by Cara Carnes
“No, afraid not.”
Logan’s light brown hair was cropped short. He was tall, like Macen, but thinner. Lean and sleek, but still firm in all the right places. I smirked when he winked. He was a player like a lot of the Cervantez pack I’d observed from a distance. Unlike them, though, he interacted with me. Deep green eyes danced in amusement, but not at me. No, this man grinned and chuckled with me.
Some of the tension left me. Not all of these people were like my pack had been. Maybe this was a new beginning. Maybe I’d fit in better. Maybe they wouldn’t care that I was defective.
“Just get her gone already, Logan. Maybe Macen can help you.” She glared over my shoulder. “She doesn’t belong here, and I don’t like the vibe I’m getting from her.”
Okay, it wasn’t much different from my pack. I could handle this. I could handle her. I’d dealt with worse.
“I’m really very sorry. I honestly don’t know how he would’ve registered me. I don’t even know if he did.” All he did was dump me here.
Pain radiated within me, deep in my marrow. He’d been the closest to a father I’d been allowed. His mate, Elise, had once cared for me—showing me mercy when no one else would. The pack accepted my existence even though they all agreed I should’ve been destroyed.
I swallowed and tried to seal off the emotional dam threating to drown me. I was a hot mess. My emotions were all over the place. I couldn’t break down, not here where people could see.
Stacy sighed and took the sheet, glancing at it one more time. “Lookit, you aren’t on this one, so maybe you aren’t in this category. It can be confusing, I guess.”
“What are you?” Logan asked.
I hedged my response, unsure how to answer. What the hell was I? Good question. Excellent one, in fact.
“I was raised with a wolf pack.”
There. Information without detail. I could do this.
***
Macen
The beast within me growled, demanding I do something to help this female. I’d stood and watched her Alpha break her down until she was a crumbled shell. Never interfering with an Alpha while dealing with a pack member was one of the imperative rules of my kind, yet my wolf had wanted to destroy that fucker.
I’m not a good person. I’d seen a lot of fucked-up shit. My father’s pack was the fiercest in the region—arguably in the country. I didn’t do the protective wolf bullshit. That was for beta pussies. I kicked ass and drew blood until my enemy submitted.
So, why did I want to drag her into a dark corner and wrap her within my embrace until she stopped trembling, and the fear I sensed drifting through her gave way to desire?
I wanted to stroke her, taste her. I wanted to bury myself in her slick heat until she screamed my name and forgot all about the bullshit she’d gone through. I’d never seen someone like her. Maybe that’s why my wolf wanted to claim her.
Her ebony hair tumbled around her shoulders in curly ribbons of silk. Her skin had appeared soft, almost translucent in the sunlight. She was all curves and innocence in a petite frame—so small my wolf was afraid we’d break her.
Darkness settled in my veins when I noted the older black, yellow, and purplish bruising along her arms. The scene I’d witnessed was nothing different for her.
“Yo, man. Snap to it.” Logan slapped my back. “Stop day dreaming and start dealing. You hear what Riletta said? She was raised in a pack.”
“Never say that name.” Her fucker of an Alpha had wielded it like a sword, slicing her each time he used it. I didn’t want her equating the pain he’d created with me or anything to do with me.
“What’s your problem, man?”
“Later.” Logan was allowed great leniency as my second. It didn’t mean I’d allow his bullshit to continue any longer. Questioning me before the pack wouldn’t happen.
Ever.
A college pack was a joke. Too many Alphas in too small a space created an explosive concoction of drama and hormones with a short, pre-lit fuse. Somehow, it’d been mine to handle for three years. One more to go and I’d assume leadership of my father’s pack.
I directed my attention to my wolf’s obsession. She’d retreated back into herself. Her expressive face displayed the shift in emotions, and I could taste her fear and despair. It sickened me. Stacy had cut her down and sliced her apart while I’d been distracted.
Stacy was a good female Alpha, or so I was told. Personally, I couldn’t stand the bitch, but I handled her. Most assumed she’d be my mate, but I’d rather send my nuts through a meat grinder than have my wolf bound to her for eternity. No way.
I could barely fuck her when the need arose. I hated the fucking tradition of the male and female Alphas hooking up. Fortunately, she had plenty of playthings to scratch her itches.
“Logan, take over for Stacy. Which pack were you part of?” I waited for Riletta to snap back to awareness. Motioning for the binder we kept on all the packs in North America, I waited for the gorgeous dark blue eyes that spent too much time looking down. If I did nothing else while she was here, I’d make those eyes smile.
Vanessa brought the binder to me. The perky brunette rubbed against me. “Thanks, Van.”
She fluttered her lashes and rubbed her front against me again in a blatant invitation. My wolf growled. The low rumble made her retreat.
The back of my neck pricked as I heard the rumble of warning coming from my pack. Dean Sandusky shoved his way through my pack, his paunch belly leading the way. The bald prick in an ill-fitting black suit was the last thing I needed right now.
He was a piece of shit. I spent more time unraveling his web of crap than I did learning shit. He’d shifted his focus to breaking down my pack. I’d figured out why—we held too much power—but I didn’t have time for political bullshit.
“What are you doing here, Dean?”
“I understand there’s a disturbance.” His gaze roamed Riletta with lewd interest. Miserable prick had no business thinking that shit. “You were supposed to go to my office.”
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Doctor Richard Sandusky, Dean of Admissions. I knew you were trouble. I should’ve refused the favor asked of me and kept you away from all of these exemplary shifters of academia.”
“My apologies, Doctor. I must’ve misunderstood.”
He preened under her discomfort like the miserable virus he was. “Well, see it doesn’t happen again. This is an institution of learning. We don’t have time to coddle you like you’re accustomed to.” The dean looked at Stacy. “She’ll be in Ruger Hall.”
A few of the people around me gasped and distanced themselves. Fuck. Ruger Hall was the last place she belonged.
This bullshit isn’t going down. I sent the thought to my pack through our telepathic link. I rarely communicated with the entire pack at once. That fact had made everyone’s attention focus on the dean.
I’d labeled him a threat, and my crew took that shit seriously.
She isn’t even wolf. Why are you doing this shit?
Not dealing with your melodramatics now, Stacy.
“I’m done with the freaks. Van, be a sweetheart, and take over for me. I can’t deal.” Stacy flounced off in a flurry of golden locks.
We’ve got your back, for what good it’ll do. Hate to side with Blondie, but we have no jurisdiction over her since she isn’t wolf.
She was raised by a pack. We’ll make her history work.
We’ll sort shit later. Logan flexed his fists and took a position beside me. His presence calmed my wolf somewhat, but standing here like a pussy and saying nothing wasn’t working. I could see Riletta giving up. She’d stopped caring. She wanted out of here, and I couldn’t blame her.
Fuck, I wanted out of this, and it wasn’t my shit. One thing about wolves—we took care of our own. Her pronouncement made this our problem whether she liked it or not.
She kept retreating into the corner, away from me and my pack, as though distancing herself from
our presence. Security guards appeared and surrounded her.
“We’re funding her with a state run program, so her tuition and board are covered. She’ll need to purchase the meal plan and her own books.” The dean smirked.
Riletta’s cheeks reddened. Tears pooled in her eyes.
“Miserable son of a bitch,” Logan whispered.
“Why the fuck would he air this shit?”
“To break her,” Logan stated.
I could feel my pack behind me. Disgruntled and pissed. Confused. The emotions all struck me.
Keep your shit together. Focus on getting this prick out of here.
I shoved the order out through our telepathic bond. It’d have to do. Visibly shaken, Van went behind the table and thumbed through papers until she came to one she turned around for Riletta to review. “Here are the plans.”
She pointed at the sheet and withdrew the wad of cash I’d seen the prick shove at her in the parking lot. The paltry sum was probably all she had, and it wasn’t nearly enough. What the fuck was the piece of shit thinking? The Alpha within me raged; the man within me wanted to protect her. The wolf within me wanted to destroy the son of a bitch who’d put her in this position.
“Are you sure?” Van chewed on her lower lip and patted her flat belly. “That one only covers two meals a day during the week, nothing on the weekends. You’re probably used to more food since you were raised with a wolf pack. The guys eat nonstop.”
“It’ll be fine.” She fumbled with the wad of bills, straightening them as she counted them out. Every last fucking one of them. She picked up a map of the campus and shoved it into her pocket along with her fifty bucks of change. “Thanks.”
“You’ll have to purchase a pass if you intend to leave campus on the weekends. Security is a priority here.” The dean smirked. “Van, give her the form. We need to get her escorted to her quarters before dusk.”
“Why?” she asked.
“That portion of the campus is restricted access after dusk,” I stated. She didn’t need to know the rest now. “As resident Alpha of the Wolf Pack, I’ll offer accommodations until her paperwork is completed.”
“Where? You’re crammed in as it is,” a guard said.
“We’ll figure it out,” Logan replied. “That’s pack business, and you aren’t pack.”
“No.” The dean severed all arguments to the contrary. “This isn’t up for discussion. Fill out your paperwork, and pay Van the twenty dollars for the pass. We must go.”
She yanked a twenty from her depleted funds and stared at the paperwork. She scrawled something on the form and returned it. I moved to stand beside Van and took the form. Blank except for her first name. Riletta.
Who was this woman?
An errant tear fell onto the sheet when I set it down on the table. A growl rolled from my gut. She smiled at Van and palmed the pass as I stood there like a neutered dog unable to stop this shit from going down.
My agitation fed the pack. I sensed the frenzy forming around me, the shift in tension was thick and palpable. Logan’s voice punctured the tension.
We’ll regroup tomorrow. Everyone move out.
“Perhaps there’s room in Badger Hall, Dean. The renovations are finished from what I could tell,” Van stated.
Because of our size, we’d assumed control over the vacant Badger Hall. It’d been a tedious process getting the building up to code since those good for nothing badgers had chewed through the insides like they’d been building freaking dams.
“Do as I said. I will not have someone of her ilk in the other halls.” He motioned toward a couple of guards. One pulled a needle out. “We must begin registering your existence. It’s a shame we must deal with this. Draw her blood, and then make sure she gets to Ruger Hall without causing any further problems.”
“Yes, sir.”
The guard shoved the needle into her arm without warning. She yelped at the invasion, tugging and pulling to escape. Growls echoed around me, but I ignored them all as I leaped over the table and dragged her away from him.
“Touch her again, and you answer to me.”
Chapter Two
Riletta
I blinked the shame from my watery eyes and found myself behind a wall of sinewy flesh. When had Macen moved in front of me? Logan stood beside him. Tension blanketed the area as the two wolves stared down security. Several wolves circled behind me, sealing me within their midst.
“It’s okay. I overreacted.” I pulled on Macen’s shirt, pleading silently for a stand down. Trouble was the last thing I could afford to create. I regarded the dean through the two motionless walls before me. “Is that all you need, Dean?”
“Yes. Let’s get you locked down before nightfall.”
“Wait. One more thing.” Van shoved her way through to me and held out a card. “ROAR. It’s a support group you can call for assistance. Anytime. They’re awesome.”
“Thanks.” The card was heavy in my hand. Shoving it into my pocket, I headed out of the room with the dean and four security guards. The suitcase scraped along the floor, the wheels broken years ago. Conscious of the noise, I lifted it.
My gaze remained locked on the backs of the guards before me even though the shadowed steps behind me echoed in my ears. Macen hadn’t left me yet. His presence was calming, yet unsettling. The bipolar emotions left me silent. I wanted him here, but I didn’t want him to get in trouble with the dean.
What pack did he come from? Where was he from? For him to be the Alpha here meant something. Even I, with my very limited knowledge, realized the entirety of the wolf students had to vote him in. I remembered that from the time Roberto had failed to make Alpha at his university.
Jacob had never forgiven his son for the shame.
“Make sure she gets to Ruger Hall. I have deserving students’ business to deal with.” An enormous weight lifted from me when the dean left.
“You’re a stubborn little mouse.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Oh, you do have a spine. I was wondering when we’d see it. No wolf should ever allow a human to speak to them like he just did.”
“I’m not part of your pack, so there’s no shame to you in my actions.”
“You think that’s the only thing I give a shit about?” His jaw twitched as he slowed his pace to accommodate my shorter stride. “You have no business in Ruger Hall.”
“I have no choice.”
“Bullshit. I offered you a place in our hall. Take it.”
“The dean made it quite clear I was not allowed in there.”
“Fuck the dean,” Macen growled.
“Why can’t you just leave me be?”
“I saw what went down in the parking lot.” The whispered confession shredded my insides. “That prick was your Alpha?”
Nothing good would come from this conversation. We fell into a somewhat uncomfortable silence as we crossed the large campus. My legs ached; my stomach cramped.
“We’re stopping.” Macen settled his hand at my waist and guided me to the right.
“No stops were authorized,” one of the guards stated as he touched his walkie-talkie.
“We’re stopping,” Macen repeated. “Keep them company.”
Logan nodded at the curt command. A blur of bodies filled the area between me and the guards. Macen guided me through a door. My stomach rumbled when the succulent scent of freshly baked bread and a wide assortment of foods permeated my nostrils. Even the meat smelled good. My hands trembled when I reached for a tray.
Thirty dollars.
I could eat, and then find a store to buy supplies for the rest of the weekend. Job hunting would be a priority on Monday after the whole identity issue was sorted.
“You didn’t eat lunch. I heard what he said.” Macen piled food onto my tray. Salad, yogurt, cheese and fruit. “What can’t you eat?”
I swallowed, my mouth salivating as I eyed the tray.
“Riles. Answer me.”
“My name’s
Riletta.”
He halted. Obsidian-laced gray eyes latched onto me, sucking me into their dark depths. His scent permeating the air between us, his hand settled on my waist. I leaned into his warmth as my skin tingled with the need for his touch. How could someone crave a touch so much? The ache stung, hurt to the point of pain.
“Don’t ever ask me to use the name he brandished like a weapon. You can be the meek little mouse from the parking lot or the brief glimmer of courageous beauty I saw moments ago. You will never be that name to me.”
Well. Okay. I shivered under the ferocity, the force of his words. A part of me wanted to curl into his embrace, suckle on the security and comfort he could offer.
Bad things happened when my guard went down.
I’d learned my lesson long ago.
Trembling, yet determined, I pulled away and shoved the tray forward past the wide assortment of chicken, fish, and beef. I’d never seen this much food. Okay, I had, but not for my consumption. I removed some of the items he’d placed there.
“Whoa.” He covered my hand with his. “Can you eat this food?”
“Yes, but it’s too much.”
“Bullshit. You’re a little thing, but even you can put this away easily,” he whispered. “Eat an apple or the whole fucking grouping of food, and it’s all the same price.”
I nodded, keeping the items on the tray. I grabbed a few granola bars, some crackers, peanut butter cups, and other items I could tuck away for the coming weekend. Some cooked veggies and humus finished off my greedy grabbing. Too aware of the hoard of food I dared to take—more than I’d eaten in the past two weeks—I kept my gaze averted when the register appeared in my peripheral vision. I handed the cashier my card.
“No need for that in this hall, especially when you’re with him.”
“This hall?” I looked around and swallowed as my stomach lodged in my throat. He’d taken me into the private cafeteria for Wolf Hall. The sign loomed above me, a warning to all entrants this was wolf country. Restricted access. “I’m not supposed to be here.”