Page 99 of Wolf Mate

Zella took my arm to steady me. When I straightened, she answered, “Because living for centuries, if not thousands of years, causes boredom. Every now and then, we want to learn a new career or find something more stimulating. Edward came back here to study political science and work with the wolf shifters to change laws so everyone could live with the same rights and freedoms.”

Knowing what little I did, I could see that the wolf shifters did take advantage of their power, and I’d wondered why someone hadn’t tried to change that. Clearly, Edward had shared the same thought.

“He was foolish.” Zella wrinkled her nose. “All it did was get him killed.”

I exhaled and took a sip of my drink. The latte was already lukewarm due to the temperature outside. “Well, that’s a good idea—to talk with the wolf shifters about the issues you have.”

“You say that as if we haven’t tried it.” Zella lifted both hands. “So many of us have over the centuries, and we’ve been brushed aside and punished. Edward was relatively young and still naive enough to believe he could make a difference.”

“Witches learn at a young age that things will never change.” Hecate smacked her lips. “The wolf shifters think they’re right, and they punish anyone who disagrees with them.”

The buzzing on my neck alerted me that Raffe was watching me. These two had helped me avoid a confrontation back there, and I didn’t want them to say something incriminating and chance Raffe overhearing. “Hey, I need to go inside. I’m almost frozen.” I looked toward the apartments and saw Raffe heading toward us from across the road.

Hecate and Zella followed my stare then looked at me strangely.

“Okay, see you around.” Hecate tilted her head. Then they turned around and headed back toward the student center.

I bounced on my heels, waiting on Raffe and trying to stay warm. He picked up his pace, and when he got closer, his brows furrowed. “What was that about?”

I forced myself to stand still in front of him, which was damn hard with the yanking in my chest.

I wanted to ask Raffe about Edward, but that wouldn’t be smart after he’s seen me with those two—Raffe would wonder why I was asking right after hanging out with them. I’d have to figure out how to talk to him strategically so he wouldn’t be defensive, especially if Hecate and Zella were right about how wolf shifters treated witches and vampires.

Luckily, I could answer his question without lying. “It’s weird. I went to get breakfast and a latte, and I saw Lucy, Josie,Adam, and Keith together. They all seemed upset, and when Keith noticed me, he stood and snarled at me. I have no idea why. Hecate and Zella intervened and got me out of there before Keith reached me.”

“Shit. That’s what I was afraid of.” Raffe winced. “This is why I didn’t want to tell Josie, Keith, and Adam that I was done pretending to date her.”

I stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned to him, ignoring the bodies bumping into me as they passed. “What?” I must have misunderstood him.

“Last night, Josie, Adam, and Keith went for a run and found me …” He paused and glanced around. “Outside. We hung out for a while, but nothing caught our eye.”

He was talking in code in case there were any listening ears.

“When we headed in, I walked Josie to her apartment and broke it off with her.” He put his hands into his pockets and scuffed his shoe on the tile floor. “They must not be taking the news of our supposed breakup well, which was why I didn’t push it before.”

I snorted. “This is my fault?”

“What? No.” He reached out a hand for a second before dropping it.

And it stung. Even though we were together and he’d “broken it off” with Josie, he still wanted our relationship to be a secret.

Whispers of doubt shifted through my mind again. Was this Raffe’s attempt to keep me under control?

“That’s not what I was saying.” He hung his head. “I keep messing this up. I just meant they know something is changing, and they don’t like it. I worried they would blame you.”

I huffed. “I mean, what do you think will happen when everything comes out?” Or maybe that was the point. It never would. He was already struggling with his friends’ reactions and how his father might respond.

My heart throbbed, stealing my breath. I would always be a secret. No one would ever be proud to be with me. I’d be the person they wished had never been born.

“Sky—” Raffe groaned.

That right there confirmed it. He didn’t think about it because we would never go public.

I hated that the pain swirling through me was so intense. I should’ve never expected anything different. “We better head to class.” That was the one thing I had going right for me. I would graduate, become a vet, and submerge myself in animals—the only living things that enjoyed my company and for whom I could make a difference.

He sighed, but I turned my back and made my way to class. When would I love myself enough to not be okay with such poor treatment? I wanted to be accepted so much that I threw myself out there to be hurt, over and over again. Raffe could be the very thing that destroyed me, and by agreeing to this sort of relationship, I’d opened myself up to him, and there would be no repair.

“Wait. Skylar,” he called again, but I hurried into Howling.

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