"Have a nice walk?" Mimi asked as she and Nate came in the back door hand-in-hand.
Aiyana blushed, thinking of the very long kiss Nate had bestowed on her underneath the largest apple tree in the orchard. Had Mimi seen them from the house?
"We did," Nate said, smiling down at her.
Mimi's eyes flickered down to Aiyana's left hand, or maybe it was her imagination. "That's good, and thanks Aiyana, for cleaning up."
"Cliff helped." She looked around the room. "Speaking of Cliff, where is he?"
"The last time I saw him was when he followed you two out the door," Mimi said.
"He left you unguarded?" Alpha Miguel asked with a growl in his tone.
"I don't know. He was with us for a while. Maybe he saw something." She wished she hadn't mentioned it. He'd been so adamant about following them outside and doing his job, it seemed odd that he'd just walk away, and she didn't want to get him in trouble.
Alpha Miguel put down his cup and pushed away from the now empty table. "I'll go look for him."
"Be nice," his wife chided.
Aiyana couldn't imagine Alpha Miguel being anything other than nice. "I'm going to go unpack."
"Good idea, dear. Nate, do you have a place to stay tonight?"
"Not yet."
"I suppose I could put you in the yellow room tonight, but you need to find a place to stay more permanently tomorrow. Except for injuries or emergencies or issues of security, we don't allow students or their mates to stay with us, otherwise we would be overrun."
"I understand."
"You can stay in my apartment since I'll be here," Aiyana said. "That will give you some time to find your own place and a job."
His face fell. "But..."
She should have realized he'd want to stay with her. She wasn't necessarily opposed, she just...she hadn't really thought of it actually. If she said yes to his proposal he'd probably want to complete the bond as soon as possible. That would solve that problem.
"What kind of job are you looking for," Mimi interrupted. "We have contacts all over the state, although I'm guessing you want one close?"
"The hurt look on his face disappeared as he turned to Mimi. "Yes. My degree is in civil engineering."
"Very nice. Come with me and I'll see what I have."
Unpacking the clothes and books she'd brought from her apartment didn't take long at all. It was a little early for bed, but she felt grungy from traveling all day and she had some books she'd checked out just for fun that she'd been saving for the end of the semester. Fifteen minutes later, teeth brushed, her pajamas - shorts and an oversized T-shirt - on, she headed back down the hall looking forward to a little alone time. A dark shape was leaning on the wall outside her door in the dim hallway. She released a quiet sigh. She loved being around Nate, but sometimes she liked to read, too. The familiar, somewhat sweaty scent made her stomach twitch oddly. Bad stomach. That wasn't Nate. She quickly turned toward the door to hide her front since she wasn't wearing a bra.
"Cliff, what are you doing here? I don't think Alpha Wayne meant you had to guard my door."
"Do you have the dagger?"
"No, why."
"I need the dagger."
"Why?"
"I just do."
He was standing closer than normal to her and his eyes were strangely wide. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Okay. I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."
"No! I mean, you should lock your door."
"We're in the pack house. The Alpha is just down the hall. I think I'm safe enough."
He grabbed her hand. "Lock your door, Aiyana." The serious tone of his voice gave her chills.
She tugged her hand from his and pushed open her door. "All right. Are you going to be out here all night?"
"No, I...I'll be downstairs...on the couch."
Why did he look so worried? "Goodnight."
She went inside and shut the door, or tried to. Cliff stopped it with the palm of his hand. "What are you doing," she asked as he pushed his way in far enough to fill the doorway.
"I just..." he grabbed her wrist. "Are you really going to marry Nate?"
His eyes were wild. She'd never been afraid of Cliff before but he was scaring her now.
"Cliff, let go of me." She jerked her arm away and moved backwards into her room.
"I, I'm sorry." Looking like he'd rather do anything but follow her, he took a step forward, then winced.
"Are you hurt? What is it, your ankle?" From the way his hand gripped the door knob to the shine in his eyes, he truly looked like he was in pain.
"Foot."
The one he was holding in the air did look off. She grabbed the back of the wooden desk chair and spun it toward him. "Here, sit. Let me take look."
The look he sent her was sad, but there were other emotions there too, ones she wasn't certain how to interpret - pleading? The chair creaked as he slid heavily into the seat. She dropped to her knees before him and slid her hands around the calf of the leg he was favoring to raise it into the light. His feet were bare and dirty and his pants had bits of grass all over them. She was sure he'd had on shoes earlier.
"Where are your shoes?"
"I couldn't find them."
"Did you phase?"
He nodded. Had seeing her and Nate together really have upset him that much? She tore her eyes away from his sad ones and focused on his feet. One foot was noticeably larger than the other and there was a bruise already forming. "I think it might be broken. We should call Doc."
"I'm a werewolf. I'll heal."
"Yeah, but if it doesn't heal properly, your shoes won't fit right, not to mention it will give you problems the rest of your life." She stood and reached for her phone on top of the dresser. He didn't say a word as she called, just watched her with the most defeated look she'd ever seen on his face. "He'll be here in a few minutes. Any other injuries?"
He shook his head.
"How did you hurt your foot?"
"Stupid," he mumbled.
With his dark hair and dark eyes, he was the exact opposite of Nate in terms of coloring, but she couldn't deny that she was attracted to him, and the way he was acting was tugging at her heart and her wolf. She squatted in front of him so she could see his face and put her hand on his knee. "Why did you phase?"
He looked away from her. "You know why."
"I didn't say yes."
He swung his head around and captured her eyes. "You didn't?"
"No. I asked him to let me think about it."
"You have to think about it?"
Her legs were getting tired of squatting, so she dropped her rear down on the floor "I've only known him for a month."
"I thought you were in love."
She shrugged. "I don't know what I am. I do like him and I like being around him, but it's too fast. I feel like I don't have room to breathe."
Maybe that's what the problem was. Nate was nice but smothering.
"So when you broke our bond..."
She shrugged. "Nothing. I feel the same as I did before. I don't know what he has, but my attraction is completely human."
It was oddly easy to talk to him, probably because they used to talk all the time when they were pups. She nodded at his foot. "We should get you downstairs. You need to elevate your foot and put some ice on it at least." She stood. "Come on, I'll help you. Try not to walk on it."
"Yes, doctor."