Filed To Story: Alpha's Regret: His Wrongful Rejection
“Okay. You have to put it in writing first, though.”
“What?”
“Condoms. You have to write it down. So it’s official and legal.” Or whatever.
He seems confused. He looks at me. I look at him. I don’t blink. Finally, he digs his phone out of his pocket. “Can I type it in my notes?”
I don’t know. “I guess so.”
He taps a few times and holds up the screen. It says buy condoms.
“Good?” he asks.
I shrug. He returns the phone to his pants pockets. I figure he’ll go now—he seems anxious to bolt—but instead, he stares at my cleavage. I glance down. My chest is fuchsia, and my nipples are thimbles.
“Why are you wearing that when it’s fifty degrees out?”
“The heat is making me hot.”
“It’s—” He licks his lips, seeming to search for words, and then he gives up and shrugs off his jacket. He steps up onto the platform. “Here. Lean forward.” He settles the jacket on my shoulders like a cape.
It’s warm from his body—which I could do without—but it also smells like him. I nestle my nose in the lapel and inhale. The woodsiness floods my lungs, relaxing my muscles. My wolf rumbles her approval.
I slip my arms into the sleeves.
Cadoc looks down at me, bemused. “You like it.”
“It smells like sap.” I slide my hands in the pockets, checking for treasure, but they’re empty except for the smooth silk lining.
“I have to go now,” he says.
“Okay.”
I stroke the buttons. They’re smooth. Maybe horn or shell.
“Seth will take you to class.”
“All right.” I rub the liner between two fingers. It’s made of silk, too.
Cadoc barks a short laugh. I blink up.
“You’ll hold that jacket for me, right?”
“Of course.”
He picks up my backpack and holds it up for me to slip my arms through. The gesture is very stiff and awkward. His hands keep getting in the way, and the jacket bunches, but eventually, I’m ready to go.
Seth begins to saunter over, bringing his egg-stank with him. I pop the collar of Cadoc’s jacket to form a pine-scented buffer.
Cadoc’s frowning, not at Seth, not at me, but kind of at the middle distance.
When Seth’s halfway across the dining area, he seems to come to a decision. “Meet me at Economics.”
Seth doesn’t have to be told twice. He books it out the side door.
Cadoc gestures me toward the lounge at the front of the Commons. Postgrads study and “network” on the uncomfortable geometric furniture in the afternoons, but this early, it’s empty since everyone is in core classes.
I follow him out to the brick path that runs along the perimeter of the lawn past all of the Academic Halls.
Is he going to walk me to class?
There’s no one out, but there are hundreds of bored shifters staring out the windows. He has to know that.
I slow my step, drop behind.
He slows his pace to match mine.
Does he know what he’s doing? Nobs don’t walk beside scavengers. Never.
I guess he can make his own rules if he wants, although for the male who’s destined to be king, he seems to have to follow a lot of, well, rules.
“Hey.” I peer up. He’s a good head taller than I am. “What happened to not acknowledging me?”
“I’m walking you to class.” He says it like it’s no big deal. Liar.
“I’m wearing your jacket.”
“It’s a jacket, not a bite.”
I wince. His teeth clench.
“Sorry,” he mutters.
“You’re not that smooth with the ladies, are you?”
“I don’t have to be.”
Well, that’s true.
I shorten my steps again, not in an obvious way, just to see. He slows some more. It has to look weird. He’s a big guy with a long stride, and at this point, he’s almost doing a bride’s walk down the aisle.
“What class are we going to?” he asks.
“You don’t know? You’re the one leading the way.”
He flashes me a rueful glance.
“General Numeracy,” I answer.
“In the Math Hall?”
“Yeah. Well, behind the Math Hall.”
Luckily for both of us, we’re heading the right direction. I don’t know about his people, but I know for sure that every scavenger with a window view is ogling us right now, and every single one is going to bust my balls about this later. If we stop and change directions for no apparent reason, that’ll be the icing on the cake.
We go a little further in silence. I soak in as much fresh air and sunshine as I can, noting the direction of the wind and the height of the geese, honking in a V overhead. My feet drag of their own accord. It’s a natural reaction to going to class.
“You’re walking slow on purpose, aren’t you?” Cadoc stares down, suspicion darkening his glare. “So you’ll be seen with me?”
No. Yuck. Ugh.
I stop in my tracks. “You can go, you know. I didn’t ask you to come along. And if you didn’t want to be seen with me, why didn’t you take the back way?”
He frowns, scanning the dozen or so buildings surrounding the lawn, his brow furrowing. Yeah, if he takes off now, he’ll just be making the gossip juicier.
He shakes his head as if to clear it. Is his brain as fuzzy as mine? He seemed better off, but it’s known that males descending into rut lose it big time, and when they go, they go fast.
Shit. I don’t want him to grab me and bend me over in the middle of campus.
My nipples tingle, and my wolf whines. A picture flashes in my head—Cadoc ripping that shiny blue shirt off, his abs rippling, his fangs descending as he lunges—
No. I don’t want that in real life. I start for the Math Hall again, power walking.
Cadoc stays behind, rigid, a glint of silver in his eyes. Oh, hell no. I’m not losing my virginity on the Academy lawn.