The Alpha's College Mate

Chapter 14

Clara’s POV

For dinner Jasmine and I sat at a high-top table at Lunar Chamber, a college restaurant about a block from campus. Jasmine sipped lemonade while eyeing the alcoholic drinks a waiter carried to another group of students.

She nudged me. “Do you think if I flirted with him he would bring us some?”

I raised a brow, annoyance rising. “I thought you were set on flirting with Professor Vance?”

Do not get me wrongI was fine with her flirting with whoever she wanted, but I was still irritated that she had switched into Vance’s class just to pursue him. He had told me I was his and always would be, yet sometimes people lied to get what they wanted. My parents had taught me that lesson well.

Even though I did not believe he would lie to me he seemed sincereI still hated the idea of my roommate hanging all over him. If I was his, then he was mine, and I would not let anyone else touch him. I had never been in a relationship like this before, never had anyone pay this much attention to me, and I was not about to give it up.

Jasmine snorted. “Not anymore.”

I sat up straighter and looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“Ugh.” Jasmine wrinkled her nose. “I am not interested in him. I realized he is too old for me. Next year he will be hobbling around with a cane.”

My lips curved into a smile and I could not help giggling at the image of Lucan Vance with a cane. He was far too muscular, walked with far too much confidence, and looked far too sexy for that to ever be true.

Jasmine took another sip of lemonade. “Professor Vance is all yours, Clara.”

“Um, what about me?” Levi said, sliding onto the third stool. “Who gets me?”

Jasmine choked on her drink and pressed a hand to her chest. “I know you did not just say that.”

Levi wiggled his eyebrows at her. “You know I did, babe.”

Jasmine kicked him under the table with the tip of her high heel.

He grunted and tensed, raising his brows as he looked down. “Damn, I deserved that.” After a moment to recover he glanced at me. “What are you ladies up to?”

“Jasmine wanted to”

Jasmine wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer. “Talking about how Clara wants to ride Professor Vance.”

My eyes widened and my cheeks burned. I smacked Jasmine on the shoulder and glared at her, not wanting the entire campus to know I liked him especially like that. I had not told Jasmine what had happened between us, and I did not want rumors spreading.

“Same though,” Levi said, leaning back and taking a beer from the waiter.

My smile widened and I laughed as I grabbed a fry from my plate. “I do not know if Professor Vance likes you back, Levi,” I teased. “He kept glaring at you all through class yesterday. I was afraid he would rip your throat out.”

Levi chuckled tensely and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, rip out my throat …”

Jasmine bumped her shoulder against mine. “Maybe you can make your move on him during the Full Moon party next Friday.”

“The Full Moon party will be the perfect time,” Levi said, stealing a fry from my plate and nodding at Jasmine with a sly smirk. “He will not be able to resist her then; he will turn into a wild animal.”

Again Jasmine kicked Levi in the shin. I furrowed my brows at the intense, silent exchange between them. Levi seemed like the type who might let too much information slip, which could prove useful at some point… maybe.

“What is a Full Moon party?”

“During the first full moon of the school year the university throws a party for the new freshmen.” Levi leaned back and glanced around the room. “Last year the party was a rager.”

The waiter brought the checks. I handed him a few dollars, then slid off the chair and walked toward the exit with Jasmine and Levi. People waved to them as we passed, clapping them on the back as if they had known each other for years.

Jasmine looped her arm through mine and pushed through the doors into the crisp fall night. I moved closer to her, freezing in the wind while she seemed perfectly comfortable in a tank top and shorts.

“You have to go,” Jasmine said. “It is so much fun.”

“You have been before?” I asked.

“My friends and I used to sneak into the party when we were still in high school.”

“You live around here?”

“We both do,” Levi said, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. “A lot of the students here come from the forest that surrounds the university. That is why we know most of them.”

“Oh,” I said, brows furrowed. “I did not realize there were that many communities nearby. The school feels pretty isolated.”

Levi and Jasmine shared another tense look, then Jasmine cleared her throat.

“It is,” she said. “We live a bit farther south, about forty-five minutes from here.”

Suddenly howls erupted from the forest. I tensed and stopped, staring into the dark woods as my heart pounded. Another howl rose, then another. It sounded like… a pack of wolves.

Jasmine tugged harder on my wrist and pulled me toward our dorm with Levi following. “Let us get inside. It is getting late, and do you not have to be up early for Professor Vance’s class? You do not want to miss too many or he will deduct points.”

I chewed the inside of my lip. “Are there wolves around here?”

Both Levi and Jasmine stayed silent.

Levi finally nodded and opened the front dorm door for me. “Yeah, some. I have seen them around for a few years, but usually they are not dangerous.”

A loud yowl cut through the dark forest.

“Not dangerous?” I whispered.

That sounded like one of them was in serious pain, as if one had attacked another or worse… one had attacked a student.

Jasmine pulled me into the stuffy building and waved Levi off. “See you tomorrow.”

After a few moments Levi rounded the corner of the building and disappeared into the night, heading straight toward the noise. I swallowed hard and watched him run off. Something was not right, and I wanted to find out what it was.