Werewolf University Book 2

HARLAN

“The princess is your mate? Your sister?”

Sighing, I shoved my last pair of shoes into my duffle bag and stared at Kellan, who sat on my bed gawking at me. “Yeah, Everlee is my mate, Kellan.”

He pursed his lips dramatically. “How do you know? She hasn’t officially turned eighteen yet. You could have just realized she’s hot.”

I hadn’t just realized anything about her. I knew she was beautiful since we were young, but this, it was different. Kellan was a junior at Werewolf University, and hadn’t found his mate, so he didn’t understand.

Hell, I didn’t understand all of it. Out of all of the wolves in the world, it was her.

I tossed my stuffed duffle next to my suitcase in the corner and turned to my closet to pull out my suit for the night. “No. It’s different. It’s growing… The attraction. Even Alpha Allaire noticed it.”

Kellan plopped his palms down on his thighs before standing up. “The alpha knows you’re mated to Everlee?”

I nodded.

He chuckled dramatically and palmed my shoulder. “Dude is going to put your head on a stake, Harlan. I’ll make sure they give you a good funeral.”

“Whatever. It’s not like I can help it.”

“No, but he won’t be able to get you two sexing it up out of his mind—”

“No,” I cut him off. “I’m not having sex with Everlee until I’m ready to mark her, or Alpha Allaire will cut my dick off. Plus, I don’t want to do it here.” I faked a shiver. “I want no chance of anyone coming in on us or hearing us. I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.”

Kellan rolled his eyes. “Right, because you couldn’t find some woods somewhere to—”

My wolf growled, and Kellan raised his brow in amusement. “I’m not deflowering her in the woods. Can we talk about anything else? Why aren’t you at your house getting ready?”

Kellan stretched out his arms, showcasing his worn T-shirt and blue jeans. “I am ready.”

“You know this is a ball. We’re supposed to wear suits and dresses.”

“I’m not wearing a dress.”

“Fine. Savannah is going to hang you up by your neck if you show up in that. One of the wolves can let you borrow a suit if you don’t have one.”

Kellan walked toward the door. “I have one. I’m just not wearing it. I’ll see you tonight,” he said, smiling from ear to ear. “I’ll be the one in red.”

He dodged the hanger I tossed at him and laughed down the hallway. He left my note on my bed from the night before. Bastard went through my nightstand.

Everlee and I spent hours passing notes when we were younger, too wired to sleep, wanting to go shift and play the next day. It was different this time. Her scent, and the soft sighs she made. It was almost too much for me. My wolf was pissed at me well into the night. He had other plans on what to do with Everlee in the midnight hours, and none of them were honorable.

Fighting him off grew harder as the day went on, but him knowing Alpha Allaire would skin us like a cat helped my case.

When the hour before the party arrived, I showered, dressed, and tried to calm my racing heart. I could smell her down the hallway with Bryiar and her mother helping her get ready.

I smiled at my hands, knowing the goddess had blessed me with a beautiful mate that came from a good family, since I came from a sucky one. Knowing the tyrant my biological dad had been, it was a relief as I grew, and my wolf turned out not to be a complete dick.

***

The smell of barbeque wafted from the dining area as I walked down the grand steps to the party. The mixture of lycans and wolves blended well, all dressed to impress and have a good time.

If Savannah knew how to do anything, it was throw a party. The decorations were fancy, with appetizers being walked around by some younger she-wolves that wanted to attend.

Alpha Allaire stood on the stage, a glass of wine in one hand, his arm wrapped around Savannah’s waist, and his mouth against her ear. I couldn’t hear from the buzz of the party, but whatever he said made Savannah blush.

Kellan shoved his elbow into my side when I reached up to grab an appetizer off a passing tray. “I knew your mom would make you dress up,” I said, tossing it into my mouth.

He snarled. “Yeah, I was out of the door, she grabbed my ear, and dragged me back inside. She needs to chill. I’m her only child. I may just get tired of it one day.”

I chuckled. His mother was one tough lycan and had helped raise me until Dax and Savannah were old enough. Kellan’s gaze swept over the room. “Damn, Savannah is looking fine tonight. That’s what you have to look forward to.”

Alpha Allaire’s gaze turned toward us, and he gave Kellan a go to hell look. “That alpha hearing is no joke,” Kellan said, pulling at the collar of his shirt. He put his palms out in surrender and bowed his head respectfully.

Not that he needed to. Alpha Allaire was a kind alpha, for the most part, or as kind as an alpha could be, at least.

I chuckled, and grabbed a wine glass floating by, and downed it. The clock above the stage had two minutes to seven, but I knew when Everlee walked in, because most of the room turned to face her.

And I felt it deep down in my bones.

Everlee’s blush rushed to her tanned cheeks at everyone’s attention. Her red dress was low in the front, displaying a slight curve of her cleavage, and hugged her tiny waist, flowing out into a fluffy skirt that my fingers twitched to get beneath.

Her gaze swept over the room, landing on mine as she descended the stairs, while the crowd parted for her. Reluctantly, I stepped to the side, watching as she moved over the marble floor. She passed me slowly, her gaze meeting mine, and being close to her had my wolf going crazy.

Go to mate, he growled. Trying his best to lurch me forward, but I held my ground the best I could.

The clock ticked one minute closer to seven, and my fingers twitched.

“Happy Birthday, Everlee,” Alpha Allaire said into the silence of the room. “I love you, Princess.”

She hugged him tightly, turning to hug her mother while whispering into her ear. “I’m so happy everyone could come out. The food is ready in the kitchen. Music will come later. Let’s have some fun before—”

The final minute ticked, and her gaze snapped to mine.

The mate bond bloomed, fire blossomed inside of me, and my wolf howled inside of me. Everlee’s chest began to rise and fall faster, as her parents followed her line of sight to mine.

It all fell into place.

Everlee Allaire was my fated mate. I shoved past a laughing Kellan, and toward the stage. I took the steps two at a time and stopped in front of her. Her hazel gaze glistened in the lighting of the room, her mouth parted in desire, and I bent down, prolonging the most agonizing minute of my life.

“Mate,” I whispered against her mouth.

Her luscious mouth pulled into a smile, and she wrapped her arms around my neck, diminishing the distance between our fates.

The crowd roared with applause, and my wolf pulsed in sheer desire. I could sense Alpha Allaire’s annoyance, and Savannah’s utter joy, but I knew in that moment, I would never let anything or anyone come between Everlee and me.

“You were right,” she whispered into our kiss.

My fingers tightened against her hips, and I fought the overwhelming need to bite her bottom lip. “We were right. I can’t wait to get you alone,” I whispered.

Alpha Allaire cleared his throat loudly, making my wolf growl, and my irritation surface. I pulled back, watching the way her eyes dilated, and she stepped back to face the audience.

A room full of smiling wolves and lycans stared back at us.

“Well,” Savannah said. “I guess that does it for the entertainment portion of the evening. Let’s all eat!”

Laughter and acceptance flowed through me as I lead Everlee into the crowd. My pulse thumped wildly in my ears the further we grew from the excited crowd. Everlee kept on my heels as I walked us down the hallway as if we were going into the dining hall to eat, but I shoved my shoulder into the small utility closet in the hallway that held our cleaning supplies for the first floor of the castle.

The barrier gave me enough courage to let my wolf skim the surface. Everlee’s hazel eyes flashed a golden color that matched her dad’s wolf, while I knew mine rimmed red like her mother’s.

“I’ve been dying to taste you again,” I said, trapping her against the door, positioning my leg between her thighs. I tangled my fist into her hair.

Everlee chuckled, her own hand fisted around the lapel of my suit jacket, while my other hand trapped her wrist above her head. “My wolf is panting,” she smiled up at me. “Please put me out of this misery.”

She didn’t have to ask twice.

I lowered my mouth and kissed her deep, demanding she open for me as I slid my tongue against her own. Her taste made my head spin, and the submissive way she let me take her mouth.

Everything about it felt like the stars aligned for us. She bit my bottom lip, and I tasted blood. I chuckled deeply, angling her face by her hair, deepening our kiss.

Everlee whimpered softly, moving her hips in a needy way that I knew would lead us to something that wasn’t supposed to happen yet.

What kind of barbarian would I look like if I dragged her to a utility closet, and then she came back to the party with a fresh mark on her neck?

I’d become dickless quick when Alpha Allaire caught wind of it.

Reluctantly, and I do mean forcefully, I pulled from her mouth, nipped at her jaw and then her neck, and stepped away. She watched as I slid my thumb across my bottom lip and sucked the taste of her off the end. “Your dad will cut my dick off, and I think I may need it soon.”

A deep red color bloomed against her cheeks. Pushing from the door, she lifted onto her tiptoes and whispered, “A lot sooner than you think.”

She twisted the handle of the door behind her back, keeping eye contact as long as she could, while disappearing down the hallway, leaving me a horny mess.

Go after her, my wolf growled.

You have no chill, I mumbled.

We’d start Werewolf University in two days, and I would spend every night that she would let me, over her, driving her crazy.

What could go wrong?