Officially Homeless

Wren

“Are you sure you can’t check one more time?”

The ginger receptionist, whom I was pretty sure was a vampire, judging by the pointy fangs peeking out as she gave me a tight smile right before typing something into the system.

Once again, she met my gaze and, in a thick accent, said, “I’m sorry, but there are no rooms available. Could I recommend going to the Grand Hyatt?”

The Grand Hyatt wasn’t a regular hotel. It was mainly for the elite supernaturals and humans who could afford it.

And I was not a human who could afford it.

“You guys must have something.”

Her smile thinned. “Unfortunately, we do not.”

I nodded and thanked her before picking up my duffle bag and exiting the building.

After I left Ryan’s place, I headed back to my dorm. Luckily for me, no one was home, so getting my stuff was way easier than I anticipated.

I booked a cab here, hoping to get a room, only to discover that the entire building was fully booked for a witches’ convention.

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes as my frustration mounted into an unbearable intensity.

I couldn’t cry.

Not now.

A tear slipped down my cheek, and I whipped it away furiously.

The last twenty-four hours of my life had been short of a nightmare.

I went from finding my best friend and my boyfriend together to finding out that I was the mate of a werewolf hockey player, who I had to reject this morning after using him on more than one occasion to feel better about myself.

I regretted leaving the moment I walked out that door. But I knew I wasn’t ready for whatever being mated to Ryan meant.

Asking him to wait until I was would be cruel.

And while I might be a lot of things, I wasn’t cruel.

Now to top it all off, I was officially homeless.

You could always go home. A tiny voice whispered in my head, and I immediately shut it down.

Going back home, to where I grew up, would be a terrible mistake.

My father and I didn’t exactly have the best relationship, but I mean, how could we?

He preferred attending council meetings rather than spending time with me, his own daughter.

Plus, I highly doubted he needed me around now that my stepmother, Veronica, had moved in.

Something wet landed on my shoulder, and I looked up.

The clouds had gone from white to grey, and I could immediately tell my day was about to get a whole lot worse.

Fuck my li—

The sound of a horn stopped my thoughts before they could finish as a black vehicle pulled up in front of me. My brows furrowed in confusion, then shot up in surprise when the car door opened, and a familiar figure stepped out.

What was he doing here?

Ryan rounded the front, stopped beside the passenger door, and unlocked it.

“Get in.”

I swallowed. Not feeling up to the task of arguing, I climbed into the vehicle and buckled my seatbelt.

He locked the door and tossed my duffle bag into the backseat. Once he reentered the vehicle, the rain started.

Well, this was just great.

“What were you doing here?” He asked a minute later.

“I could be the one asking you the same thing. How did you find me?”

“I was looking for you.”

He was?

“Why?”

“You’re my mate, Wren. I needed to make sure you were okay.” He said, “Now it’s your turn.”

“I was looking for a place to stay.”

“What happened to your old place?”

I bit my lip. “Rachel lives there.”

He stared at me for a moment, and I realised he probably didn’t know who I was talking about.

“The girl Shane slept with last night.”

He nodded, his lips forming an O shape. “I see.”He started the engine. “So where do you plan on going, now that you’ve moved out?” He paused and glanced at my duffle bag in the backseat. “You have moved out, right?”

I nodded while fiddling with my thumb in my lap. “Honestly, I have no idea,” I admitted.

As much as I hated to admit it, I was completely stranded.

Rachel was my only friend, which meant I had no one to room with until I sorted my shit out.

Ryan seemed deep in thought for a moment, then he kicked up the engine and shifted the gear into drive, pulling out of the hotel’s driveway.

His large hands gripped the steering wheel, and I tried not to notice how hot he looked or the way his fingers softly tapped against the edge of the steering wheel.

He’d changed into a black fitted top and grey sweatpants. Golden strands kissed his forehead, and I had to suffocate the itch to reach up and touch them.

“You could stay with me.”

My brows shot up “At your place?

He shrugged. “Why not?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Look, I’m going to level with you: I don’t feel good knowing my mate is out there homeless, so unless you have somewhere else to go, I have to insist that you come stay with me. At least until you sort out your housing issue.”

I opened my mouth then closed it.

Just this morning, I told him I couldn’t give him more than last night. I’d expected him to be mad at me or ignore me if we ever met again, but here he was being nice to me.

I knew succumbing to his suggestion would only ruin every boundary I’d tried to set by rejecting him this morning, but what other choice did I have?

“I meant what I said. I still don’t want to seal the mate bond.”

“Who said anything about sealing the mate bond? I’m simply trying to be friendly.”

Friendly?

“But we’re not friends.”

“I’d like for us to be.” He said calmly, “And as your future friend, I’m asking you not to turn me down because you think I have ulterior motives, because I can assure you that I don’t .”

I studied him for a moment. “That’s all you want? To help me?”

He nodded.

I rubbed my thumb over my knuckles before meeting his eyes.

“Are you sure?”

Again, he nodded.

Deep down I probably knew he wasn’t being entirely truthful.

After all, everything I read up on the mate bond during my ride to the hotel suggested that male werewolves would do anything to keep their mates close to them.

For all I knew, this could be an elaborate scheme, but my situation didn’t exactly give me the luxury of turning down his offer.

“Fine,” I reluctantly agreed, “But it’s only until I sort out my accommodation. The office will open by Monday, and I’ll put in a request then, okay?”

He nodded. “Okay.”

It would take at most a week to get a new dorm assigned, and until then I would have to learn to live with my mate.

Gods help me.