by V. Vaughn
"I'm not sure I do," says Kelly. "If he knew you were his true mate, he should have resisted the other one. Josie, right? Ugh. What kind of stupid name is that? Max is an idiot."
She reaches for the bag of chips as my instincts kick in. I grab her wrist because my bear is pissed she criticized Max. As soon as I realize what I've done I release her. "Sorry. I—"
"Feel a need to protect your mate," says Shannon. She shakes her head. "We're such slaves to our bears, aren't we?"
"Oh my, god!" cries Kelly. "That's exactly why Max kissed the bitch. His bear did it."
Ugh. Sometimes I really am an idiot who lets emotions rule her life. How many people have to tell me what I should know? Kelly and my mother are right. Max reacted to Josie the way I just did with Kelly. And because it was only one kiss, which I do believe he's telling the truth about, then it probably was instinct he didn't control quickly enough.
I need some time to get used to the idea because I'm not sure I'm ready to forgive Max, but at least I've reached a place my ego can deal with. I reach for chocolate and ask, "What movie should we watch?"
Shannon grabs one of my pillows and snuggles up next to me. "Is this helping?"
I smile at her before looking at Kelly. "More than you know." When Kelly positions herself on my other side, I wrap my arms around my sisters' shoulders, grateful that I have a loving family who have my back. "Thanks, guys."
Seven
Madison
"I've really got to go," I whisper as I try to pull out of Trent's embrace in front of my dorm.
Trent and I went for a walk around campus after we drank our coffee, and our time together stretched into dinner at the dining hall. If wasn't for my paper due Monday, I'd have gone back to his frat house with him. But I was afraid that us holing up in his room would lead to me flunking out of school. Him too. So we both decided we needed to put our classes first because we have the rest of our lives to be together.
He loosens his grip and grabs my hand as I move away. I giggle as I squeeze his fingers and then pull free. He says, "I'm not sure how I'm going to survive the night."
"Somehow I think you'll manage. What did you do before I came along?"
"Life without you wasn't living, Madison."
Two girls push by us and one says to the other. "Seriously? Oh, honey."
I know they're talking about me and Trent's sappy line, but it doesn't bother me a bit. I lean against the door and scan his body with my gaze. At this moment I'd gladly flunk out of school to go back to his room. "You know," I say. "It won't take me all night to write my paper."
"It won't take me all night to get my studying done either. How about you text me when you've finished?"
I laugh. "We're so pathetic."
Trent grips my arms and leans his forehead against mine to whisper. "No, Madison. We're true mates. It's supposed to be this way."
He kisses me long and deep, and it leaves me trembling with the anticipation of so much more later. After I walk into my dorm, I wander to my room in a love-induced daze. It's quickly killed when I open the door and get a waft of the odor.
"Ugh," I cover my nose. "It smells like a boys’ locker room in here."
Josie is on the floor doing sit-ups. "That's my shoes," she grunts out between crunches.
"Ever hear of air freshener?" A drawer scrapes open as I tug on it to retrieve my bottle of odor neutralizing spray.
"Yeah. Didn't have any."
I walk around our room, and a fine mist floats in the air as I apply the spray. I notice exercise bands and a jump rope in the corner. Josie is still going strong with her sit ups, and I ask, "How many of those are you going to do?"
"As many as I can."
I frown and glance over at her laundry basket to see not only the exercise gear she had on this morning but another pair of shorts and two soaked t-shirts. My stomach knots up, because I think she might have been working out all day. I think about her meme-worthy body she had the first day she arrived. I've only seen her run since we got here, and I wonder if she's freaking out about not working out the number of hours it must take to maintain her level of fitness. I know it's only been a week, but how much weight could you really put on in a few days?
Oh god, what if she's a closet binge eater? Or just obsessed with being a certain size and discovered she put a half inch on around her middle with all the beer she's been drinking and the huge breakfast we ate last night? Worry fills me, and I realize I'm biting my lip. I ask, "What's going on, Josie?"
"Nothing." She doesn't pause to talk to me. "I'm just working out."
I squat down in front of her and swallow back my disgust from her pungent odor before placing my hands on her knees. I don't even flinch when I find their slimy with sweat because this is serious. "Stop."
"Can't."
It's as if she's in a trance, and she doesn't even look at me.
"Josie! Stop this!"
She halts her movement and glares at me with a look so scary-intense that ice fills my veins. "I can't." She rises to her feet. "I'll take this to the gym."
"What?" I rush over to the door to block it. "It looks like you've been working out since your run, about what? Ten hours ago? Why, Josie? What's going on?" She strips off her wet top and rummages through her clothes before she tugs on a dry t-shirt without speaking. I watch her abs ripple and realize they're also twitching, probably from a severe case of overuse. "Josie, please," I beg. "Talk to me."
She grabs her earbuds to drape over her shoulders. "There's nothing to talk about, Madison. I've been slacking off and need to get back into shape."
Oh boy. It's worse than I feared. She thinks what she's doing is normal. "I totally get that. I do. But you're taking this too far."
She shakes her head at me like I'm the one who's losing it. "I'll be fine."
I spread my arms out and press my back against the door to create a human barricade. "No. I'm not letting you work yourself to death. You need a shower and food. Did you even eat today?"
Josie chuckles and then looks at a spot over my shoulder. A classic sign someone's lying based on what I've read on the internet. "Of course, I ate, and I spent hours in the library to get my work done." She moves her gaze to me and is sarcastic when she adds, "Did you get your paper done?"
Wow. So now she's going to be mean to me for trying to help. Since I can see my intervention isn't going to work I hold up my hands and walk away from the door. "Fine. I'm worried about you. But if you say everything is okay, then I guess I have to believe you."
Josie blinks at me as if she's waking up from a dream and then lets out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Madison. This isn't what you must be thinking." She even forces out a laugh I don't buy for a second. "Although I can see why you do. I went for a run early this morning. Then I stopped and got a donut. I'll admit it made me feel a little guilty after how we pigged out last night, so after I got my studying done, and had dinner, I decided to do a strength workout." She leans in to connect her gaze with mine. "I swear, I haven't been working out all day, and I'll get some of that anti-stink stuff." She sniffs the air. "It really works."
I try to keep my face impassive, hoping she won’t realize I think she's lying, because I'm pretty sure calling her out wouldn’t go well for me. "I'm sorry, too." I shrug. "I can't help myself. I'm a worrier. Don't stay there too long, okay? It's not safe to walk across campus late at night."
Josie chuckles, and that creepy look in her eyes comes back. Heck, even her voice sounds menacing when she says, "I think we've established anyone who wants to mess with me is the one who should be afraid."
I force a chuckle too and watch her walk out the door, but her words hit home. I hug myself, wondering if I should be afraid for my life. I think back to when we first met and I feared she was an assassin. While at the time I thought I was overreacting, right now I'm not so sure. I glance over at her laundry pile that is defying my air freshener's ability to keep the stench away. No way in hell do I believe Josie didn't work out all day.
She's lying to hide something, and while it could be some kind of eating disorder, I have a horrible feeling it's much bigger than that.
What I do know is that I have a tendency to make things more dramatic than they are, and I wish I had someone to talk this through with. Duh. I do. I grab my phone and make a call. "Trent?"
"Couldn't stand being without me?"
I smile as our love fills me with a warm glow. "Definitely, but that's not why I called." I bite my lip before I realize what I'm doing and stop myself to say, "There's something I need to talk to you about. I hope you don't mind, but I'm really worried about Josie. When I got back it appeared she'd been working out since early this morning."
"Wow. No wonder she's so ripped. A body like hers takes a lot of work."
"Yeah. I know. But working out all day? That's extreme, don't you think?"
"It is," he agrees.
"I tried to confront her, but she's not having any of it. She tried to lie her way out of it."
"That's not good, darling."
"I know. I'm sorry. I don't know what to do, and I really need to talk to you about this."
"Of course. Talk away."
"She's at the gym right now. Can I come over?"
The sound of a door slamming shut comes from his phone, followed by the annoying noise of wind blowing into the speaker. "I'll meet you at your dorm and walk back with you, Madison."
Relief washes over me like a soothing shower, and I let out a sigh. "Thank you, Trent. I really appreciate it."
"No need for thanks, darling. See you soon."
I'm about to leave when I realize I don't know what I'm dealing with, and yeah, I'm sure I'm overreacting, but I grab my backpack to stuff my laptop, a toothbrush, and a few other essentials inside. In my gut, I know something is very wrong, and while I don't have the body of a trained killer, I have a sharp mind and an intuition I trust. But even better? I have a werebear who would die for me and his entire clan to back him up. Whatever is going on with Josie, we're getting to the bottom of it.
Eight
Madison
"Your room is so orderly," I say as I look around Trent's space. "You make me feel like a slob. I hope you're going to be able to handle my piles."
"I'll be fine." Trent sets my backpack down on the floor by his desk and tugs open the door of a mini-fridge. "Thirsty?"
I shake my head as he grabs a bottle of water. I wanted to wait to get into the situation with Josie until we were some place private, but now I'm not sure where to begin. I blow out a long breath and decide to start with the first time I met her. "You know how your first impression of someone can be spot on?"
Trent sits on the end of his bed, leaving me the desk chair. "I do."
I'm not ready to sit, so I pick up a pen and roll it in my fingers. "This is going to sound like I'm crazy, but when I first met Josie, I wondered if she was an assassin." I look at Trent to see he's not laughing as if it's a joke, and I swear love gushes out of my heart when I realize he's taking me seriously.
"Why?"
"You already know she's rough around the edges, and that first day she was super bitchy to me. Like she was trying to see how far she could push me. I wasn't having any of it and told her to march down to the RA and request a room change because I wasn't going to live with a hostile person."
Trent gives me a small smile. "You are badass."
I can't help but smile back at him with a little pride. "Then she threw a Kershaw Cryo at me, which I caught, shocking the hell out of her."
"What's a Kershaw Cryo?"
"Oh," I chuckle. "Sorry. I worked part time at an outdoor supply place for a few years and learned way more than I ever wanted to know about weapons for hunters and survivalists. It's a pretty fancy knife. Anyway, I must have passed her test because after that she warmed up to me. She even admitted she wasn't good with people. I thought we were becoming good friends."
"From what I've seen, you're a really good friend to her."
"Right?" I sit in the chair and perch myself on the edge of it. "And she's been trying to soften her rough edges. She told me she wanted to live a normal life like mine. I thought we had a good thing going. I mean, she kicked down your door to save me." I turn and look at the brand-new door on Trent's room as I recall the sound of it splintering from Josie's kick. "What college girl knows how to break a door with her foot?"
"Not an average one," Trent says.
I smile at him. Instead of asking me questions and trying to fix my problem before I even laid it all out, he's actually listening. "After last night when she told me that she's half werebear too, she admitted that the reason she came to school here was to find a mate and become a werebear."
Trent frowns. "I've been wondering about that. Did she say how she knew about us? Do you think one of her parents told her?"
It occurs to me I never thought to question that. "I don't have any idea. She's never mentioned her parents, and Josie's the kind of person you let tell you things like that instead of asking. Is there another way she could know?"
"One of our strictest rules is to keep our true nature a secret. The only other way she might know is if someone told her he's her true mate. And—" he chuckles, "—we try to lead up to it slowly. I'm so sorry, Madison."
I smile too, thinking about how he revealed his teeth and freaked me out. "It's okay." I get up and walk over to sit next to him on his bed. His body is like a furnace, and I slide my hand up his arm. "I probably shouldn't admit this, but it was kind of sexy."
"Yeah?" Trent leans in and tips my chin up with a finger. "Don't let it freak you out. That's your bear talking, and she doesn't have human sensibilities."
I think about the idea of him biting me, and it sends a shiver down my spine. I let it, imagining there's an animal inside of me who has desires I will need to honor. "Where will you bite me when its time?" I ask.
Trent slides his hand down my neck slowly, and I let my head fall back before he stops at a point between my throat and my collarbone. He takes a shaky breath, making me think he's turned on imagining it. "I'd like to do it right here."
My insides are trembling too with a mix of fear and excitement. I never thought I'd get off on pain, but the idea is a little titillating right now, and I wonder if that's my bear. "Will it hurt a lot?"
"It might, but I've heard that if we do it during sex you and I will experience the most mind-blowing orgasms ever."
I laugh and push his hand away. "You are so full of it." I climb onto his lap to straddle him and hold on to his shoulders. "But lucky for you, I plan to do you anyway."
He grabs my hips to pull me down on top of his hardness. "I'm serious, Madison."
"No way," I take in his sober expression. "Really?" I pump my eyebrows at him. "Talk about incentive."
I let out a gasp when he flips me over and hovers above me. "I may have exaggerated a little about the mind-blowing part, but when our connection bonds it is supposed to be an incredible feeling." Trent kisses me, and for a while I get lost in us. But then I stop because worry about Josie is crowding my mind.
I sit up as Trent lets out a groan. "Hold on for a minute," I say. "I still need to figure out what to do about Josie."
Trent sits up too. "Okay." He blows out a whoosh of air as if he's focusing. "Finish telling me the rest. You said she worked out all day today."
I grab his face as a rush of love fills my heart. Nobody has ever listened to me the way he is. "You are so damn amazing right now." I kiss him quickly before letting go. "Right, Josie did work out all day, but we need to back up a bit. I didn't tell you about last night at the diner. Josie and I went to the Pancake Place to eat because we couldn't sleep. I noticed this hot guy come in—"
Trent lets out a low growl and I place my hand on his chest. "Whoa, boy. He was nowhere near as hot as you, okay?" The growling stops. "I pointed him out to Josie, and when she got up to go to the bathroom, he followed her. The next thing I knew, she came out of the bathroom, slammed him up against the
wall so hard I heard it, and then kissed him." Trent's eyes widen, and I say, "Scary right?"
"And kind of hot. You can do that to me any time."
I roll my eyes at him. "Yeah, well, at first he seemed into it, but then he pushed her off and got out of there so fast it was like the devil was chasing him. Now Josie thinks he's her true mate, and he probably wants nothing to do with a human. Do you think it’s possible he doesn't know she's half werebear?"
"I do. I also don't think he's from around here. I asked a few guys from the different clans in our territory, and we can only come up with three other guys we know of named Max, and their ages don't fit at all."
I frown. "Well, that explains why I couldn't find him anywhere on social media."
"You Googled him?"
I give him a sexy grin. “You have no idea what these talented fingers can do."
"No. I don't." He falls back on the bed and puts his arms behind his head as he gives me a cocky smirk. "Show me."
I drag my finger down his chest and stop at the waistband of his jeans. He lifts his hips up as an invitation. "Hold that thought. We're still talking about Josie."
Trent lets out a groan. "Of course. Go on."
"I'll get to the point. Last night she was really concerned about me and what happened here. She was almost sweet. This morning she was a vulnerable, dorky and lovable Josie when I offered to find out what I could about Max. But when I got back tonight, she was the scary girl I met the first day all over again. Cold, kind of mean, and even though she tried to lie to me about working out all day, I'm sure she did. Trent, I hate to say this, but I'm a little afraid of her right now."
He sits up and rubs my arms. "Then you stay here tonight and for as long as you need until we can figure out what her deal is."
"I don't know. Part of me feels like she needs me. What if she's just going through some PTSD thing right now? What kind of friend would I be if I just ditch her because I'm little afraid?"