Chapter 67

KATHERINE.

Night had fallen and I still hadn’t received an email summoning me to the Dean’s office. Also, I’d walked past the Dean several times today after what happened between me and the Dawsons, and she didn’t glare at me or anything. It had been obvious she didn’t know what happened yet and Theo’s words made me believe it would remain that way. I was really grateful to him.

“Your brother’s really cute,” Josie said as Kit was trying and failing to not fall asleep on the bench the three of us were sitting on and I smiled at her. After we ran into her in the afternoon, she decided to stick with us and had been so sweet to him that I was sure she was going to be the number one he’d constantly talk about tomorrow. “Cuter than you, really?”

I sneered at that and she let out a laugh while Kit leaned against me, finally giving up the fight to stay awake, before I gently removed my phone from his hands. At his request, Josie had happily plied him with stories of the ghosts at Blackwood for more than an hour, and since the anniversary was a three-day event, Blackwood was providing accommodation for guests in several of its buildings close to the school. Guests could either go with that or stay with their family or friend in their dorm in Blackwood and I was sure Kit would want to stay with me. That meant I’d be the one getting woken up in the middle of the night because he ‘heard’ or ‘saw’ something.

“I’m going to kill you if he keeps me up at night because of your ghost stories.”

The corner of her mouth turned up before she narrowed her eyes at me. “You can’t blame me for that. What if he wakes you up because he actually sees a ghost?”

“Hunter said that won’t happen.” Members of the CMES club had taken precautions to make sure ghosts wouldn’t wander to where guests were and the only way a guest would see a ghost was if they went looking for one.

Thinking of the CMES club automatically made me think of the boys and when Theo came to mind, I remembered what Poppy called him.

“Josie, what’s an Agris?” I asked and she raised her brows.

“What Theo is,” she said and when she didn’t say anything else, I gave her a blank stare before she continued, “An Agris has super everything. Super super speed, super super hearing, super super strength.”

“Oh.” Wow, so Theo was a super werewolf. No wonder Steve immediately backed down.

“Their eyes also change color,” she added and I muttered an ‘oh’ again before she returned her gaze to the floor, kicking at the dirt at her feet.

“...Are you okay?” I asked and she glanced at me again, flashing me a smile.

“Yeah,” she drawled before letting out a harsh breath and leaning backward on the bench. “I’m tired.”

It didn’t sound like she meant she wanted to go to bed so I asked, “What of?”, and she pouted.

“I want to find my mate too.”

“Ah…” I gave her a sad smile and also leaned backward, focusing my gaze on the night sky. “Me too.”

Why she particularly felt that way now was clear. She hadn’t been able to hang out with Lenore and Priyanka all day because Priyanka and her family were getting to know Dave’s family and right now, they were having dinner in a restaurant in town while Lenore was probably busy with wedding planning, so she was feeling left out.

I was also feeling that way for the same reason, but with a sprinkle of loneliness because Tiffany and Helena hadn’t come. They'd called me in the afternoon to let me know that they wouldn't be able to come today because their registration was running late and Tiffany's dad who was supposed to bring them over had to go somewhere else. They'd promised that they'd be here tomorrow though and I was looking forward to it because even though I'd made new friends here, I really missed our dynamic.

“Kathy,” Kit muttered and I glanced at him to see him sitting upright and rubbing his eyes. “I want to sleep.”

At that, Josie and I got to our feet and I held his hand. Uncle Lander had already gone back to the pack because he had business to take care of while Aunt Vivian had gone with our parents’ friends to check out the place the school had provided for the guests, so I texted Aunt Vivian to let her know that Kit and I had gone to bed before we headed into Stavenger Hall. Kit and I exchanged goodbyes with Josie before I picked up a groggy Kit and walked up to the third floor, and the moment I entered my room, my eyes rounded.

Theo was standing next to Lenore's bed. Shirtless.

A surprised noise escaped me but he didn't glance in my direction as he picked up his T-shirt from the floor and tugged it over his head, ruffling his already disheveled hair. Lenore wasn't in sight but Theo being here meant she was in the room, probably in her dressing room or the bathroom, and as my gaze bounced between the rumpled sheets on her bed and the boy who was putting on his shoes, what happened here became clear.

I gritted my teeth.

I hated this. I really hated this. ‘Get over it, Katherine,’ a voice said in my head but that didn't make me hate this any less. In fact, the only thing it did was piss me off.

Kit mumbled something and that reminded me that I was still carrying him. Desperately going for the nth time that this boy wasn't my mate, I walked over to my bed and set Kit on it before taking off his shoes.

Moments later, I heard the door click shut and glanced over my shoulder to see that I was now alone in the room, and I couldn't help but think of how shitty my life would be if he ended up being my mate. Apart from getting rejected and maybe losing my pack to Silver Bow and Blue Moon, I might have to continue attending Blackwood and see things like ‘this'.

Could we change roommates after the end of the school year?

Lenore stepped out of her dressing room after that thought and she flashed me a smile which I didn't even try to return. “Oh, hey Katherine.” Her gaze slid to Kit and her smile widened. “Is that your brother?”

“Obviously.” My tone was nothing short of rude and her smile faltered.

“Uh… Is everything okay?”

I looked away from her without responding and tucked my brother under the covers before I got up and headed to my dressing room.

I'd just acted like a bitch and I knew I shouldn't have but I was just so angry because he wasn't her mate. I took a deep breath to calm myself down after shutting the door behind me and when my gaze dropped to the sunflower bouquet – which I'd moved here before my family and I left the room – on my cabinet, a small smile tugged at my lips.

Thank God Theo wasn't the only option.