Chapter 12
Effie Harlow
Waking up Wednesday morning was confusing to say the least. At first I thought I was still in the clinic because of how small the bed was, only to realize that I was tucked between Caedmon and Dakota.
The first was wearing a hoodie that was nearly as soft as a pillow, and Dakota, who was pressed up behind me, had his warm, bare arm wrapped around my center.
It was absolute heaven, but I was thankful for the full size bed because there was no way we could ever fit in something smaller than this.
After a moment of being warmed by their body heat, I sat up and untangled myself from the two of them, Dakota almost immediately grabbing a pillow to hold.
I couldn’t help but smile at that as I angled myself off the bed and took a moment to stretch, wincing at the sharp pain in my ribs that caused me to nearly go breathless.
I knew I needed to look at the damage done from the car accident, so I went into the bathroom, making sure to brush my teeth and wash my face before lifting my oversized t-shirt up.
I cringed at the sight.
A dark bruise spanned the section of my torso where the seat belt had caught, making me wonder how I was breathing at all.
I needed to shift. I wasn’t positive, of course, but I had a suspicion that would fix it.
I just needed to go outside to do so…right?
I tilted my head as I readjusted my shirt and considered what exactly was stopping me from shifting right in the dorms. Walking back to the bedroom, I noticed that both of my mates were still asleep, so I silently slipped into the main room.
I knew I had class today—so did the others—but the dorm was comfortably quiet, making me curious where everyone was.
Namely Ryder. Frowning, I wondered if he had gone back to his place.
I wouldn’t have blamed him, but I also wished he had stayed here, wanting to be around his intoxicating magic and magnetic personality.
Looking around the dorm, I came to the conclusion that it would be safer to shift here instead of going outside on my own, especially since I didn’t want to wake up any of my mates.
Closing my eyes, I let my shift take over, feeling only a tinge of pain before landing on four paws on the cold floor of our dorm.
Excitement flooded my bond with my wolf as I realized she’d never been here before while shifted, her bold intention making us surge forward as she began to scent everything.
“This is not necessary.”
My words went completely ignored as she sniffed and rubbed up against almost every piece of furniture in the main room before going to the bedrooms. I groaned as she used our snout to open up Dakota’s room with a tap before sprinting towards the bed and landing on it in a big huff.
I could feel how freakin’ happy she was, so I didn’t bother to stop her as she began rolling around in his sheets before getting off the bed and doing it in Caedmon’s room as well.
“We need to do the others.”
“We need to relax, we’re injured,” I pointed out. “Plus, you don’t want to wake them up.”
She bumped her head against Julian’s door four times so that it sounded like she was knocking.
I winced, feeling bad as the door opened and Julian looked down at us with a surprised sleepy gaze.
Instead of questioning it though, he stepped aside, and she sprinted forward to curl up on his bed.
Julian offered a soft chuckle and joined us, stretching out and letting out a yawn as I laid my head on his chest.
Within minutes he was back asleep, and instead of trying to shift back, I gave my wolf the moment to enjoy being near our mate, closing my own eyes as if to rest. I couldn’t tell you if we actually slept or not, but in what felt like mere minutes, I was being gently shaken.
Opening my eyes, I found myself curled up on Julian’s chest with Tore standing next to the bed, looking concerned.
“You’re going to be late for class if you want to go,” Tore said, the corners of his lips turned down, “but you don’t have to—”
I jumped off the bed and nudged his leg before going back towards my room. I shifted mid-path and let out a happy hum, stretching as I realized that I no longer had pain in my center.
“It worked!” I told Tore, turning to find him right in my space.
“What worked?” He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.
“Shifting.” I smiled with excitement. “I was in a lot of pain because of yesterday, so I shifted, and boom. I feel loads better.”
Tore’s expression relaxed. “I’m glad to hear that, lil bit. I was really worried.”
As always, I smiled at the nickname, going up on my toes as he brushed a kiss against my lips. When I pulled back, his voice was a bit rougher. “I’m going to take you to class if you want to go.”
“Give me five minutes!” I turned towards my room and got ready in record time.
Shifting had given me a burst of energy, and I was feeling ready to take on the freakin’ world right now.
I got dressed in a pair of lavender leggings and a white off-the-shoulder sweater that clung to my hips.
Paired with wool socks and lace-up snow boots, I felt pretty confident, especially once I brushed out my hair so it laid around my shoulders.
I knew I would need a jacket, so I slid one on and grabbed my bag, looking back at the bed for just a moment, wishing I could join the two men but knowing that if I did I really would miss class.
I went out into the main room to find Tore ready for the day as well, his entire face lighting up at seeing me.
“What?” I asked.
“You look warm. I like the idea of you being warm,” he explained, his ears turning pink as he shrugged and offered me a hand. “You ready? We won’t have time for breakfast, but if we get to the coffee shop before class starts I’m positive they’ll have something.”
“That sounds nice,” I agreed and then frowned before we got into the elevator. “Wait, doesn’t Caedmon have to be in Economics as well? And what about Ryder?”
“Ryder left early this morning, and I know Caedmon doesn’t always show up, but if you want to wake him—”
“No.” I tugged his hand to get into the elevator. “I want him to get some sleep. I know he’s stressed, especially with his father… Wait, did he go to see him?”
“His flight has been delayed because of the weather. He’s stuck in New York right now.” Tore seemed relieved. “I wish that piece of shit would stay off this campus, but with the amount of money he donates, he practically owns it.”
I didn’t like the sound of that at all.
“I don’t like him,” I said, Tore grunting in agreement as we exited the elevator and pushed through the door to walk across campus.
A cold blast of wind hit me almost immediately, burning my cheeks as we trudged through the heavy snow that had yet to be fully plowed.
I kept myself tucked against Tore’s large frame as he shielded me from the worst of the wind off the lake, pointing me in a direction to take a shortcut through some of the dorms. I didn’t even mind if it took longer because it was so insanely cold.
Around five minutes later, we finally made it to the business center, Tore coming to a stop once inside the building and reaching for my hands that had been buried in my pockets.
He warmed them between his as I leaned my head forward and breathed in his vanilla scent, loving the way it curled around me.
“I can’t wait for it to warm up,” he said. “It’s beautiful here during the summer, but right now it’s a health hazard.”
“You should wear a hat,” I suggested, reaching up and realizing his ears were red from the cold, harsh winds. He leaned into my touch as I tried to cup them, hoping they weren’t hurting too much. The process of your limbs warming back up was almost worse than them being cold to begin with.
“Effie.”
Ryder’s voice had me smiling as Tore made a sound of protest, holding my hand to his ear as if he didn’t want me to stop touching him. So I slid my hand down to his chest and kept it there, the steady beat of his heart feeling so good beneath my fingertips.
Ryder was walking down the steps, giving me a look of concern after offering Tore a nod of greeting. “Are you sure you feel well enough to be in class?”
“Yes,” I assured him before offering a shy smile. “I actually shifted this morning.”
Ryder chuckled. “In the dorms?”
“Yep,” Tore confirmed. “Found her curled up in Julian’s bed.”
Ryder made a hum of understanding. “Well I’m glad Caedmon found some houses to look at because as much as I love the couch, I don’t see very many opportunities to have you in my bed, kitten.”
My eyes went wide and cheeks flared at thinking about being in bed with Ryder. Of course I’d thought about it before, but his direct way of addressing it made me think he wanted it to happen…like, now. I would have been perfectly okay with that.
“You got her?” Tore asked, looking up at the stairs. “I need to go talk to one of my professors, but I’ll be back by the end of the period.”
“Are you good to go to class?” Ryder asked me. I nodded and turned into Tore, pressing a kiss to his lips while stretching up on my toes. It was a quick brush of the lips before I pulled away and offered him a teasing smile that had a deep rumble releasing from his chest.
Ryder intertwined our fingers and led me towards the classroom, Tore calling out a reminder for me to eat as we turned the corner.
That was when I became completely distracted by the number of students staring at us, and I couldn’t figure out why…
Until I realized I was holding hands with a professor.
I’d sort of forgotten that Ryder was a teacher here.
“Should you not be holding my hand?” I whispered.
“Why?” he asked, pulling us to a stop and looking over my expression.
“You’re my professor—isn’t that against some rule?”
“I turned in my resignation letter this morning. This is the last class I’ll teach.”
My mouth parted in surprise. “What?”