Page 1 of Blue Blood Wolf (Big Wolf on Campus #6)
STACIA
I was totally going to be late to work today. But the biggest news to hit Bay State University since the announcement that Prince Ruslan Bashkir was coming here on his grand tour of the United States just blew up the entire internet. “Holy crap, you guys. Have you seen the sitch?”
Nobody better to share the gossip with than my book besties at the Moon Bean bookstore. The guys at the Wolves’ Den Bar and Grill would totally not care about a missing crown prince. Don’t get me wrong, bartenders were huge gossips, but my coworkers didn’t give a hoot about the royal family of Bashkortostan.
“Hey, Stacia. We got in that royalty romance series you ordered. Wait, what situation?” Selena, the Moon Bean’s owner, waved at me from the cash register and then looked around like there was paparazzi behind her or something. Rosie didn’t even look up from where she was bent over her laptop at the table in the corner, probably hard at work on her latest romance novel. Something rattled in the back, probably Charlize puttering around.
I held up my phone. “How could you miss it? The internet is exploding. Prince Ruslan is missing.”
Selena rolled her eyes but smiled at me. She understood.
Maybe I was a little bit obsessed with the royals. I bought my ticket to the Queen of Bashkiria’s talk at the student center approximately point five seconds after they went on sale. I was not missing this chance to get up close and personal with a real life royal. I couldn’t stop myself from talking about, thinking about, dreaming about meeting Prince Ruslan Bashkir since their tour of America had been announced. He was the world’s most eligible bachelor.
And I was the world’s oldest virgin bachelorette. I wasn’t kidding myself that he’d want to hook up and whisk me back to his castle in Bashkiria. I wasn’t princess material. Not with my muffin top, jiggly thighs, and so very American upbringing and accent.
I simply wanted to see him in person, maybe be swept away with a kiss where I get to push my fingers into his sexy dark curls. Hear him whisper sweet nothings in my ear in his Bashkirian accent. Ooohh. Shivers.
I shoved my phone, open to the BBC’s report, in Selena’s face. I accidentally bumped the elbow of a guy standing near the cash register with a newspaper up to his face in my hurry to reach Selena or Charlize. His big nerdy glasses and his paper went flying like in a cartoon, scattering everywhere.
“Oops. Sorry about that.” I squatted down to help pick up the mess.
He knelt, snagged his glasses, shoving them back on his face, sadly covering his pretty golden eyes that sparkled, and then gathered what I hadn’t. “Don’t worry about it.”
Under his breath I heard him whisper, “Bollocks. I was hoping not to have to pay for that.”
Whoo-boy. He had the yummiest European accent ever, all posh and proper… and panty melting. Exchange student maybe? I was an awful flirter, but this was too good of an opportunity. I had to try. Besides, maybe he knew the British royal family.
“From one poor college student to another, let me get that for you.” I picked up his paper and set it on the counter along with the stack of books Selena had ready for me. An awkward laugh slipped out with my words, because I was definitely a huge dork and not good at talking to guys. Oh geez, what was I even doing?
He stared at me like I’d grown twenty-two heads. Must not be the custom in Europe or wherever he was from to be friendly like that. Or was it my obnoxious American laugh? I’d heard Europeans all thought we were loud.
But his slightly horrified, definitely surprised look turned into a smile that had me forgetting how to breathe. “Cheers, but not necessary.”
He practically bolted out of the bookstore and left me with only Selena there for the emotional support I needed after being bowled over by a severe case of the swoonies.
“You listen to me right now, Stacia.” Selena had that you’re-in-trouble mom tone going on and it pulled me out of my lusty fantasy.
No, I was not imagining him wearing a crown and nothing else. Shut up. I’m not all hot and bothered, you’re hot and bothered. Just because he sort of looked like Prince Bashkir, didn’t meant he’d be up for a little prince and princess role play.
“If you don’t go hunt that boy down and kiss the European daylights out of him, you’re fired.” Selena wagged her finger at me.
Snort. Like he’d be interested in me. With an accent like that, every girl on campus would be falling at his feet with her legs wide open. “He clearly wasn’t into me and also... I don’t work here anymore.”
She’d already fired me for how many days I’d taken off. Well, she didn’t fire me. She found me a new job at the bar next door. I made more money there because of…honestly, my big boobs got me some great tips. So I didn’t have to work as much.
“Uh, yes he was. I’ll call Liam over at the Wolves’ Den and tell him he has to fire you.”
“He’s going to fire me anyway if I don’t clock in, like, five minutes ago. Put these on my account?” I grabbed the stack of books and bolted for the door.
I’d just reached for the handle when Selena grabbed my arm and hissed, “Wait.”
The sound of a bunch of motorcycles tearing down the street cut off any questions I was going to ask. A bunch of male voices called back and forth, and the laughter had a nasty edge to it, definitely at someone, not with. It made me glad I hadn’t just stepped out the door.
Selena still had a tight grip on my arm as she watched the last of the bikers go by, and I could have sworn I heard her growl down low in her chest, but it was probably just the echo of the engines.
“Whew, that was close.” I flashed Selena a smile. “Thanks.”
She blinked like she’d forgotten she was still clutching my arm and finally let go. “Be careful out there. And don’t forget what I said.”
Right, like I was just going to go stalk and mack on an English hottie. But I didn’t say that, just in case she really was going to call Liam and get me fired. She wouldn’t, would she? Nah.
As Selena sauntered back toward the Moon Bean’s bookshop counter, she shook her head and muttered to herself. “Niko needs to do something about those one-bloods. Showing their faces here like they aren’t even scared.”
I only understood about half of what she was saying. There was a motorcycle gang that had been showing up in the area a lot more, even coming right onto the campus, but I had no idea what a one-blood was. Maybe it was a biker term? I couldn’t really picture Selena, bossy, matchmaking Selena, using biker lingo though.
The alarm on my phone blared, and I jumped bad enough that I almost dumped my precious books on the ground. Crapballs, I was going to be late if I didn’t hustle. Good thing the Wolves’ Den was right next door. After one last glance to make sure the coast was clear, I ran across the alley to the bar. It only took a minute to throw my stuff in my locker and clock in, and then it was balls to the wall with serving drinks.
I both loved and hated coin night at the Wolves’ Den. Super busy, but the one night that was not the best tips. Except for our resident bad boy bartender, Ty. One smile from him had the wallets of all the women practically being thrown at him.
But I knew a secret the customers didn’t. He was taken. My friend Hunter had snagged his heart hard. They were grossly adorable together.
“Stacia, can you work a double tomorrow? I haven’t found a new waitress yet.” Liam poured me a tray of quarter beers for the table of football players who’d sat down in my section.
“I see Selena hasn’t called yet, so yes. No take-backsies.” Ha. I’d heard stories from the girls at the Moon Bean about Selena’s matchmaking machinations, and I was not getting sucked in. I was going to have to skip out of the last ten minutes of my poli-sci class to get to the shift, but I needed the money. My scholarship for law school next year covered tuition and books but not moving expenses and someplace to live in New Haven.
“Oh, she called.” He waggled his eyebrows at me. “Said to tell you you’re fired if you don’t?—”
“Sorry, can’t hear you,” I shouted and grabbed my tray. Lucky for me we were swamped the rest of the night and Liam didn’t bring up my faux firing again.
That night in my dreams, instead of Prince Ruslan, I saw the sparkling golden eyes and brown skin of that English guy from the bookstore. After all the naughty things he did to me in my sleep, I had a hard time getting out of bed for class. I slogged through eighteenth-century European history and my global economics classes. I didn’t even have the energy to care about the Ruslan Watch posts in my FaceSpace feed.
I grabbed a cheap coffee at the student center to make it through my dreaded poli-sci class. Stupid pre-law requirements. At least it was one of those big lecture halls with hundreds of students, so if I sat in the back and rested my eyes, the professor wouldn’t even notice.
I slid into a seat next to a dude who was clearly doing the same thing as I was. He had the hood of his Bay State University Dire Wolves sweatshirt pulled up and sat slumped down in the seat. Perfect. He wouldn’t tattle if I fell asleep.
“Mind if I sit here?” I pulled out my notebook like I was going to take notes, thinking it would make a great pillow, and set it on the fold-up armrest desk, then glanced at my partner in slacking.
Tired golden eyes behind big nerdy glasses looked back at me, blinked a few times, and then the guy gave me a half-smile of recognition. “Are you stalking me, princessa?”
Hashtag melted panties.