41. Riley
Riley
Tobias was stalking me around campus. I’ll admit, it had taken a few days to catch on, but now that I was aware of his concerning behavior, he was difficult to miss.
My wolf was in seventh heaven. She thought his stalking activities were a sign that he wanted to claim us. I told her she was nuts and that the candy-cane wolf had issues. Like, serious mental health issues.
Unsurprisingly, she ignored my concerns.
“Stop following me, Tobias,” I growled when I emerged from the library stacks to find him sitting in my chair, ostensibly reading Tales of the Elusive Vampire Clans.
He tossed the thick volume aside and grinned, not at all put off by my murderous scowl.
“I’m here to study, honey bunny.”
“Honey bunny? What the fuck kind of nickname is that?”
“Honey, because your lips taste like the sweetest honey, and bunny because you’re cute.”
The wolf was officially insane. I was not cute, and my mouth tasted of coffee and regret, not honey.
“Go away, Tobias. I’m busy.”
He looked at the dog-eared paperback novel in my hand and smirked.
“Busy reading shifter smut?” My addiction to shifter smut novels had reached a new level, mostly fueled by my off-the-scale libido.
After I stumbled across a shelf of shifter romance novels, hidden behind a section of snooze-fest books about dead alchemical researchers of the sixteenth century, I was hooked.
I’d always loved books growing up. Books were an escape from my shitty home life, a way to travel the world without leaving my bedroom.
Romance novels had taught me all I needed to know about relationships.
Specifically, that fictional males were way better than actual males, and also that fictional females often chose males guaranteed to be locked up in a magical penitentiary in real life.
“Books are escapism, Tobias. And trust me, I need an escape from my life.” Truth.
Mom had taken to calling me most days, bragging about her new life of luxury thanks to her swanky job and rich boyfriend.
I knew it was only a matter of time before she fell back into her old patterns once the new guy stopped love-bombing her. And when that happened, it would be me left picking up the pieces, as usual.
Tobias’s smile turned into a scowl at my flippant comment.
“Are you being harassed, honey bunny? Tell me who’s bothering you and I’ll sort them out.”
“Really? You gonna fight all my battles for me?” I snorted. I’d be gone soon, and once I was back in the US, I would have to fight my own battles.
My wolf didn’t like that reminder and whined unhappily.
“You belong to me, honey bunny, so yes.”
The library’s copy of Dragon Shifter Lust: Heat Academy, a spicy, why-choose, enemies-to-lovers, dark, paranormal romance, slid through my fingers as Tobias’s ridiculous statement sank in.
“Belong to you? Excuse me?”
“My wolf says you’re our mate.” From Tobias’s smug smile, he expected me to react favorably. Well fuck that.
“Then your wolf is delusional. Now leave me alone so I can read my smutty book in peace.” I picked up the book and opened it, noting the very long list of content warnings that included references to explicit sex, biting, knotting, backdoor fun, dub-con, primal play, blood play, and much worse.
Perfect. Just what I needed to distract me from the lack of progress on Lorna’s disappearance and my mother’s bullshit.
Before I could sit down and dive into the story of a lusty dragon shifter and her five fated mates, Tobias snatched the book from me and tossed it over his shoulder.
“No need for smutty books while I’m here, honey bunny,” he declared. Then he grabbed me around the waist, threw me over his shoulder, and ran off into the stacks.
“Put me down!” Tobias ducked into an alcove and dumped me on the floor.
I tried to punch the asshole’s balls, but he blocked me. He’d learned from our previous interaction, much to my annoyance.
There were other moves I could try, but honestly, I was all out of fucks to give at this point. Perhaps it was time we talked. The wolf needed to know I wasn’t worth pursuing, no matter how much he wanted a mythical mate.
He and I weren’t soul-bonded moon mates. Or any other type of mate. The most he’d get from me was a hookup. And I wasn’t about to blow my cover for an orgasm, even if my slutty wolf was desperate for alpha wolf cock.
“Look, while I’m flattered you want me, be serious, yeah?
” Tobias used his thick, muscular, very sexy arms to cage me in while pouting like a supermodel.
I temporarily lost the power of speech while I drank in his stunning cheekbones, sexy scruff, and jade-green eyes.
Stars, the wolf must have siren blood in his veins.
I cleared my throat to bring my brain back online. “I’m a hybrid wolf, Tobias,” I reminded him. “The lowest of the low in the shifter world. And you’re an alpha wolf from a powerful pack.” At least I assumed so. Simon hadn’t been terribly informative on wolf pack facts.
“And your point is?” He seemed confused at the point I was trying to make.
I groaned in frustration. Why was he acting so fucking dumb?
“Hybrids don’t mate with full-blooded wolves, Tobias! I’ll be lucky if I can find a human to bond with me!” Not that I wanted a human mate. Human males were disgusting in my experience.
“Says who?” Goddess save me from killing the stupid wolf.
“Everyone, including the Shifter Council.”
I shoved him back, and this time, he let me.
“I don’t give a fuck what the Shifter Council says, honey bunny,” he said, acting all butt-hurt because I’d rejected him. “My wolf says you’re mine.”
Ugh. This was pointless.
“Then your wolf is as stupid as you,” I muttered, which provoked an angry growl. Oops. Tobias’s wolf was a sensitive little flower. Noted.
I tried pushing past the definitely dumb wolf, but once again, he blocked me.
“Surely you can feel it too?” he whined. “Your burned sugar scent sends me crazy, little wolf. It makes me want to do bad things to you.”
“I hear you like slutty she-wolves with big tits.” I glared, angry that my brain had latched onto the idea of him doing bad things to me and was currently showing me a slideshow of what that would look like.
“Perhaps,” Tobias hedged, as a faint blush tinged his perfect cheeks. “But that’s all in the past, honey bunny. Now my cock only wants you.”
Stupid me couldn’t resist looking down at his groin. Call it temporary insanity. Tobias smirked.
“My very big cock.”
“I don’t like cocks,” I lied. Tobias’s smirk grew into a smug grin.
“Your sexy scent says otherwise, honey bunny.” He pressed closer, wedging me between his hard body and the shelf. I tried wriggling away, but it was fruitless. All that did was make him groan and prove his point about the size of his cock.
Fuck my life. If he didn’t let me go, I was in trouble.
“Sex is banned in the stacks,” I blurted, praying that the angry librarian would appear waving a magical stun gun.
But Tobias wasn’t listening. He sniffed my neck and then licked the skin below my ear.
“You smell amazing,” he rumbled. Unfortunately, so did he, leaving my self-control hovering on a knife’s edge.
I shivered as he slid his hands around my waist. Goddess, I needed to get a grip.
“I’m confused, Riley. My eyes tell me you’re male, but when I touch you, all I can feel are soft curves and velvety skin.”
Tobias frowned in consternation as he tried to make sense of it all, and it was on the tip of my tongue to put the stupid wolf out of his misery.
But while I was ninety-nine-point-nine percent certain he had nothing to do with Lorna’s disappearance, he was friends with Tate, and I didn’t trust the Montes pack heir.
Tate was involved somehow. Not directly, but the longer I spent here, the more I believed the mafia had played a part. Which meant Tate’s father—and by extension Tate—knew something.
“Have you considered consulting a healer? Cognitive confusion is a symptom of dementia.” I tried for empathy and ended up looking constipated.
“I’m not fucking losing my marbles,” he huffed. “It’s just…ugh.”
Taking advantage of his distraction, I pushed him away.
“I can’t be with you, Tobias. I’m sorry.” And I wasn’t lying this time. Tobias might be an irritating wolf-slut with stalker tendencies, but he had a kind heart. He’d make some lucky she-wolf a wonderful mate one day.
Sadly, that would not be me.