Page 97 of Wolf Mate

“Are you okay?” Slade asked as the door shut behind us.

I looked at him, and I saw my old friend. His face was lined with concern, and he rubbed his hands together like he wanted to do something to fix my exhaustion.

“It was a lot.” I didn’t want to lie to him, and I wanted to go to bed. Waking up in the morning with a fresh perspective might be the very thing I needed.

“If you need to talk about it—”

I shook my head. “And a priest? What’s up with that?”

He chuckled. “It’s rare but not unheard of. Over ninety-five percent of the time, the person who runs a coven is a woman. There’ve been only a handful of priests throughout the past centuries. He’s been deemed worthy to be one.”

Maybe he shouldn’t have been. Alastor was volatile… maybe even more so than my blood. I forced myself not to shiver and yawned. “Interesting. Well, that little power burst made me tired.”

“Yeah.” Slade waved a hand. “Right. Let me walk you home.”

The tingle at the nape of my neck broke through. Raffe was waiting for me. I sighed. “No, I’m good. But thanks.” I smiled, trying to come off as sincere. “You didn’t get rid of me yet.”

“I’m glad. I was nervous.” He kicked at the ground. “And I’m sorry for being a jackass. I got jealous, but tonight, I realizedyou’ll soon understand everything, and that won’t be a problem anymore.”

I hated how hopeful he looked, and I didn’t want to encourage him. “I’ll see you around.”

“You’ll see me tomorrow.” He winked. “We have class together, remember?”

“Oh, I remember.” No matter how often I tried to forget. “See you then.” I spun on my heel and headed back to my apartment.

As I thought through what I’d read and heard tonight, my heart raced, and my head whirled. How would understanding the plight of the witches and vampires help me? It wasn’t like I could do anything about it. Did they expect me to fight against whatever allure Raffe had for me?

I stepped through the entrance to my apartment, expecting to see Raffe, but he wasn’t there. Confused, I headed to my room, desperate for bed.

After changing out of my jeans and into pajamas, I received a text.

Raffe: I’m staying out here to see if anything else happens. Unless you need me.

Even though I was disappointed, I could use some time to myself to think without any influence.

Me: I’m good. Just tired. See you tomorrow. <3

Raffe: Counting the seconds until then. :*

My heart skipped a beat, but I pushed the sensation away and crawled into bed. I needed rest. That should help me think clearly. I expected to struggle to fall asleep, but within seconds, my eyelids grew heavy, and I was out.

The next morning,Lucy was already gone when I woke up. As I got ready and headed to the student center, I wondered what had gotten her out of bed so early. I grabbed a vanilla latte and a biscuit then spotted Lucy sitting at a table with a deep frown on her face.

My heart picked up.

Something was wrong.

I hurried over, intending to check on her before heading to class, but then I saw the people sitting across from her and checked my stride.

Josie, Adam, and Keith.

When Keith’s gaze landed on me, he stood and snarled.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

My heart pounded as my blood took off at a fizz. Keith was upset withme, and I had no clue why.

I didn’t want another public scene. One was more than enough for a lifetime, and Raffe had provided that opportunity.

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