Hidden Mate

7

“Yeah, our … parents aren’t keen on us going to school.” Lillith lifted her head and glowered at the human still staring at us. “Why don’t you just bugger off?”

“Uh …” The guy’s mouth opened and closed. “Sorry.” He turned around, facing the front.

“Bugger off?” Roxy’s shoulders shook. “What are you? English?”

“Actually, I hail from London.” She rubbed her eyes. “It was just so damn long ago.”

That little nugget of information hit me hard. I’d assumed they were our age, but they could be hundreds of years old, for all we knew. “How long ago was that?” I probably shouldn’t have asked the question here, but I was dying to know.

She lowered her voice so only Roxy and I could hear. “I left there two hundred years ago, but that’s a story for another time.”

Of course, that’s when the professor decided to walk in and begin class.

I split from Lillith and Roxy, walking toward Grey Hall for English. Lillith had some sort of science class while Roxy was heading to the gym for a weight class. She’d kept harping on about how she hoped she had some eye candy while working out. She’d gotten annoyed when I’d reminded her to make sure she didn’t stick out like a sore thumb. We needed to keep a low profile and not raise any questions.

This building was a little more modern than Wilson Hall, but not by much. It was a standard, two-story brick building, and my class happened to be on the top floor. The entryway was flat, and I opened the large single door and walked inside. A single stairway sat to the immediate right before the main entrance to the first floor.

People passed me as I walked up the stairway. The steps were narrow and barely large enough for two people to pass each other comfortably. When I got to the top floor, I followed the room numbers until I found my classroom.

I walked in, and my heart dropped. This room was smaller with only three rows of desks. Of course, Dreamy’s friend would be in here with me. He sat at the very back, and the only open seat was situated between him and another guy.

He glared at me as he tapped his pen hard on his binder, causing his blue shirt to bunch with each motion. He crossed his ankles, which brought my attention to his worn, holey jeans.

For a split second, I considered walking out and missing class, but I couldn’t let someone dictate my life any more than I already was. I tugged at my wolf, hoping to gain some confidence from her. I sucked in a breath, and the faint scent of fire hit my nose.

My eyes landed on a large man sitting at the back. He’d have looked awkwardly huge in that desk if he hadn’t been sexy as sin. His long, honey-blond hair was styled upward, and sandy blond scruff covered his chin. He wore a polo shirt that hugged him like a second skin. His dragon bled through as the pupils in his golden eyes changed to slits before evening back out to the round human-shaped ones.

Dragons were super rare, but this university attracted supernaturals of all kinds. I didn’t know anyone who’d ever met a dragon. Their kind was almost extinct due to humans hunting them down. Roxy would be so damn jealous. I had a feeling she’d be stalking my classroom just to steal a peek.

I stupidly decided to take the seat between Dragon Man and Dreamy’s friend. I squeezed past the humans, and the friend was already openly scowling at me.

Trying to push my discomfort away, I sat in my seat, unzipped my bag, and pulled out my binder and English book.

The dragon turned in my direction but didn’t say a word.

Picking up my pen, I rolled it across my binder. I stared at the paper, acting like I saw the most interesting thing in the entire world even though it was blank.

“Do you have an extra pen?” the dragon guy asked. His voice held a slight accent that I’d never heard before.

“Uh … yeah.” I grabbed a black pen and handed it to him. “Keep it. I’ve got plenty.”

“Thanks.” He smiled as he held my gaze. He was most likely trying to figure out what I was.

“No problem.”

“I’m Egan,” he said as he held out a hand.

“Sadie.” I gave him a small smile as I placed my hand in his. It looked tiny compared to his.

“Nice to meet you.” I could feel the strong animal just underneath his skin.

“You’re only nice to playboy-looking guys?” the friend asked beside me. “Figures. I regret being nice to you.”

The fact that he was talking to me like this shocked me. “It was rude of you to assume something when you know nothing about me.” I kept my voice leveled so as not to reveal my annoyance. I had been an ass, but he was giving it right back to me.

“Yes, it was so offensive that I thought you didn’t deserve to have a controlling boyfriend who was manhandling you in front of everyone.” The guy’s brown eyes narrowed, and that was when I noticed he was actually quite large for a human himself.

“First off, he’s not my boyfriend.” I didn’t know why I’d felt like I should clarify. Actually, I did. I didn’t want Dreamy to think I was taken, but I didn’t want to admit it. “And secondly, even if you meant well, it was none of your damn business.”

“Yeah …” The guy crossed his arms. “I got that, and don’t worry. We won’t make that mistake again.”

He couldn’t mean … “We?”

“My boy, Donovan.” He winced and shook his head. “You were a b***h to him this morning in the cafeteria.”

He had to be kidding, surely. “He ran into me.” I didn’t even notice him standing there.

“Oh … I get it now.” The guy hit his binder with his hand. “You’re one of those victims, right? No matter what life throws at you, it’s not your fault.”

I was getting pissed, and my wolf was about to bleed through. “What does that even mean?”

“Don’t let him get you riled up.” Egan touched my arm. “His type likes to find fault in everyone. It makes it easier for them.”

“My type?” The guy huffed. “What do you mean by that?”

Egan responded quickly, “The broken and hard.”

“Welcome to Composition 101,” the professor said as he breezed into the classroom. “Let’s begin class.”