TREY
Boreal University sits in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, close enough to Boston for everyone to say we go to school in the city and far enough away for that to technically be bullshit.
Most of my life here happens between campus, the rink and my apartment anyway, so the distinction doesn’t mean much to me.
We train at Kelley Rink in Conte Forum, and during the season, I’m there almost every day. By November, I probably see the inside of the rink more than my own bedroom.
Luckily, the apartment Walker, Nash and I live in is barely ten minutes away without traffic.
All three of us have cars but that has never stopped either of them from riding in mine.
Or getting into my business.
"I still can’t believe she doesn’t remember you."
Walker’s voice carries over the running showers and I drag the towel over my hair before turning toward him.
It’s been a few hours since Sadie moved in and I left her with her boxes and came straight to practice. Walker and Nash have had questions about her ever since. Too many of them.
I’m starving, my shoulders hurt, and Walker is quickly becoming the third thing pissing me off.
"You sure you didn’t get the wrong girl?" He shuts off the shower. "You were fucked up in the dark, man. Not exactly prime facial recognition conditions."
"It’s her."
He steps out, steam curling off his skin. "How the hell are you that sure? She doesn’t remember you at all. That’s weird."
The moron helped me pull the whole thing off and waited until she moved in to grow doubts. I’m also the one with the Alpha wolf, so I’m not sure why we should trust his instincts over mine.
"Her scent. I’d know it anywhere." I reach into my locker for my shirt.
[Vanilla and orange blossom,] Trex supplies immediately. [Tell naked boy my nose works.]
He’s got a point. And I didn’t exactly forget her face either. Those amber eyes were the last thing I remember clearly from that night, staring down at me while I bled everywhere.
Her hair was longer then, thick brown curls falling into her face every time she leaned over me. I got enough blood in them that I’m surprised she didn’t get disgusted and leave me there.
She looks different now. Her hair’s shorter and five years have changed her face, but I’d know those eyes anywhere.
It’s her. Walker can question it all he wants.
Nash walks back in from seeing Coach before he gets the chance to keep going.
"Finally, a home game." He yawns. "I don’t have another road trip in me next week."
We’ve got Providence next at Kelley. Home ice, our locker room, and no travel day. Can’t complain.
"I could demolish an entire chicken right now." Nash drops onto the bench and stretches his legs out. "The whole damn bird." He jerks his chin toward Walker. "Can we leave his slow ass here and go eat?"
I check my watch. "Works for me."
"Don’t you dare." Walker starts moving faster. "Give me five minutes."
"Two," Nash counters.
"Fuck you."
It takes closer to ten, but eventually, all three of us have our things together. By the time we grab our duffels and head out, the rest of the team is long gone and Nash is back to talking about food.
I wonder if Sadie’s finished unpacking.
It’s the first night she’ll be at the apartment when I get back. That thought has been messing with me more than I care to admit. So has Ezra’s scent still clinging to her. Every time I get close, I catch it.
Gets on my nerves. Gets on Trex’s even more. Makes me want to grab her, stick her under a shower and scrub until the first layer of skin comes off. She’ll grow a new one if she has to.
As we cross the lot, another scent works its way through the cold air. It takes me a second to remember where I know it from but Trex doesn’t have the same problem. The second he recognizes it, irritation rolls through him and I feel it in my chest.
[Why does this female keep finding us?]
"Trey!"
Fuck. The Lycan leech.
I turn toward the voice and Paige is coming straight at us, heels clicking against the pavement. Still wearing those pointy things everywhere, I see. Sneakers must’ve done something terrible to her family.
"Thought you got rid of her," Nash says.
Walker takes one look at Paige and starts backing toward the parking lot. "Yeah, that’s all you. We’ll wait in the car."
He taps my shoulder on the way past and follows Nash.
Traitors.
I consider going with them. Seriously consider it. Problem is, ignoring Paige has never made her go away. It just gives her time to find another way to get in front of me.
Paige liking me has never made much sense. Lycans barely look twice at ordinary wolves, but she’s been trying to get my attention for months.
Would’ve been flattering if I wanted her.
She finally reaches me and stops closer than she needs to, bringing enough perfume with her to explain why I smelled her coming.
"Hi, Trey."
"Paige."
That’s all she gets. Still makes her smile wider.
[Pathetic,] Trex mutters.
"Sorry for stopping you right after practice." She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "I know you’re probably tired."
"Then this is a shitty time to stop me, isn’t it?"
She shifts on her heels. "I just wanted to ask you something. I saw you with Sadie earlier. At her dorm." She pauses. "She had a suitcase. Is something going on?"
[She isn’t ours. Why does she keep acting like she has a claim on our business? Correct her.]
"What are you asking me, Paige?"
"You know what I’m asking." She lets out a little laugh. "You and Sadie? Seriously? I mean, I’m not trying to be a bitch, but she’s—"
"Living with me."
That kills the sentence.
"What?"
"She moved in today."
Her mouth stays open long enough that I’m tempted to tell her something might fly into it.
"Glad we cleared that up." I shift my duffel higher on my shoulder and start walking.
"Trey, wait!"
She cuts around and stops directly in my path. Her eyes are wide now, all that carefully practiced confidence from thirty seconds ago completely gone.
"She moved in with you?" she repeats. "I... You mean Sadie?"
"Yes."
"Sadie Rhodes?"
"How many Sadies are we talking about?"
Her lips part.
"If that’s all, I’m hungry." I step around her, but she follows immediately.
"You’re joking, right?"
I stop and look back.
She laughs, but there’s nothing funny about the way she’s staring at me now.
"That’s not possible. Why would she room with you?"
[Careful, female,] Trex rumbles. [I already don’t like you.]
"How can you just let another girl move in with you?" Her pitch is climbing now.
I raise a brow.
"I mean Sadie. Obviously, I mean Sadie." She presses a hand against her chest and takes a breath. "I like you, Trey. You know that. I told you a month ago, and I’ve made it pretty obvious since then."
She steps closer. "You asked me to prove I was serious about you. You told me to get between Ezra and his mate. You said if I wanted you to take me seriously, I needed to show you I could be loyal. That I could be useful to you."
There’s a smile on her face now. Not sure what she’s celebrating.
"And I did it. I got him to reject Sadie, and I—"
Her eyes widen, confidence draining out of her face as she starts connecting things I was hoping she wasn’t smart enough to connect.
"You did ask me to do that to prove my loyalty to you, right?" She asks.
I almost laugh. "Did I?"
She takes a second with that. "What are you saying, Trey?"
Regret isn’t something I do. I’ve had moments where I’ve wondered if maybe I went too far. This isn’t one of them.
I lean down to her ear. "Hallucinate all you want. Just don’t let me hear about it."
*******************
As it turns out, I’m not getting used to having Sadie around anytime soon.
It’s probably too early to call it when she moved in a few hours ago, but knowing I’m going back to the apartment and she’ll be there has this restless feeling working its way through me.
And I’m twenty-two, not fourteen. A pretty girl sleeping down the hall shouldn’t be enough to scramble anything. So whatever the hell this is, I’d like it to stop.
Trex isn’t helping either.
He wouldn’t stop whining about feeding her so now there’s an extra bag of food in my hand as I head upstairs.
Hopefully, she takes it without making a big deal out of it. No wide amber eyes. No looking at me like Paige does when she’s trying to make that expression she thinks men can’t say no to.
And definitely no deciding I’m some convenient rebound because Ezra dumped her.
I’ve never been anybody’s consolation prize. Being one after Ezra would be especially insulting.
When I get inside, I expect some sign Sadie’s still here but the apartment’s quiet.
I’m about to call out to her when I notice something on the other side of the couch.
At first, all I can see is a bare foot and the bottom of her jeans, but another step into the living room gives me the rest of her, sprawled facedown on the floor.
What kind of person chooses the floor when there’s a couch six inches away? A hillbilly, that’s who.
Walking closer, I kick one of the empty orange juice bottles out of the way and nudge her arm with my foot. "Quiz Bowl."
Not even a twitch.
The food gets abandoned on the coffee table as I crouch beside her and turn her over. Her head lolls against my arm, dead weight where there shouldn’t be any, and then there’s that wet streak at the corner of her mouth.
Blood.
What the fuck?