Hidden Mate

2

“You should still try.” I always worried that something bad would happen to her because of me. He hated weak supernaturals and wanted me to only associate with the cream of the crop. The fact that my best friend was below our status pissed him off. I had a feeling he would use her against me one day, so sucking up to him would be a good thing for her and her family.

Even though my father might not like me, I was the closest thing he had to an heir. I was his first born, which was my only saving grace. He’d gone through so many women, trying to birth a son, but they’d all come out as girls. It was poetic justice. Not that it mattered because he’d always cast them out of the pack like garbage. He said having one b***h was enough. The worst part was that both the mother and daughter would die shortly after in some sort of freak accident. Anyone he found worthless tended to disappear or die. “You never know when you might need his favor.”

“Nope, anyone who makes my girl feel like a piece of s**t is not cool with me.” She slipped on her black tennis shoes and closed her eyes. “I can’t believe Brock’s making me do this.”

“Don’t be so dramatic.” I tried to hold back my laughter. “Wearing tennis shoes isn’t nearly as bad as you’re making it out to be.” I gestured to my own feet.

“You can pull off the cute, girl-next-door vibe.” She stood and pointed at her outfit. “This is the sexy vixen look, and anything but strappy heels really takes away from the ensemble.”

“Stop complaining.” I wore a black shirt and jean shorts just for the purpose of moving in. “That outfit won’t work for getting things in order anyway.”

“It will too.” She walked to the door and opened it. “I’m wearing this to the Student Center tonight. There will be hot guys there, and I need to make sure I get my pick of the litter.”

Now that the door was open, we had to be careful about what we said. Humans weren’t allowed to know about our kind. You do realize you can’t have relations with a human. Dad made it clear that choosing a human as a mate equaled a death sentence. They were the worst of the worst, the weakest of the weak. That would be a problem.

That’s having a relationship with one, and I wasn’t really talking about a human, anyway. She shut the door behind us and waggled her brows. I want one I can be rough with and not get tied down to. Maybe a vampire or something that isn’t a shifter. When we get home, we’ll have to either find our fated mates or search for a chosen one. I just want to have fun while we’re here.

We passed through the hallway, dodging shrieking girls. Most of them were sophomores who were obviously excited to see each other after a long summer break. Their squeals hurt my sensitive ears, but I forced myself not to react.

We rode the elevator down to the bottom floor, and my eyes went straight to the outdoors. The school was located in Hidden Ridge, Tennessee, about two hours away from Nashville where my dad resided. “Why don’t we walk around the campus while Brock is preoccupied?”

She stomped her feet a few times and blew out a breath. “I’m not appropriately—”

“Please.” I pouted. My wolf wanted to get outside. “This may be my only chance …”

Her body sagged as if it hurt her to agree. “Fine, but only because I don’t like him.”

“Good enough for me.” It had been a fifty-fifty shot with her, so this made me very happy. “Let’s go.” I took her hand and dragged her into the main lobby.

The university was a small, private school that catered to the rich, but also offered limited scholarships to underprivileged families. This was the school Dad had graduated from, and he wanted me to follow in his footsteps. I’d have loved to go to the University of Knoxville or something, but it wasn’t an option. So, I’d taken what I could get.

As we stepped into the lobby, the modernity of it all still surprised me. Lights hung down from the ceiling every few feet, and the walls were painted a medium gray. A cluster of leather couches sat in the center, creating a huge square in primary colors to offset the walls. Groups of girls sat around on all of the couches, catching up.

At least, they weren’t shrieking.

Roxy looked at a girl with a clipboard and gestured to her standard black luggage. “I still have those two suitcases. Is it okay if I leave them here while I grab a snack at the Student Center?”

“Sure.” The girl waved her hand at all of the boxes scattered across the room. “It’ll be fine just as long as everything is up by six.”

“It will be.” I smiled and pulled Roxy after me.

“You must know how much I love you for doing this.” She looped her arm through mine, and we walked outside. The girls’ dorm was located between the large brick Student Center and the huge building that contained both the library and gym.

The campus sat on over a hundred acres of land with woods surrounding it. That was one benefit of going here: there was room to run when our wolves got too restless.

It was around four, and the sun was still high in the sky. The southern heat was brutal, but the nature around here couldn’t be beat.

We walked along the white concrete sidewalk between the two buildings. Several groups hung out at the benches, and three huge oak trees shaded the entire area.

As we got closer, a sweet scent hung in the air. That only meant one thing. A vampire is nearby.

Roxy sniffed the air. More than one.

I wanted to kill her. Could you be any more obvious?

Oh, stop being dramatic. She rolled her eyes. No one is paying attention to us.

Two girls turned toward us and away from the two people they’d been talking to. The scent grew stronger, and I knew exactly who the vampires were.

The taller girl, with her black hair cut in a bob like mine, examined us. It almost felt like she was plotting her next meal. She had the gothic look down pat, and the thick eyeliner brought out her dark brown eyes. There was a faint hint of red in her irises, but nothing a human would notice.

A smirk spread across the other girl’s face, and her inky, brown eyes practically glowed. Her long chocolate hair fell over her shoulders.