Solitude

RORY

“Everett!” I say as I enter our bedroom. It’s early evening. Dean Fang has just left, off back to the campus. Everett is standing at his wardrobe, loosening his tie.

“Hey, little one,” he says when he sees me coming.

“You’ll never guess what’s happened.”

He takes hold of my face in one hand and strokes my cheek with his thumb.

“From that smile, I think I might be able to figure it out,” he says, chuckling.

“Dean Fang said I can enroll at Lupus University!”

My cheeks hurt from smiling. If Everett didn’t have me wrapped in the tightest hug, I’d probably be bouncing around the room.

“That’s great news,” he says, kissing the top of my head. “I knew she couldn’t resist you. Who could?”

“I start tomorrow.”

“We should do something to celebrate,” Everett says, grinning suggestively.

“What did you have in mind?”

He glances at the ceiling as he thinks something over.

“How about I give you a tour of the campus? There’s nothing like getting an insider’s perspective.”

I laugh and slap him on the chest. “You haven’t been an insider there for a long time.”

He chuckles. “Fair point.”

Everett leans in so that his face is close; he puts his lips to my ear as if he’s about to tell me a secret.

“I can show you all the best make-out spots.”

I bite my lip, and my stomach does a little flip.

“I’m going to be way too busy studying for any of that,” I say teasingly.

“College is supposed to be fun,” he says, looking mock-offended.

His hand moves down my back until it grazes my hip. I feel little tingles where he grips me.

“I’m going to learn how to help protect the pack,” I say. “There won’t be time for pranks or parties.”

“Well then,” he growls seductively. “You’d better get in all your partying in advance.”

I eye him suspiciously.

“What are you planning?”

He winks at me and says, “Your first all-night cram session.”

“What?”

In a second, Everett has pulled away. He quickly undresses, then pulls on a T-shirt and joggers.

“You might want to grab a jacket,” he says, pulling a blanket off the edge of the bed. I grab a denim jacket just in time for Everett to take my hand and pull me from the room.

“Do you even know which way to go?” I ask once we’re outside.

“Not a clue,” he says. “But that’s never stopped me before.”

I love seeing Everett this playful and excited. It gets my blood flowing.

With his hand in mine, I lead him into the forest toward the stone formation.

We stand in front of the entrance stone.

“So how does this work?” Everett asks. “Back in my day the entrance was a pond and we had to dive into it.”

“Well…” I rack my brain, trying to remember exactly how this did work. Except the only clear memory I have is of falling and hitting a rock.

“I think I sort of did the same thing with this boulder.”

I take a big breath, squeeze Everett’s hand, then place my free palm on the stone.

Lights flash and streaks of color stream past me as we’re transported to the campus.

Together we land on the grass just beyond campus. Of course, it’s not a graceful landing.

The second my feet hit the ground, I tumble over myself and crumple in a heap.

Everett lands gracefully on his feet. He gives me a sympathetic smile and helps me up.

We begin to walk toward the campus.

“It looks exactly how I remember it,” he says as we walk.

“Really?”

“Well, it seems a little smaller.”

Everett takes my hand again and leads me through the campus.

“Should we stop in at Professor Xander’s office and see if he’s there?” I ask as we pass a bubbling fountain. “I’d love for you two to meet.”

“It’s getting pretty late,” Everett says.

He’s right, the horizon is glowing a peachy shade of orange and fading away into a gorgeous shade of mauve. The first few stars are beginning to twinkle in the sky.

“Besides,” he continues. “I have a surprise planned.”

“When did you have time to plan anything?”

“About four years ago, if I remember correctly,” he says. “I just hope it’s still there.”

“What are you talking about?”

Everett isn’t making any sense…at least not to me. But he has this boyish grin on his face as if coming back here is bringing back all sorts of mischievous memories.

I wonder what he would have been like back in his college days. I wonder if he was less burdened with the sense of duty and responsibility that drives him now.

Everett’s devotion to his pack is just one of the reasons I love him. But it would have been interesting to know him when he was a little more carefree.

“Did you ever pull any pranks?” I ask as we pass the library. I eye the stacks through the windows longingly.

“This one time me and Lucius filled the dean’s office with foam bubbles,” he says with a twinkle in his eye.

“No wonder she didn’t want to let me go here,” I say. “I’m surprised to hear Lucius was in on it, he’s always so serious.”

Everett roars with laughter.

“Before he became my beta, Lucius was the biggest party animal I knew!” he says.

“Now that I can’t picture.”

Thinking of Everett as a misbehaving college bro is one thing, but Lucius as a wild partier is too much.

The sky is quickly growing darker and we’re running out of campus.

“Where are you taking me?” I ask.

“There,” Everett says as he stops and points at the clock face high at the top of a tower.

“Seriously? I’m not sure if we’re allowed to go up there.”

“College is all about stretching the rules and taking chances, right?” Everett asks.

“I guess.”

“Well, come on then!”

Before I know it, Everett is off running. I roll my eyes but follow after him quickly.

We make our way to the back of the tower and I find Everett digging about in some bushes.

“What are you looking for?”

“Ah!” he says. “Here it is.”

I bend down and peer through the bushes. There’s an iron gate blocking the entrance to a tunnel.

“It looks locked,” I say.

“There’s a trick to it,” he replies.

Everett crawls toward the gate and with a flip of his wrist the latch unhooks and it swings open.

“After you,” he says, waving me through.

I crawl toward him, raising an eyebrow on the way past.

“It smells,” I say, scrunching up my face as I crawl.

“Yeah, but the view from here is pretty nice,” he says from behind me.

“Everett!”

Finally, the tunnel ends and I emerge into a small square room with a set of wooden stairs leading to the top of the tower.

“Is this safe?” I ask. “I’m likely to get to the top and then trip and fall all the way back down.”

“I’ve got you,” he whispers in my ear, wrapping a protective arm around my waist.

With Everett behind me, keeping one arm free to catch me if I fall, we climb to the top.

The stairs lead to a loft-like space behind the clock face.

“This way,” Everett says. He walks to a door about half his height and pushes it open. He waits for me and then together we step outside.

A narrow ledge, protected by a stone wall, circles the top of the tower.

The wind hits my face and I take a deep breath as the sky swirls around me for a second.

It takes a moment but I finally calm down and can take in the view.

The sun is setting spectacularly in the distance, backlighting the entire campus, which appears dark and mysterious.

Lights shine from windows, casting shadows in doorways, and glimmers on the surface of the fountains.

“It’s amazing,” I say. “This view! It’s so beautiful.”

“It’s pretty impressive,” Everett responds, but when I glance at him he isn’t looking at the view. He’s staring at me.

“Thank you for bringing me up here,” I say.

“I used to come up here a lot when I was a student. I’m pretty sure I was the only one who knew about the secret entrance, so if I ever needed some time to myself this is where I’d come.”

“It sounds like you had a blast at college,” I say. “Why did you need this place?”

Everett sighs and looks out across the campus.

“My very first memory is of my father. He’s telling me that one day I’m going to be the alpha of our pack. Ever since then I’ve known that one day it would be my responsibility to take care of everyone.”

I place my hand on top of his.

“That’s a lot for a kid to have to deal with,” I say.

“I tried to pretend like I wasn’t terrified. Like I didn’t care about screwing it up and messing up the pack.

“But sometimes, especially when I was younger, it would all get too much. Coming up here helped put everything into perspective.”

“Thank you,” I say, nuzzling against his shoulder. “For bringing me up here.”

“Thank you,” he replies.

“For what?”

“For being my mate and my luna. Now I don’t need a tower of solitude because I have you to give me perspective.”

I take a deep breath and notice a couple of students holding hands and giggling as they run inside one of the dormitories.

My eyes linger for a moment before being pulled back to the grand spire, rising from the roof of the library.

Everett is my home. He always will be. But ever since the Red Moon Pack moved into our territory, it’s felt a little bit less like where I belong.

Maybe college is a new opportunity to find the place I’m meant to be.

“There’s one more thing,” Everett says, ducking inside. I follow him in and laugh when I see him tapping on the bricks.

“Maybe you’ve had too much fresh air,” I say, giggling.

“It was one of these bricks,” he says. He keeps tapping until he notices a change in the sound. One of the bricks has an echo, as if it’s hollow. “Here we go!”

Everett pulls back a piece of stone to reveal a small space in the wall. Just big enough to house the bottle of wine he’s pulling out.

“I left this here in my final year. It was a pretty cheap bottle then but it should have aged quite nicely by now.”

~Why would he need a secret stash of wine in his tower of solitude?~

I tilt my head and put my hands on my hips.

“I’m not the first girl you brought up here, am I?” I ask.

My confident mate suddenly looks like a bashful kid.

“Everett, it’s fine, I know you probably had girlfriends in college.”

He puts the bottle of wine down and crosses the small loft, taking me in his arms.

“I put that wine here in case I ever managed to get a girl to come up here,” he says, his eyes soft and earnest. “But I promise you’re the first.”

He kisses my cheek gently.

“You’re the first girl I’ve ever wanted to bring up here.”

He kisses my earlobe, pulling on it gently.

“The first woman I’ve ever wanted to share my life with.”

He trails his lips down the nape of my neck.

“The first woman I’ve ever loved.”

His kisses turn more forceful as he makes his way to my shoulder. His teeth scrape my delicate skin and my legs begin to wobble.

“The woman who bears my mark…”

My breaths are coming short and fast, my heart is beating wildly.

Everett leans back and stares at me with dark eyes.

“I want to show you exactly what you mean to me.”

He growls and kisses the mark on my neck.

I lean my head back, ready to be shown.

I don’t care that we’re in an old clock tower. I want Everett to take me.

~Show me, Everett. Show me now!~