Chapter 2

Collins

BEFORE

The girls and I walked to the party. Even though the campus was a pretty good size… it was much easier to walk to these things. That way we didn’t have to worry about who would drive home. But it took a while to get there. We’d brought our drinks with us of course and by the time we made it to the party, we all had a fairly good buzz going.

Although, I still wasn’t quite to the point the rest of them were. Sure I could get drunk like anyone else.. it just took a lot more than it would a human. My friends thought I just had a very high capacity for alcohol. Which was why when they weren’t looking… I secretly downed a half a bottle of vodka.

Poor Sloan thought she had spilled it down the sink when she was pouring the drinks.

But because of that.. I was actually pretty close to feeling as good as they were. Tonight I was going to let go. I was tired of holding back. That and I had the entire next week off of school so that meant no practices and no dancing and cheering.

We were nearing the end of the semester anyway. There was only about four weeks left to go after the break. Then I would be home for the summer. I was excited to see my family and friends from the pack. But more than that… I was ecstatic that finally… I would have several weeks of free reign to shift and run.

When any wolf was unable to shift for long periods of time, their bones felt like they were locking up and muscles ached as if they were on fire. That’s why I loved the demands of cheer and dance. It helped me to move and stretch my body. Sneaking off to the woods every few days to shift was getting harder and harder to explain.

We could hear the music from the party two blocks away. Excitement skittered through the air the closer we got. Several other people were coming in from different directions, also having chosen to walk.

Sloan looped her arm through mine.

Sara sidled up next to us. “This is sooo exciting guys! I’ve always wanted to come to one of these!”

Abbey rolled her eyes at her roommate.

“I don’t know why you’ve heard all the stories.”

Sloan and I exchanged a glance. Abbey made no secret about the fact she hated fraternities and sororities alike. She hated all sorts of organized ‘clubs’ so to speak. Unless it was the damn Audubon Society. She didn’t care much for Garrett either, telling me on more than one occasion he was a pompous asshole.

But I wanted the full human experience. And Garrett had always been sweet to me. He was extremely good looking.. even if he did wear button ups and slacks. Plus I hadn’t found my mate yet. It was possible I never would. So why not enjoy this time I had away from the pack?

The four of us walked arm and arm up the steps of the fraternity house, garnering looks from every single person we passed. A guy standing by the door wearing a hoodie emblazoned with the Greek letters sauntered up to where we stood.

“Well well well holy shit what do we have here? It’s like a damn ice cream parlor…. a different flavor for everyone.” He sniggered.

It wasn’t the first time we heard something like that. In fact we heard something akin to that statement every time we went somewhere together.

Sara screwed up her face at the boy and Abbey literally growled.

The guy laughed.

“Woah a growl.. easy there tiger…”

Sara rolled her eyes and physically stopped Abbey who was about to punch him in the face.

“Hey .. dude bro? Unless you want my friend here to pummel you… and believe me, she will…. Maybe get out of our way and just stop talking.” Sara told him.

That’s my girl.

Another guy walked up then. His gaze traveled up and down my body appreciatively. Then he clapped a hand on hoodie’s shoulder.

“Leave it man .. that’s Garrett’s girl.” He said.

It was my turn to screw my face up. I didn’t like the way he said ‘Garrett’s girl’ like I was his property or something.

As we walked into the house we were met with utter pandemonium.

All the college parties we had gone to were crazy, but this was on another level.

People were everywhere. The entire room was full, the middle had turned into a dance floor and a few couches and chairs up against the walls were covered in bodies too.

I looked around for Garrett but didn’t see him anywhere. The drinks we brought with us were getting low, so we decided to hit the kitchen first thing.

There was a huge island in the oversized kitchen, covered with bottles and bottles of alcohol of every kind. Since we had our own cups, we each found the liquor of choice and poured it straight in.

Moving around was difficult because of all the people. More than once I could feel my wolf come slightly forward and had to pause and concentrate to get control. I hated tight spaces, and because I was a werewolf…that feeling was magnified. No wolf liked to be kept contained.

When the girls weren’t looking, I reached over and grabbed a bottle of some kind of whiskey … quickly opening it and downed half the bottle. I wanted to be on their level and have the best night.. that meant drinking extra.

Soon as I put it down I looked up. The guy from outside that called me ‘Garrett’s girl’ was looking right at me. He smirked.

I felt my cheeks go red but what could I do?

I just grinned and wiped some of the whiskey from my mouth and shrugged my shoulders at him.

~~~~~~~~~~~

We had been at the party for a couple hours and still there was no sign of Garrett anywhere. Although at the moment, I didn’t really care. But why did he insist on me coming if he wasn’t even going to show his face? I’d gone back to the kitchen three different times now and downed half bottles of different liquors, along with filling up the cup. And I was definitely a little drunk…. right up there with my friends.

We were on the dance floor in a circle… doing ridiculous dance moves and laughing our asses off…. much to the chagrin of several girls dancing nearby. The boys in the room however? They seemed to be enjoying the show. I could smell the need coming from them. It was seeping in from every direction.

But that didn’t matter.. because I was having the time of my life.

At least.. in that moment I was.

I should have known good things never last.