Page 4 of Wolf Mate

My damn traitorous eyes glanced back at him, and my breath caught at the suspicion etched into every line of his face. He dropped his hands from my shoulders, and I noticed a detailed wolf tattoo peeking from under the sleeve of his shirt. The olive tone of his skin gave it more definition, making it appear almost lifelike.

I looked over my shoulder, wondering if I could catch a glimpse of whatever had been following me.

The nicer guy followed my gaze. “Judging by your expression, I’m assuming you aren’t searching for a deer.”

“Adam, come on.” Keith snorted. “She can’t walk, she was gawking at Raffe, and she can barely put together a coherent sentence. She probably bumped into a tree and thought it was someone grabbing her.”

And here was when the teasing began. My blood jolted, and my mouth went dry. I needed to get away from them before I had an epic meltdown … again. “It felt like I was being watched.” I shrugged, staring at the mulchy ground. “I’m sure it was nothing … just me being paranoid.”

“Why don’t you go to your room, and the three of us can check out the area?” Raffe said, a little bit of the warmth springing back into his eyes.

Part of me snapped to attention, ready to follow his suggestion, which irritated me. Why in the world would I want to obey someone I’d just met? But there was something abouthimthat I couldn’t explain.

I lifted my chin. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m sure it was nothing. And if something was chasing me, I’d hate for you to go out there and have something happen. I couldn’t live with you all getting hurt because of me.”

Raffe scowled, and his eyes narrowed as he stepped back into my space. For a moment, I swore his blue eyes glowed, but Adam punched him in the shoulder.

“We’ll be fine, pigeon.” Keith shoved his hands into his khaki pants pockets and smirked. “Besides, Raffe eats birds in his sleep.”

Pigeon. Sigh. It was the equivalent of being called chicken, though most people didn’t realize that. Unfortunately, Keith might be smarter than he seemed.

I hated what these people stood for. They were the type who bullied and berated people for being different. Hell, Keith was already doing that with me even when it was clear I’d been scared.

I could either stand here and let them ridicule me or get my shit together and meet my roommate like I should have done already. The latter would let me hold on to a smidge of dignity.At least they were willing to search the woods in case somethingwasoff. That had to count for something.

I settled on saying, “Don’t hurt the deer if you see her.”

“Her?” Keith arched his brow. “Did you name her too? Let me guess, Bambi? Thumper? Flower?”

Raffe cut his eyes to his friend, and after a few seconds, Keith huffed and lowered his head slightly.

Here I’d thought weird things only happened around me. Something strange was going on between them.

Well, the last thing I needed was to learn more about it. I had enough freak inside me to last a lifetime without adding glowing eyes and people talking through expressions without looking at each other.

“No, but if you meet up with her, ask her what it is and let me know.” The words had popped out before I processed my response. I couldn’t stand smart-asses. “Unlike people here, I don’t limit names to Disney movies.”

“Hey.” Keith sneered. “I can come up with more—”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Raffe took a giant step back and cut off Keith. He stared at me and frowned. “Please, head somewhere safe. If someone is out here, we want to catch them. And I don’t want to leave you alone when you were clearly scared.”

Even though he’d dismissedme, he’d done it kindly, and I didn’t want to make a further fool of myself.

My phone dinged again, no doubt my parents wondering why I hadn’t checked in. Without another word, I marched past the three of them and went toward my car.

I waited for the snickers and snide comments to begin, but nothing happened. The three of them remained silent as if they’d disappeared.

I glanced behind me.

Only Raffe was there. The other two had vanished.

Our eyes locked, and my heart started to race. Something strange surged between us. He sighed, shoulders slumping, and his face twisted as if he were warring with whether to say something. Then he said tenderly, “Be careful, okay? Things aren’t as safe as they seem around here, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Butterflies took flight in my stomach as our gazes remained locked. We both took a step closer to one another, something drawing us together.

Then his eyes glowed again, and he huffed. “I need to check on them, but I can’t until you’re away from the woods.”

Great. I was lingering, his effect on me obvious. How stupid. It wasn’t like something would ever happen between us.

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