Page 17 of The First Year Continued
Chapter Eleven
Sol
“What is that?” Odin asked while I was putting some things in a small duffle. It was my turn to watch over Roxy. We had two reasons to watch over her. Make sure she didn’t attack anyone else and make sure the shadowy person from the other night didn’t come back.
Plus, I wanted to be with her. For no reason at all. Get to know her better without talking about school or vampires or threats. Get to know the person I was sure was my mate.
The other night sealed it all for me. Seeing her so vulnerable. Feeling that she was in danger. All of it answered the question my wolf already had an answer for.
Roxy was my mate.
“It’s a game of checkers.”
He snorted. “Sleepover with the most beautiful, sexy woman, and you’re bringing checkers. I thought you were some heartthrob prince.”
“Fuck off,” I said, stuffing the game into my bag. “I stole it from the library. It’s the best I’ve got with no TV and no other entertainment.”
“The rebellion,” he scoffed.
Evander hadn’t said a lot since the other night. He had the first turn with Roxy and probably wanted to be with her every night. We all wanted to spend time with her, but the constraints of the school and our limited time, these nights were our best bet. Plus, it ensured we kept her safe.
“I’m off. Good night.”
I slipped out of our dorm room and made the walk to Roxy’s room. She protested with great dramatics when we told her our plan of staying with her at night. We were breaking the rules. Wewere going to get caught and kicked out. We were going to lose sleep. The woman did protest a lot.
Still, we won.
While I was stealing the checker game in question, I stopped dead in my tracks, thinking of the trajectory we were on with Roxy. One of us were going to get hurt. Two of us, actually. We hadn’t said the words out loud, none of us would admit it yet, but Roxy was my mate. And I was pretty sure Evander and Odin felt the same.
That would be a problem.
We were friends. Best friends. But this was my mate. I didn’t want to lose any of them.
We really needed to have a talk about it.
No idea how to start that conversation.
I raised my fist to knock at the door. My heart dropped to my stomach when Roxy didn’t immediately answer. I almost knocked again when the door swung open. There she was. The woman of my dreams. Dressed in some black pajamas with her black hair twisted into a braid.
“Ah, my protector for the night. Come on in.”
At least I didn’t have to argue with her this time. I walked in and was immediately assaulted by her scent. My wolf went ballistic. He threw all the shifter mating terms at me at once.Claim. Mark. Mate. All of them.
“I brought snacks and a game,” I said. I was a bit proud of myself. No resources and I’d brought the date to my girl. I wished things were more normal. I wished I was normal and we weren’t being held here in this school.
I would take Roxy on a date. Court her. Bring her breakfast and send her flowers. Spoil my mate rotten.
“Are you serious? How did you manage that?”
“If I tell you, you might be an accessory.” I pulled out the game and some chips and salsa from the dining hall.
She put her palms out. “Nope. I’m in enough trouble as it is. Hell, Iamtrouble all on my own.”
“You are not trouble. You are a person, a good person, who has been dealt one hell of a hand. You’re not trouble for me.”
Roxy bit down on her bottom lip. Such a shame to do that to those perfect plump lips. “I feel like I’ve come into your lives and wrecked everything. I know it’s not entirely my fault, but you guys were good before I came along and now look at you. You’re stealing and sneaking around all night. Not to mention the decrease in morality of the female population.”
“What?” I laughed, taking a seat on her desk chair. “First of all, I was a delinquent way before you. You’re giving yourself too much credit, beautiful.”
