Hidden Mate

16

I hurried to the door, barely able to keep to a human speed.

“Sadie …” he called after me, but there was no way I’d stop.

I’d been so stupid to tell him all of that, but my mouth had run on its own accord. That had never been a problem before. Hell, I’d never put anything that bluntly to Roxy, so why him?

His footsteps pounded behind me, but he couldn’t catch up. I pushed through people, being rude as f**k, but I didn’t care. It was bad enough knowing I’d see him tomorrow, let alone right now.

Outside, I rushed to the tree line. I needed to be one with nature and get back some semblance of my life.

“Sadie,” Donovan said, closer than he should’ve been.

I spun around to see that he was only twenty feet away. That shouldn’t have been possible. No human could be that fast … could they?

Nothing about him made sense. I shouldn’t have been that attracted to a human—they didn’t affect me in ways I couldn’t control—and I shouldn’t have had a loose tongue with him.

The closer I got to the woods, the more I tapped into my animal. I gained distance from him. At this point, there was no telling what I might say to him. It was safer for me to run away. I hit the trees and let my wolf push forward, but not enough to shift. I had to get deeper into the woods before I let the animal side of me take control. He didn’t need to find my bag and clothes. That would only lead to more problems.

My nerves calmed as the trees flew by. With each step, the fresh hair filled my nose, eliminating his smell. Around five miles deep, I tossed my backpack to the ground and stripped my clothes. I called my wolf forward, and my bones cracked as light pink fur sprouted across my body.

When I stood on four legs, I took off, running deeper into the woods.

Sadie? Roxy linked to me.

I’d been running for God knew how long, but this was exactly what I’d needed. I trotted next to a long stream I’d found deep inside the woods. This was probably farther than most humans went during the week. Yeah?

Where are you? She sounded very concerned. We’re here at the Student Center, looking for you. I thought you’d be grabbing us a table.

I’m sorry. I’d forgotten all about our lunch plans. They all had a noon class, and we were supposed to meet up at one-thirty. I forgot all about it. I’m actually in the woods. Give me ten minutes, and I’ll meet you there.

Are you okay?

Yeah. I’d tell her about everything later, but not around our vampire friends. I hadn’t known them for long enough. Trust had to be earned.

I pushed my legs, running fast toward the university. Donovan should have given up looking for me by now.

The last few miles, I let my tongue hang out, enjoying the breeze. It wasn’t long before I was back where I’d left my clothes. I shifted back to human and got dressed. Right before I stepped out of the tree line, his scent hit my nose like a freight train.

“Sadie,” Donovan said, not even ten feet away from me. He rushed toward me, scanning me from head to toe.

“What are you doing here?” He should have been back at the dorm or somewhere that wasn’t here.

“Looking for you.” He reached his hand out.

I flinched.

“Hey,” he said softly. “I won’t hurt you.” He slowly touched my hair and pulled his hand back. There was a twig in his fingers. “I thought you wouldn’t want to wear this in your hair all day.”

“Uh …” I’d never felt so awkward in my entire life. “Thanks?” I hadn’t meant for it to sound like a question.

“Why in the world did you run out here alone?” He surveyed the area. “You need to have at least one other person with you out here at all times.”

I started to laugh but realized he wasn’t kidding. “Oh … I grew up in the woods.”

“Really?” His brows pulled together. “I didn’t see that one coming.”

“Because I had everything handed to me on a silver platter?”

He nibbled on his bottom lip. “Maybe I spoke out of turn, but that doesn’t matter.” His jaw clenched. “You still can’t run out here alone. It’s reckless. You could’ve gotten hurt.”

“Then, you could have found a new lab partner.” Humor was best in these types of situations. “That would have been a solid win for you.”

“I don’t want one like that.” He huffed. “I definitely don’t want you injured.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond. “Well, I’ve got to go meet Roxy, Katherine, and Lillith.”

He dropped the twig to the ground. “Is that your group of four females?”

“Yeah.” I motioned to myself. “As long as you’re including me in that number.”

Neither one of us spoke, and we stared at each other.

Sadie, Roxy said in a panic. Are you okay?

Shit, there was no telling how long we’d been standing here like this. Yes, be there in a second. “Look, I’ve got to go. Thanks for your concern.” I spun on my heel and headed back toward the Student Center, leaving him in the woods.

Inside the cafeteria, I found the three of them already together at a booth. I hurried over and grimaced as I slipped into the seat beside Katherine. “I’m sorry, guys. I needed to go for a run and lost track of time.”

“In the middle of the day?” Roxy’s forehead wrinkled. With humans out and about. She had two Philly steak sandwiches in front of her, and she plopped one on an empty plate and pushed it my way.

Thank God. I was starving. “Yeah, last class was intense.” There wasn’t another word I could use for that.

“How so?” Lillith took a swig of her blood, which was again in a coffee cup with a lid.

“No reason.” My voice went high-pitched, and the air began to smell.

“Dude.” Roxy wrinkled her nose. “I’m trying to enjoy my meal here. Stop making it smell all up in here.”

A few guys next to us chuckled. One of them said, “Is it sad that she’s still hot even if she has no problem passing gas in public?”

Katherine burst out laughing.

And I’d thought my awkward years were behind me.

The front door opened to the Student Center, and Donovan walked in. My eyes were glued to him. Maybe coming here had been one huge mistake.