Page 14 of Savage Desire (The Savage Six #2)

14

TATUM

T he second the door clicks shut behind her, I take off, my mind swirling. I’m always a jumble of emotions, a rattling cage under a blanket of sadness. But this feels different. Way different. No matter which way I look at it, it always leads back to the same central point.

Polaris.

My mind isn’t consumed by my own pain and distress, but hers. Her sadness, her helplessness, yet her power to stand resilient above it all… it’s something else. It may not always be prominent in her actions, but it’s there, even if just a sliver at times. That’s when it matters the most.

She shines bright, her hair just a glimmer of the light she is, but one thing is clear: whatever happened with Lincoln, whatever he did, dulled her luminosity.

I might not know the full picture, but I know enough to know I don’t like it.

Campus passes in a blur as my feet pound along the ground, storming toward the gathering point for the wolves. I pass a few other students heading toward the dorms, while some linger on the dance floor, hoping for the wolves to come back once we’re done.

My wolf vibrates just beneath the surface, ready to spring free, but I can’t do that. Not yet. Not when I have people to find and words to say. Besides, everything I’m feeling will only intensify once I shift, and fuck knows what I’ll do if I feel any more than I do now.

Asher comes into view first as I near the growing group of wolves no longer under the bubble of the full moon party. Instead, they’re gathered at the edge of the woods, ready to take off into the night. My wolf is right there with them, ready to feel the moonlight on my fur and the wind whipping at my face.

Grumbling to a stop beside my friend, he doesn’t lift his head at first, gazing down at his cell phone, frowning at it like usual. I match his frown, my concern for him growing, but as if sensing the worry inside of me, his eyes snap to mine.

A tight smile stretches across his face. “Everything okay?” he asks, tilting his head at me in confusion, and I nod.

“Yeah, good.” My words are curt, even to my own ears, but he seems to let it slide, patting me on the back before turning back to his phone. I know this man deals with a lot of things that revolve around his family. He wants nothing to do with any of it but finds himself in the middle of it all anyway. “Is everyone here?” I ask, glancing around the space, eager to get my sights on the one alpha I want to question. The one who has answers to solve the qualms in my brain.

“Everyone but Lincoln, I think,” he admits, and I scowl.

“He should be the first one here,” I state, the obvious fact earning me a puzzled look from Asher. “As our alpha, it’s his job,” I add, and Asher shrugs, gazing right back to his phone again.

“Yeah, I don't know what that's about,” he mutters, and I sigh. I have a feeling I do.

I plant my hands on my hips, tracking the group once more, but Lincoln is still nowhere to be seen. Another heavy exhale parts my lips when the sea of students splits and a presence storms through the gap like a force to be reckoned with from his sheer size alone.

Wylder.

He’s calm and relaxed, a rare occasion that comes with the full moon. He pats me on the back as he comes to a stop beside us.

“Have you seen Lincoln?” I ask, and he shakes his head, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

“No, I was minding the bar. Has anyone seen Polaris? Because Minnie said she took off earlier, and I thought that might be where he is,” he states, and I scoff. He runs his eyes over me, presumably sensing the irritation that vibrates through my body.

“He was with her, but she's home now, thanks to me,” I grunt, my nostrils flaring in a failed attempt to contain my annoyance.

Looking deep into my eyes, his head tilts. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” I grumble, rocking back on my heels as I place my backpack at my feet.

What would he say if I told him? Staring at another man that is as infatuated with the same woman as I am, would he see this the same way as me or Lincoln? Or even from another perspective. Would he be jealous?

“Was everything okay with Polaris?” he asks, surprising me with the fact that he can sense the source of my pent up emotions.

“You tell me,” I blurt, and he rears back in confusion, hands slowly rising in defense.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

I’m directing my irritation at the wrong person right now, but it’s impossible to keep it bottled up.

“Sorry, I'm here now,” Lincoln hollers, bringing silence across the pack of wolves as he cuts through our conversation and draws everyone’s attention to him.

He offers a tight smile without making eye contact with everyone as he approaches our smaller group. He pauses a step away, seemingly sensing the tension when he comes to an abrupt stop, because he looks between the three of us before settling on me.

“What's going on?”

I look to the sky, scratching at my head as distress swirls in my mind. I’m the weak one, the soft one, the dead weight ninety-nine percent of the time, the one that usually needs soothing, but for the first time, I’m the one bringing an issue to light.

All the words I had wanted to say pause on the tip of my tongue. I'm never the one to say anything, to cause a scene, but right now, I'm frustrated, and the source of that frustration stems back to this man. I don't know how, I don't know why, but I know it does.

I lift my hand, pointing my finger first at Wylder, who gapes at me in surprise. He definitely fucked her today after making her mad in combat class, but he did spend lunch being nice to her, at least. With that thought in mind, I turn to Lincoln, finger aimed his way, and he assumes the same stance, lifting his hands cautiously.

Clearing my throat, I take a deep breath, trying to rein in the bite of my wolf who threatens to break free. “The next time you think about fucking her, be sure about it, because if you keep hurting her, I'm going to get defensive,” I snarl.

His eyes widen. “Of me?” he asks, and I sneer at the selfish tendencies he always has.

“Of her,” I bite, shouldering past him before he thinks he deserves an opportunity to explain himself.

The few wolves nearby stare at me cautiously, a hint of surprise in the air at my outburst, but I don’t fixate on it like I once would. Instead, I find Minnie across the crowd. Her eyebrows are knitted together, but she doesn’t miss a beat, waving for me to head her way, and I go without question.

I trudge the distance, my breathing pained with every inhale as I try and fail to keep my wolf at bay.

“Let's cool off,” she offers the second I appear before her. As if following her command, everyone starts to take off in wolf form, heading into the darkness.

I nod, taking a step back, but bring my gaze back to Lincoln one more time. “I mean it, Lincoln,” I grind out, and he nods, worry flashing across his face before I shift, a whoosh of relief flooding my veins. My eyes blaze as I stare at him now, my wolf at the forefront of my mind as I snarl at him, teeth and all.

I don't know why I'm this mad. I don't know why it matters this much, but it does, and I really do need to take Minnie’s advice and cool off. Before I can get myself wrapped up in feelings and emotions I don't know how to handle. I bolt, chasing the moon like my heart desires.