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I peer down at the outfit I picked out for the party. The jeans have a cut in them with blood stains; the shirt is marred with leaves and dirt. “Too late.” I shift on the spot, my wolf easily rising to the surface—hair, claws, and all. She walks up to him and licks his hand.
He kneels next to her until they’re eye to eye. “You’re so beautiful. Did you know that?”
She licks his face, and a happy thrum vibrates through her body.
He pats her head and stands, taking off old work clothes that are likely his brother’s. He sets them on the ground in a pile, and when he shifts, he lunges for my wolf, playfully holding her down to lick her face. Afterward, he grabs his clothes in his mouth, and they start off for the alpha’s cabin.
The early morning run is beautiful. The dew on the grass sticks to our fur, making everything slick. The stillness and quiet is what gets to me the most. It allows me to think.
A shiver runs through me. I can’t believe what Sean tried to do. Luckily, Nathan showed up or something much worse could’ve happened.
As we approach the alpha’s land, the feeling of protectiveness and power hums over my wolf’s fur. She preens. There are reasons why Alpha Richard is alpha. His line has been running Daybreak Pack for hundreds of years. This ground is sacred.
Our wolves stop just outside the screened-in porch, and Nathan shifts and dresses. Like the gentleman he is, he opens the doors for my wolf until she’s in my room where we can shift in privacy.
Nathan licks his lips as I straighten in my human form. “As much as I want to devour you, you need to rest.”
“How can you start a sentence like that and not think I’ll want you to follow through?”
He reaches out to pinch my nipple, then clutches my arms before throwing me to the bed. I bounce there for a few seconds, the mattress coils squeaking underneath me. “Sleep, Mia.” With that, he strolls to his room through the bathroom, and I’m left on the bed, thoroughly turned on by his no-bullshit attitude.
No fair.
But he’s not wrong. My body is sore and exhausted. As soon as I pull the covers over my shoulders, it doesn’t take me long to fall asleep again.
Harsh voices downstairs wake me. I sit up in bed, the covers falling down my naked torso. The feet stomping up the steps pricks my ears and puts me on high alert. I run to the bathroom with just enough time to put a towel around my body before the door to my room slams open.
“Hey,” Nathan protests.
I slip out, watching as one of Alpha Richard’s security team moves into my bedroom. Nathan’s gaze treks over the bed and then whips toward me in the doorway to the bathroom. His lip peels back in a snarl, but no sound emanates as the security member stops to look at me. “I’ll need to ask you a few questions.”
My stomach roils, and I freeze on the spot, scared to take a breath for fear of what might happen in the next second.
“Robbie Ventura ran last night,” Nathan explains.
I meet Nathan’s stare, and the coiled-up tightness washes away in an instant. Swallowing, I turn toward the guard and ask, “Can I get dressed first?”
The security member turns on his heel and exits the room. “Meet us in the kitchen.”
Nathan barely moves out of the guy’s way, glaring at his retreating form thudding down the stairs. Nathan turns toward me, and I round my eyes at him. “Robbie ran?”
“Apparently.” He frowns as he tracks his gaze down my towel-clad body. “Get dressed. Don’t give them a reason to be pissed at all the Greystone students.”
I nod. When he shuts the door, I take the quickest washcloth bath of my life—just enough to clean up most of the dirt—and then yank on my Greystone Academy uniform. Right before I leave, I pull a brush through my ratty hair and hope for the best.
I rocket down the stairs and find three security personnel in our living room. Each of them is standing with their hands on their hips. As soon as my feet touch the ground floor, they start in. “Were any of you with Robert Ventura last night?”
“We were all at a party,” Nathan helpfully supplies. “I didn’t see him after we got there.”
“What happened to you?” one of the men asks. He’s zeroed in on the white bandage gracing my leg.
“I got a little too drunk and fell,” I say sheepishly. “That’s what I get for not drinking in a while.”
“None of you knew Robert’s plans to leave Daybreak?”
The three of us shake our heads. The man who seems to be the leader nods at the other two. They move past us and head toward the steps. “What’s going on?” Nathan asks.
“They’re going through your things.”