Page 12 of Wolf Touched

I will. I don’t want to be the only one handling any of that.

That was fair. I wouldn’t want to be either.

Raffe took my hand, still inching in the lead because of his longer legs. Damn sexy, tall man who towered over me. Despite all that, he didn’t drag me like I knew he could.

Soon, we were exiting through the front double doors, racing toward the men’s apartment building. That was when it struck me. I’d never been to Raffe’s place. That couldn’t be normal … surely.

The cold, dark October morning air blanketed me. The faint drizzle had returned. The normal weather conditions comforted me. At least I could rely on one thing, even if it was the shitty weather.

The men’s building looked identical to the women’s, right down to the paint. We hurried inside and took the elevator to the sixth floor. Their building had one more floor than the women’s.

The hallway also looked identical, but there were two fewer apartments on either side of the hallway. That made sense, given that the guys had three people in each apartment instead of two.

Why do they have more students per place than the women do?I linked as he turned right and raced down the hallway.

Floors one through five are just like yours. The football team is assigned to this floor, and they wanted to put more of us in a space together for camaraderie or some shit like that.

I didn’t need to see his face to know he was rolling his eyes; I could feel his slight annoyance in my chest.

Their apartment was the last one on the right, and before he could type in the code, the door opened, revealing Keith. His hair was messy for him, and he was rubbing his temples like he had a headache.He won’t shut up. He keeps talking about Skylar and freaking out. He’s petrified of something, but he won’t tell us what.

“I only hope she understands,” Dave said loudly. “And Raffe gives me a chance to explain before he kills me. After everything they’ve done, I’d rather he do it thanthem,anyway.”

“Man, they’re here. Okay.” Adam sounded tired. “You’ll get to tell her. Give her a minute.”

The only thing different about this apartment was that there was a room to the right behind their couches since their layout was the opposite of ours. I didn’t know why I’d expected their space to be different, especially since the buildings appeared to have been built at the same time.

Voices were coming from the room on the right, so we shot past Keith and through the living room. Inside the bedroom, Raffe’s scent was mixed with copper and a faintly sweet smell.

Adam towered over Dave in the queen-size bed. The vampire had an evergreen comforter over his body, which shook with cold, nerves or a combination of the two.

I took in a picture of Raffe’s motorcycle stuck into themirror of his dresser. I wasn’t surprised to count ten trophies on top of the dresser, but I blinked when I noticed one was of a guy holding a bowling ball.What the hell?

Before I could ask, Dave’s hazel eyes focused on me, some of the golden flecks showing now, further proof he was healing.

The betrayal by this guy, whom I’d thought of as a friend, hit me. My blood fizzed, and a lump formed in my throat.

He tried to sit up but groaned and fell back. “Sky.” His voice cracked. “I’m so damn sorry. But you’re already smelling more alluring now.”

The fizz allowed me to read his remorse and sincerity. That was the only benefit of my emotions stirring my blood, but if I didn’t calm my blood, he could lose control and try to attack me again.

“Don’t fuckinglookat her,” Raffe growled, edging in front of me. His protectiveness and concern made my heart race faster.

Babe, he feels bad, and he wants to explain what happened.I pushed calm toward Raffe, but his back tensed more. I wanted to touch him and calm him down, but I also wanted my blood to remain at a fizz so I could read Dave’s emotions.Give him a chance.

Asking me not to protect you is like asking me not to breathe. I need to do both to survive.

Butterflies took flight in my stomach. Even though I knew how much I meant to him, hearing him admit it so openly made me swoony.Let him give you a reason to get that way in this meeting before you do. Otherwise, be nice.

He glanced over his shoulder at me and pouted.

Stepping next to Raffe, I cleared my throat to getDave to focus on me. “Raffe just needed to make sure you understand that if you try something against me, he’ll hurt you.”

“I’m aware.” Dave shivered and flinched from what had to be the pain from his chest wound.

“What’s so urgent?” I wanted to get straight to the point because I didn’t want to be here when Supreme Priestess Olwyn arrived.

He nodded and swallowed. “First, I need to explain why I did what I did.”

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