by L. C. Davis
I blinked at him. His words rang true, even if they were infuriating. “So you didn't rig the contest?”
“Hell no. Why would I want you to get offered to the Alpha?” he asked pointedly. “I told the others I'd beat the shit out of them if they voted for you. Obviously didn't work,” he muttered.
He had a point. “But if you didn't do it and Arthur didn't, who did?”
He shrugged. “What makes you so quick to trust your friend? Maybe he wanted to split the cash or something. Who knows.”
“He's filthy rich, I don't think-” I broke off and my heart sank. No, Arthur didn't need the money, but he had mentioned that his mother wanted more connections with the Alpha. Even Maverick's master wanted him to enter for the privilege of seeing the mysterious Lodge owner.
Maybe our conveniently compatible housing situations hadn't been destined after all. Had he been planning to use me as a tool to get access to the Alpha this entire time?
“You okay?” Sebastian asked worriedly.
“Yeah,” I murmured, shaking the forming theory away before my paranoia could overtake me. “It's just been a crazy couple of days. Do you know where Arthur's keys are? I'd like to just go home if the Alpha isn't going to be here today.”
“Alright,” he said to my surprise. “But his car is gone. I had Brendan take it back first thing this morning.”
“What time is it now?” I asked hesitantly. I hadn't checked the phone in all the chaos.
“Three-thirty,” he replied.
“What? Oh, shit,” I muttered. “I can't believe I slept that long.”
“Me either,” he laughed. “Chill, I'll take you home.”
I hesitated. As much as I had reason to doubt him, there was something about Sebastian that I trusted. I also had to get to the school in time to change into something appropriate, dry my hair and get my things together before meeting Professor Winters. There was no way I could walk back to campus in time, and I couldn't afford a cab.
“That would be great, actually. If you don't mind,” I murmured. “I have a really important meeting in a little less than two hours.”
“Of course I don't mind,” he laughed, watching me with that bemused twinkle in his eyes. “You really don't feel it, do you?”
“Feel what?” I asked.
He watched me for some time, searching deeply for something. He finally gave up and sighed. “Nothing. Don't worry about it. I'll take you wherever you need to go. Want me to just drop you off at your appointment?”
“No, that's alright. I have to get changed. Don't wanna show up to a work meeting in some guy's T-shirt and robe,” I teased.
He shrugged. “I don't see the problem, but suit yourself. Come on, I leave my truck out back.”
Of course he has a truck.
I followed him down an alternate flight of stairs. It was hard not to take note of his physique the way he loped down them. He was probably close to three-hundred pounds of muscle, yet he moved with remarkable fluidity. His broad shoulders strained against the same fabric that enveloped me like a tent. I hoped he truly enjoyed what he did at the club, because otherwise he'd missed his calling as the linebacker to end all linebackers.
I followed him out to the parking lot where a small dealership had accumulated. He took his keys out of his pocket and pressed a button. The headlights of a huge blue Silverado roared to life. It looked to be in good condition, if a little worn and muddy on the outside.
“We keep the nice stuff in the garage,” he replied, pulling open the passenger's side door and offering his hand in a surprisingly gallant display.
I couldn't help but smile as I took his hand. The cab was so high off the ground I was more than grateful for the hoist up into it.
“I like it,” I told him. “I've always liked trucks.”
He grinned before closing the door. A moment later he climbed inside with ease and the engine roared to life. The radio came on, blaring some rock song I didn't recognize with a crunchy sounding guitar and a deep-voiced lead singer. He turned it down to a more bearable level.
“Nothin' like a good old Chevy,” he remarked, pulling out of the lot. “Everyone else goes for some useless sports car with a bunch of shitty aftermarket mods. They all wanna borrow this old gal when they wanna go up to the mountains or move shit, though,” he said, giving the car's dash an affectionate pat.
“I'm sure,” I laughed. “You're kind of the big brother figure in the lodge, aren't you?”
He shrugged. “Guess you could say that. The Alpha's the only one who's really in charge. Vic and I are kind of tied for second in command at the moment.”
“That's bound to create some sibling rivalry,” I said, immediately wishing I could take it back. “Sorry if that's too personal.”
“It's not that personal. And nah, we get along surprisingly well,” he said to my relief. “Anyway, we need each other. I'm strong and he's practically a genius. We just try not to step on each other's toes, I guess.”
“That's a really mature outlook,” I said. Unexpectedly so.
“Yeah?” he straightened his back proudly, turning onto the little dirt road. It seemed far less ominous in the light of day.
I smiled and leaned back against the seat, staring out the window. It really was a beautiful drive and the ride was a smooth one in Sebastian's tank.
My calm didn't last for long. “Oh, shit. I forgot my phone,” I said, checking my pockets.
“I grabbed it off Victor's nightstand,” said Sebastian.
“Really?” I asked, relieved. “Wow, thanks.”
“No big deal.” He shrugged it off, taking another turn that brought the university campus into view. It was much smaller than the one in Austin, but it was infinitely more charming.
“That road right there is a shortcut to the dormitory,” I said, pointing it out.
He took the turn and we were at the building within a minute. He stopped in front of the doors and peered up at it like a tourist. “So this is where the bookworms sleep.”
“You mean you've never been on campus?” I asked doubtfully. Then again, the college boys probably went to see him.
“Books give me a headache,” he replied, pulling my phone out of his pocket. I took it, surprised he offered it to me without any strings attached. “When am I seeing you again?”
I hesitated. “I don't know. Like I said, I've got a crazy week ahead. Would it be bad if you passed the message on to the Alpha that I can't accept the, er title?”
“Well yeah, but he's the one who signs the check for the reward,” he said. “He'll wanna meet with you first.”
“Oh, no, I can't take that either,” I said, wincing internally. If anyone had told me there would be a day I would turn down ten-thousand dollars, I would have called them a liar.
He frowned. “Why not? You earned it. In spite of my best efforts,” he sighed.
“But I don't deserve it. I'm not really a sub and I'm going to turn down your Alpha's dungeon... thingy.”
“Talk to him about it. If he's not back by Wednesday, I'll eat my hat.”
“You don't seem like the hat type.”
“Then I'll buy one and eat it,” he promised. “Can I come get you Wednesday night and bring you to meet him? I'd like for him to meet you anyway.”
I didn't dare ask why. “I-it's too early to tell if I'll be able to. Sometimes I have to take extra shifts at the library.”
“Thursday, then. Call me. I put my number in your phone.”
“You-” I sighed. Of course you did. “Okay, I'll call you,” I promised, realizing that was the only way I was going to be able to get out of the car without hurting his feelings.
“Cool,” he grinned triumphantly. “Can I walk you to the door?” he asked when he saw my hand on the door.
“N-no thanks, um, I'm new here. I don't want everyone to see me getting dropped off by a wolf. No offense.”
“Ouch,” he said, hissing air in through his teeth.
“Th-that's not w
hat I meant,” I stammered eagerly. “Just that, you know, then they'd all think I'm-”
“A sub,” he smirked.
“Exactly.”
He looked me up and down, leaning heavily on the steering wheel. “Can't have that.” He sighed, raking a hand through his shaggy brown hair. “Suit yourself. When you're ready to come up to the Lodge, I'll come get you.”
I wasn't sure but I nodded for the sake of parting amiably. “Thanks, Sebastian. And uh, please tell the others I'm sorry about the disturbance this morning.” I winced. “And Victor's door.”
“Ah, don't worry about it. They all pretty much go with the flow,” he said, jumping out of the truck He had my door open before I could.
I stared up at him, startled by his sudden closeness as he leaned into the car. He put his hands on my waist and lifted me out of the truck. Standing so close, the size difference between us was even more overt.
I glanced around nervously. We were already getting a few strange looks, considering that I was practically being pinned against the truck by the monster of a man.
“Would it really be so bad if someone thought you were mine?” he asked in a tone that made the idea of a sharp answer unforgivable. The eyes that stared back at me were full of longing and not a small amount of sorrow.
“It's not you, Sebastian. I barely even know you.”
“We could change that,” he said, planting his hands on either side of the frame above me. “I could take you to dinner.”
I gulped. “I-I think we should just see how the meeting with the Alpha goes.” I looked down at myself and remembered I was still wearing his clothes. The robe was the only thing covering my many scars, and I didn't want that to be another thing for people to gossip about. “Can I wash these and give them back to you then?”
He sighed. “Keep them.” His lips curled slightly. “Maybe it'll keep the monsters away in your dreams.”
I pulled the robe closer and turned away to hide a smile. I never found it hard to hide what I was thinking, but he made it a challenge. “Goodbye, Sebastian. Thanks again for the ride.”
He stepped back, giving me room to step up onto the walkway that led into the dormitory.
“You don't need to thank me, Remus,” he said. “Not unless you're in my dungeon.”
As he disappeared around the other side of his truck, I looked around to make sure no one had heard his rather loud comment. Then again, he was one of those people who was yelling even when he was just talking.
I had made it partially up the walkway when I heard his window roll down. He leaned over and managed to prop his elbow on the other window.
“If I don't hear from you by Wednesday night, I'm gonna come get you myself,” he called.
I wasn't entirely sure if he was kidding or not. My gut told me no, but what could he do? I lived in the dorm with three-hundred and something other students. He would have no way of knowing which room was mine, and even if he did, even he couldn't get past the card-only entry system. Assuming he really was crazy enough to try.
“I won't forget,” I promised, making a beeline for the door. It wasn't a complete lie. I certainly wasn't going to forget, but that didn't mean I was going to call.
I fumbled in my pocket for my card and had to tug on the wad of cards and cash to get it out. I tugged a little too hard and they went spilling all over the ground. I leaned down to pick them up and realized that my lone twenty had somehow developed the power of asexual reproduction.
With the crumpled bills in my hand, I turned to scan the parking lot only to see his truck taking the corner out of the lot. So he could hurry when he wanted.
I sighed and scanned my card, then shoved everything into one of the pockets on his robe. I headed upstairs, ignoring the strange looks as I made it past the lobby. Once I was in the dorm itself, wearing pajamas wasn't such an out-of-place sight. The leather pants, on the other hand...
7
I took the elevator, too exhausted to entertain my usual habit of taking the stairs whenever possible. To my relief, Arthur was nowhere to be found when I entered the room.
I slipped out of the robe and T-shirt as well as my pants and dropped everything on the bed. I fished my cards and Sebastian's cash out of the pocket and separated them, putting the extra cash in a box on my dresser. I put a sticky note on top and wrote, “GIVE BACK TO S.”
Satisfied, I went over to my closet and put on the nicest pair of jeans I owned. I slipped into a crisp button-down as well as a turtleneck sweater and set to work on my hair. Even though it was still damp, it was already growing frizzy. I squirted a bit of macadamia oil serum into my hand and worked it through my frazzled tresses.
I might be a man, but the supposed one-size shampoo for us was not what my hair wanted. I checked the clock before I set to work with my flat brush and blow dryer in an attempt to smooth out my poor, abused locks into something manageable.
I still wasn't happy with the finished product when I looked in the mirror minutes later, but it would have to do. Sebastian had stalled for far longer than it had seemed. Truth be told, I had enjoyed our time in the car, away from the strange culture of the Lodge.
I brushed aside a thought that maybe I really would enjoy spending time with him under other circumstances. It was too dangerous. Even if he was a good guy, his twin was at the very least eerily obsessed with a perfect stranger. It wasn't even the fact that he had drawn me. Any artist might see a random stranger and decide to sketch them for the hell of it. It was the fact that he had somehow not only seen but rendered my most secret and shameful feature with unsettling precision.
That unproductive line of thought had to be banished from my mind, although getting it to truly leave was impossible. Dwelling on it would make little difference. It wasn't as if there was any logical explanation I was capable of arriving at.
Anyway, I had a new life to begin. I left a quick note for Arthur in case he hadn't gotten my text and made my way over to the cafe, checking my phone periodically to make sure I wasn't late.
The cafe was fortunately much less crowded than it had been the other day when Arthur and I went for coffee and a live show. I sat down at a window seat towards the back and asked for a cup of coffee and some water when the waitress came over, explaining that I was meeting someone soon.
At least I had made it before him. He never had to know how dangerously close his new teaching assistant had come to missing the meeting altogether, and he certainly never had to know why.
Back to the ordinary. Back to normal. Back to sanity.
Professor Winters came in a few minutes later, looking like hipster perfection. I waved when I saw him scanning the room and stood to greet him with an awkward handshake.
“Sorry I'm late, I hope you weren't waiting too long,” he said, glancing at my near empty cup of coffee.
“Not at all,” I said, taking a seat. “It's just been a rough weekend so I'm guzzling caffeine,” I admitted sheepishly.
He laughed. “I usually save that for Mondays. Thanks for agreeing to meet on a weekend. I know a lot of students are opposed to it.”
Oh I've been working on the weekend since high school,” I laughed. “A meeting is a treat.”
“A solid work ethic. I like it,” he said, glancing at the one-page menu tucked between napkins and coffee fixings. “It's rare these days.”
“That's nice of you to say,” I said sheepishly. The truth was that I had realized at a young age once my foster mom started spending my support payments on handbags that if I needed anything I would have to find a way to work for it.
“I'm looking forward to this,” he said sincerely. “I think it's going to be a great year. I won't take up too much of your time, I just wanted to meet to touch base about my plans for the semester,” he said, pausing when the waitress came over. “Iced tea for me, unsweetened, please. Oh, and were you hungry? My treat,” he offered.
“No, thanks though,” I lied. “I was just going to grab something from the cafeter
ia later.”
“Don't be silly, the least I can do for ruining your weekend is feed you,” he teased, glancing at the menu again. “We'll take the appetizer sampler and a couple of coffee rolls.”
“You don't have to do that,” I murmured, embarrassed.
“Of course not, but stuffing your face isn't as fun alone,” he grinned. Once the waiter brought his tea, he poured what had to be at least six packets of sugar into it, ruining my theory that he was ordering plain tea for health reasons. “So, what's your weekend looked like so far? Hopefully you had more fun than study group.”
If he had any idea.
“N-not really more fun. I'm working at the library tomorrow, and I was uh, helping my friend with this extracurricular club he wants to get into.”
“A club?” he asked curiously. The waitress brought our food, and I hoped he would forget it from the zealous way he was eying it. It did look delicious. “Oh man, the wraps are amazing. Try everything.”
“Thanks, it looks good,” I said, filling a small plate. The wraps really were amazing.
“So, what kind of club was it?”
I froze. “Uhm, it's kind of a weird uh, social club,” I explained. “It's really big on discipline and uh, membership hierarchy. And they're really into wildlife conservation.”
“Oh,” he said with a confused frown. “Sounds like a fraternal order?”
“Y-yeah, you could say that. Super secretive, though, I don't even know the name,” I lied.
“Oh wow,” he said, consuming buffalo wings with sheer determination that would put Arthur to shame. I wondered how he possibly maintained his slim build. “Sounds serious.”
“Mhm,” I nodded. “So is there anything you need to do before class on Monday?”
“Yes, actually. If you can make it over to the HR office, you need to sign some W2 forms before you can become an official teaching assistant. That way you can get paid for helping students after class, too. I'm sure it's nothing you haven't covered, but I'd review the slides beforehand, too. I sent them to your campus email, did you get it?”
“Oh, n-no,” I said, wondering how many other emails I'd missed since I overslept so severely. “I'm sorry, I haven't been back to my room for more than a second all day.”