AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I had my plan.
“Not today, Satan.” I stalked across the room, my makeshift shiv held low. Sure enough, Trevor’s massive hand appeared through the gap as he clawed for the latch to open it the rest of the way. “Last chance, Trevor. Get away from my window.”
“Not ‘til I get what I came for, bitch. Don’t worry none. Holly won’t bust up the party until we’re done.”
Aw, snakeshit. Holly had a thing for Trevor’s dad, even though he was mated. I’d bet my last dollar she’d given his waste-of-space son permission to creep into my room, breaking the Hunt rules, on the off chance his dad would appreciate her “help.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” I took a breath and lifted the knife, stabbing down with every ounce of strength I had. The rope burned my palm slightly as he yanked his hand around, screeching.
Double snakeshit.
I pulled out the knife, accidentally running my own hand along the exposed edge and adding my blood to the spatters on the floor. Loud footsteps thudded in the hall at the same moment that Trevor dropped to the ground outside, wailing like I’d cut his hand off entirely, not just stabbed him.
What a crybaby. He’d heal by sunrise.
It took two seconds to leap across the room to the tiny bathroom, where I chucked the knife into the toilet, tossing a wad of toilet paper on top of it. Then I hunkered down on the toilet seat, trying to look surprised when the door to my room slammed open. I wiped my bloody hand on the bottom of my t-shirt, and waited.
“What’s goin’ on in here?” Light flooded into the room and through the open bathroom door, blocked only by two long shadows. Holly barged through the open door, her house shoes squeaking on the tile. She wasn’t alone; an Enforcer stood right behind her.
My heart raced when I saw it wasn’t just any Enforcer. It was Luke.
Tall, muscular, raven-haired, Adonis-wolf Luke Callaway. Luke, who always smelled like melting caramel to me, and made my mouth water every bit as much.
My one and only crush. And so far out of my league, we might as well have been on different continents.
Luke was the Alpha’s adopted heir, since Calvin Callaway hadn’t been able to have any sons of his own. He had been adopted into the pack when he was a little boy, coming from some pack in France. So even his slight accent was sexy, not the pronounced Southern drawl like the rest.
Now the gorgeous, silver-blue-eyed shifter who had featured in almost every one of my PG-13 to X-rated fantasies over the past few years was staring at me... while I squatted on the toilet. With a bare ass.
I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I could disappear. It didn’t work. When I opened them, he was staring at the rust-stained tile floor, as I squatted over a bloody toilet bowl in a loose t-shirt, my cut hand now wrapped in the ragged underwear around my knees.
“What the hell’s goin’ on?” Holly demanded again, screeching as she crossed to the window and glared first at it, then at the blood all over my shirt.
Behind her, Luke arched one eyebrow, his face revealing nothing but slight interest.
“I, um, woke up in the night because…” I scrambled for an explanation for all the blood, and quickly pressed my other hand over my abdomen. “You know how periods can be, right?” It was tricky, talking around the truth to answer a direct question, and not be caught in a lie. Mature shifters could smell lies. Or most of them could.
“You’re disgusting,” Holly spat. “You mean to tell me you made this mess?”
“Well, heavy periods are the worst. Blood just gets all over, you know?” I made a motion to myself, my underwear, and the floor around me. Luke’s eyes widened, taking in the splatters. Probably wondering if my entire uterus had fallen out.
I had to be careful how I phrased things, staying just on this side of true. “I ran to the toilet, and I was just sitting here when I heard noises. I thought I heard a voice outside. Is somebody there?”
The dorm warden strode to the window, throwing the bent bar latch to one side and peering into the still night. “Not now. But there was!”
Luke’s calm tenor voice interrupted her screeching. “A male was outside the unmated female dorms? Did you scent him, Ms. Grier?” he asked quietly. “I’ll have him brought before the Alpha. There are consequences for attempting to enter this dorm after hours.”
“N-no,” Holly sputtered. “I didn’t scent—it could be anyone. She draws that kind of male, like shit draws flies. She likes the attention.”
“That’s not true,” I protested before I could stop myself.
She tightened her bony hands into fists, the cold gleam in her dark eyes promising violence as soon as we were alone. “You insolent little bitch. You don’t get to take that tone with me. I’m all you’ve got, the only one who’d let you stink up this place for all these years. You give me lip again and I’ll throw you out; you’ve been nothing but trouble?—”
Luke cleared his throat. “Ms. Grier, it appears the young lady needs assistance. If I may?”
“You may not,” she hissed. “I called you tonight to… search for contraband.” Ugh, she was lying. I knew that, even if I couldn’t smell it. And from Luke’s stern expression, he knew it, too. She had called him to “catch” me and Trevor in the room together. But now she had to make some excuse.
“Really, Ms. Grier?” Luke asked coolly.
