“What does that mean?” Nicole asked. “She looks the same to me.” “Later, please.” I covered my face with my hands. Asher cleared his throat. “Maybe you both can explain what exactly is going on out there.” “Oh, right,” Nicole said. “Everyone’s rallied to show their support for Cyn. And by ever
Asher I had to stay calm. Cynthia was safe. She couldn’t handle stress. She needed me to keep a level head. Getting wolfy was the opposite of what she needed. That was the only thing that kept me from losing myself to my wolf and flying out of this room to hunt down Joseph once and for all. That
I’d do it again in an instant, but I didn’t want her to go through that. “I’ll protect her in your stead, brother,” Chase said, without his usual smirk. He was saying, I will die for her as you would. Only with that assurance, I nodded and left the dorm. I moved across campus like a man posses
“He’s been gone for a while,” I said. I sat on the edge of the bed. I couldn’t keep from tapping one foot. Chase was typing away at the computer. He was almost finished with his article. In another couple of days, it would be published. “It’s only been an hour. Patience is a virtue,” Chase said.
A woman at the head of the table gestured to the seat. “Please sit, Cynthia. Asher, I apologize but we had not anticipated your… accompaniment. We should have, at this point.” “I prefer standing,” Asher said. I lowered myself into the offered chair and Asher took point behind me. The woman at
I was riding the high of my acceptance. I felt great about myself and the universe. I finally had achieved my goals. I could keep my baby and my education. The world was finally starting to make sense again. Except now, Asher’s disappearances were increasing. It had started innocently enough,
“Where were you?” I asked, to give him a chance at honesty. If he could ease my discomfort on his own, I would feel so much better. Instead, he backed away. “I was just out. That’s all.” A lie. And not even a very good one. I kept my back to him. Eventually, he did return to the bed and fell a
That night, Asher and I ate dinner at the small two-person table in our room. Unlike most times before, we sat in terrible, awkward quiet, entirely silent except for the sound of our chewing or the scrape of silverware against the ceramic plates. Asher speared the final bit of food on his plate, b