Chapter 32: Chapter 32

RAGE

“Your dad wants you to call him.” I didn’t even look away from the ceiling. After our monthly meeting with the alphas, I came straight to the gym to unwind.

I’d spent an entire hour hearing about protecting ourselves from the lycans. Word had got around about our fight in the cafeteria, and Ever’s door. Now the alphas wanted everyone on their toes.

As if I hadn’t been on mine.

“Dude,” Derek said, slicing his palm in front of my face. “Your dad called me and said for you to call him.” I sat down my weights and sat up. “I’ve received his calls. I don’t want to talk to him.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “He’s the alpha king.” I stood up and looked down at him. “No, he’s my dad and he pissed me off. I have nothing to say to him right now.”

Derek followed me over toward my bag. “You were out of it during the alpha meeting. Are you thinking about taking care of that Erick kid?”

“No,” I stopped and looked down. “The chancellor gave me a chance and I’m not going to mess it up. It’s my last year. I can’t risk it.”

Derek watched me sling my bag over my shoulder. “So, you’re not gonna do anything?”

“I’m going to see Ever when she gets back from her pack. Then I’m going to focus on proving to her that she should pick me.”

Derek lifted his arms. “That’s it?”

I stopped by the door. “That’s it.”

Derek called after me, but I kept going up the stairs to my room. It’d been hell the night before attempting to go to sleep and avoid the gnawing feeling of what they were doing back home.

I grabbed my bath caddy and towel. Working out had helped the ache in my chest, but it never truly went away.

The showers were empty. It felt good to slip in without having to force conversation with someone. I started the shower and drew the curtain closed. The water slipped over me, and I relaxed into the warmth.

My muscles were crying out in pain from my workout. I’d pushed myself with hopes that I’d push my thoughts away. It didn’t work.

The bathroom door opened, and I closed my eyes. I waited for someone to pull back a curtain but instead, mine rattled. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Oh yeah?”

I looked over my shoulder at Ever standing outside of the shower, looking in at me. I chuckled. “Maybe I am a little then.”

Her gaze dropped to my chest and lowered down my body. She’d seen me naked before, but never while we were alone. “Do you want some company?”

I listened to her purse fall to the floor and watched as she kicked off her shoes. “You think you can get in here without something happening, because my ability to keep my hands to myself is iffy.”

She nibbled on the corner of her mouth and sighed heavily. “You’re right,” she said. “There is no way I get in there with you completely naked and us not do what I’m dying to. Maybe I want to a little more than usual today.”

I turned off the shower knob and grabbed my towel. There was something lingering on her face that I needed to figure out.

The cool air whipped at me when I closed the shower curtain behind me. “What’s the matter?”

Her gaze shifted toward the ground. “Something is really wrong with Harlan. He didn’t come back with me. He gave me his truck and told me to come back. That he needed time to himself.” She finally found the courage to look up at me. “I think he found out something terrible about himself. He has something dark inside of him. I think his father had it too.”

Dark? I couldn’t imagine what the hell she was talking about. “What does that mean?”

She shrugged. “If his father had it, let’s just say he didn’t win. It beat him, and he turned into a monster. I’m afraid that’s going to happen to him. Mom asked me about it when I went home. I told her. I think she’s going to try and deal with him. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

I tucked her hair behind her ears. “I’m sorry that you didn’t have a good trip home.”

“I did. It was good to see everyone. I just wasn’t expecting Harlan to shut me out. He didn’t come out of his room, Rage. He wouldn’t come to the door. Didn’t meet me like he said. It’s like he’s pushing me away and I don’t like it.”

I liked it. It was greedy and hurtful, but my wolf loved the idea of Harlan giving up. I didn’t. I wanted to win honestly. I wanted no ~what ifs~ in the back of her brain. “Maybe he has a good reason.”

“Yeah,” she said, shifting her weight. “Like something dark is taking over him. Listen,” she said, playing with her fingers. “I’ve been thinking.”

The bathroom door opened, and Brett walked inside. “Wow,” he said. “Showers are off limits.”

I gave him a look and gestured toward her clothes. “We’re going back to my room.”

“Actually, she needs to go. The chancellor is coming by to install cameras, and I don’t want a bunch of mates walking around like a pack house.”

“That’s okay,” she said. “How about we go for a run tonight? Meet at dinner, and then make a run for it?”

I tipped her face back and kissed her. “See you then.”

***

EVERLEE

Everlee pushed open the back door to the cafeteria and took off into a full speed run toward the woods. My wolf paced back and forth in anticipation of running with her.

Her laughter drifted back as she began to shed her clothing.

She tripped and fell to all fours. I tackled her, pulling her stomach against mine, and letting her roll me to my back. There was a wild look in her eyes. When she rolled her hips against mine, I stalled her with my hands. “Don’t. Tease. Me, Ever.”

She leaned forward and braced her palms against my shoulders. “I can’t help myself. I need this friction so bad I’ve been aching.”

Dear God.

Rolling her to her back, I maneuvered myself between her legs. Her fingers tightened into the grass, and she met each thrust. We were dry humping in the field outside the cafeteria.

It felt raw and unhinged.

It felt like mates.

I just needed her to make a decision. I needed to hear her tell me she chose me, and I’d spend the next seventy-two hours sliding in and out of her. I wanted her in every position in my room.

When she did finally pry herself away from me, she would remember what happened every time she moved. I wanted her to pulse with need.

Everlee grabbed the top of my jeans and pulled me closer to her. I leaned forward and captured her mouth with mine. “You give me the word, Beautiful, and I’ll drag you back to my room and rail you into the wall.”

A shiver raced over her swiftly, and I ate the moan that slipped from her. She tangled her fingers into my hair and wrapped her legs around me tightly. “We need to go before things get out of control. I’m not marking you or taking your virginity in a field. Come on,” I said, sitting back on my knees.

Everlee’s gaze dropped to the bulge pressed tightly against my blue jeans. The need on her face flooded me with heat.

~She needs us,~ my wolf whispered.

I screwed my eyes closed. “Please,” I begged. “Get up before I do something stupid.”

Ever crawled to her feet, while I still sat on my knees. “I’m sorry. My self-control is crap these days. Come on,” she said, sliding out of her jeans. “Let’s go run.”

Ever shifted in mid-air.

Her wolf was just as beautiful as I remembered. Her size would swallow a normal she-wolf. It was the lycan in her. I stood to my feet, kicked off my jeans, and shifted.

My wolf took control instantly. He nuzzled against her wolf and rubbed against her. It was like our souls intertwining. The inner beasts inside of us loved one another.

It was unexplainable.

Ever leaped away from us and made a mad dash into the woods. Adrenaline coursed through me while following her. My wolf followed her scent and jumped under and over upturned tree roots to find her.

It was his perfect night.

We ran for what seemed like hours.

She didn’t seem to tire. She wanted the time alone with us.

We had made it almost the entire way around the school when I picked up on someone else’s scent.

It wasn’t until the lycan jumped down from a tree that I realized it wasn’t another wolf.

Everlee took the hit. He was after her.

Her back arched, and her fur stood on end. The lycan was as tall as Ever, his fur gray with white around the ears. Ever leaped and jumped at his throat, but the lycan slashed her across the face.

My wolf made it to him seconds later. I gripped his shoulder in my mouth and began to drag him across the forest floor.

Ever’s whimper slid underneath my skin.

I needed to teach this lycan a lesson, but her cry hung heavily in my ears. The lycan kicked upward from the ground and maneuvered himself away from me. I took part of his shoulder with me, but the wound didn’t stop his flee.

I turned to Ever, shifting as I raced over and fell to the knees. “Are you okay?”

Her shift was hurried and urgent. The mark on her back stopped me cold. It was deep and angry looking on her skin.

She cried when I lifted her into my arms. We had to get to the nurse. It could get infected. It could worsen.

“Just breathe,” I whispered to her. “You’re fine. You’re going to be just fine. The nurse is always on campus. She’s gonna fix you right up.”

Her hazel eyes blinked several times, bringing tears with it. “Did you recognize him?” she asked. “The lycan?”

I shook my head. “I don’t run with lycans often. I’m sure we’ll figure out who did it. Do you recognize him?”

The tears in the corners of her eyes spilled over.

“It was Harlan,” she whispered.