Chapter 3
YVAINE
It was early—way too early for anyone to be awake. However, since I only had a couple of late classes, I figured I’d whip up breakfast for everyone.
With a stretch, I let out a yawn big enough to swallow the full-size fake skeleton in the corner before I slipped on my green-and-blue checkered slippers—the same colors as my Scottish family’s MacKenzie kilt—and padded into the bathroom for a quick shower.
Later, with a towel wrapped around my head and my planner wedged under my arm, I wandered through the apartment, taking stock of the silence. Zeus was nowhere to be found, probably scavenging on the neighbor’s roof or ambushing their hundred-year-old cat, his favorite morning workout routine.
The door to the room of my third roommate, Makena, swung open, almost slapping a bad good morning right at my face.
Out stepped a guy so enormous I half expected him to duck under the frame.
Wearing nothing but checkered boxers that oddly matched mine, it was clear what he had been doing—or rather, who.
His grin was unnaturally large as his half-lidded eyes zeroed in on me. “Oh, hello there, sweet pea!”
Nope, too early in the morning to get a new nickname. The guy looked like he should be tearing down trees with his bare hands, all rugged and fur-covered, like most werewolves. Yet his eyes were a surprisingly gentle shade of maple brown.
“Morning to you, Gentle Eyes.”
“Gentle Eyes?” A deep laugh rumbled from his chest like an old truck engine. I found myself liking him already. He seemed like the kind of guy to smile at everything.
Proving my point, he flashed me a toothy grin.
“You mean you fancy me?”
Okay, maybe I didn’t like him that much.
“No, thanks. Besides, didn’t you just walk out of my friend’s room?” I arched a brow at him.
He gave a massive shrug, bumping into the amber pendant light hanging above him. “Meh. She’s not my mate, and I’m not hers! Could never work. Universal werewolf agreement.”
I strolled toward the kitchen with him trailing behind. One of his giant dinosaur feet smacked into the wooden cabinet where we kept Spiky, our pet cactus, and the tiny shrine for Gertrude B. Elion.
I rose onto my tiptoes to get the flour down from the top cupboard. Gentle Eyes took it from me and set it on the counter while I grabbed the egg carton from the fridge.
“Could you at least come up with a more beastly nickname?” He flopped down into a chair. Glancing down, he fished something from underneath him—Tiziano’s agenda, some of the pages creased—and tossed it onto the table. “Oops. Hope this isn’t yours.”
“No, it belongs to our other roommate.”
“Is she hot?”
“She’s a guy. And he doesn’t usually like butts, or any other body parts, on his agenda.
” I tried to smooth out the pages with my palm, but after two hundred pounds had crushed them, I doubted they would ever be the same.
Returning to dough rolling, I informed him, “And, no. You’re stuck with Gentle Eyes. ”
He snatched an egg and twirled it around his index finger while grinning at me, making me giggle. He was just such a source of happiness that I wished Makena would date him.
My smile morphed into horror as he threw his head back, cracked the egg above his open mouth, and let gravity do the rest.
“You eat raw eggs like that?”
He wiped his mouth with his tattooed forearm. “Eggs are good for us, just like sex… Want some?”
I scowled. He raised his hands in defense—a jagged scar covered his left palm, and his last two fingers were missing the tips. “I meant an egg! Try it the Killy way!”
“You know eggs are basically chicken menstruation, right?”
He actually gagged, a palm covering his mouth. “Why ruin eggs for me? I made you laugh, made your friend come, and shared my secret egg-eating skills!”
“I just shared a fact.”
“Uh-huh. So, where exactly are we?”
“You don’t know? For real?” I popped in one earbud to listen to my podcast—Mindcraft: Hacking the Human Brain. Multitasking was my specialty. I’d had to learn it, with so little time and so much to do.
He wandered back with a jug (where did that even come from?), sat back down, and started chugging water, his throat working overtime as he guzzled it all down in one go.
“I’m making croissants. Want some?” I took out my croissant machine, a present from Uncle Andrew, and plugged it in. As I pulled out a bowl with bees and honey on it, I answered, “And we’re just off Comet’s campus.”
Coughing, he sprayed water everywhere, turning the kitchen into an irrigation zone. “Comet, you say?” His eyes flashed a golden yellow, and he let out a big exhalation, sending my hair flying backwards. “Oh, shitty shit! I really wanted those croissants.”
I grabbed some napkins and dabbed at his shoulder and chin. “What do you—”
He jumped up, water dripping down his chest, before he bent down to smack an eggy-wet kiss into my cheek. “Tell that lioness of your friend that I said hey. Pleasure meeting you, uh…?”
“Yvaine.”
“Beautiful name for a beautiful she-wolf.”
“Wait, what about your clothes?” I eyed his near-naked state. Not that it mattered; we werewolves didn’t really feel the cold. But decency! I didn’t want fainting and concussion cases to increase at the hospital because of this big guy running around naked.
“You can keep ‘em, sweet pea. For something amazing to smell when you get lonely.” He shot me another toothy grin.
“Sure, I’m always in need of more rags to clean the kitchen.”
He barked out a laugh. “You’re cool, Ivana!”
I sighed at how he butchered my name. Typical American boy, tripping over anything non-native.
“Hey, wait, take this for the road.” I strolled back from the fridge and handed him the lunchbox I’d prepped for myself. I could always eat at the vegetarian buffet near the hospital instead.
As he looked at it, his brows lifted. “Isn’t it yours?”
By now, he had one leg out the kitchen window. I didn’t have the heart to tell him the Highlander and his crew lived right under us—he’d probably faint, and I didn’t have the medical equipment on hand to cure the head bleeding that would result from a fall that high.
I shrugged. “Dark Diamond’s pretty far, and it looks like you need the energy.”
“And damn, you’re smart, too! What else have you got under that cute head towel, sweet pea?”
“It wasn’t hard to guess. Explains why you’re so scared.”
He thumped his chest. “Ouch, you sure know how to hurt an ego.” His expression shifted, growing oddly serious. “You remind me of a friend of mine. If I hadn’t already decided we’re getting married someday, I might’ve introduced you.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to meet his friend if they were anything alike. Besides, my brother and his crew wouldn’t let me hang out with a Dark Diamond anyway, even if he didn’t play wereball. Pack loyalty and all that medieval nonsense.
“And just so you know, I’m only leaving in a hurry…” He mimicked my tone. “…cause there’re probably twenty of them here. I definitely beat up at least half during the last game.”
“You play wereball? Shocking.”
“Listen, sweet pea, if you can’t find your mate, come find me, kay?” He crumpled up a Post-It note into a ball and tossed it to me. I didn’t catch it, and he smiled as I picked it up.
Beside his scrawled number was his name: Killian.
“Sorry, Gentle Eyes, but you’ve already been to Makena territory.” I ripped the paper in half.
“Makena…” he parroted. “Oooh, right! Give her my number. See ya around, Ivana!”
With that, he jumped. Disappeared like he’d never been there.