my mind.

The next weekand a half blurred together, but one thing changed drastically. Raffe kept his distance from me, and worse, Josie started showing up more often, walking with him to classes. Each time I saw them together, a fresh wave of pain swamped me, and it wasn’t getting better. My blood was fritzing again. Thinking about Raffe to calm myself down wasnotworking anymore, and not being able to walk in the woods alone meant I didn’t have any release. Slade had refused to train me, stating he wanted to wait until Monday to be sure I was back to one hundred percent. He hadn’t found any more answers, and it seemed like what little control I’d gained was being stripped from me.

There had been one highlight, however—my volunteer training class at the animal shelter. This Saturday, I’d get to actually work and take care of the animals.

Last Tuesday, Professor Haynes went over the highlights of the first group project and said it would be in our best interests to get started because the data collection would take time.

So as Slade and I strolled into stats this Tuesday, I dreaded the inevitable conversation Raffe and I would be required to have.

“Be reasonable, Professor Haynes,” Raffe said.

He was standing in front of the room, talking with the professor.

Haynes lifted her chin and stared Raffe right in the eye. “I informed everyone when the assignments were handed out that there would be no changing partners.”

A lump formed in my throat. Not being paired with Raffe would be the best thing for me, but that didn’t dampen the hurt. My blood fizzed, reacting to my emotions.

“There are extenuating circumstances—” he started.

“Let me make myselfvery clear, Mr. Wright. I don’t care who you are or who your father is. In this classroom, I’m the law, and everyone is treated equally. You willnotget special treatment. I’m not sure how much clearer I can be.”

If that didn’t put him in his place, I wasn’t sure what would.

Raffe’s jaw clenched, and I took my seat, forcing myself to unpack my binder and not watch the altercation. I had to get my blood under control.

After a second, his voice rattled, “Understood. Enjoy this moment.”

Knowing what he was, I heard the growl he was trying to control as he headed past me. I stared at the binder on my desk, and my neck tingled, informing me that he was looking at me for longer than a second as he brushed by.

The fizz increased to almost a hum, and the emotions I read from Raffe were conflicted. I sensed guilt, anger, and longing, which didn’t make sense. He hadn’t talked to me in nine days. I’d kept count.

It was almost physically impossible not to look at him, but thankfully, Professor Haynes started class, so I dove in, ready to focus on my notes.

She emphasized that if we didn’t start our project soon, we wouldn’t complete the assignment on time. We could not procrastinate.

My phone buzzed, and I turned it to silent.

But I saw the message that had come through.

Raffe: Don’t worry about it. Josie and I will begin the data collection this weekend. I’ll email you the data, and you can write the report.

I didn’t respond. I didn’t need to. He’d told me how things would happen.

I tossed my phone back into my bag, my blood damn near fizzing. I focused on taking notes, hoping it’d calm the storm brewing inside.

My cheeks hurtfrom smiling so much. I’d been at the shelter since eight this morning, and it was now five. I would’ve stayed longer, but the place was closing, and the lead volunteer was about to physically kick me out.

For the first time since I’d had to stop going into the woods alone, I felt a semblance of peace.

In the woods, I enjoyed the solitude of being surrounded by nature without any prying eyes. The trees, mulch, grass, animals, and even the drizzly mist that almost always surrounded me there brought me such calm.

At the shelter, the calm came from making a difference. The leader of the volunteers had noticed that dogs that were scared and aggressive calmed down in my presence, which eased something inside me as well.

As I climbed into my car to head back to the apartment, I received a text. I started the car and swiped the screen.

Slade: It’s homecoming tonight. I won’t take no for an answer. Be at your place in an hour. Dress for the football game and a bonfire.

My gut screamedno. Raffe had told me not to come. But why should that matter? He got to do everything, and Slade would be there with me. Maybe I could sneak away to the edge of the woods and decompress a little.

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