a prisoner but not; it was weird. My hands weren’t tied, I was just told to keep this bag loosely over my head the whole drive, which was triggering some serious PTSD. I didn’t like being in small spaces.
The alpha obviously didn’t trust me, which made me wonder how hard Sawyer had to beg him to let me back into Werewolf City. Why would Sawyer do that? I’d met him all of two minutes. Granted, it was an intense meeting, but I didn’t think I’d impressed him with my angry outburst and shabby clothes.
“So, like, can we really not date any girls this year until Sawyer picks his mate?” one of the males asked, turning down the music. My whole body tensed as I leaned into the conversation, curious what the answer would be.
Another dude chuckled. “Nah, he’ll pick his top twenty pretty quickly and then you just stay away from them.”
What the fuck? Twenty girls to date all year?
What was this, Werewolf Bachelor?
“Sophia Green is so fucking hot. I’ve wanted her since first grade. He better not pick her,” a third male said.
There was a smacking sound and then a groan. “Women are not objects, you fools,” the redheaded female chided them. “The girl Sawyer ends up with will have to choose him just as much as he chooses her.”
Collective laughter rocked through the car. “And what female at school wouldn’t pick pretty boy Sawyer?”
“I wouldn’t,” the female said.
Silence.
“You’re his cousin. Gross,” a male voice commented.
“So? I wouldn’t pick him. Now stop talking about the mating year, it’s making me nauseous. I have to live with it for the next year,” she snapped back.
Cousin? She was Sawyer’s cousin?
We rode in silence a few more minutes until the van stopped.
“We’re here. I’m taking the cover off of her head,” the female said.
“Copy that,” a male answered.
Finally!
When the sack was ripped off my head, I was blinded with bright light. I winced as my eyes adjusted to the sudden sunlight assaulting my brain.
“Hey, Brandon,” someone outside of the car said.
I swiveled my head in that direction to see a guard standing in front of a giant iron gate. He wore black army fatigues with a gun at his hip. “That her?” He peered inside of the car at me.
What the…?
He looked me up and down, causing redness to creep up my neck. “Now I see why Sawyer went to all that trouble.”
“She can hear you, asshole!” Redhead snapped.
The guard rapped a palm on the hood of the van twice and we rolled forward into the open gates.
Holy shifter babies.
My jaw unhinged as we passed a low stone wall with the name Sterling Hill University on it. It wasn’t the letters that had me transfixed, it was the freaking building and manicured lawns. The campus was sprawled out onto a wide green lawn, with several buildings made of glass and stainless steel. Everything was so modern. Students walked on the sidewalks, but a few wolves lay on the lawns, sunbathing in their animal form.
I gasped and Redhead looked at me, following my gaze.
She frowned, then looked at the cuffs on my wrists. “When’s the last time you shifted?”
It was an innocent question, one I’m sure she didn’t think would carry so much pain.
“Never.” My voice cracked. “I was born outside Werewolf City,” I told her.
“Jesus,” the driver dude said.
“Language,” the guy in the passenger seat growled.
The driver flipped him off and the dude in the passenger seat grabbed the finger and bent it backward until the driver conceded. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry, baby Jesus.”
“That’s better,” passenger guy said, and when I looked at the redheaded chick again, she was smiling.
I was grateful for the distraction.
“I’m Sage,” she told me, holding out a hand.
Sage. That was an interesting name.
“My mom’s a hippie.” She winked and I took her hand.
I shook it. “Demi.”
She gestured over her shoulder to the driver, “That’s Brandon, total player and asshole. Stay away from him.”
“Hey!” he yelled.
She motioned to the guy in the passenger seat. “And that’s Quan. Sweet teddy bear, you can trust him with your life.”
“Love you, Sage.”
“Love you too, boo,” she called back.
There was a guy sitting next to Sage who was silently staring out the window. “That’s Walsh, he’s basically a mute.”
“Fuck you,” he growled, causing her to grin.
“But if I had to pick one guy to have my back in a fight, it would be him.”
“Hey!” the driver, Brandon, yelled again.
“Sorry, babe, you’re worthless. Nothing but eye candy.” Sage shrugged, then looked at me,