Obsession: A Rejected Mate Shifter Romance (The Mate Games #1)(6)

My eyes must've widened because she laughed loud enough to earn a stern glare from the librarian sitting at the desk.

"They just let you leave?"

Another laugh escaped her, this one quieter. "They don't let me do anything. But what they don't know won't hurt them. If I couldn't escape this place, I would go full cuckoo's nest within a week."

"Don't they notice you're gone?"

Shrugging, she toyed with the flaming end of her hair. "As long as the tuition is paid and I come back with all my appendages, they don't care."

"I'm coming with you next time."

She flashed me a brilliant smile. "Of course you are. You're my main bitch now."

Nodding, I reached for another book, this one about the history of the war between angels and demons. As thick as it was, it must've weighed fifteen pounds. At least.

"So, I know he hates you and all, but do you want to explain to me what the hell is between you and Kingston Farrell now?"

Alarm ricocheted through me, starting in my chest and ending as a cold pit in my belly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, that man is looking at you like he wants to kill you . . . right after he fucks you to within an inch of your life."

I followed her gaze up to the balcony that spanned the second floor. Sure enough, Kingston leaned against the polished wood railing, eyes blazing with heat and menace as he pinned me with his stare.

"It's nothing. I told you, just a stupid grudge."

"Nope. You don't get to brush this off. You have tea, and I'm ready for you to spill it all over."

I flicked my gaze back to where he'd been standing, but he was gone. The energy he’d radiated stayed behind, though, humming through my veins.

"Our Families have been at odds since before I was born."

"Of course they have. Every person here is the designated tribute of one of the Families. I don't think any of them really get along."

"Yes, well, Kingston and I were supposed to . . . bring the Fallon and Farrell packs together."

"Wait. That was the rejection you were talking about? You're his mate? No fucking way."

I winced. "Could you keep your voice down? I'm sure neither of us wants the whole world knowing what happened."

"Sorry. Go on."

"When I was presented to him on my sixteenth birthday, I . . . rejected him. He's hated me ever since."

She let out a low whistle. "Ouch. No wonder. Think he still has a thing for you?"

"No. He’s probably searching for a dark corner he can pull me into so he can get rid of me."

"Sure, we'll pretend that's why." Standing, she stretched and rolled her shoulders. "I sure wish someone hated me enough to look at me like that. I'd let her hate me right out of my clothes and into bed."

"Oh, I'm sure there's someone out there for you to have hot hate sex with."

"From your lips to the goddess’s ears." She blew me a kiss before strolling away with her fiery hair swaying.

Picking up the three books I'd pulled from the reference section, I returned them to the librarian's cart and headed for the mythology shelves, which were tucked deep in the back of the library. The eyes of the stained glass sphinx that made up the entirety of the west wall seemed to follow me with every step I took. The remaining glow of the last rays of the setting sun made the art appear alive.

An uneasy tremor built in my center as I scanned the books, searching for anything that stuck out as important for the class I was already behind in. The hair on the back of my neck rose, and I whirled around just in time for a large hand to grip me by the throat as I was pushed hard against the shelf.

Kingston's stare burned straight through me, settling deep in my core. "What the fuck are you doing here, Sunday? Are you stalking me?"

A warning growl built in my chest, the only response my wolf ever gave me. "Believe me, if I knew you would be here, I would've run away."

"Doesn't smell that way to me." He leaned in and dragged his nose across my collar and up my neck. Right to the spot where he would've marked me as his if I hadn't rejected him. "It smells like you still want me even though you threw away your chance."

"In your dreams."

"It was. Every fucking night, in fact. Until I realized how defective you were. I should thank you, you know? You saved me the embarrassment of being mated to a weak excuse of a wolf."

My chest fluttered, the anger boiling inside ready to escape. The urge to let my wolf out had my skin itching, too tight, desperate for the change.

"Look at you, so needy," he whispered. "I bet if I touched your little cunt right now, you'd be slick and hot for me."

"Fuck you," I spat.

One brow cocked. "That's the idea, Sunshine. You know, we may not be mates, but you’d still be good for a hard and fast fuck. What do you think?" His palm left my throat and slid down between my breasts before traveling farther, settling just over the top of my pussy. "Would you say no this time?"

Before I could answer and fight him off, Kingston was gone, flung across the aisle and into the wall, knocking books off the shelves.

"That's quite enough from you, wolf." The tall, broad man's voice boomed through the space, his Irish accent almost lyrical. "Need I remind you of our earlier lesson in restraint?"