"So, cult leaders can't be nice?" She arched a brow. "How do you think they lure everyone into—oh my gosh!"
"What?" I asked.
She stared at me.
"What?" I demanded.
"He's luring you in!"
People in the living room turned and stared.
I grabbed her arms and dragged her into the kitchen. "No, he's not. Stop talking crazy. He's just a professor."
"A really hot one. He doesn't even look old enough to be a teacher."
"Obviously, he is."
"He really has you under his spell."
"No, he doesn't!" I spun around and marched up the stairs.
"Hey," Sasha called. She caught up to me. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"Then stop making wild accusations against someone who's missing. What if he's in danger? Maybe he's dead!" Hot, angry tears blurred my vision. I blinked and they fell to my face. "Just think before you gossip about nice people."
I ran past her, went through our room into the bathroom and slammed the door, locking it. I dropped my backpack on the floor.
She knocked. "Hey, I wasn't trying to upset you."
"Too late." I leaned against the wall and stared at my reflection. My eyes were red and puffy, my hair was coming loose from the ponytail, and my scratches were hideous. I slid to sitting.
"I'm sure none of it's true," Sasha said. "People say stupid things for attention all the time around here. Have you noticed that?"
"Yep." Including my roommate.
"Look, I'm sorry. I should've stopped once you said he was your teacher. I'd probably be upset if one of mine disappeared. Come out, please?"
"I have a headache."
"We'll talk about something else. Are you going back to Carter's place tonight?"
"Do I look like it?"
"He doesn't care about that. Have you seen the way he looks at you?"
"Go away."
"If you won't come out, will you at least let me in? I hate talking through this door."
"I just need to be alone. Nothing personal, but I don't want to be around anyone right now."
"You need a friend. I'll just sit with you. I promise to shut it."
I shook my head, too exhausted to argue.
"Is that a yes?"
"Fine." I reached up and unlocked the door.
She came in and sat next to me. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were so… attached to your professor."
I sighed. "It's not that, okay?"
"Not that I would judge."
"Great." I put my forehead on my knees.
We sat in silence for a few moments.
"So, how long are we going to sit here?" she asked.
"No one's making you stay."
"I know. How are things going with Carter? That's not why you're upset, is it? You guys didn't have a fight, did you?"
I shook my head. We might have, if he'd have been upset about me wanting to slow things down. "He's practically perfect."
"Good! See, you don't need to worry about the professor."
"What does that have to do with anything?" I turned and looked at her like she was crazy. "He's a nice guy, and nobody knows where he is."
"If there's any truth to—"
"There's not."
"How would you know?" she asked.
"I thought you came in here to be supportive."
"Sorry. Tell me about last night again. Carter's home sounds as impressive as the Jag—which I still haven't seen any pictures of, by the way."
I counted silently to ten. "Can you go downstairs and see if there's anything new about T… Professor Foley on the news?"
"You think there might be?"
"Never know." I shrugged.
"Sure. You okay?"
"Yeah, I think I'm going to jump in the shower."
Sasha gave me a hug. "I'm sure he'll be just fine. Maybe he'll show up in class tomorrow, ready to hand out gobs of homework."
My inner annoyance perked up. I tried to ignore it. "That would be one time tons of homework would make me happy."
"I'll let you know if they've found him." She got up.
"Thanks. Speaking of assignments, I'd better get started on tonight's work. My psych professor is probably already mad at me for skipping today."
"Massaro?" she asked. "I heard he's the devil."
"Pretty much." I closed the door and climbed in the shower, letting the water get as hot as I could stand it. I just stood there, letting it run over me for at least five minutes before reaching for the shampoo.
Not that I had anything to compare it to, but it wouldn't have surprised me if this had been the craziest week of my life.
When I got out of the shower, I had a new text from Carter.
Carter: Sry. Stuck here l8.
Victoria: Its OK. Tons of HW
Carter: Ill make it up 2morrow
Victoria: No worries
Carter: I promise <3
Victoria: Thx <3
Carter: Sweet dreams
Victoria: u2
I got comfortable on my bed and spread out all my stuff, starting with psychology. According to the syllabus, we were just supposed to read. I could handle that.
By the time I finished all my studying, Sasha still hadn't returned. I took that to mean Toby was still missing. My heart sank a little as I pulled my covers up.
I closed my eyes, and my interaction with Soleil replayed in my mind. Something was seriously wrong with me since I was more freaked out by finding that picture of me than I was by the whole essence-sucking thing. Her temporary electric-green eyes and wings should have shot fear through me, instead the relaxed feeling returned as if she were pulling the purple mist from me again.
It helped me to drift to sleep…
Toby and I sat on a blanket next to a pond. A wicker picnic basket sat between us. He gazed into my eyes, holding me happily captive. He reached over the basket and took my hand. "I can't believe we finally got away together."
I squeezed his hand and smiled. "I think we're alone now."
The only sounds around us were of birds singing in the distance and some frogs in the pond.
He pushed the basket away, scooted closer, and pulled me onto his lap. I squealed with delight.
Toby put his mouth next to my ear and brushed some hair out of the way. "What would our parents say if they could see us?"
His breath tickled my skin. I shivered. "My father would kill you."
"Mine would join him." He kissed my ear and laced his fingers through mine.
"Aren't you afraid?" I turned and brushed my lips across his. He smelled so good—so masculine and woodsy.
"No. Being with you is worth any risk." Toby deepened the kiss. He tasted even better than he smelled.
He pulled back, and I had to catch my breath. "Are we going to spend our lives sneaking away to see each other?"
"We might have to start our own pack." He pressed his lips on mine again, pulling me closer.
"Mmm… but how?" I ran my hands across his rock-solid chest. "We're both the eldest children of alphas." Rival alphas. My father had sworn to take out all of Toby's pack if it were the last thing he did. I shuddered.
"We'll run away together. Just you and me."
I leaned my head against his. "Nothing sounds better."
Footsteps sounded.
"There they are!"
Sasha's alarm woke me up. I bolted up. I'd forgotten to set mine. It took me a minute to realize I was no longer in the woods with Toby.
"What time is it?" I demanded.
She mumbled something incoherent. I flew out of bed, threw on the first clothes I grabbed, ran a brush through my hair, and pulled it into a ponytail. No time for makeup. I grabbed my backpack and headed for my car, with my heart racing.
I slid into my seat next to Grace. "Please tell me it's Friday."
"It's Friday."
"Is it really?" I exclaimed.
She nodded. "I can't wait to sleep in."
&n
bsp; "Sleep in?" I asked. "I want to sleep through both days."
"Not me. I have a soccer match tomorrow evening." She glanced toward the door. "Do you think they're going to have a sub? Or even a new professor?"
My heart sunk. I only wanted to see Toby's gorgeous face walking in through the door. I sighed, fighting a lump in my throat.
"Only like half the kids are here," Grace said. "Did you notice?"
A handsome thirty-something wearing a tie and trendy glasses came into the classroom and set a bag on Toby's table. He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves, exposing well-defined arms. "I'm Roger Fredrickson, and I'm going to be your professor temporarily."
Grace leaned over and whispered, "This place has the best math department ever."
"He's got to be twice your age."
"I don't care." She sighed dramatically without taking her gaze from the new guy.
The professor held up a paper. "It looks like Professor Foley has you working on unit three. Let's open up to page—"
"Can't we post fliers?" asked a girl on the other side of the room.
"Yeah," said another. "We can catch up on math later."
Fredrickson took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'd rather do something to help find him, too. Okay, here's the deal. You guys need to stay on track with the syllabus, but if you need help, I'll set up a study group over the weekend. Sound good?"
"I'm there," Grace said. Others agreed.
"Okay. I'll reserve one of the library's study rooms for Sunday at two. Now if you want to hand out fliers, there are stacks of them in the Student Union Building and also where our offices are. Let's get to work."
Everyone packed their things away and filed out of the classroom. Grace and I headed for the student building—I didn't want to go near the offices in case Soleil was there waiting for me.
Grace and I spent the next half hour posting papers on every blank pole we could find. I found it hard not to stare at them. In the picture, it felt like he was looking right at me. Like he was trying to tell me something.
Someone tapped my shoulder. I turned around to see a lady in a nice dress, holding a microphone. A cameraman was only a few feet away.
"Did you know Tobias Foley?" She shoved the mic in my face.
"He's my stats professor."
"All these students handing out and posting fliers, are they in his classes, too?"
"Most of them. Our stats class decided to do this instead of studying."
"What do you think happened to him?" The lady pushed her mic closer, practically into my mouth.
I backed up. "Excuse me, I'm going to hand the rest of these out."
Another girl from our class hurried over and spoke with the reporter.
Grace gave me a knowing look. "Pushy, much?"
"I thought she was trying to feed that to me for breakfast."
She rolled her eyes. "I see some empty poles over there."
"Let's go."
Chapter 23
Victoria
Days turned into weeks without any news on Toby's disappearance. The warm sunny days were giving way to chilly, rainy ones and most of the fliers were now tattered and falling off the poles.
Each weekend, I joined a group of students and professors who handed out fliers around town, but the size of that group hand dwindled down. It was like almost nobody expected him to return anymore.
Professor Fredrickson had taken over the stats class and a couple others had taken Toby's other courses.
Carter and I continued our daily study and dinner sessions, but now they were mostly at his house. He didn't want to be anywhere near his dad, who he said had been in a bad mood for nearly a month.
I'd settled into a routine at the spa and was confident I could give a mani-pedi in my sleep. I hadn't had any more embarrassing mishaps since the day Toby disappeared.
Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Carter glanced at me from the other side of the picnic table in his garden. "We'd better take this inside."
The sounds of large raindrops hitting his plants surrounded us. Little wet splashes landed on my face.
In haste, we gathered our laptops, papers, and textbooks. We ran inside just as a flash of lightning lit up the garden like a bright summer day.
He slammed the sliding glass door. Thunder boomed, shaking the glass.
I ran to the middle of the room, not wanting to be anywhere near the storm. The outside lit up again, followed immediately by more rumbling.
Carter came over and dumped his stuff on the couch and wrapped an arm around me. "You'll be safe, I promise."
I nodded, breathless.
"Want me to have someone make some hot chocolate?" He gazed into my eyes and ran his fingers through my hair.
"Or we could make it ourselves."
He arched a brow. "For real?"
"Of course."
"Do you know how to make it? I sure don't."
"I think so. Do you have dried cocoa powder?"
Carter shrugged. "Let's go see."
We went into his kitchen and started going through the cabinets until he pulled some out. "Is this it?"
"Yeah. Now we just need milk, sugar, salt, and… something else?"
"Is it important?" He pulled a jug of milk from the fridge.
"Let me think." I found the salt and sugar, then scanned the spice cabinet. "Oh! Vanilla. That's right." I grabbed the little bottle. "Can you start boiling a third of a cup of water?"
His brows came together and he tilted his head. I'd never seen anyone so confused about boiling water—of that, I was sure, despite my lack of memories.
I shoved him playfully. "I didn't ask you to translate War and Peace into Swahili. Can you at least find the measuring cups?"
"Uh… sure?"
"Oh my gosh, you're such a princess," I teased.
He burst out laughing. "I know I should be offended, but you're too cute."
I shook my head. "I'll find the measuring cups, but you're going to help me pour and stir."
"Whatever you say, boss."
Before long, we had our mugs of steaming cocoa. I found a box of candy canes and crushed one. Then I sprinkled the crumbs in the two drinks.
Carter held his up to his face and took a deep breath. "This smells fantastic."
"Wait until you taste it."
A crack of thunder sounded. Everything went black.
"Great," he muttered. "And we never replaced the generator. So much for a romantic evening."
"Do you have candles?" I asked.
"Of course."
"Then it'll be even more romantic."
"I like the way you think. Should we take it up to my room?"
My internal nun yelled at me louder than usual. I'd been putting Carter off for weeks.
"Not yet?" he asked. "Okay, no biggie. The living room, it is. But I'm turning on the fireplace."
We managed to make our way to the couch without spilling the drinks. With the flip of a switch, we had a gas fire.
"Still want candles?" Carter asked.
"No, this is nice." We made ourselves comfortable and watched the fire, sipping our hot chocolates.
After we set the empty cups on the coffee table, Carter grabbed a quilt and covered us. My heart thundered against my ribcage. I was nervous he'd try something, but he kept his hands above the blanket, sliding my hands into his.
Watching the fire lulled me to sleep. Just before dozing, my head leaned against his. He kissed my forehead.
Once again, I found myself in the woods with Toby. These dreams had become a common occurrence.
This time, we were next to a bubbling stream. The sky was colored with bright hues behind the trees and the moon was full.
Toby brushed his lips across mine. "Are you ready?"
"As always." A sharp pain shot through my spine.
"Are you sure you want to do this together? You know, with the clothes situation…" He cleared his throat nervously. "I mean, I'm used to undressing in front
of others—don't get me wrong. It's just that with you, I want it to be special. Not just for a shift."
Pains prickled through my shoulders. I held back a groan. "Me, too. We can undress behind bushes. I really want to run together as wolves."
"Okay. We'll…"
His voice faded away as fire spread through my legs and down into my toes.
Something shook me.
"Victoria, are you okay?" That was Carter's voice.
My eyes flew open. I was back in his living room.
"I think you were having a nightmare."
All my aches and pains were real. I grasped my legs, unable to speak through the agony.
"What's the matter?" he exclaimed. Terror covered his face.
I cried out, unable to control myself any longer.
This was just like what I had gone through after moving in. I'd eaten enough for ten people at lunchtime, having suffered the same ravenous appetite. The manager at the cafeteria had even asked me to leave.
"What can I do?"
I tried to remember what had happened the last time I'd been ravaged with the pain. "Medicine."
"What?" he exclaimed.
"Painkillers." I doubled over, nearly falling off the couch.
He caught me. "You're going to be safer on a bed."
I moaned, unable to argue. With my body hurting this badly, I was likely to pass out. I couldn't remember if I had even managed to stay conscious the last time.
Carter wrapped his arms under me and pulled me up to his chest. "I'll put you in a guest room."
Every step he took added to my suffering.
Why did this keep happening?
Finally, Carter laid me in a bed and covered me with blankets. "Do you want regular painkillers or something really strong? I've got some prescription stuff from when I broke my leg."
"Strong," I mumbled.
"It'll knock you out for a while."
I rolled over and screamed into the pillow. When I was done, I had the room to myself.
A few minutes later, Carter returned with an orange pill bottle and a glass of water. "Can you swallow one, or do you want me to mash it up?"
My bones felt like they would melt and explode at the same time. I cried out, my back arched high into the air.
Once the torment eased, Carter handed me the glass. "I mashed up the pill and put it in there. Just drink. Hurry." His eyes were wide with worry.
Lost Wolf (Curse of the Moon Book 1) Page 15