Commencement

RORY

My head falls back as Everett kisses my neck. My body spasms as if electric pulses are throbbing through me.

My legs go out from under me but I’m secure in Everett’s arms. Gently, he lowers me to the ground—onto the blanket he brought.

Finally, his kisses reach my mouth. I don’t ever want him to stop kissing me, but he does.

He pulls back and stares at me once again.

“Can I show you?” he asks. “Exactly how I feel.”

His hand is pressing down on my waist and his breath is warm and sweet.

“Yes, Everett. Show me.”

Everett’s lips smash against mine in a collision of desire and pleasure.

I return his kisses with a kind of voracity I’ve never experienced.

The wooden floor of the bell tower is firm and rough beneath me—the blanket does little to provide any cushioning—but I don’t care.

“Show me,” I murmur between kisses, sucking in a breath when I have the chance.

Everett’s hands explore my body, moving across my chest and up my legs.

I want him to touch every inch of me. I want to feel my skin come alive with tingles and tremors where his fingers make contact.

In one swift movement, Everett pulls off my jeans and my panties, exposing me to the cool night air.

I gasp and moan gently.

He sits back on his heels, grinning hungrily as he undoes his belt.

I run my hands through Everett’s hair as he leans down to kiss me, his stiff member grazing my inner thigh.

~I can’t believe we’re doing this here…~

~I haven’t even started taking classes yet!~

But something feels so right about this. As if it makes sense. I’ve been allowed to learn in a college environment, to have the university experience I thought I was giving up.

That should come with some hi-jinks. And some pleasure.

Everett’s member slides inside of me, and I arch my back, clutching onto his shoulders.

He cradles my head and kisses my neck as he begins to move.

I’m going to have bruises on my hips from the floor. But I don’t mind. It makes me even more excited.

Everett begins to growl as his speed increases. I don’t know whether I want to kiss him or sink my teeth into his skin.

The world begins to swim around me, stars flicker behind my eyes.

Pressure builds in my core, tensing and expanding…

I’ve nearly reached my climax.

I close my eyes and take a breath, and just then… we hear voices.

Everett freezes.

The voices are becoming louder.

“Someone’s coming up the stairs,” I say.

In an instant, Everett tosses me my jeans and zips his fly.

I struggle to get my legs back through each pant leg, hopping around and nearly toppling over.

Just as I manage to fasten the button, a guy and a girl emerge into the loft.

“Oh, hi,” the guy says, clearly surprised. “I didn’t think anyone would be here.”

The girl is standing behind him. She’s about my age and looks like she’s just been caught smoking in the girls’ bathroom.

“We were just leaving,” Everett says.

“Wait, aren’t you Alpha Everett?” the girl asks timidly.

“He gets that all the time,” I say, giggling like a maniac and pushing Everett back toward the exit.

My face is burning and must be beet red; I’m so embarrassed. I can’t believe they nearly caught us. Everett grabs his formerly stashed bottle of wine as we leave and begin to make our way back down the stairs.

“Babe,” I hear the guy say once we’re almost at the bottom. “I can’t believe you thought that was an alpha. As if he’d be necking with some college girl.”

Both Everett and I stop to listen in further.

“I swear he looked just like him,” the girl says.

“You’re so gullible,” the guy replies. We hear them shuffling about for a second. “Hey, I think they’ve stolen the wine I stashed up here!”

Everett and I glance at the bottle in his hands and then at each other. I guess Everett isn’t the only campus Lothario this college has seen.

We both break out into a fit of giggling and hurry away.

***

It’s hard to sleep that night. Thinking about my first day as an official college student is keeping me up.

Beside me, Everett is sleeping soundly. He looks so peaceful and strong.

I start to think of how grateful I am to have him as a mate… someone who cares enough to build a pillow cloud around their bed to protect me from falling onto the floor.

I wish I could take him with me to class.

I wish he could build a pillow cloud that I could carry with me everywhere I go.

Even though I’m the luna of my pack and even though I’ve found my home next to Everett, I want to feel like I belong somewhere.

And I’m really hoping Lupus University is that place.

***

Blinking wearily, I notice the sun beginning to rise outside the window. It’s finally here.

My first day at college has arrived.

For some reason, it’s harder to pick an outfit for today than I thought it would be.

I can’t seem to land on anything. Jeans and a hoodie feel student-y but maybe a little too informal.

I think about wearing my white button-up shirt and a cardigan but when I try it on, I look like I’ve come dressed as the Getty image of a female scientist.

Finally, I land on a cute blue dress with sunflowers printed on it and a denim jacket. I hear it gets cold in the lecture theatres.

“You look amazing,” Everett says, coming up behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders, and kissing my cheek.

“Thank you.”

“You’re going to knock them dead.”

“The whole reason I’m going is to bring people ~back~ from the dead.”

We both laugh and I spin around and wrap my arms around his neck, giving him the biggest thank-you hug.

“This just came for you,” Everett says, pulling an envelope from his pocket.

“What is it?”

He shrugs and smiles.

I open the envelope and pull out an ID card with my name and picture on it.

“The dean must have sent it over, or maybe Professor Xander,” I say, staring at the card. “Do you know what this means?”

Everett shrugs.

“It means I can borrow books from the library.”

I grin and stare at the card some more.

“You’re going to be late if you don’t get going,” Everett says, prodding me toward the door.

“One more hug,” I say, turning around and squeezing my mate one last time.

As I walk from the house toward the hidden entrance, I start to wonder about what my first class will be like.

I know I’ll be studying exclusively with Professor Xander but I have no idea if his classes are popular or how many students he has.

I worry that the other kids will be far ahead of me and I picture myself walking into a room full of werewolves doing amazing magic tricks.

Maybe they won’t be that advanced, but still, I will have missed a few classes by now for sure.

My nerves are making me feel cold so I wrap my arms around myself as I walk.

No matter how far ahead of me the other kids are I need to put on a brave yet friendly face. We’re all going to college to learn, we’re all there for the same reason.

~They’re going to like me.~

I jump through the portal and almost manage to land on the other side without falling flat on my face.

It takes a second for me to right myself, but I manage to stay on my feet.

“Oh my Moon Goddess, what are you doing back here?”

Finally feeling balanced again, I look up to find Mia watching me with the most intense look of disdain on her face.

“I go here now,” I say.

She scoffs. “As if.”

“Dean Fang made an exception for me,” I say, swishing my hair a little sassily. Mia may not want me here, but I’m not about to let her dampen my mood.

“Dean Fang would never let a human on the campus, let alone become a student.”

“Wouldn’t she?”

I pull out my new student ID and shove it in Mia’s face. To say she looks shocked would be an understatement.

All the color drains from her face, leaving her looking like a washed-out dishcloth.

“That’s got to be fake.”

“Ask the dean yourself.”

“Whatever,” she sneers. “You may have somehow weaseled your way onto campus, but you’ll never truly belong here.”

I stop dead in my tracks.

“What?”

“You’ll always be an outsider,” Mia continues. “A human who used her boyfriend’s connections to get her a seat at the table.”

“That’s not what happened,” I say, my chin quivering.

“You got another card to prove it?”

Three girls go walking by, catching Mia’s attention.

“Hey girls,” she calls to them. “Wait up.”

They all stop and turn, waving and smiling as Mia joins them—but not to me.

~I wish I had that pillow cloud right now!~

I thought college students would be different from high school kids. But so far it all just feels like the same old thing.

I think about turning around. Running home and pretending like I never even wanted to go to college.

But I can’t.

I need to learn how to use my power.

That trumps every horrible feeling I’m having.

I just want to make it to my first class without crying.

So I bite my lip to stop it from trembling and put my shoulders back.

~Let’s go!~

With my chin up, I march in the direction of Professor Xander’s class.

I reach the doors to the divination lab and stop to take a second. Maybe the other kids in Professor Xander’s class won’t behave like Mia or her friends.

Maybe they’ll be the intelligent, studious people I’ve imagined.

Then again… maybe not.

I take a deep breath and push through the doors.

“Ah, there you are,” Professor Xander says from where he’s leaning over a desk at the front of the room.

I turn my head in each direction, shocked by what I’m seeing.

I shouldn’t have worried about what the other kids would be like… because there aren’t any.

I’m the only one here.