Big Bad Academy

“Who’s she?”

“A human?”

“Why is she with Flynn?”

“Why’s Flynn in his wolf form?”

“What’s going on?”

The voices get louder and more pronounced and people start speaking directly to Heather. She instantly looks overwhelmed and like she might actually cry, so I realize I need to do something, and I change back.

“Hey, you’re naked,” a student yells. Shifters in general are basically nudists, but most of us keep that nudity out of the main hallways.

“Nothing to see here,” I say. “Move along.”

“Why is there a human here?” One student puts his hands on his hips and looks me up and down. He’s going to challenge me or my father to be pack alpha one day. I can already tell. This is the kind of guy who has guts and leadership skills, and more likely than not, he’ll end up leaving the pack after graduation to seek out his own group of wolves. I won’t be surprised if he takes a group of students with him. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Yeah, this is supposed to be a human-free zone,” a girl says. She glares at Heather like the little writer is the worst villain of all time, and then she looks at me.

“I said, nothing to see here,” I grit out. “Now everyone leave.”

I gather up my clothes, grab Heather’s hand, and take off down the hallway. Heather is smart enough not to say a damn word as we push through the crowd to a private staircase down the hall. I enter the PIN on the private keypad that keeps the staircase locked, and the little door opens.

“Come on,” I tell her, and I pull her inside. As soon as the door is closed, I take a few steps up the staircase and start getting dressed. Being this close to Heather is going to make me go insane. Why does she smell so good?”

“What is this place?” She whispers.

“This is a staircase, Heather. Surely you’ve seen one before. Hell, maybe you’ve even written about one in your books.”

“I know what a staircase is,” she mutters.

“Good.” I pull my shirt over my head. Is it just me, or does she seem a little sad for me to finally be dressed? “Let’s go.”

I lead her up the stairs and down a narrow hallway. For a pack of wolves, we sure seem to like tight spaces, and this hallway is no exception. The two of us can’t even walk side-by-side, and her scent is filling the entire space. Fuck. If I’m noticing how aroused she is, then everyone else is going to notice, too. I stop and turn to her.

“Listen, I’m not trying to be a jerk, but you have to cut it out.”

“Cut what out?” She asks, surprised. “I’m not even doing anything.”

How the hell can I explain this delicately? Yeah, I kidnapped her and I stole her cats, but I’m also kind of starting to like this girl. I don’t want to hurt her in any way, and I definitely don’t want to make her sad. Not over something like this.

Shit.

I definitely should have done better research before I decided to steal a writer, especially one so cute.

“I know you aren’t trying to,” I finally say. “But the thing is, Heather, we’re about to go meet with a couple of wolves and they...well, they’ll be able to smell you.”

She gasps.

“Are you saying I smell? What the hell, Flynn? Do you have some deodorant? I mean, I didn’t exactly get to take a shower after you kidnapped me!”

“It’s not that,” I say.

She smells wonderful.

Better than wonderful.

Heavenly.