“Of course.” Her eyes teared up, and she sniffled. “I get emotional in these situations. You know that.” She smiled wide, but it didn’t erase the worry from her eyes.
“She’ll be fine,” Dad insisted. He reached for her hand, removing it from my knee, and brought her knuckles to his lips. “We’ll stop by that Greek place she loves so much on the way home. I’ll make sure she orders her favorite seasoned lamb dish. Then, I’ll take her to that little ice cream place around the corner before we head home.” He pulled up to the unloading area in front of the academy and shifted into park.
“That sounds amazing,” I said, leaning forward in my seat. A yawn slipped past my lips. “But I think a nap sounds even better.”
“I thought you looked tired. Did you not sleep well last night?” Mom asked. She’d shifted around in her seat to get a better look at me.
“I slept like a baby, but I guess I’m still catching up from the last few months of crazy nights and early mornings here.” I nodded to the academy.
Everything I’d just said was a lie.
I hadn’t slept at all last night. I’d tossed and turned, worried about my new classes. If I’d like the professors. If I’d be able to keep my grades up. If I’d be able to get my laundry done before class tomorrow morning.
Most of all, I worried about the sanctioned run, which would be happening shortly after returning to campus.
“Want some help carrying your things inside?” Dad asked. He popped open his door and slipped out.
“No. I’m good.” I gathered my purse and water from the backseat before climbing out. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Oh, honey. You know you don’t have to thank us. It’s only an hour and a half drive. We’re happy to do it. Gives us more time with you,” Mom insisted as she exited the car too.
Being so close to home was one of the things I loved about the academy when I first signed up. I’d envisioned coming home nearly every weekend to see my parents and friends from high school, but that hadn’t happened. I was busier than I’d anticipated between classes, studying, and the social life Summer insisted I had to have.
I’d tossed another wrench in my plans of coming home on weekends when I decided to sell my car. I’d said it made sense to sell it, so I didn’t have to pay the yearly fee to store it in the garage beneath the academy. Another reason was that I’d needed the money to help tide me over until I was able to get a job. I hadn’t mentioned that last part to my parents though. They knew I’d been given a scholarship, but weren’t fully aware of how much that didn’t cover. I had no intention of telling them. They had enough money issues to worry about without me adding mine to them.
Besides, I was perfectly fine without a car. Brentwood, the small town where Lunar Academy was located, was small enough that a person could easily walk anywhere in minutes.
I slung my purse over my shoulder and pulled Mom in for a hug. She squeezed me tight. “I know. I’m going to miss you guys. Love you.”
It was the truth. While they weren’t my biological parents, they were still my parents in every sense of the word. I loved them immensely.
Mom released me from her bear hug. “We love you too. Make sure you call us, okay? Frequently.”
“I will. Promise.” I grinned.
“Checking in once or twice a month would be nice. We don’t want to smother you,” Dad said as he rolled my suitcase from the trunk over to where Mom and I stood.
“Don’t listen to him.” Mom shoved him playfully. “Call a couple of times a week. I’m not asking to hear from you every day, but two or three times a week would be nice. You can even just text us if you want instead.”
I’d never gone a week without talking to them in some form, whether that be by text or an actual phone call, but I didn’t say so.
“I’ll check in. I promise.” I stepped to Dad and gave him a hug before taking my suitcase from him.
Another vehicle pulled up behind ours, and one of the few sets of twins I’d noticed at the academy slid out of the backseat. I couldn’t remember their first names, but I knew their last name was Hazel. I’d seen them around campus but didn’t have any classes with either of them even though they were first-years like me.
Maybe that would change this semester.
Someone else slipped out of the vehicle along with them. A guy I recognized from my Moon Phases class last semester, Ryan Grayson. He and the girl twin had been together for a while now. I imagined he’d gone home with her for the holidays. For whatever reason, this made me smile. They were cute together.
“I should probably get inside and see if Summer is here yet. She was supposed to get in a little while ago,” I said.
Mom wrapped her arms around me for another hug. “Tell her we said hello. Maybe she can come home with you on spring break. We’d love to meet her.”
“I’ll run it by her,” I insisted as I returned her hug.
There was a chance Summer might actually be okay with that. She didn’t have the best relationship with her parents, especially not after she was turned.
Dad kissed me on the forehead once I untangled myself from Mom. “We’ll talk to you soon. Love you. Hope you have a great last semester of your first year. And, try not to get into any trouble.”
“Ha, ha. Funny.” I rolled my eyes.
I wasn’t a troublemaker. Not at all. I did everything by the book. It was how I’d been my whole life. Schedules and checklists were my favorite. Rules too. Each helped make life a little less chaotic in their own way.
“Never know. You’re living the academy life now. You might end up going to some wild party and then finding yourself in trouble. Don’t hesitate to call us if you need someone to bail you out. At least then we’ll know you’ve had a little fun while you’re here.” Dad flashed me a wicked grin as he sidestepped Mom’s playful jabs to his ribs.
“Hey. She doesn’t need you, Mr. Rule Breaker, giving her any crazy ideas.” She shifted her full attention to me. “Don’t listen to him.”
“I never do,” I teased as I started in the direction of the Wolf Bitten dormitory. The Hazel twins and Ryan Grayson had already unloaded and walked away. Since the drive was too narrow for Mrs. Hazel to go around Dad’s car, she honked. Another car pulled in behind her. “You guys should probably go. You’re holding up the line.” I waved them away as I walked.
“Talk to you soon. Love you, honey,” Mom said for a final time.
I watched as they climbed in their car and drove off. “Yep. Love you guys, too.”
Once I stepped inside my dorm house, I said hey to a few people in the main lounge before making my way up to the fourth floor where the first-year dorms were. Once there, I headed to the end of the hall. The room I shared with Summer was the last door on the left. I inserted my ID card to unlock the door and stepped inside, lugging my suitcase behind me. Summer sat at our shared desk, painting her toenails. As soon as she saw me, her face lit up with excitement and she hobbled over on her heels to give me a hug.
“Oh my God! I’m so glad you’re back!” She released me and flipped her long blond hair over her shoulder. Her eyes focused on my face. “Wait. Are those bangs?”
My fingers lifted to touch them. They were still new enough to have me nervous about other’s reactions to them. “Uh, yeah. I wanted something different. Do you think they look okay?”
“They look super cute! I like the way they frame your face.” She hobbled back to the desk chair and resumed painting her toenails bright purple. “So, tell me about your holiday break. Was it fabulous? I guarantee you it was way better than mine.”
I cringed. Summer’s home situation was a complete one-eighty from mine. My parents were accepting of my wolf, because they were wolves themselves. Summer’s parents, not so much. They were human and seemed uneasy about the whole werewolf thing. Summer was turned by some jackass boyfriend who got a little rough with her one night. She flipped out when she realized what he’d made her, and went to her parents for help. It
had been a bad idea, though. They hadn’t known the shifter world existed any more than she had. They took her to a few doctors they paid to keep quiet, but none of them could fix her. Then, they learned about the academy and sent her here to learn more about what she was or if there was a way to fix herself.
Summer’s theory was they wanted her out of sight and out of mind. I agreed with it.
I lifted my suitcase onto my bed. “It was good. Fun. Quiet. I enjoyed being home, but it’s nice to be back at the academy.”
“That’s it? Oh, come on. You’ve got to tell me the juicy details. How did it go with your mom’s side of the family? Was there more tension like you thought? Did they treat you okay?”
I unzipped my suitcase and grabbed the bar of salted dark chocolate from the inside pocket I’d tucked away earlier, then kicked off my Converse and flopped down on my bed. The wrapper crinkled as I opened it, and the heavenly aroma of chocolate floated through the air. My mouth watered.
“Eh, it was okay. There was some tension, but I handled it well,” I said.
I had. I’d made sure to have a smile on my face the entire time, and to laugh and cut up with everyone exactly like I did every holiday before I’d been turned. Grandma Myrtle seemed irritated with me, but that wasn’t anything new. She’d been irritated with me since day one. I didn’t think she liked that Mom had resorted to adopting a human child. Or maybe it was that she didn’t like the fact Mom had adopted at all.
Who knew?
All I knew was that she wasn’t any kinder to me now that I was a wolf than she had been when I was merely human. The only way she’d be happy with me was if I had been born a wolf like her. Like, my mom.
“That’s good.” Summer wiped the side of her pinky toe with her index finger. “Sucks things weren’t better for you. I know how much you wish they were.”
She did know. We’d had this talk before I left. I was worried things would be worse with Grandma Myrtle since this was my first time seeing her since having been turned. What I hadn’t expected was for things to stay the same.
I broke off a piece of my salted dark chocolate and popped it in my mouth. “Yeah, but it is what it is.”
I hoped my words sounded believable. Deep down, I didn’t feel so nonchalant about the situation. It bothered me when people didn’t like me, especially when they hadn’t given me a chance. Ever.
“True.” She glanced up at me. “I’m just glad you weren’t a kiss ass the whole time to them.”
“Nope. Definitely not.” I averted my gaze to my chocolate as I tore off another piece.
“Tori…”
“What?”
“We talked about this before you left. You said you weren’t going to do that whole people pleaser, kiss ass thing you always do,” she insisted.
“I know. And, I didn’t. Much.”
She rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh. “Next time, you better show some backbone. It’s the only way your Grandma Myrtle, and everyone else in your mom’s family, will pull the stick out of their asses.”
Or it could make it worse, I thought to myself as I chewed.
“So, how was your trip home?” I asked, needing to change the subject.
“Ugh,” Summer huffed. “My parents are so normal to me on the phone, but the second we get in a room together, they start to flip out. I can sense it. You know? Their fear and unease lingers in the air around them. Also, I’m pretty sure they slept with their bedroom door locked the entire time I was home, which made me feel super welcome.”
My teeth sank into my bottom lip. I didn’t know what to say. I felt bad for Summer, but I knew telling her so would piss her off. She didn’t like when people pitied her.
“Don’t fill up on chocolate. We’re heading to the dining hall in a bit. Then, I was thinking maybe we could pop over to Last Call for a few drinks to celebrate.”
“What are we celebrating? Starting a new semester?”
Summer gave me a look that said I should know better than to ask. “Surviving holiday break, duh. Well, at least that’s what I’m celebrating. Time with my parents is like time spent in hell.”
“Actually, I was thinking about staying in tonight. I don’t have anything clean to wear since I pretty much took everything I own with me over break and I forgot to wash my uniform before I left.” I popped another piece of chocolate in my mouth.
“Um, no.” She glared at me. “You’re coming out with me. Everyone will be going out for a drink tonight. You know they will. Besides, I already told Paris we’d meet her and Walker in the dining hall.”
I paused mid-chew. “I’m assuming Holt will be there too, then.”
“Maybe.” She grinned.
Butterflies erupted in the pit of my stomach at the thought of seeing him.
I’d been avoiding Holt Taylor since the beginning of the year for reasons I found hard to even explain to myself. He was cute. A southern boy with a charming smile and gentleman-like manners. Exactly the kind of guy I could get too wrapped up in all too quickly. There was something about him that called to me in a way no other guy ever had before.
Not even Danny Fisher, my childhood crush from seventh grade through my senior year of high school.
In short, the reaction my body had to Holt scared me. I’d never had such a strong physical reaction to a guy before. Seeing him smile made my knees weak. Hearing him say my name made my panties wet, and having him accidentally brush against me while standing in line to pay for food was enough to send me into near cardiac arrest.
The guy was freaking hot as the sun, and for whatever reason, he was interested in me. To be fair, I knew I wasn’t ugly, but I also didn’t think I was his type. I imagined his type to be blond, tall, super tan, and incredibly thin with big boobs. Supermodel pretty. Not mediocre like I was. I was short, small-chested, my skin was creamy instead of tan, and my hair was plain brown and frizzy. There was nothing spectacular about me.
At least not when it came to my looks. I was a plain Jane.
However, if we were talking about photography, I knew I had a knack for capturing amazing angles. Color splashes and nature scenes were my specialty. I loved capturing still shots of nature, but I also found that I enjoyed photographing people lately.
Lunar Academy had some interesting characters—Holt Taylor being one of them.
“So, change out of that frumpy sweater and those leggings into something that says you’re ready for some fun instead of lounging around on a couch somewhere stuffing your face with chocolate,” Summer insisted as she finished painting her final toenail.
I skimmed over what she was wearing, finally taking notice. She was dressed in a pair of dark skinny jeans and wore a tight-fitting turquoise blouse with a little dip in the front to showcase her ample amount of cleavage. The color was beautiful against her sun-kissed skin.
I broke off another piece of my dark chocolate. “I don’t have anything to wear. I brought all my good clothes with me over break. Everything is dirty.”
“Borrow something of mine.” She gave me a look that said I should already know this, that it was a given. “I bought a couple of new sweaters while I was home. There are also two pairs of new boots in the closet that are both super cute. Feel free to look through them all.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes at the mention of her purchasing new boots while on vacation. Summer’s shoe collection was already out of control. Half of our shared closet was her stackable shoe shelves that nearly reached the ceiling. I was nervous every time I opened our closet doors that something would shift and the entire thing would come toppling down on me.
We didn’t have room for her to buy any more shoes, but I didn’t say so. It wasn’t my place. Everyone had their thing, and shoes were Summer’s. Mine was cameras and accessories for them. I had a collection of lenses and straps.
“There’s a red sweater I bought that I think would look great on you. It’s soft and cable-knit style, exactly like you would normally wear.” Summer hobbled ove
r on her heels to the closet and rifled through the contents until she found the sweater she was talking about. She pulled it out and held it up to me. “Perfect. It looks great with your fair skin and dark hair. Plus, it’s been scientifically proven that men think women look better when they’re dressed in red.”
“Why is that?”
“Apparently, they associate red with sex.”
My cheeks heated. I wasn’t a prude, but I didn’t think I wanted to walk into a bar and have any guy immediately think of sex when he saw me. It sounded like a bad situation waiting to happen.
“Try it on,” Summer insisted. “I love the back of it. It’s super cute, yet sexy.”
When she spun it around, I was able to see there wasn’t much of a back to it. It was ripped into ribbons, making it look as though someone had taken scissors to it. One-inch strips started at the collar and made their way to the hemline of the sweater.
“You’re kidding, right?” I cast her a sideways glare. “How do you even wear a bra with this? It’ll show.”
“You don’t. Problem solved.” Her fingers ran along the strips, touching them tenderly. The material it was made of did look soft, I just wasn’t sure the style was for me. “Besides, it’s a thick sweater. You don’t need to wear one with it anyway. No one will see anything.”
The truth was: Even if it was a thin material, I could probably get away without wearing a bra with it. I was flat-chested. Incredibly so. Still, that didn’t mean I felt comfortable being in public without a bra on.
“I know that look.” Summer rolled her eyes.
“What look?”
“The one you’re giving me right now. You’re not going to wear this sweater unless you can wear a tank top underneath it. And, a bra. At least wear a black tank top with it, okay? Red and black look great together.”
I laughed. She knew me so well. We’d only been roommates for a few months, but had already figured out how each other worked. “Deal. I’m also wearing these leggings.” I pulled at the stretchy material covering my thigh.
Wolf Bitten: Lunar Academy, Year One Page 2