Page 31

When I land on my hands and knees, my hands scrape against the rough pavement. Even though I’m wearing jeans, I think my knees are hurt. “Ow,” I say as I slowly get up. I can’t wait to see Skyler with big eyes and a guilty face looking at me.
He says, “I’m sorry, I didn’t think calling your name would make you fall!” and pulls me to the side of the Psychology building to get away from the few people who are staring at me. Honestly, I’m too tired to care about the attention.
“Dang it. You humans and your fragile skin,” he says with a frown as he looks at my hands, which are now bleeding from the scrapes on my palms. I quickly pull my hands away from his and wipe them on my jeans. They still hurt a little, but I don’t want Skyler to worry about me for no reason.
I try to tell him that I’m fine, but instead of words, the biggest yawn comes out of my mouth. Skyler gently shakes me awake, and my eyes are already starting to close on their own.
“What’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting like a zombie all week. Are you sick? Wolves don’t get colds, but I can find the right medicine for you.” He puts an arm around me, and I lean on him for support. I’m glad he walks toward the Cafe. If I want to make it through the rest of the day, I need coffee.
“I haven’t been sleeping well,” I mumble, hoping I won’t have to talk about my nightmares and what they mean.
“I have a theory about why that could be.” Hope grows inside me as I wait. There might be a wolf reason why I can’t sleep and keep having these dreams. I didn’t even think about that, which was dumb of me. I only thought about getting back together with Jaxon and being scared that he would die. Maybe it’s the mate bond or some other magic that I don’t get.
Skyler says, “I think it has to do with the mate bond.” I stop walking and look at him, waiting for him to say something. “I’m not sure, but you are a person, and the mate bond works differently for everyone. I think the bond is bothering you in your sleep because you haven’t seen him as much lately, so you can’t fully relax.”
“But I’ve seen Jaxon every day this week…”
“You haven’t slept with him, though.” My jaw drops and my cheeks get red when I hear the word “sleeping with Jaxon.” Is he saying that I have to have s*x to make these dreams stop?
Skyler starts laughing so hard at the look on my face that it probably looks scared and embarrassed. “I love you, Calla.” He puts his hand over his mouth to try to stop laughing at me. “I didn’t mean s*x. I meant that you haven’t been sleeping in the same bed as him, which could make you feel uneasy. Maybe that’s why you can’t sleep.”
I think that’s an interesting idea, but I’m not sure if that’s why I’m having these bad dreams. Last week, when I slept over at Jaxon’s house, I still had a terrible nightmare. He stayed with me all night. I want to tell Skyler what I think, but my phone rings before I can.
I complain to myself as I search through my backpack for my phone. I’m getting a call from Natalie right now. Oh, no! I forgot that she and I were supposed to go shopping today. I promised her a day of shopping when she helped me get away from Felix, but I still haven’t done it. I slowly move my finger across the screen and hold the phone up to my ear.
“Hey?”
Natalie’s loud “GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS?” makes my phone ring and my head backs up instinctively because of how loud her voice is.
“I know, I remember.” I pout, but luckily she can’t see how little I care about our planned outing.
“Don’t be sad! We’re going to get you some really cute clothes for that mystery guy! He’s going to love how you look after I’m done with you. We’ll go to Forever 21, then maybe H&M. Oh! And of course Victoria’s Secret for some-
“Nope! Not going in there!” I need to stop her from thinking too much before her mind goes too far.
“We’ll see about that,” she says with a smug tone, and I can tell she’s smiling at me through the phone. She gets into these “boy-crazy moods,” and I don’t know how to calm her down. She can’t stop talking about it now that she knows I’m interested in someone else. It’s an obsession with her. I know for sure that she won’t let me get away without telling her everything that happens when we hang out because I’ve worked with her two shifts this week. Talking to her about Jaxon is usually very nice, but I don’t want to talk to her about getting him bras and underwear. We haven’t done anything to show that we’re even close to that stage in our relationship!
I grumble, “Whatever.” “I’ll meet you at three at the mall.”
“Okay! Talk to you soon!”
I hang up and put my phone in the back pocket of my jeans. I really don’t want to have to dig it out of my backpack again.
“So we’re going to the mall?” Skyler asks, his eyes shining like a child’s on Christmas. “Because I’ve wanted to take you since the day we met!”
“Oh no. No, no, no! I’m going with Natalie. You can’t come. I can barely handle one fashion critic, but two? No way, I’m sorry.”
Skyler grins at me and puts his arm around my shoulder as we walk into Steamy Bean Cafe. “We’re definitely going shopping. I love spending time with you, but right now I’m your supernatural bodyguard. Alpha told me to.”
I pull away from Skyler, and his arm falls quickly to his side. My jaw drops in shock. Bodyguard? What?
“Why on Earth would Jaxon ask you to babysit me?” I’m a little mad that I didn’t know about this sooner. Why do I need someone to watch me if I’m just going to the mall?
“Because,” he says slowly. “You’re an Alpha’s mate. You’re human. You’re weak and can’t go without protection. There are always at least two wolves guarding you, but Jaxon wants close protection now because…”
I wait for Skyler to finish his sentence, but instead, he starts telling us to get coffee. Before I pull Skyler out of the Cafe so I can yell at him, I wait for our coffee to come. Mine is an extra large cup.
“Why do you say I always have wolves around me? I’ve never seen one. And why do I need close protection? What happened? Oh my gosh, am I in danger?”
Skyler puts a calming hand on my arm, and I want to keep talking. “Calm down, Calla. No one is going to touch you, okay? And if you saw the guards, they wouldn’t be doing their job right. I’m just here because Jaxon is paranoid about you, obviously.”
I slowly nod my head, and then I decide to drink my coffee quickly. I need the energy to keep up with Natalie and Skyler while I shop…
This is going to end badly.
*****
The shopping trip is going just as badly as I thought it would. Natalie and Skyler ended up getting along really well, which would usually make me happy, but now they want to work together against me. I’ve already tried on ten sundresses, seven tops, four skirts, and a romper in the twenty minutes we’ve been at the mall. Now they’re making me go back to the dressing room with more clothes. This is just t*****e.
Every time I try on an outfit, they both give their opinions on it. I really like the clothes they pick out, but I hate having to try them all on. When I have to keep trying on different shirts with different skirts and shoes with different dresses, it makes clothes less fun. I was tired before I got here, but now I know I’m going to fall asleep as soon as I get home.
While I’m trying on clothes, I’m secretly adding up how much they cost in my head. The cost keeps going up, and I’m worried about how I’m going to pay for all the clothes they keep picking out for me. Natalie’s dad is a lawyer, so she has a lot of money. Skyler is part of the pack, which is full of money, so he doesn’t have to worry about money. I could put it on my account and come back this weekend to return everything…
I slowly walk over to the counter and watch in horror as the price keeps going up. Clothes cost $243.19! I don’t have that much money in my bank account! As I try to figure out the best way to put back 2/3 of the clothes without looking stupid, I bite my lip. But then I see Skyler give the cashier a black credit card without even blinking.
I say, “What are you doing?” and the words come out of my mouth. I can’t believe he paid for my clothes. Every single one! “Skyler, you can’t—”
“Shut up,” he says with a playful roll of his eyes as he takes his card back and puts it back in his wallet. “Do you really think I would let you pay for all of this? Do you think Jaxon would let you pay for it?”
I feel like a fish out of water as I try to find the right words to tell him that this is all pointless. He doesn’t have to pay for my clothes! That’s a lot of cash! This is why I have a job. I can buy my own clothes, and I don’t want Skyler to think I’m taking advantage of their kindness.
Skyler’s serious face tells me that arguing with him won’t help the situation; he’s already made up his mind. It will take me a while to pay him back, but I promise myself that I will.
“Thanks, but you really didn’t have to.”
Skyler only gives me a side hug and pulls me to the front of the store while we wait for Natalie to finish paying. She bought two tank tops and a pair of cute purple shorts that looked like the bags under my eyes. The color doesn’t look good on me…
Before I knew it, I was being pulled to the one store I really didn’t want to go to.
I don’t want to go in there! I look at the pictures of the models who are posing in front of the store in a sexy way. I know I’ll never look like that. I don’t feel bad about how I look, but I do have some extra weight in my stomach and thighs that the models don’t. I have been very self-conscious about my body ever since I went to the pack house and saw that all the werewolves looked like fitness instructors. Jaxon is the best, and he always tells me how beautiful I am. But I still feel bad about how I look compared to the other people he spends time with.
Natalie says, “Oh, we’re definitely going in there,” and she links her arm with mine. “Based on what you and Skyler have told me about Jaxon and how much he loves you—”
“He’s not obsessed with me,” I say.
“He’s definitely obsessed with her,” Skyler says, and I give him a mean look for not agreeing with me.