Wolf Girl (Wolf Girl, #1)(12)

She waved me off. “Don’t let your little run-in with Meredith get you down. She’s like that to everyone.”

I’d forgotten my run-in with Meredith until that moment. I was actually more worried about spending someone else’s money. “I’m not used to shopping,” I confessed.

She nodded. “I’ll help you. It will be fun!”





Three hours, thirty-six pieces of sushi, and five shopping bags full later, we exited the mall.

“I can’t believe I just spent two grand of someone else’s money.” My eyes were wide as we loaded my bags onto the back of an electric scooter.

Sage waved me off. “I do it all the time on my dad’s card. It’s fine. The cards have a daily limit and it didn’t get declined, so that means we did good.”

I snorted. We had very, very different upbringings. I gestured to the bags. “I only got one fancy dress. Think that’s enough?” The rest were ripped jeans, shorts, tank-tops, and sneakers, and a few flowy bohemian dresses. I also got make-up, a flat iron, and some cool purses with studs on them.

Sage gave me a conspiratorial look. “You want to stand out? Don’t dress like the lemmings here. Seriously, my cousin picked you for a reason. I think he digs the t-shirt and jean shorts vibe.”

She motioned to my outfit.

I chuckled, but the smile fell from my lips. Sage was becoming a good friend and I didn’t want to lie to her. “You know your cousin doesn’t really like me. He just pulled all that because it was the only way to get me out of banishment and he feels bad for me.”

Sage looked at me like I was five years old. “Aww, is that what he told you? Cute.” She booped my nose and a warm feeling settled into my stomach. What did that mean? Did it mean that … Sawyer wanted me here, like to date me?

Was I really in the Werewolf Bachelor running? Did I even want to be? I thought of his intense blue eyes and the way he’d seen me lose my shit. It was a weak moment for me, a moment of struggle that highlighted how badly I’d been treated while being forced to live out life in banishment. He saw all of that and … he still liked me?

Oh man. Shit just got real.

We rode back to the dorm and Sage helped me to my door with all my bags. She yawned, squeezing my shoulder. “I had fun today. You’re cool.”

I gave her a smile. “Me too. Thanks for taking me shopping.”

She nodded and waved me goodnight before slipping into her room across the hall.

I was about to go into my own room when my wolf rose to the surface and I paused in the door frame.

It hit me then … in that moment.

I was free.

I could go outside, shift into my wolf, and run for the first time ever. And that’s exactly what my wolf wanted me to do. With a grin, I shut my door, grabbed my keycard, and all but ran to the exit of the dorm.

The front desk lady, Kendra, looked at me but said nothing. I was an adult after all and this was basically college, college Werewolf Bachelor style. Slipping outside, I breathed in the cool night air.

A run with my wolf, I couldn’t conceive of it before. I was giddy with excitement.

I burst across the lawn, smiling as the cold night wind ripped through my hair. There were a few students heading back into the dorms. The moon was high in the sky, casting a soft light upon the thick forest that encompassed the school grounds. I slipped into the first thicket of trees I saw and started to disrobe, preparing to shift. I knew enough about being a werewolf that it would tear my clothes if I didn’t shift naked. Reaching down, I grabbed the hem of my shirt, and pulled it up over my head just as a man cleared his throat.

With a yelp, I pulled the shirt back down, covering my stomach.

“Sorry … I, uh … saw you undressing and figured I should let you know I was here.” I knew that voice, even after only meeting him once.

I spun and saw Sawyer, shirtless and in low-slung sweatpants.

Holy mother of abs…

My eyes raked over his chiseled chest and my ability to form words flew from my brain.

“Going for a run?” he asked, pointing to the forest.

I just nodded dumbly, trying not to drool, and then held up my cuff-less wrists. “First time.”

A frown pulled at his lips and he nodded in understanding. “I was going to go too. Want to join me or would you rather be alone?”

Truth be told, I was terrified. I’d never shifted before. It would be nice to have someone to do that with … but him?

I swallowed hard. “I don’t … really know what I’m doing. Like … I don’t even know how to shift; I wouldn’t want to slow you down.”

I knew that racing in wolf form was a big bragging right about who was fastest. My mom talked about the good old days all the time, when she used to run my dad ragged around the campus when they went here.

Shame colored my cheeks, but he didn’t give me a pitying look. He nodded once, curtly. Moving across the space to stand closer to me, I watched as his muscles danced under his skin.

Lord have mercy. He was quite literally the hottest guy I’d ever seen. And I was pretty sure he knew it.

“You could never slow me down,” he whispered as my throat went dry. Then he moved to stand at my back and I felt the heat from his body press against mine. “Undress and I’ll walk you through it. I’ll stay turned away until your shift is complete.”