Chapter 5 #2
I exhaled a large breath, thankful Laney was going to be okay. “Em has training for field hockey tomorrow, which is why she wanted you to stay here. I have orders to wake you up every few hours tonight to make sure you’re okay. You hit your head against that tree pretty hard.”
Laney chewed on her bottom lip. “I’d prefer to sleep at my dorm, but since Sarah isn’t there, I’ll stay. But only because Em suggested it.” She started to get up. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”
While my room was larger than the other bedrooms, I didn’t have a couch. Just the king bed, a dresser, and a desk. “No,” I said, reaching out and placing my hands on her shoulders. “You’re gonna stay right here in my bed. I’ll sleep on the floor and set my alarm.”
She opened her mouth to argue.
“There are eight other guys in this house. I’m the only one who doesn’t share a room. You’ll have the most privacy here.”
“Okay, but I’ll sleep on the floor,” she said. “You can have your bed.”
I took a deep breath, trying to keep my irritation under control.
I wasn’t used to people questioning me when I gave an order.
Then an idea came to me. I looked at Laney, focusing on her eyes as I let a hint of my wolf show through, wanting to bend her to my will.
“You’ll sleep in my bed.” I pulled it back.
If she was a half-breed, she’d obey. Anything less than that, and she probably wouldn’t be compelled to do as I said.
She blinked, her brows pulling together. “I must have hit my head harder than I thought,” she mumbled. “Fine, but I need to shower. I can’t sleep in your bed smelling like this.”
At the mention of the word smell, I breathed her in, reveling in the mixture of her sweat and perfume.
“Rowan?” she asked.
I hadn’t realized I’d leaned in closer to her. “You have some blood in your hair that I couldn’t get out. You shower while I tell the guys you’re staying here for the night.” I stood. “Before I go, I want you to stand on your own to make sure you’re okay.”
She scooted to the edge of the bed and stood.
“Are you dizzy?” I asked.
She rolled her shoulders back. “Actually, I feel a lot better.”
“Are you sure you can shower on your own?”
“I think so. I’ll be quick.” She folded her arms and looked around.
I pointed to the door on the far wall. “My bathroom’s through there. Just use my soap and shampoo. I’m sure it’s not as fancy as yours, but it’s all I’ve got.”
Laney went into my bathroom, flipping the light on and closing the door.
I heard the water turn on.
I went over to my dresser and got out one of my smaller black t-shirts and athletic training pants. I knocked on the door.
“Yeah?” Laney called out.
“I have a change of clothes in case you want something different to sleep in.”
“Can you set them on the counter?”
I couldn’t move. “The counter in the bathroom?” I asked incredulously, my voice coming out higher-pitched than usual.
“Yes,” she replied as if my question had been stupid. “I’m in the shower. You can’t see anything. Just be quick about it.”
With a shaking hand, I opened the door. Steam had started to fill the small room.
I set the clothes on the counter, then turned to leave.
I peered at the shower curtain, imagining Laney naked on the other side of it.
I involuntarily took a step toward the shower, spotting her clothes lying on the floor. Her red underwear and matching bra.
“Rowan?”
“I’m just setting the clothes down now.” With every ounce of self control that I had, I forced myself to move toward the door.
“Should I use your towel?” she asked. “Or do you have another one for me to use?”
Fuck. “Sorry, didn’t think about that. Just use mine.” I’d never fucking wash it if it smelled like her.
“Okay, thanks.”
“No problem.” I closed the bathroom door. Having her in here was fucking impossible. Needing a distraction, I left my room and headed downstairs.
When I stepped into the kitchen, the guys immediately stopped talking and turned to stare at me.
Ignoring everyone, I went over to the fridge and pulled out a beer, needing to take the edge off and calm my nerves.
For the past thirty minutes, I’d been so consumed with Laney that I hadn’t stopped to consider my packmates.
I was responsible for these guys and would walk through fire or give my life to protect them.
They looked to me to lead them. I’d always done that and wasn’t about to stop now. Being their alpha was my bloodright.
When I turned toward the table, there weren’t any open chairs. Riley got off his and shoved it my way. I sat on it across from Danny, with Adan and Jacob on either side of me while everyone else stood around us.
“Report,” I said, wanting to keep this meeting short.
Danny leaned back in his chair, folding his hands together behind his head. “The guy shifted into human form in the parking lot north of Laney’s dorm. Then he got on a motorcycle and drove away. I lost his scent about a mile down the road.”
“That’s all you got?” I asked, taking a sip of my beer.
“I didn’t recognize his scent, so it’s safe to assume he’s not from our pack.”
“No shit,” I said. “If he was from our pack, don’t you think I would have fucking recognized him when we fought?”
Danny shrugged. “Thought it was worth mentioning.”
“What about his bike?” I asked. “Anything on it? What about its plates?”
“Em texted me on their way back about a run-in at a gas station involving a motorcycle with Virginia plates,” Danny said, staring up at the ceiling. “I’m guessing it’s the same guy. He must have followed them.”
“Does anyone know where Laney is from?” I asked, realizing I knew nothing about her.
No one answered.
“It was probably just some guy passing through who caught a whiff of Laney,” Adan said. “Her scent is unique enough that we all can smell wolf in her.”
“But why attack her?” Jacob asked. “None of us were sure if she was a full-blooded wolf at first. It took awhile to figure out she is only a half-breed.”
“I’m not sure anyone wants to hear this,” Riley said, “but maybe the asshole just wanted to play with a human. Or maybe his wolf form planned on luring her away from campus where he’d shift and…you know.”
I blinked. “You think some rando just wanted to rape her?” I asked, trying to see if that suggestion made any sense and swallowing the bile in my throat.
“Think about it,” Riley said. “He saw a college girl at a gas station off a main highway. He’s probably just some perv.”
His explanation didn’t feel right. “Okay, that’s one option.” I took another drink. “We have to consider that he smelled Laney and realized she was a half-breed.”
Danny nodded his head. “So he followed her to kill her for that reason. That makes sense.”
The thought of some jackass, especially a shifter, wanting to hurt Laney made my blood rush through my veins. I set my beer on the table, not wanting to lose control and shatter the bottle in front of my friends.
“What’s the matter?” Danny asked.
I met his gaze across the table. “We have to consider the possibility that the guy is an enforcer.”
The room went silent, the only sound was the hum of the refrigerator.
Finally, Jacob said, “What makes you think that?”
“When I fought him, he was well trained. I had to use my strength as an alpha to force him to leave. He was almost as strong as my father.”
Danny tapped his hand on the top of the table. “What’s the call?”
“We can’t have one of our kind kill Laney on campus.
It’ll bring too much attention to us. If there’s an investigation, they’ll discover there’s something different about her.
” I took another sip of my beer. “I want us to keep an eye on Laney. Let’s see if this was a random thing or not.
” A lone wolf, we could deal with. An enforcer was a different story.
“I’ll make sure we have someone watching her,” Danny said as he stood. “I’ll come up with a schedule and let you all know when your shift is.”
I tilted my head to the side, cracking my neck. I hated the idea of my packmates watching Laney. It felt like that job belonged to me.
“Do you have a problem with that, boss?” Jacob said, a wicked gleam to his eyes.
“Nope.” I took another sip of my beer. I’d have to figure out how to loosen up when it came to Laney. I needed to start thinking of her as a member of my pack. Someone who needed my protection and nothing more.
“Where is she now?” Adan asked. “Riley mentioned something about her being here.”
“She’s in my room.” Hopefully dressed by now.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Adan asked.
I glared at him. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
Jacob’s lips pulled into a devious smile. “In case you forgot, you have a girlfriend. I’m sure she wouldn’t like another woman sleeping in your bed. And since I have room in mine, I think Laney should sleep with me.”
Pure rage shot through me like lightning. No one, not even a packmate, would sleep with Laney. She was mine. I lunged for Jacob, but Danny grabbed my arms, pinning them to my body.
“Calm down,” he said in my ear. “You need to go and take care of the girl, not beat the shit out of this asshole.”
Danny was right. Reason started to return, and my anger calmed.
“You good?”
“Yeah.”
He released me.
Danny whacked Jacob on the back of the head. “Did you not learn anything from earlier today?”
“Out of curiosity,” Adan said, “why is she even here?”
“She hit her head and might have a concussion. I have to wake her up.”
Everyone looked at me as if I were nuts. Maybe I was.
“Em has training tomorrow morning and couldn’t do it herself,” I said, trying to explain it so they’d understand. “I’m helping Em out.” They all loved Em. She was one of us. Laney was the outsider here.
Danny turned and left the kitchen.
“We’re done here,” I said to everyone else before jogging after Danny. I caught up to him on the stairs. “Are you okay?” I wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything else he had to tell me about tonight that he didn’t want to say in front of the others.
“Yeah, I’m good. I just took a hard hit to the chest today.” He walked down the hallway toward his room.
“In the game?” I didn’t remember him getting hit that hard. The game had been too easy and tame for my liking.
“Sure. In the game.” He entered his room and closed the door.
I went to my bedroom and knocked. When I didn’t hear Laney respond, I cracked the door open.
The lights were off, so I slipped inside, letting my vision shift in order to see in the dark.
Laney was in bed, her back to me. Her smell was everywhere.
I breathed it in, wanting to jump into bed and roll around to cover myself with her scent.
Laney’s breathing wasn’t deep enough for her to be asleep. In fact, it almost seemed a little unsteady. The thought of her being aroused in my bed by my smell was almost too much to take. I made myself go straight to my bathroom.
Standing there staring at myself in the mirror, I knew I had to pull it together.
I couldn’t act on any of these base instincts.
Not only was it not fair to Em, but it was not the way of the alphas.
We only mated with the strong because each alpha only produced one alpha.
He could have more kids than that, but only the firstborn was the alpha.
I had to mate with Em in order to produce an alpha strong enough to take over one day.
Our pack’s safety and wellbeing depended on it.
Now that my heart rate had calmed down, I brushed my teeth and washed my face. Then I stripped off my shirt. The shorts would have to stay.
Going back into my bedroom, I noticed that Laney had pushed the bedspread to the bottom of the bed. Grabbing it, I folded it in half before tossing it on the floor. I laid down, trying to get comfortable.
“I’m sorry,” Laney whispered.
Confused, I asked, “What for?”
“Making you sleep on the floor.”
“You’re not making me. I offered.” Which reminded me, I should set an alarm. It was almost one in the morning. I needed to wake her up in three hours to check on her.
“I’m still sorry.”
“But not sorry enough to offer to share with me?” I asked, holding my breath, not sure I’d share the bed even if she offered.
A breathy laugh escaped her lips. “No, not that sorry. I think it best you stay right where you are.”
I didn’t answer.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
I didn’t know if she meant for saving her from the wolf, cleaning her up, or giving her my bed. I didn’t bother to ask. “You’re welcome.”
As I lay there, breathing in her intoxicating scent, I knew I was royally fucked.
There was something about her that I couldn’t ignore.
Which was insane. I didn’t even know anything about her.
Tomorrow, I would begin to rectify that.
Especially since I had to keep an eye on her.
Maybe I could convince her to go out to breakfast with me.
It would give us a chance to talk and maybe figure out this weird connection between us.