Page 9

Roxy

“You’re new, right? The new girl everyone is chatting about.”

Number one: I doubted everyone was chatting about me. I wasn’t anything special other than being the new student.

Number two: Who says chatting?

“My name is Roxy.”

He huffed out a laugh. “Roxy. Right. That’s the one. What are you doing?”

I sighed. The sun was already set and there wasn’t a lot of lighting in that part of the school. Wherever I was.

“I was in the library and heard the bell, so I tried to get to my room and…I’m lost.”

He looked left and right and then back to me. Thank goodness he didn’t flash that overly large flashlight in my direction. “You’re in between the administration building and the dining hall.”

I turned around. The lingering smell of dinner wafted in the air along with the strong perfume scent that seemed like a permanent fixture of the administration office. It never faltered for the few minutes I was in there earlier that day. “Oh. I think I am. Not at all where I need to be.”

The male who’d stopped me was a shifter but smelled more like fox than wolf. My wolf was on alert not only because he was another species, a cunning one at that, but because he was in my personal space. Even so, he stepped closer. “Why should I believe you?” he asked, looking me up and down.

“Because you just said it yourself. I’m new here. No clue where I even was. I heard the bell, ran my ass off, clearly in the wrong direction, and here I am.”

“Here you are.” He stepped forward again and I found my back against a brick wall of the administration building. “You’re far away from your room, you know.”

“I realize that now. I’m sorry. I can make my way now.”

He tsked and put his arm out to stop me. Ah, damn it. Now he was giving off creeper vibes. I had enough on my plate without dealing with an entitled man with a flashlight trying to prove a point. “You could, but the thing is, you’ve broken the rules, Roxy.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again. I promise.”

All I wanted in that moment was to get away from him. Sure, I could’ve clocked him in the balls, but I had to stay here or else face the wrath of the shifter council. With the way beady black eyes and thin lip s guy was looking at my tits, I seriously thought about taking my chances with the council. “You promise, huh? Why should I believe you. You’re new here. No one knows who you are. What if you’re lying to me.”

“Then I’ll get in big trouble, get expelled and, you’ll never see me again.”

“What a shame that would be.”

Eew.

“Look, I seriously got lost. I wasn’t trying to escape or anything.”

“Hmmm.” The sound rolled along my skin like a venomous snake. A billion goose bumps filled my flesh. “You can’t escape this place, you know. But an infraction like this…usually it would warrant five demerits.”

“On my first day? Doesn’t seem fair.”

“Look around you. This place. The fact that we’re here. How is any of this fair?”

“It’s not. None of this is fair.”

He sighed and lifted his hand as if to touch my hair but then let it drop to his side. “Don’t let it happen again. I won’t hesitate to give you a demerit or a dozen if I catch you again. The dorm rooms are that way. Go to your room and the door will shut and lock behind you.”

I didn’t wait to confirm.

“You owe me big, Roxy!” he called out. I waved him off and sprinted toward the building with the dorms.

Except, within seconds, and without the sun above me lighting the way, I soon found myself lost again. Shit.

I wasn’t going to run into creepazoid again, so I opened the first door I saw and took a chance that it was the dorm building.

Nothing seemed familiar.

I was usually good with directions but this place and this headache and the damned fever that surged and fled made it hard to concentrate or think clearly. I went up a set of stairs, hoping that something seemed familiar but nothing did.

Maybe I could get back outside and find a placard or someone to help me who wasn’t throwing around his big flashlight and his even bigger ego.

Once outside, I scanned the area. I was in between the building and a gate that was at least twelve foot tall and menacing with points on the tips of each pole. I was surprised not to find barbed wire across the top.

“Damn it. First day, and I’m more lost than when I arrived.”

A scent hit my nose, and my wolf snarled a bit before letting out a howl.

There was someone close.

“I’m sorry. I’m lost again.”

“Is that right?” I heard the voice and tingles broke out along my skin. Not the icky ones from the guy before but a signal that someone my wolf liked very much was near. “What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”