Page 6 of Alpha’s One-Night Stand (Shifters of Clarion #3)

C id stops the car in front of Moonhelm Academy’s private guest quarters, and I’m relieved that I’m finally where I’m supposed to be—and in one piece.

As Cid opens my door and I get out, a young woman emerges from the building, her long dark ponytail swaying as she walks. She’s wearing the school uniform . . . sort of. Her black blouse has two or three buttons undone, revealing her cleavage, and her black skirt is so short, I doubt she could bend down in it. She smiles and waves at me as if we’re old friends.

“Chadwick Robertson?” Her walk changes into a light jog as she approaches, adjusting round glasses sitting on the edge of an upturned nose. She’s got big doe eyes behind those glasses that make me wonder if they’re really as big as saucers or if she’s just got a thick prescription.

I’ll tell you this much. She doesn’t smell human. But then, humans hardly ever find themselves here. The scent I’m picking up is a familiar one. She’s one of my own. A wolf, like me. Not from my pack, but definitely the same species.

“Depends on who’s asking,” I say as she walks up to the car.

She smiles at that, her cheeks blushing a little. “Your mother didn’t mention your charms.” She giggles and pushes her dark hair over one ear. Ah, okay. Another of my mother’s traps.

“Sir,” Cid says, “I must be returning. Your bags?” He’d already put my bags on the ground next to the car. Yeah, he’s probably in on this ruse as well.

“Fine,” I say, waving him away. “Give Mother my regards.” I turn to the woman and ask, “So, who are you supposed to be?”

She does a flimsy curtsy and flips her long ponytail to one side. “I’m your welcome party.”

A joke, I guess. I nod and say, “Doesn’t look much of a party. Looks like you’re all by yourself.”

“Well, Mr. Robertson,” she says, her voice dripping honey, “I’m all the party you need.”

That makes me smile. Well, much like the flight attendant, this woman is pretty enough to spend some time with. At least, she seems willing enough for it. I guess after this long, strange trip, I could use a distraction for a few hours.

She playfully bit her lower lip. “Come. I’ll show you to your room.”

She walks away, her hips swinging from side to side like she knows I’m watching. Just like the flight attendant. I wonder if Mother taught these women how to attract me. Was there a class exclusively for women hoping to trap Chadwick Robertson into making them my Luna? I think I’d be more surprised if there wasn’t.

I follow her, enjoying the view as I climb the steps into the building behind her. Yeah. She’d make for a good way to while away the hours until Mother calls for me.

Right before I enter the building, the scent comes wafting up to me out of nowhere. I stop on the landing and turn around, my nostrils flaring in an effort to track its direction. The purple- haired woman. Here ? What would she be doing here? Was she following me somehow? I scan the horizon, looking for any flash of that electric purple shade that I saw in the airport.

There’s nothing. Students walk around the campus in the distance. Some of them have different colored hair, and I pick up shades of blue and red. No purple. Or at least not the same shade as the mystery woman’s hair.

“Mr. Robertson?”

I turn to see “The Welcoming Party” looking back at me with her head cocked to one side.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

I turn away, looking around myself again. The scent is faint, but it’s there. She’s close by. I can feel my wolf stirring, my heart starting to race. It’s almost painful. The wolf inside me is pacing. I need to get inside and as far away from that scent as I can. Now.

I walk inside and close the door shut behind me. Her scent is still there, still taunting me. Welcoming Party is looking at me with concern now. “Yeah, where’s my room?” I say to her. She nods her head and starts walking down the first hall, still strutting with a swing in her step. Funny how what turned me on a minute ago is starting to piss me off now.

“It’s this one.” She points to the door to the left of her. We walk to it together, and she hands me my keycard. I take it from her and open the door without a word.

“Mr. Robertson,” she says as I step over the threshold, “I thought maybe you’d like a little company. I’ve got some time between classes.”

“Thank you, but I’d prefer to be alone.”

I start to close the door, and she puts her hand out to stop it. “Mr. Robertson, I was told that you might enjoy some company for a few hours before the party. Was I mistaken?”

I’m thoroughly irritated now. I don’t know if the scent is still around me now or if the memory of it is stuck inside my nose. All I do know is that if this woman doesn’t leave, I might be forced to make her go.

“Yes,” I tell her. “Thank you for showing me to my room, but I’m fine. Please leave.”

Her big doe eyes tear up with hurt. Perhaps if my wolf wasn’t clawing at my insides to be free right now, I’d be inclined to feel bad for hurting her feelings.

I don’t, though. I need her to go. And I need her to go now. I don’t let her say another word. I step back and close the door in her face.

“Stand down,” I say out loud once I’m alone. “Stand the fuck down. ” My wolf creeps into my voice now, an ancient growl mixing with my human tones. A sure signal that my wolf can burst out at any moment. I shut my eyes tight and start taking deep breaths. It starts to work. The wolf is backing down.

Fuck. This woman and her damnable scent are going to drive me insane.