by Kimber White
“Yes,” I answered. “I’m looking for someone.”
She smoothed her hands over her own arms, hugging herself. Eve kept doing little things like that, putting up subtle barriers between us at the same time as she drew closer. I don’t think she even realized what was happening.
“In there? At Birch Haven?” she asked.
“Yes.” Stupid. So stupid. She could be bait, after all. The Chief Pack might be smart enough to send a pretty girl like Eve out here beyond the perimeter to lure someone like me. Being near her did feel like a siren call, as if I were powerless to break away from her presence.
“Then, it’s a woman you’re after,” she said. Her tone dropped and she looked away. It almost seemed like she hadn’t meant to say it out loud.
“It’s not...not what you think.”
Her eyes snapped to mine. “How do you know what I think? You don’t even know me.”
“I know you’re scared of something. You should be scared of me, but you’re not. Are you?”
Eve cocked her head to the side. The hint of a smile lifted the corner of her luscious mouth. I was playing a dangerous game with her and we both knew it. She could be anyone. I could be anyone. And yet, here we were, telling each other far too much.
“I know you’re not from Birch Haven,” she said. “And you know it’s a bad idea for you to be lurking around out here. Plus, if you’d wanted to turn me in, you would have done it already.”
“Turn you in? Who would I turn you in to, Eve? Like you said, I’m not from Birch Haven.”
“So who are you looking for, Mac? A girlfriend? Does she go to BHC? Did she even say goodbye?”
It was such a strange question. Doubt began to haunt the edge of Eve’s eyes. She’d been so bold up until now. With each breath she took, reason seeped its way back into her. Whatever she’d been trying to accomplish by stealing away tonight, she was losing her nerve.
“Never mind,” I said. “It doesn’t matter.” The wind kicked up, blowing Eve’s hair in front of her face. She had her sweatshirt, but the jeans she wore were only calf length. Gooseflesh rose on her bare skin.
I couldn’t bear the idea that she suffered even the slightest discomfort. I’d packed light this trip. I slipped out of the leather jacket I wore and covered her shoulders with it. My body heat was still trapped inside. Eve’s mouth dropped open as she caught my scent. It would be so easy to just pull her against me.
One kiss. One light touch of my fingers against her smooth cheek. My craving for it drove me half-insane. A low growl erupted from my throat, unbidden. Eve’s breath caught and she took a halting step backward.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m not trying to scare you.”
“You’re a wolf,” she said. “Why are there so many of you around here?”
“You know what I am?”
“Of course.”
“That doesn’t scare you?”
“Why? Are you planning to eat me?”
She meant it as sarcasm, but the instant she said the words, that predatory fire lit inside me again, making my vision glow. I knew my wolf eyes glinted brightly. It should have startled her, but it didn’t. A tiny bead of sweat formed on her upper lip.
“I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to you, Eve,” I said.
In the distance, a clock began to chime. It was the bell tower at the center of Birch Haven’s campus.
“You should go.” Her words came out as a gasp. She drew my jacket tighter around her shoulders. As my scent hit her again, her eyelids became hooded. Was it desire she felt? I couldn’t trust my ability to read it. Not here. Not with the Pack so close.
“So should you,” I said.
They were coming. The ground vibrated with heavy footsteps. They were still within the boundaries of Birch Haven, but they were headed this way. I knew with absolute certainty that they were coming for Eve.
“Hurry!” Eve’s tone grew desperate. She slipped my jacket off her shoulders and tossed it to me. I realized with rising alarm that if any of the Pack members got within a few inches of her, they might smell me on her. God. What had I done?
“Be careful,” I said. The tingling began low in my core. It grew to a buzzing inside my head. The Pack. Their pull was strong. If I gave in to it, I would lose myself for good. It would be so easy.
“Mac?” she said, sensing the change in me.
“I can’t stay here.” I said it more to myself than to her.
“Go!” she shouted. I said the same to her.
“Stay along the creek bed,” I warned her. “Head for the trail to the park as fast as you can. They’re headed east. If you hurry, you can get back before they see you. But, I mean...hurry, Eve. Run!”
She took a step back, her eyes darting over mine. One last glance over her shoulder then she turned back to me. There was something she wanted to say. I could sense it on her lips. But, a howl rose and Eve jolted. Her hair flew in a banner behind her as she turned and ran.
Four
Eve
He was more scared than I was. I could see it in his eyes. Oh, God. Those silver, penetrating eyes. When they flashed, heat shot through me and made my toes curl. I ran away from him as fast as I could, even though every instinct in me told me to stay with him.
I’d been around wolf shifters most of my life. Never more so than the day I got off the bus and stepped through the gates of Birch Haven. This guy was different though. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. He seemed more...feral somehow. As if he were having trouble controlling his inner wolf. For a moment, I thought he might shift right in front of me. Some dark part of my heart wished for it. That alone should have sent me screaming back to my dorm more than his warnings did.
You see, I’ve been around wolf shifters plenty. For whatever reason, Kentucky is crawling with them. But I’ve never actually seen one shift. I’d never wanted to until just that very moment.
Voices to the left of me made me stop short. My heart beat a frenzied pace and my thighs burned. I tried to keep from gasping for air as two campus police officers rounded the corner heading straight for me. Every cell in my body itched to keep running. I knew that would be the most dangerous thing I could do.
“You!” One of them shouted, seeing me. I concentrated on taking slow, steady breaths. Shifters can sense distress. They’re bred for it. I gave them a bright smile and a wave. The pair of them quickened their pace and came to me.
The wind picked that moment to stir. It blew from the west, right where I’d come from. The officer closest to the park stiffened. His nostrils flared and he turned his face toward the woods. Oh, God. Could he scent Mac from this far away? I don’t know why I should care so much, but I knew he wasn’t supposed to be this close to Birch Haven. Though I didn’t want to let my mind go there, I wondered what might happen if they caught him. My sudden fear for Mac shocked me a little and made me reckless.
“Thank God you’re here!” I said, breathless. I thrust my chest out and put a light hand on the officer’s arm. It drew his attention away from the park and he trained his eyes on me. They flared bright as his wolf regarded me. Shifters were like living lie detectors, I’d learned. I just prayed my performance would pass the test.
“Are you lost?” he asked. The name plate over his breast read “Deputy Trey Summers.”
“No. Not lost. I just lost track of time. I was trying to clear my head. Big Psych midterm coming up.”
Summers looked at his partner. I realized I’d seen him before, walking a beat with Joel. His name was Chris-something. I squinted to read his badge. Woods. Chris Woods.
“You’re not a freshman, Miss Dawson. You know there’s a campus curfew.” Chris said. Oh, yes, he remembered me too. He straightened his back and puffed his chest. Chris Woods was huge, just like all shifters. Standing well over six feet, he towered over me along with Deputy Summers. They cast long shadows, but their wolf eyes dimmed and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“I know, I’m sorry. It just got so
dark so fast and I didn’t bring my phone. Like I said, I lost track of time. You wouldn’t mind walking me back to my dorm now though, would you? I don’t know, I don’t feel safe out here.”
Chris Woods eyed me. A look passed between him and Summers. It was just a split second, but I saw Woods lick his lips and it made my skin crawl. It was like that with just about every shifter I got close to in Birch Haven. So why had Mac seemed so different?
I didn’t have time to puzzle it out. The clock in the tower chimed and it drew Woods and Summers out of their heads. I was grateful for that.
“You need to be more careful,” Summers said. “Being caught out after curfew is the kind of thing that could put your scholarship at risk.”
My scholarship? How the hell did he know anything about that? I added it to the ever-growing list of things that were starting to creep me out about Birch Haven. The biggest one I’d tried to test tonight. If I hadn’t run into Mac, what might have happened? Would Summers and Woods have dragged me back behind the wall? My need to test that theory again burned bright inside of me, but tonight wouldn’t be the night for it. I’d pressed my luck enough.
After all, these were just theories. My reality? I was almost halfway to earning a college degree that hadn’t cost me a dime. I had a roof over my head and no worries about where my next meal was coming from. Was I really willing to risk all of that because of a giant case of the heebie-jeebies?
Maybe. But, not yet. Woods’s eyes softened and he gave me a genuine smile as he held out his arm, gesturing toward the path leading to Camden Hall.
Woods and Summers waited, hands behind their backs in a military posture as I took the steps to the front entrance two at a time. I looked back and gave them a polite wave as I headed inside. When I opened the door, it earned me a shocked look from Jasmine Russell, the student receptionist. She craned her neck to try and see who I’d been waving at.
“Are you nuts?” she whispered. “It’s half an hour past curfew, Eve.”
“Are you going to report me?” I challenged her. Jasmine was a world-class busybody, but I didn’t think she had it out for me.
Jasmine’s eyes darted to the security camera pointed at the front doors. I’d managed to slip in when they were pointed at the stairs. In another ten seconds, they’d swing back toward the desk.
“You’re luckier than smart tonight, Eve,” Jasmine smiled. “But please, for my sake, don’t make a habit of that.”
Nodding, I leaned across the desk. “Anything else exciting happening tonight?”
Jasmine let out an exasperated breath. “You’d know more than me. You wanna tell me where you guys have been, or is it better if I don’t know?”
I blanched. “We guys? What are you talking about?”
It was Jasmine’s turn to look a little shocked. “Oh, come on. I’d expect this from Nikki, not you.”
Nikki. My heart raced and my throat ran dry. “Jaz, I mean it. What are you talking about? What about Nikki?”
Jasmine looked genuinely confused. “I thought you were with her. Well, shit. Eve, she hasn’t come back. She left just a few minutes before you did.”
“Right,” I said. “She was heading down to the Fitness center. But that was like two hours ago.”
Jasmine chewed her bottom lip. I didn’t like the look she was giving me one bit. She was the kind of girl who relished knowing something you didn’t and then took her own sweet time filling you in. It made her feel important. On this, I wouldn’t have cared. But, there was something in the air tonight. And she’d taken a weird phone call from Deputy Joel Wisher right before she left.
“What the hell, Jasmine?”
She raised a dark brow. “Hey, none of my business.”
“Uh, you’re making it your business by bringing me into it. You might as well spill it.”
Jasmine ruffled some papers on the desk and closed her laptop. “Hey, I like Nikki. Everybody likes Nikki. She’s fun. She’s nice. I can look the other way when you come in late for curfew once. I’ll even do it for Nikki tonight too. If you don’t want to tell me what’s going on, that’s fine. But, I know for a fact she’s not down at the Fitness center, Eve. She left the building before you did and she hasn’t come back. I’ve been here for four hours. In another ten minutes, Grace Garner is going to come down here to take over for me. You and I both know Grace isn’t going to keep her mouth shut if Nikki waltzes in here during her shift. So, whatever. Keep your little secrets. It’s fine. It’s just you might want to get word to your roommate to get her butt back here like now.”
I reared back. This was bad. Catastrophic. Jasmine was absolutely right about Grace Garner. She was the kind of person who would just love to cause trouble for Nikki.
So, for the second time in the span of an hour, I found myself covering for someone without knowing all the details. I just prayed that whatever Nikki was doing, it better be good.
“Got it,” I said. “And thanks.”
Jasmine had more to say, but I didn’t give her a chance. Nikki was my mission now, and I didn’t have much time. I couldn’t believe she just straight-up lied to me about where she was going. It wasn’t like her. With Woods and Summers prowling around campus, she wouldn’t make it very far if she was still out there.
I swung by the basement Fitness center before heading upstairs. The place was empty and dark. With no other choice, I headed up to our room. Maybe Nikki was already there. Maybe she’d slipped in when Jasmine was in the bathroom or something. It didn’t seem plausible though. We had to swipe our I.D.s when we left and entered Camden Hall. Jasmine would have checked that before spouting off about her to me. Still, maybe she’d come in with someone else and forgot to swipe her own card. That kind of thing happened all the time.
That had to be it. I liked to describe her as more of a free spirit. But, she wasn’t completely reckless. At least, I hoped not. I took a deep breath before sliding my card over the panel to unlock our dorm room door.
I opened the door into darkness. Nikki’s bed was empty. The bag she’d taken when she left for the Fitness center was still gone. Jasmine was right. Either she hadn’t come back or she’d left again without telling anyone. I checked my phone again. No calls. No texts from Nikki. No notes. Nothing.
I called her phone and started to pace between our bedrooms. I jumped out of my skin when Nikki’s phone started to ring. I followed the sound and found it on the floor pushed almost under her bed.
“What the ever-loving hell?” I shouted into the empty room. I could have sworn she had her phone when I saw her leave.
The bell tower chimed on the quarter hour. If Nikki came back now, she’d have to walk right under Grace Garner’s nose. I tossed my phone on my bed and went to the great dormer window in our common room. Pressing my nose against the cold glass, I scanned the quad.
Streetlamps cast long, ghostly shadows over the grass. To the south, emerging from the darkness, Deputies Chris Woods and Trey Summers walked their patrol.
Seeing them lifted my heart. It meant that nothing had pulled them away toward the park. Wherever Mac was, he hadn’t been seen.
Mac.
I smoothed my hands over my arms, remembering the soft warmth of his leather jacket when he slipped it over my shoulders. It had a wild, woodsy scent just like he did. I didn’t know him. He was no more than a stranger. In my heart, I knew even talking to him could be dangerous for me.
Woods and Summers’s booted footsteps echoed across the quad. I’d taken such a chance venturing beyond the campus walls. No one talked about it. No one admitted it aloud. At the same time, no one left Birch Haven.
It got hard to breathe as I let the truth wash over me. Until tonight, I hadn’t been brave enough to admit it to myself. I was imagining things. Overreacting. At best, I was doing what I always do, assuming the worst. Why couldn’t I just chill out and accept Birch Haven at face value? This place had given me a chance to make something of myself, hadn’t it? Why did I always have to try to find the
dark side?
I should have made Mac answer me when I asked him what he was doing there. He said he was looking for someone. Who? And why the hell couldn’t he just come right into Birch Haven in broad daylight and ask around?
Hot tears welled in my eyes. I knew the answer. Oh, God. I’d known it for weeks. Even now, I didn’t want to admit it. Mac couldn’t come into Birch Haven because people like Joel Wisher and the two deputies I now watched on patrol would keep him out. Just like Woods and Summers would have surely found me if I’d kept on going.
Birch Haven wasn’t a normal private college. Birch Haven was a prison.
I pressed my forehead against the glass. I could hear my mother’s sandpaper voice. “Nothing’s ever good enough for you, Eve. You always find a way to shit on everything that makes other people happy. People like you end up alone.”
She’d been right. I was alone.
I kept my eyes on Summers and Woods as they made another turn and headed farther away. It would be so easy to just believe they were there to keep bad things from happening to the women who went to this college. I wished with all my heart it was true.
Laughter drew my attention from the east end of the quad. My blood turned to ice as I recognized the voice.
Nikki.
She came out of the shadows walking backward. Why was she so happy? Didn’t she realize what time it was? Woods and Summers would see her any second. Was she drunk? Fuck. That would compound things tenfold. Not only could they ding her for missing curfew, but like me, Nikki was only nineteen. With their shifter senses, they’d be able to detect alcohol on her breath in a heartbeat.
I pressed my palms against the glass, wishing I could shout a warning. Nikki seemed oblivious to the danger. She threw her head back and ran a hand through her hair. Her hips swung as she walked. Oh, I knew that posture. There was someone with her, still concealed in shadow. Whoever it was, Nikki Rogers was giving him her full-on flirt. She must be drunk.