Page 10

Evander

I watched her for a few minutes. For a second, I thought maybe I’d found a partner in crime, until she turned toward me. Her eyes were wide, and a sheen of sweat lay across her brow.

She wasn’t out here to cause mayhem like me, even if it was only a bit of fun. Roxy was scared and, for some reason, it stirred my wolf.

“What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”

Roxy’s hand flew to her chest. “You scared the fuck out of me.”

I laughed. A girl with a foul mouth. Roxy was growing on me more and more. “You’re late getting to bed. Shame on you.”

She scoffed. “I could say the same about you.”

I shrugged one shoulder. “Eh, there’s a glitch in our locking system. I can get out anytime I want without tripping the alarm.”

“So you galivant around the academy at all hours of the night preying on young women?”

My gaze traveled along her curvaceous body. Hips that begged to be gripped. Legs that demanded praise. Lips I somehow knew might be the end of me.

“Just one, actually.”

“Where is she?” Roxy asked. A lilt of flirtation coupled with her sweet scent nearly got the best of my wolf. He howled inside me, demanding to show him our other form.

He could kiss my ass. This woman was in trouble in more ways than one. The circles under her eyes had somehow gotten darker since dinner. Her skin tone more pallid. Her chest moved in and out with shallow breaths but, then again, they could be from her running from or toward something.

Silly female, thinking there was someone else.

“It’s you. You’re the female. You do know being outside after the bell rings is an instant demerit if you’re caught, right?”

She sighed and bit down on her bottom, plump lip. “I do. I ran into someone who threatened me with demerits but then said he would let me go because it was my first day.”

My wolf let out a bit of a snarl. “Who was it?”

“I don’t know his name. Big flashlight. Kind of sleazy.”

Immediately, an image of Patrick popped into my mind. “That’s Patrick. He’s the king of brownnosing and ass-kissing. He’s practically made it a profession.”

“That sounds like him.”

“And yet, you are still tempting fate being out here.”

Her shoulders sagged. “I can’t find my way back to my dorm room. My head is all fuzzy. I need to get to bed, but I can’t find the damned thing.”

Tingling washed over my arms and down the crown of my head. She was vulnerable in this moment, and I had a feeling she didn’t do that very often—get vulnerable with another person. “How about I help you find your bed?”

She stepped back. “Now, you’re the creep.” She laughed.

No wonder Odin was taken with this feisty sprite. “I swear, I only meant to help you find your room. I bet you’re in one of those dreadful solitary confinement rooms since you’re new.”

“I am. And yes, it’s awful.”

“There’s only one floor with those rooms. Let’s go find it and get you to bed. Just you in the bed, to be clear.”

She giggled. “That would be very nice of you…”

Oh. I’d been so struck with her presence I’d let my manners float away with the evening wind. “My name is Evander. I think you’ve already met my roommate Odin.”

“You have roommates? That’s…less depressing.”

“Come on. Before you get in trouble. You’re undead on your feet.”

We had begun walking, more like speed-walking when she stopped. “Was that a bitten-by-a-vampire joke?”

“Maybe,” I shrugged.

“That was actually funny. Thank you. Everyone ignores the one thing that brought me here.”

We took the stairs and soon found Roxy’s room. I made a mental note of which room number it was in case Odin wanted to visit her. Wait, he probably already knew it.

Remember it for us.

My damned wolf.

“This is it. Go get some sleep. First day of classes for you.”

She was halfway through the doorway when she looked at me over her shoulder. “Thank you for helping me, Evander.”

“You’re welcome.”

The warmth in her voice washed over me. My wolf sent images of tucking her in bed and making sure her den and nest were safe and warm. Even of changing into my beast and lying on her floor beside her bed, to chase away any nightmares or anything else that might try and get her.

I stepped back at the rapid influx of visuals, surprised and shocked.

My wolf had never done anything like that before.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“No. Um, actually, yes. I have to go before I get caught. I’m too cute for detention or demerits. Good night, Roxy.”

I turned to leave, but she stuck her head out the door. “Hey, I never told you my name.”

So, I did the only thing a man like me could do. I whirled around and winked at her. “You didn’t have to.”