Chapter 13: Chapter Twelve

DAX

The moonlight had a soothing effect on my wolf, almost as if he was more obedient to the lunar goddess than to me. In fact, that was exactly the case.

I was grateful for the tranquility, considering he hadn’t stopped obsessing over Savannah since our encounter at the gym. As if I hadn’t been there, savoring every moment of it myself.

As the sun dipped below the horizon and I embarked on my lycan duty, he finally fell into a peaceful silence.

Kayden was waiting for me under the sprawling willow tree by the practice field. “So,” he began, falling into step beside me, “Braxton caught you two in the act, huh?”

“No, who said that?” I countered.

He shrugged nonchalantly. “That’s the rumor going around.”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s not what happened. We weren’t in the act. We kissed, Braxton walked in, and ruined it. It’s her wolf.”

Kayden nudged me with his shoulder. “So, the oddball finally got her wolf.”

~“Tell him to piss off,”~ my wolf growled.

I couldn’t suppress a smile. If there was one thing my wolf and I agreed on, it was protecting Savannah.

I smacked the back of his head and evaded his attempt to retaliate. We passed the willow trees, and I caught a whiff of her scent. It was nighttime, and I didn’t like the idea of her wandering the campus alone.

But I couldn’t abandon my post without a valid reason, and besides, I’d been itching to shift and run for days.

“Dax!” someone called out.

I noticed a group of alphas huddled together. Kayden and I approached, and I followed their gaze.

A girl was darting across the field in her underwear, seemingly talking to an invisible companion. Every now and then, she’d spin around and try to run in the opposite direction, but to no avail.

~What the…~

~Oh. My. God.~

Her scent hit me like a freight train. It was Savannah. A wave of anger washed over me.

“~Dude,~ I was just kidding about the oddball thing, but I mean, ~this is weird~,” Kayden commented.

The alphas all stared, some laughing, others leering. “Stop looking,” I snapped, and pushed my way through them.

“Stop it!” she yelled. “We’re going back to the dorm.”

She’d collapsed on the ground, still arguing with her wolf. Her creamy skin glowed in the moonlight, and it made my hair stand on end.

My anger intensified the closer I got to her. ~What is she thinking?~ Stripping down to her underwear, at night, in a public place?

“Leave me alone!” she shouted.

I could hear the other alphas laughing, while the unmated ones tried to get a better look. I clenched my fists and stopped once I was standing over her.

Savannah’s body was slick with sweat. The lacy bra set she wore twisted my insides.

“What ~in the hell~ are you doing?” I muttered.

She looked confused for several seconds, not to mention exhausted and sweaty. I knew her wolf was the cause of her erratic behavior, but it didn’t quell my rising anger.

“My wolf, she—”

“You’re naked,” I interrupted, struggling to keep my voice steady. I gripped the hem of my T-shirt, and slowly pulled it over my head, shielding her from the prying eyes of the other alphas.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet, draping my T-shirt over her body. I loved the thought of her smelling like me, but I couldn’t shake the image of her running half-naked from my mind.

Irritated, I hoisted her over my shoulder and headed toward Hellman Hall. The laughter of the alphas only added fuel to the fire.

Not only did I have a reluctant mate, but she was also likely to be labeled as crazy once the rumors started circulating around school.

“Nice job, wolf,” she muttered.

I tightened my grip on the back of her thigh. “Just wait until I get you alone,” I grumbled. “I can’t believe they saw you half-naked before I did.”

“It’s not my fault. My wolf made me do it,” she defended.

Her wolf made her do it. My wolf tried to make me do a lot of things, but stripping down and running through the campus wasn’t one of them.

The RA in her building stared as I marched her up the stairs and toward the third floor. Her door was new, so I resisted the urge to kick it in.

Jaka answered when I knocked, her mouth hanging open as I tossed Savannah onto her bed half-naked.

“Can we have a few minutes?” I asked her.

Jaka nodded and grabbed her shower caddy. “I’ll just go take a ~long~ shower.”

Savannah was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest when I turned back to her. Her dark, ebony hair tumbled down her shoulders, and her hazel eyes were wide.

“Do you want to explain, Savannah? Half of the Alpha House saw you in your underwear.” I moved closer to her. “I’m the only one who’s supposed to see you like that.”

Her gaze darted nervously. “I told you, it’s this stupid wolf. She’s trying to control me. She wants you ~all the time~. It’s so annoying. She has no game at all.”

It’s always, ~let’s find Dax~. ~Where is our mate~? ~Go now~. It’s exasperating. I was just trying to have a meeting with Mrs. Jamieson—”

She suddenly sprang up. “My folder. I must have dropped it when she forced me to find you. I have to go get it,” she said, making a move to retrieve it.

“Wow,” I exclaimed, gently taking hold of her elbow. “You’re not venturing down there like this. I’ll retrieve it for you. You’re staying here and getting dressed.

You need to work on controlling your wolf, or she’s going to land you in hot water.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line as she suddenly became aware of her scantily clad state in my presence. She darted toward her closet and hastily pulled out a robe.

~“Dammit,”~ my wolf grumbled internally.

I scratched the back of my neck, trying to suppress a grin. “A little late for that, don’t you think?”

She shot me a look, her eyes flashing. “~Listen~, I’m sorry about what happened at the gym today. As you can see, I don’t exactly have control over my life anymore.”

“You’re saying you didn’t want to kiss me?”

Savannah sank down onto her bed, her feet swinging idly. “It’s not that I don’t want to, but I haven’t broken up with my boyfriend yet. So technically, I’m cheating on him, and I’m not that kind of girl.”

I swayed slightly, taken aback. “So you’re planning to break up with him?”

Her hazel eyes met mine, holding my gaze. A silent promise seemed to hang in the air between us. “I don’t think I have a choice.”

I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “I’m not forcing you to be with me, Savannah. As you can see, I’m doing my best to give you space.”

She swallowed hard, her eyes never leaving mine. “I’m going to see him soon, and… I’m going to break up with him.”

~Thank God~, I thought, but I kept my relief to myself. I watched her, noting the intensity of her gaze. “Is it because of your wolf, or because you want to be with me?”

Savannah chewed on her bottom lip, then shrugged. I didn’t like that answer.

~“Show her she wants you,”~ my wolf urged.

~Always the pushy, unwanted wingman.~

I rubbed my thumb against the corner of my mouth, then dragged it down. “I’ve got lycan duty. I need to go.”

I was about to leave when I felt her fingers on my forearm. I glanced down at her.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know I’m not what you expected in a mate. I’m… unorthodox and new. I’m not this luna person the other girls are.”

I studied her face, taking in her perfect features. “Savannah,” I murmured, gently tracing her jaw with my knuckle. “You’re perfect.”

She sighed at my touch, but shook her head. “I just ran half naked in front of the other boys. I’m not perfect. I’m sorry. I know that was embarrassing. It was for me too.”

I chuckled, holding up my fingers to indicate a small amount. “Just a bit. But it doesn’t make me want you any less.”

I pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Stay inside, okay? It’s dark out and there are rumors of lycans planning to break into the university.”

“Scout’s honor,” she promised.

I left before I could entertain any thoughts of staying, because I did want to. I wanted to talk to her, get to know her, ask her all the questions a normal mate gets to ask the first time they meet.

I found her folder on the sidewalk on my way to the field. I folded it in half and tucked it into my back pocket.

All the alphas were waiting for me in front of the group of willows. Braxton was among them, watching me with a hostile stare as I shoved her folder into his gym bag at the base of the tree.

“About time,” he snapped.

The other alphas all bit their tongues, wanting to laugh, but they didn’t dare. Because I wasn’t in the mood. I shot them all a death glare. “I had a problem with Savannah,” I explained.

Braxton ignored me. “We’re going to run the perimeter in pairs and find the outpost I’ve assigned for you. We’ll stand watch on the guard rails until I’ve contacted you and let you know your shift is over.”

Braxton dismissed us. Kayden and I ran toward the tree line, shifting when the shadows of the trees enveloped us. It felt like freeing your inner self to transition.

My wolf howled into the night, leaping and bounding between trees, and over upturned roots. Kayden’s wolf was bronze colored and matched his laid-back personality.

Not much bothered Kayden. We ran the perimeter, to our post on the far end of campus. You had to climb a ladder to get to the guard rail that lined the top of the brick wall, so that you could see onto the other side.

I shifted back into my human form, and found an extra pair of basketball shorts waiting for me.

The other side of the perimeter wall looked identical to the woods we ran in, but it felt eerie and dead to hear the silence.

Kayden whistled. “It’s going to be a long shift. I should have brought my homework.”

I stared out at the long shadows the trees cast against the ground and toward the crescent moon shining between the tree branches.

“It’s awfully quiet,” I mumbled.

Kayden sat down on the bucket seats attached to the railing. “It’s always quiet like this. You’re paranoid. So, what happened with Savannah?”

I leaned my palms against the brick wall and stared out into the night. “Nothing. She’s going to break up with her boyfriend.”

“About time,” he said, pulling out a stack of cards from a loose brick. “Want to play?” he asked.

I shook my head. “It’s too quiet. I don’t even hear any cicadas tonight.”

Kayden shoved the cards back. “You’re right. It is pretty quiet.”

The silence was eerie, my eyes darting between the trees and up to their towering tops. Lycans, with their sharp talons, were known for their ability to scale trees with alarming speed.

But the electrified fence that crowned our wall should deter them from leaping over... hopefully.

The university had taken extreme measures to keep them out, despite the treaty they’d signed. I suppose it was one of those unwritten rules. Never ~ever~ trust a lycan.

They weren’t like ordinary wolves. They were something out of a Gothic fairy tale, running on their hind legs, their red eyes and wolfish features a chilling sight.

Their talons had been the stuff of my childhood nightmares.

A sudden gust of wind carried a scent that made me pause. It wasn’t one of our wolves—I knew their scents. This was different. This was from beyond our wall.

“You smell that?” Kayden whispered.

I nodded, too absorbed to respond verbally. A swift movement from the far left of our quadrant caught my eye. The figure was bipedal, but moved too quickly to be human.

Kayden tensed as the figure slowed, looking up at us. Whoever it was shifted quickly, boldly stepping into the moonlight filtering through a gap in the tree canopy.

“Daxton Allaire. It’s nice to see you again.”

It was the lycan from the football game, and he wasn’t alone. Two figures emerged from the shadows on either side of him.

“I’ve been searching for your scent,” he said, chuckling. “But it’s your mates that I smelled first. It’s on you, which I must say is a big disappointment. I was hoping to see her soon.”

Kayden muttered something to me, but I didn’t catch it. Waves of adrenaline coursed through me, disrupting my ability to stay composed.

“You won’t get over this fence, Luther,” I retorted. “But I’m more than willing to rip your head off your shoulders elsewhere.”

He chuckled, running his fingers through his light hair. “That won’t do. I need to be inside to get to… Savannah is it? You shouldn’t have fought me. She isn’t marked, which means she’s free territory.”

I clenched my jaw. Savannah still had a boyfriend, and she’d only learned about us a week ago. She wouldn’t be ready for me to mark her anytime soon.

Normally, I wouldn’t mind, but in this case, I wished it was different. Marking your mate would deter other wolves, as your scent would mask hers.

No wolf wanted a marked female, because she would smell like a male wolf. It was nature’s way of keeping mates together.

“I’ll kill you if you touch her. I’ll kill you if you look at her again. You think the football game was bad, you haven’t seen me pissed.”

He grinned, his fangs gleaming. “I’m looking forward to it. Maybe, if you would have asked nicely, I could have found another little wolf to go after.

“But you had to go and disrespect me in front of your little university. What’s coming… it’s been coming for a long time, and it’s on you, Allaire.”

I swallowed my anger as I heard the other wolves approaching from behind us. Kayden must have texted them since we weren’t in our wolf form to communicate.

~“Rip his head off,”~ my wolf urged. ~“Let me out! I’ll kill ’im.”~

Luther heard the other wolves and chuckled. “Looks like your mutts are coming to the rescue. Just remember,” he said, smoothing back his blond hair, “you started it.”

He transformed right before our eyes, and a chill ran down my spine. His red eyes were cold and lifeless, just as I’d always imagined lycans to be when I was a child.

Braxton reached us as we descended the ladder. “Are they still here?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No, they left. It was the guy from the game. He threatened us,” I mumbled.

Braxton patted my shoulder. “We’ll be fine,” he assured me.

But I didn’t believe him. The look of determination on his face was a stark reminder. I’d humiliated him in front of Werewolf U and his hometown.

And there was already a simmering hatred between our species. I’d just fanned the flames enough to ignite a forest fire.