Page 61 of Mortal Shift
I rolled my eyes but snatched it up from the table. Held up, it was admittedly a touch less revealing than at first glance, but I was still going to be flashing alotof leg tonight. And even more than that when I scrambled over the wall. Oh well, one final humiliation to remember Darkveil by. Because if my mom was well enough to travel, I would not be coming back. That thought steeled me, and I started squirming into the dress. This thing was not going to make running easy…and nor were the heels Ling had picked out.
“I’ll stash your clothes out by the wall,” Ling said, as if reading my mind. “You can change into something less fun once you’re on the far side. But until then, anyone who sees you is just going to think you’re killing time before the fun starts.”
I adjusted the dress—I was right, it was still crazy revealing—and Ling let out a low whistle.
“And they’re going to want to have a little fun with you. Damn, you look hot in that.”
“Uh, thanks. I thought the whole point of a disguise was to stop you being noticed?”
“You’re thinking of camouflage, and trust me, this is going to help you blend in with every other student here. You’re just going to stand out at the same time.”
I rolled my eyes and tugged on the heels. Ling grabbed my clothes and stuffed them into the bag.
“You should stick around for a while… let people see you, so they don’t get suspicious when you’re not around later. It’ll buy you more time.”
I side-eyed her. “Are youstilltrying to get me to hook up with Cole?”
She gave me a shameless smile and a shrug in return. “Hey, can’t blame a girl for trying. If you come back, he’s still your best chance of making it round here.”
Her ‘if’ hung heavily in the air between us for a long moment.
“I’m going to miss you, Cali,” she said.
“I’m going to miss you, too. You’ve been a good friend to me. My only one, really. I don’t think I’d have made it this long without you.”
“Sure you would. You’re a badass. And you look damn good in a dress. What other skill does a gal need?”
I snorted. “Well, intelligence, ambition, strength…oh, and some sort of supernatural ability wouldn’t go amiss.”
“You’re supernaturally pessimistic, does that count?” She grinned, and then her smile turned sad. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do without you around.”
“Catch up with your other friends, and maybe not miss quite so many classes?” I suggested, but her smile just grew sadder. Guess she was a bit of a loner.
She cleared her throat.
“There’s something I need to tell you, Cali, and I’m not really sure how.”
“Okay…” An icy unease spread across the back of my neck, but I reached out and placed my hand on top of hers. “I’m listening.”
The library door slammed open, and we both jumped and broke apart.
“Oh, didn’t know anyone was in—” Kallan broke off, and eyed me up and down. “Damn, Cali, when did you get hot? Maybe we should kiss and make up.”
“Try it, and you’ll need surgery to remove your balls from where I’m going to shove them,” I said sweetly.
He scowled. “Bitch.”
“Sticks and stones, jackass.”
He shoved the door shut. “Let’s get one thing straight. You’re an omega in our world, so maybe it’s time you learned how to submit.”
“Sure. Find me someone who’s alpha enough and I’ll get right on that.”
“Oh, trust me, I’m plenty alpha enough for the likes of you. More alpha than your loser of a mate.”
“That must be why his family rules the packs rather than yours,” I said, because apparently I didn’t know when to keep my mouth shut.
“For now.”
