Chapter Sixteen
Toby could swear he felt Griffin’s pain. It mirrored his own in some ways.
Toby’s pain made him want to go to Griffin. He had an instinct to protect Griffin almost from the first time they met, but since their talk that morning, he also wanted to take care of Griffin. He wanted to make all that hurt disappear.
Professor Mistol talked about the ethics of magic use, which was this week’s unit.
It included several reading assignments and a paper.
Toby couldn’t concentrate. He thought about Griffin’s withdrawal.
He used his work as an excuse not to have to deal with the pain Toby had caused him.
He probably fell into his work for a lot of reasons when he had things he wanted to avoid. His hustle mentality was a crutch.
So maybe they had the same problem. The break was a difficult one and probably the wrong move for Toby to make. Hindsight being what it is, Toby might have to grovel later. They handled it in the exact opposite ways, though. But that was alright, too.
Toby darted his gaze to Riley. Riley jiggled a pen in his grip until the professor said something Riley deemed important enough to make a note.
Toby hadn’t taken a single note, but not because he thought he had a great memory. He was about average in his learning ability. Toby just couldn’t concentrate on anything, and he was exhausted.
Riley tapped his pen on his notebook. Once. Twice. He cleared his throat.
Toby zeroed in on what Riley pointed to with the end of his pen.
You okay? You seem off today. Riley wrote in the margins.
Toby picked up his pen. He at least had his notebook open.
Not that the professor gave a shit if one of his students failed the class.
Toby had learned during his first week of college, three years ago, that no one was going to hold his hand or hound him to get the work in.
He was the master of his own fate. So he tried hard because, again, as an average learner, he needed to put in effort.
Something bad happened last night. Maybe he shouldn’t tell Riley about it. Especially if Toby and Griffin wouldn’t work out.
Riley raised his eyebrows and nodded toward Toby’s paper, as if telling him to keep going.
Griffin found an envelope on the sidewalk in town with my name on it. It was a threat because I stopped the attack on that wolf shifter in the park the other day. And I’m being watched all the time.
Holy shit. Riley’s eyes widened.
I didn’t sleep well last night. Toby felt bad letting Riley believe it was because of the threats.
While that might cause a large part of his stress, he wasn’t losing sleep over those fuckers.
He could magic them away if he really wanted to.
Not that it would be ethical. So yeah, maybe his attention wasn’t completely on the lecture, but he was paying attention to important bits.
He wasn’t a monster. If he just magicked away everyone he didn’t like, there would literally be like ten people in Fortune Falls, and that was a high estimate.
Toby didn’t people very well on a good day, and he was just tired and heartbroken enough to be in a pissy mood.
Do you feel safe in your apartment? You can stay with Cass and me. Or Zinnie will let you stay at the inn. No charge.
Toby swallowed down the lump forming in his throat.
The Palmer family were great people. They didn’t deserve to be lied to.
Not that Toby was outright lying, but omission was still a lie, right?
Riley, like Griffin, was ready to step in and help wherever he could.
Toby would bet their parents had a similar giving nature.
Toby didn’t deserve it. Not when he was a big fat liar.
I stayed at Griffin’s house last night. He said he placed wards around his house, so it was safe there.
Riley raised his eyebrows. He must like you a lot. He’s sort of the my space is sacred type. He doesn’t let just anyone inside his house.
That shocked Toby. Griffin hadn’t appeared super protective of his inner sanctuary. Toby just shrugged and changed the subject. I might take you up on your offer to spend the night, if that’s still okay.
Of course.
The conversation wound down, and Toby focused on the last few minutes of the lecture.
It was when class let out and Riley began walking him to his next class, instead of them parting ways like they normally did, that Riley began asking questions. And they weren’t talking about the incident last night. Nope. They focused on the thing Toby didn’t want to talk about.
“So you stayed with Griffin, huh?”
Toby nodded. “His spare bed is cozy.”
“Is that the only thing you liked?” Riley smirked, and a spark of humor entered his gaze.
“The sandwich was good, too. And he’s a nice guy.”
Griffin was more than just nice. Toby wanted to shout it from the rooftops just how great Griffin really was, but he didn’t think Griffin would be very happy that Toby shouted about him to his brother. Hell, Griffin wouldn’t like Toby talking about him with Riley.
“Right. Just nice.” Riley bit his lip and then grinned. “You might not realize, but you get a dopey expression on your face when you talk about Griffin.”
Toby was surprised his eyes hadn’t shifted and his fangs hadn’t dropped at the mention of his name. Dopey didn’t cover how he felt about Griffin, though. “He’s hot.”
That was even an understatement. “People have crushes on him all the time.”
Toby wanted to stake a claim. “It’s the curls and that smile. Very dreamy.”
Riley chuckled again. “He’s the whole package.”
“Yeah. He is.” Toby changed the subject.
If he didn’t, he would start waxing poetry about Griffin’s kissing abilities.
He wouldn’t ever tell anyone about it, regardless of who that was, but Riley was definitely the wrong audience.
“Is it okay if I come by your place sometime tonight? I have to go to my apartment and grab some clothes.” He was still wearing Griffin’s clothes from last night.
He was surprised Riley hadn’t noticed how the shirt hung off Toby, but then Toby had kept his coat on, even in class.
“I have to bake for the inn and diner after this next class, but I can call someone to escort you.”
“I should be fine. But if I’m not, I’ll just call your dad.”
“If you’re sure.”
He wasn’t, but he also didn’t want to be a bother to anyone, including Griffin. Especially Griffin, since he made it clear he didn’t want to be around Toby.
****
The decision not to call someone before he left the campus for home was the wrong one.
He’d walked from his apartment to campus that morning.
In his defense, he hadn’t thought the dickwads would be awake so early in the morning.
Since Head Dickwad was the heir to the used car fortune and clearly had a rich boy complex, Toby figured he probably didn’t get up before noon.
With Wolf Dickwad, he’d been taking a risk, but it was a calculated one.
Wolf Dickwad may or may not be a criminal.
Criminals slept late, too, right? The stereotype seemed sound enough to Toby, whose head had been in a fog anyway from lack of sleep and Griffin’s fake indifference.
But Toby realized his mistake the second he stepped onto the sidewalk and headed toward his apartment. He hadn’t factored in that he would also have to walk back home again. And his car was still parked on Main Street at the bakery.
Toby stopped and tried to be discreet when he looked around for anyone who might be suspicious. He was too tired to really pull it off, but he couldn’t sense anyone around.
He knew the path from the campus to his apartment well.
He’d been taking it since he’d moved out of the dorms and into his apartment.
He’d passed a couple of shops that catered to magic users.
One sold herbs and bowls for spell making.
Toby had gone inside out of curiosity. He’d purchased a small crystal that he kept on his coffee table.
The other was a bookstore catering to treasure hunters and students.
Sometimes Toby would walk home just to visit that store.
It was his favorite bookstore on campus.
He loved the strand of trees next to the bookshop. They were just a few giants in all their protective leafy glory. It was a great spot for doing homework or reading.
They felt different when he passed them. There was something ominous about them, something tainted.
The hair raised on his neck. He stopped and stiffened.
Stopping ended up being a mistake. It seems he had been making a few of those lately.
But it wasn’t anyone he recognized. He’d expected to see the dickwads, but it was a wolf, one much bigger in his human form than Toby.
The man came out of the trees as if he’d been a part of the shadow. Toby hoped the shadows made the man appear larger than he really was, but when he stepped into the light, the wolf was actually bigger. Toby’s head wouldn’t clear the guy’s shoulder.
Despite the guy’s size, he appeared normal. He wore glasses and a flannel coat that had seen better days. Behind the normalness was an emptiness that Toby had never encountered seeing in the depths of someone’s gaze before.
“You didn’t do what you were told.” Giant Dickwad didn’t have an expression when he spoke.
He threw a blue powder in Toby’s face. He didn’t have a choice but to breathe it in before he could stop himself.
He coughed when it entered his lungs.
And then his vision blurred. He tried to shift, not bothering to take off his clothes, but as hard as he tried, he couldn’t make his wolf come out.
He panicked. It was just long enough for Giant Dickwad to throw a punch.
Of course, he aimed right for the gut, making all the air in Toby’s body escape.
Toby clutched his gut. His stomach and intestines also wanted to run for cover.
The next punch unbalanced him, and he landed on his hip.
Hard. He covered his head, anticipating kicks.
And they did come. One right after another.
For one second, Toby let the fear take hold, and he forgot how to stay calm. He forgot everything his father had ever taught him. He smelled his own blood. It trickled down his side where his shirt rose when he had fallen.
He forgot it all until the moment he didn’t. He heard his dad in his mind. Absorb the pain. Don’t let it consume you. Grab his foot.
They’d been simple instructions, but challenging to execute in the moment, when fear was the only thing he knew. His muscles remembered the lessons, even when his mind seized up as though it were a faulty engine.
He reacted, focusing on his pain, breathing through it until he couldn’t feel it anymore, and all he knew was air entering his body. In and out. That was it.
The kicking had a pattern. It came and then retreated. Kick. Pain. Retreat. Kick.
Toby grabbed the foot and turned as he held on to the hard sole of Giant Dickwad’s boot.
The bigger someone was, the harder they hit the ground. So Toby heard it when Giant Dickwad lost his balance. The ground shook, like tremors after an earthquake.
Toby tried to magic the giant away, but his magic disappeared along with his wolf. He stumbled to his feet, clutching his stomach. His pain was concentrated there.
The world was blurry, but he grabbed his backpack. That had somehow stayed next to his body. The world was a mess of colors without substance. He saw the shape of the bookshop. He saw the black door. And he knew when someone had opened it, standing on the sidewalk.
Toby stopped. For the first time in his life, he whimpered, expecting another attack.
“Holy shit.” He saw a person move and then come closer. “Oh my god. Holy crap. That other guy is getting up.”
The person led Toby toward the bookshop and inside. Toby heard the lock click into place.
“You’re safe. I locked the door. He can’t get inside. But I have to let you go to call the sheriff.”
The man released him. He heard the guy talking, but Toby couldn’t make out the words.
His senses faded to nothing. He tried to find something to brace himself against when his legs wouldn’t hold him up anymore, but he crumbled to the ground. Darkness closed in on him.