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Nolan took the first turn at shifting back to human and while I wanted to look so badly, I diverted my attention while he put on his pants, sans anything under them. I would think about that little tidbit in the boring parts of class. All of class. Any time.
“Mind giving the lady some privacy?” Nolan turned, speaking to Lex and Wolfe.
Wolfe’s eyes widened, and both of them whirled around.
If my wolf was right, one day we wouldn’t be so shy about our nakedness.
I shifted and put my clothes back on as quickly as possible. I didn’t want to keep them waiting.
“I’m decent,” I said quietly.
“Way more than decent, if you ask me,” Lex said, winking. My knees became jelly when he did that. All of them were so flirty in their own ways. I’d wondered if they were this way with all females, but I had a feeling they weren’t males who came onto just anyone. They saved those things for the right one.
Or my ego was inflating by the moment, and I was completely full of shit.
“Are you okay?” Wolfe closed the distance between us. “That was a heavy topic over breakfast.” He wrapped me up in a bear hug, and I melted into his arms, resting my head against his chest. I inhaled, taking in all of his oak and sea-salt scent, soaking in the calm.
“I’m okay. It’s still hard to talk about,” I answered. He smoothed my hair with his big hands and growled. I heard it over the sound of his steady heartbeat, and my wolf answered the alpha’s call, howling inside me.
Answering the call of her mate.
“Trust me, it’s always going to be hard to talk about,” he responded.
“You know the feeling, don’t you?” I asked.
He nodded. “My parents have been gone for almost ten years, and the wound never closes. It gets smaller, but still stings like it was yesterday, female. When I say I understand your pain, I mean it from my heart.”
I sighed and wrapped my arms around his big form, as much as I could get around a tree trunk like him, and squeezed as hard as I could. Not only did he know my pain, but he’d shared that part of himself with me.
“Save some for the rest of us, will ya?” Lex said chuckling.
“Oh.” I retreated as my face filled with fresh heat. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry for touching us, Ava. You can put your hands all over me if you want to.” Nolan laughed, breaking the tension.
“Smooth,” I commented, picking up my bag.
“We would all like to shift with you. I know you just did, but…” Lex said.
My nervousness made me interrupt him. “I have class. I missed homeroom, which isn’t a big deal, but if I don’t go now, I’ll be late for history.” They all nodded, and their faces fell, but more than that, their disappointment burned inside me. Like a bond. A mating bond. Had it already started to form? Did they know as well? Could they feel it as strongly as I could? It would be easier if they would come out and say the word, taking away all my trepidation. “Another time, okay? I’m not saying no. Just later.”
“Can I walk you to class, then?” Lex asked.
“Of course.” I turned to Wolfe and Nolan. “I’ll see you both at lunch, right?”
Wolfe nodded. “Before that in defense class.”
“Oh, right. Let’s go, then.”
As I left, my wolf whined at the absence from the other two.
“Your wolf is beautiful. I didn’t say it before. I must’ve been in awe. As beautiful as you are, Ava,” Nolan said.
My father hadn’t been the lovey-dovey type with my mom, and I hadn’t had any relationships other than some dating here and there, so these three openly and unabashedly sharing their feelings and complimenting me made me squirmy. And needy in all the right places.
“Thank you. I look forward to seeing you again, too. I mean, your wolf.”
He huffed out a laugh. “Female, I look forward to seeing all of you as well.”
