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“She said I was being a whore,” Alice snarls.

I look behind me at the object of Alice’s fury and see a female wolf shifter smirking at her.

“You were being a whore,leech.”

Alice squirms, trying to break free to lunge at her, but the angel tightens his hold on her and lifts her off her feet.

I walk toward the wolf shifter with a sweet smile on my face. As soon as I am within reach of her, I punch her in the face. The sound of her nose breaking echoes in the now quiet room. While everyone is too stunned to react, I turn back to Alice. “Ready to go?”

“Right, both of you out!” the angel holding Alice demands. He waits for me to proceed and just carries Alice to the door. Alice lets out a low oof when he sets her none too gently on her feet and goes back inside, slamming the door behind him. The music starts up again, and Alice and I burst out laughing. I swing my arm over her shoulders, and we head back home.

5

Summer

Alice and I continue to chuckle and chatter as we head back toward Kelpie. I stop to take off my heels, carrying them in my hand. Alice wraps an arm around my waist as we stroll across campus. “How was the golden dude?”

“The golden dude tried to make me eat a sandwich mid-make-out.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders. Even with her heeled boots, she barely reaches my shoulder.

Alice snorts. “Is that code for his dick?”

“What? No. He wanted me to eat an actual sandwich.” I roll my eyes and let out a huff. What a way to ruin a perfectly good opportunity to fuck. Men. “To soak up the alcohol or whatever.”

Alice frowns. “Why?”

“So that he could kiss me, knowing I wasn’t intoxicated.”

“Ugh.”

I shrug, trying to shake off the lingering dissatisfaction. “Whatever. I didn’t even give him my name.”

“It’s a big school. I doubt you’ll see him again,” Alice says. We walk arm-in-arm, supporting each other all the way to Kelpie Hall. I lean against the wall as she fishes in her pocket for the keyto the dorm. While the rooms are accessed by our fingerprints, the main doors need a key, or entry is granted from within the dorms via intercom.

“Exactly,” I agree.

“And that punch… Shit. It was perfect,” Alice says, kissing her fingertips.

She stumbles into the building once she manages to get the door unlocked, and we practically crawl up the stairs. I laugh and follow her into the dorm, locking the door behind me with a wave of my hand.

“Well, we’re a team, and she was being an asshole.”

“Damn right.” Alice holds out her pinky, and I link mine with hers. “If someone comes for one of us, they come for both of us.” She shakes our hands before releasing me, the pact made.

Alice smiles sleepily, the alcohol obviously tugging at her sleep receptors. She yawns widely and salutes me before turning on her heel to shuffle to her room.

I grab a glass of water and peek in at Alice. She is already completely passed out on her bed, fully clothed. I pull her bedroom door closed before going to my room. I look at my still unpacked bag and the empty shell of my room.Is this any more like home than the last place I dwelled in?

I grab my still-mostly unpacked bag and pull out a small box. I open it and place it on my bedside table. Inside is a tiny sprig of wood with one single flower on it. A flower that’s never wilted, living without water, sun, or even air, barely clinging to life for years. Just like me, barely living, barely breathing, barely existing.

It is the last piece of my home. My true home, and one I never knew.

I sigh, brushing my finger down the immortal sprig before curling up on my side and propping up the box so I can look atit. A single tear slides down my cheek. I only have a moment to think of my lost home before I fall into the abyss of sleep.

“Summer! We have to get ready!” Alice beats on the wall that separates our rooms, and my head pounds in response. The alcohol from last night churns in my stomach and regret crawls through me, dragging nausea in its wake. I groan, pressing my face into my pillow, trying to get control of my stomach before the contents of it end up on my floor. It must be that stupid Eden Mist. I’ve never been this hungover from regular alcohol.

Slowly, I open my eyes, and the room spins. Apparently, not only am I hungover, but simultaneously still drunk. Fucking perfect. I sit up and wait for my vision to stop kaleidoscoping the room before I risk stumbling through to the bathroom.

I press my back against the cold tile of the shower and allow myself to slide to the floor. Keeping my eyes closed is definitely the better option. Unfortunately, I didn’t explore my ensuite last night and my impaired sight is needed to turn the shower on. The first spray of water is freezing, but my broken body barely jolts beneath it. I nearly sob in relief when it starts to get warmer.