Chapter 5

~Solange~

I waited until the lights in the dorm went out and the three idiots were snoring or pretending to before I slipped my phone out from under my pillow. The screen glow was way too bright in the dark, so I shoved my head under the blanket thumbed Mira’s number, and hit call. It rang twice before she picked up.

“Solange Voss, if this is you calling to say you got caught already, I’m disowning you.”

I hissed into the mic. “Keep your voice down, idiot. They’re asleep. Sort of.”

She laughed. “Sort of? What, they sleep with one eye open like wolves guarding a bone?”

“Pretty much. Jaxon snores like a chainsaw and Ryker growls in his sleep. Kael just… breathes like he’s judging the air quality.”

“Hot. So tell me. How are the roommates? Still calling you princess?”

I groaned. “Don’t start. Jaxon won’t shut up about it. And Ryker… ” I stopped. My chest did a somasalt. “Ryker’s a dick. Full stop. He’s been throwing shit at my head in class all day. Paper balls. Kicked my bag. Tripped me on the way out. Everyone laughed. I wanted to punch him.”

Mira made a fake gasp. “Aw, baby’s first bully crush.”

“Not a crush. Hate. Pure hate.”

“Uh-huh. And the way your voice goes all squeaky when you say his name has nothing to do with it.”

“My voice does not squeak.”

“It squeaked. I heard it.”

“Shut up. Anyway. I need to vent before I lose my mind. The merge announcement is tomorrow, right? You said it’s coming soon.”

She went quiet for a second. Serious now. “Yeah. Word from my dad’s contacts is it’s official. One year from now the girls’ engineering school merges in. Government pushed it, too many strikes last year over gender inequality in education. They’re forcing it through. No more boys-only dominate medicine, no more girls-only dominate engineering. Everyone’s pissed or excited depending on who you ask.”

I rubbed my forehead. “Great. So pressure’s on. I’ve got one year to learn everything to my bones and develope a plan to adjust before the place turns into a co-ed circus and someone notices I’m not actually Lange.”

“Exactly. You gotta stay sharp. No slip-ups. And for the love of God don’t let Ryker corner you again. He’s sniffing around like he knows something.”

“He doesn’t know anything,” I snapped. Too loud, I froze. Listened. Jaxon snorted in his sleep but didn’t wake up. “He’s just… mean. For no reason.”

“Or for every reason,” Mira said softly. “Your wolf’s probably screaming at his. And his is screaming back. Fated mates don’t play nice when one of them’s hiding.”

I swallowed hard. “I’m not thinking about that.”

“Liar.”

“Shut up.”

She laughed again. “Fine. Just… be careful tomorrow. Full moon’s close. You’ve got the suppressant pill?”

“Yeah. The girl-wolf one you found. Tastes like ass.”

“Good. Take it before the run. Claim you’re an irregular shifter. Whatever. Just don’t actually shift. Your white wolf and blue eyes are a dead giveaway. Owned by the Alphas daughter only. Everyone knows that shit.”

“I painted it gray last week. Fur dye. Looks convincing in low light. But I have to re-do it every time or it fades.”

“Smart. You’re welcome for the dye tip, by the way.”

“I hate you.”

“Love you more. Text me after the run. If you survive.”

I hung up before she could tease me again. My heart was pounding. Not just from the call. From everything.

Morning came by before I could even have a proper sleep.

We were headed into the main quad at dawn. Hundreds of us. All wolves. All guys. Maybe except me? .

One of the deans, Draven stood on the platform looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. He cleared his throat into the mic.

“Announcement. Effective one year from today, Lupine Academy may possibly merge with the Northridge Engineering Institute. This is a governmental mandate following repeated strikes and petitions regarding educational equity. Medicine and engineering will be taught jointly. All students will adapt. Questions?”

The quad exploded.

Half cheered. Half booed. Someone yelled “About damn time!” Someone else yelled “Tradition’s dead!” A couple guys near the front looked ready to fight.

I stood there annoyed as hell. They were acting like the world ended because girls were finally allowed in the biggest school. Concerning the Northridge, the biggest engineering college, boys were allowed at least. 

Ryker muttered next to me. “Fucking government.”

Jaxon grinned. “I’m excited. More girls means more options.”

Kael just sighed. “It’s inevitable. Deal with it.”

Draven raised a hand. “Quiet. Training run starts in ten. Mandatory. No excuses.”

We shifted into lines. I popped the suppressant pill dry, gagged, swallowed, prayed it worked.

The professor running the session big guy named Marrow barked orders. “These are the instructions. Strip. Shift. Run the perimeter. No fighting. No slacking.”

Guys started shedding clothes. I panicked. Kept my shirt on. Claimed the suppressant made me “irregular.”

Marrow eyed me. “Voss. Shift or sit out.”

“I’m shifting,” I lied. “Just… slowly .”

Jaxon laughed. “Come on, princess. Show us your big bad wolf.”

“Fuck you,” I snapped.

Ryker snorted. “Probably can’t even shift. Looks human.”

Marrow sniffed the air. “He’s got wolf smell. Strong one. Shift, kid, I've actually seen him shift, he has a petite wolf but he's good.”

I closed my eyes. Pictured gray fur. The dye job. Prayed.

Bones cracked. Pain shot through me, fake pain, suppressant burning but I dropped to all fours. Gray wolf. Not white. Not blue-eyed. Gray but I couldn't hold off for long. This was convincing enough so I had to shift again. 

The class murmured. Someone whistled. “Not bad for a runt.”

Marrow nodded. “Good enough. Run.” and I did. 

***

By evening, it was group study.

Library closed early so we crammed in the dorm. Books everywhere. Jaxon sprawled on his bed. Kael at the desk. Ryker pacing like always.

I sat cross-legged on the floor, notes open. Ryker and Kael decided to go out for a run or something. 

“Hi princess can I have your high lighter…”

“No, do you even think I'll let you have it after calling me princess?” 

  But Jaxon reached over for my highlighter and his hand brushed mine accidentally and stayed. Fingers tangled for a second.

I froze.

He didn’t pull away.

Our faces were close. Too close. His breath on my lips. Eyes dark. Smirk gone.

“Jaxon.. ”

He leaned in slowly. Mouth almost on mine. While he did this triangle shit, his eyes on my left eye then both on my right, then looked at my lips and repeated it. Like he wanted to eat me there. 

My heart slammed.

Then the door banged open.

Ryker. Before that, my problem was why my wolf smelled Jaxon and wanted to bite his lips and suck it. I thought she only felt this exact way for Ryker, what was going on? Was Jaxon my mate too? What next was Kael going to be my mate too.

But when I lifted my eyes I saw Ryker. And he clenched his jaws so hard I thought they may snap