Page 8 of Wolf Mate

“She’ll wear it.” Raffe chuckled. “She always gives in to me.”

Jealousy clutched my chest, and I eagerly moved across the bookstore, searching for my last two books—Statistics II and Economics I. Luckily, they were close together on the other side of the store where Raffe had been before the untimely fall.

The three guys laughed and headed to the register, and I loitered with my last two books. I would wait until they were gone before I made my way there. I didn’t need any more comments thrown my way about following Raffe around.

When the three of them headed to the bookstore’s exit into the student center, I marched to the cashier, ready to buy my books and hide in my room for the rest of the night. Butwhen Raffe reached the door, he turned and nodded at me. “Remember, calm down, and go back to your residence hall.”

He must have thought I was a freshman, but I didn’t care to correct him. What bothered me was that he thought he could boss me around as if I were worthless.

Before I could retort, the three of them were gone.

“You ready to check out?” the guy at the counter asked. “It’s closing time.”

“Right. Sorry.” I shook my head, putting all five textbooks on the counter. “I’m a little out of sorts.”

“They’re assholes.” The guy rolled his hazel eyes as he scanned the books. “Don’t take it personally. They treat everyone who isn’t in their little clique like they’re beneath them.”

My brows lifted. For some reason, the fact they treated me like everyone else bothered me. “And everyone lets them get away with it?”

The guy shrugged and flipped his auburn bangs out of his eyes. “What can you do when Raffe is the star quarterback, EEU’s football team captain, and the son of a billionaire who owns a majority of all the commercial real estate in Oregon? Add in the fact that Mr. Wright donates five million dollars to this school annually, and they don’t get into much trouble.”

I snorted. That didn’t surprise me. The way the three of them acted screamed of arrogance. The kind you got from having money. “And the other two?”

“Their dads are Mr. Wright’s right-hand men.” He pushed some buttons on the register. “They all grew up together, and from what I hear, they live in the same ritzy neighborhood in Seattle. Everyone in that group does. It’s sort of strange if you ask me, but the girls here don’t seem to care one bit. Any of them would love to be with one of those three.”

No wonder the guys had made so many snide comments. They were used to girls doing things to get their attention. Part of me was disgusted that they would lump me in with other women, but it wasn’t as if they knew me. Just because I felt something weird around Raffe didn’t mean it was reciprocated. “Well, thanks for the info. I’ll make sure to stay clear of them.”

The guy grinned and leaned back against the counter. He chuckled. “Is that so? You won’t try to lure one into your grasp? Raffe talked to you more than he does most other people outside their group.”

My heart kick-started, and my blood jolted.Down, girl. “It wasn’t out of the kindness of his heart. Besides, I’m here to concentrate on my studies.” And make friends, but I left out that last part. It sounded a little too pathetic.

“That’s smart.”

That was the one thing I had going for me. Intelligence. Not beauty or a good personality. But hand me a test, and I could ace it with minimal effort. Besides, with my blood heightened, I could read he had sincere intentions, so I added, “I have a scholarship, grant, or something that covers my books.” Hell, I wasn’t sure what to call what they’d given me since I hadn’t applied or turned in my financials. All I’d had to do was send my transcripts over two weeks ago. “They said it’d be under my name, Skylar Greene.”

“Oh. Okay.” He tapped on the computer and nodded. “I found it, and you’re covered.” He put my books into an evergreen plastic bag with the school emblem and letters. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” I took the bag. “And sorry if I held you up. I know you must want to get out of here.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He winked. “I’m just meeting with my band to practice. No big deal. But I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

I smiled so wide my cheeks hurt. “Yeah. Maybe.”

Instead of heading to the cafeteria to get dinner, I made my way back to the apartment. I’d had my first normal interaction with someone, and I wasn’t about to risk something else happening in front of Raffe and his friends to ruin the progress I’d made.

Part of me wanted to go find Raffe, but I pushed the instinct aside. He was withJosie.

The thought nagged at me, so I focused on the small win I’d just had. Maybe coming here would wind up being okay after all.

That night,I didn’t sleep well. I dreamed of Raffe with some woman with no face. I woke up in a foul mood and with red eyes, feeling as if I’d been run over by a truck.

I kicked off my comforter and walked to the closet at the foot of my bed then snatched up a thin lilac sweater and jeans and headed into the bathroom to take a quick shower, hoping I could soothe my swollen eyes.

The bathroom was between my room and Lucy’s, and I wasn’t sure when her first class was. I slipped inside, turned on the water in the marble-tiled shower, and placed my clothes on the sink while snatching a towel from under the counter so I could grab both easily when I was done.

Not wanting to be late for my first class, microbiology, I rushed to get clean then stepped out, the cool tile floor sending a chill down my spine. Within ten minutes, I had my hair dried, and I was dressed with makeup on. I checked my appearance for signs that some random guy I’d known for all of five minutes had kept me up all night.

Luckily, my amber eyes were back to their normal brightness and no longer swollen, and I’d gotten all the knots out of mylong, dark-brown hair. My olive complexion was a hint lighter than usual, but at least I didn’t look as pale as the cashier from last night.

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