Thirteen

My phone alarm went off early since I had to get up in time to drive to the campus for my classes. Fridays were always the longest day of the week for me, even though I had the same Friday schedule on Mondays and Wednesdays too.

My face jerked up off the carpeted floor of Jesse's room, and I looked around blearily. I hadn't meant to fall asleep there.

Jesse licked my face, and I groaned.

My tired fingers struggled with the zippers on my suitcases. When I finally got them open, I grabbed the first clothes I touched and got dressed awkwardly on the floor.

I was starting to wonder if my feet would ever heal.

That was a bit dramatic, but the pain was horrible, and I couldn't avoid walking.

I put on my athletic shoes before shuffling to the bathroom to do my hair.

A few minutes later, with my hair in a messy ponytail and dark circles beneath my eyes, I made my way down the stairs. Makeup was the last thing on my mind. As long as I wasn't naked or stinky, I looked good enough for my classes.

Jesse walked beside me, keeping my pace until we reached the kitchen. He licked my leg—which was mostly bare, thanks to the flowy blue shorts I wore with a white tank tucked into them.

After swallowing pain meds, I grabbed Jesse's car keys off their hook. Someone had put them back since I'd been there last; probably whoever plugged his phone in.

Jesse barked, and I looked over at him. He was crouched in front of the fridge door.

"You're hungry?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"Why else would you bark at the fridge?"

My stomach took that moment to rumble.

He looked pointedly at me, and I realized he was growling because he wanted me to eat.

That was thoughtful, in a wolfy way. I was sure wolves shared food, so him telling me to eat before I left was pretty much the same as a wolf proudly nudging me toward an animal carcass and telling me, "The first bite's yours!"

"Thanks, but I don't usually eat breakfast. Two meals a day cost less than three. I'll drink some water on the way there," I told the wolf.

He growled.

I put a hand on my hip. "I just quit my job and moved to a place where I need to have gas money. There's about three hundred bucks in my bank account right now, and the semester just started. That means I've got a hundred bucks a month for both gas and food, so unless you're going to go out and get a job, two meals a day is going to have to cut it."

I hadn't seen any disposable water bottles in the pantry, so I went to the cupboard I'd found cups in. On the top shelf, there were a couple of water bottles laying on their sides. I pulled one out and filled it up, waving it toward the wolf pointedly.

Jesse barked again. He lifted his head toward the top of the fridge, and I knew he was pointing at the money up there.

"I'm not spending money that belongs to someone I've never met. If I'm between starving and spending his money, I'll go out and get a new job. Don't know how I'll work it with you following me everywhere, but I'll figure it out."

I headed toward the garage. Jesse whined but followed me out.

Jesse's car had me lifting my eyebrows when I saw it. Not because it was expensive or anything—because it was the same car my mom had driven for the past ten years.

A silver Honda Civic.

I hadn’t noticed it the last time I was out there, but now that I had, it was impossible to ignore. It looked like it might even be the same year as my mom's, which was fifteen years old.

The paint was faded and the windshield had a crack running along the bottom of it. Most people would've been turned off by that, but to me, that made me feel more comfortable. I would've felt awkward driving an expensive car when my laptop and phone were the only things I owned that had cost more than ten bucks.

Except during a getaway, like when I’d driven Ford’s sports car.

I’d only been thinking about my survival, then.

The wolf followed me to the car. When I opened the driver's side door, he slipped inside and jumped over to the passenger seat.

Guess he was going to school with me.

"You won't be allowed in the classes," I warned.

He snorted.

Did that mean he'd already known that or that he was going to shove his way inside anyway?

I hoped it was the former. Otherwise, someone was bound to get suspicious of the "wolfdog".

There was a button clipped to the visor, and I recognized it as a garage button so I pressed it. The garage door raised, and I backed out. Just the pressure of my foot on the gas pedal hurt.

Hopefully, the pain meds would kick in soon.

Two of Jesse's friends were outside, shirtless, and tossing a football back and forth. I was pretty sure their names were Rocco and Elliot.

Maybe they were a football team after all.

They waved as I passed. I debated not waving back out of principle since the assholes had kidnapped me, but that felt unnecessary, so I just waved back.

My stomach growled as I sipped my water. Jesse growled back at it.

"I'm fine. It'll stop," I told the wolf.

He huffed.

Both my stomach and Jesse continued to growl at each other throughout the drive to my school. When I got there, I passed a sign about parking permits.

"Shit," I mumbled.

I hadn't considered a parking pass. They were expensive. My mom and I had talked about the insane price of parking when I first decided I'd go to school there. The price was more than I had in my whole damn bank account, at the moment.

My eyes landed on a parking meter—easier than a permit, and a temporary solution. It was eight bucks for all-day parking. Eight times three, for three days a week of parking, times four for four weeks a month, times three for three months...

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

Almost three hundred bucks.

Maybe the local animal shelter was hiring.

Maybe someone wanted to buy a wolfdog.

I glanced at Jesse.

Unfortunately, even I wasn't cruel enough to sic him on someone else.

Sliding my debit card, I considered just going ahead and telling the wolf to bite me. It would sure save me an assload of stress if I died instead of changing.

But I wasn't ready to die, so that was off the table.

I grabbed my bag out of the back seat and headed toward the building that held my first class. Jesse trotted beside me. Everyone we passed stared at him or tried to pet him.

He dodged their hands, remaining at my side.

"Most dogs like being petted," I whispered.

He shot me a dark look. I thought it might translate to something along the lines of, "As you previously pointed out multiple times, I'm not a dog."

He'd liked it when I scratched his head the night before though, so I knew it wasn't that he didn't like being touched...

Or maybe he only liked being touched by me, because he was hunting me to be his mate.

Yikes.

"I have two classes in this building. I'll be out in about two and a half hours, and then I'll head to a building over there," I told Jesse, pointing across the campus in the direction of my third class. "I don't have a lunch break or anything. My classes are all back-to-back, so we can meet in the car at six if you want. That's when I'll be done."

A guy walking past me shot me a strange look. I waved at him, and he looked away.

Yeah, most dogs couldn't understand times. I wasn't even sure Jesse could.

He licked my knee.

"If I don't see you there, I'll assume you ran back to Moon Ridge," I warned.

He licked my knee again and then licked the other one.

Weirdo.

"Alright. Well, bye." I gave the wolf an awkward pat on the head and went inside to my first class.

The first and second ones were my most boring classes. I sat through them, yawning frequently and struggling to focus on anything but my throbbing feet. I needed stronger pain meds.

When I headed out to my third class, I assumed Jesse would already be gone. I was surprised to find him lying on the ground just outside the door. Some girl was babbling to him, petting his head.

He didn't look happy about it.

When he saw me, he jumped up and shook out his fur. After shooting the girl beside him a look of disdain, he trotted up to me and licked the inside of my knee. I screeched and pretty much jumped away.

The sidewalk was flooded with people, so when I jumped away, I slammed into some guy. His hands landed on my waist as he steadied me before I could fall over.

Tall and slim, with stylish glasses and a Star Wars t-shirt, he was attractive in my favorite way: smart-hot.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized.

He gave me a crooked grin. "It's fine. I'd probably scream if a dog that big licked my knee too."

Yeah, my type.

I didn't glance back at the wolf. He saw me as his mate, but I was only staying with him to save my damn life.

I could get this guy's number and text him until things were over with the werewolves, right? Granted, I might be a werewolf when it was over...

Which I didn’t want to think about.

I knew I should probably walk away from the cute nerd, but I’d already run into him. I had an excuse.

"Do you want to go out sometime?" I blurted. “I mean, I kind of owe you for smashing into you.”

I knew that with smart-hot guys, I had to take the initiative. Even if he was interested, he likely wouldn't have the guts to make the first move, if he realized I wanted to go out with him at all.

Jesse snarled.

I and the cute nerd glanced over at the wolf just in time to see him shove his way between our bodies.

Shit. Right. Possessive.

Jesse snapped his teeth at the hot nerd, and the hottie jumped away. "Someone should call animal control," he said, eyeing Jesse.

"Sorry, uh, this is my dog." I patted Jesse on the head a little harder than I needed to. "He's... protective."

The wolf snarled in agreement.

"Wow." The guy didn't look impressed, but he did lift his eyes back to me. "I'd love to go out with you. How about dinner, tonight?"

Free food and attractive company I could talk about Star Wars with?

Um, yes.

"That sounds great." I gave him a quick smile.

"What's your number?" he asked, pulling out his phone.

Jesse snarled a third time. He took a threatening step toward the hot nerd, but the guy barely batted an eye at the wolf now that he knew he was my "dog".

I quickly gave him my phone number, my fingers wrapping around Jesse's collar. "I've got to go to class, but I'm looking forward to it." I gave him a quick smile. "See you tonight."

I guess that last statement pushed the wolf over the edge.

Jesse launched toward the hot nerd, his teeth open and aimed at the guy's throat.