Page 84 of Wolf Unseen

Surprise rendered me speechless.

“Tank brought the hybrid here, to our apartment?” That made no sense. Tank rarely interacted with anyone, let alone the weaker shifters. Not because he thought himself better than them; rather, he was afraid he’d inadvertently hurt them if something triggered his wolf. It had happened once, when we were younger, and he’d never forgiven himself.

Tobias flopped onto the couch and made himself comfortable.

“Damien and Chance attacked the little wolf in a dodgeball game. Tank’s wolf intervened.”

I processed Tobias’s revelation in disbelief. Why would Tank intervene? A shiver of disquiet rattled my bones. If Tank’s wolf had caused another scene, Dad would hear about it.

“Why didn’t the PT instructor step in?” The faculty often turned a blind eye to bullying, but not during a lesson. Fucking asshole instructors. Thank fuck Bernard was out of the picture. He was by far the worst.

“The lion didn’t see what happened until Tank shifted, but he intervened and then he and Tank took Riley to the healer.” Hmm. The lion shifter must have been angry that he couldn’t stop the two idiots from hurting a weaker student. Leone hated bullying. I’d seen him exact brutal detentions on students he deemed bullies.

“Did Tank’s wolf kill anyone?” Goddess, I hoped not, or there’d be hell to pay.

Tobias shook his head. “No. Riley calmed Tank’s wolf before he passed out.”

I blinked in shock. Nobody had ever successfully calmed Tank’s wolf. It usually took two of us to overpower the feral fucker, and even then it was inevitably a shit show. Last time, Markus had had to step in and stun the bastard.

Tank stepped out of his room. “The hybrid is my mate,” he announced, his arms folded across his brawny chest. The statement, issued in a calm yet firm voice, rendered me speechless once again.

“You’re mistaken,” I snapped when I’d recovered from the shock. “The hybrid is weak. He can’t be your goddess-blessed moon mate. It makes no sense.”

I caught Tobias’s grin in my peripheral vision. “He’s not mistaken, brother, nor am I. Riley Scott is my mate too, so get used to seeing my honey bunny here more often.”

Tank glared at Tobias, who smirked in return, and then the pair of them vanished into their rooms, leaving me confused and fearful for all our futures. If our fathers discovered Tank and Tobias had a weak hybrid mate, they would combine forces to destroy the little wolf to prevent pack bloodlines from being diluted.

While I didn’t much care about the hybrid, Tank and Tobias were my family. Losing a soul-bonded mate could trigger psychosis and even death. If protecting the hybrid wolf protected them, then I’d do whatever it took to keep him safe.

Dropping my keys on the kitchen counter, I stripped off my shirt and pants and changed into shorts. I needed to work out some of my rage, so it was time to pay a visit to the two wolves who’d hurt the hybrid. By the time I’d finished with the fuckers, they wouldn’t be hurting anyone ever again.

50

Riley

Healing from a fractured rib, punctured lung, and brain injury took a lot out of a person. After crawling into bed last night, I’d fallen into a deep sleep and didn’t stir until the stupid alarm went off at seven a.m.

The potion the witch forced me to drink had at least diminished the bruising. When I examined my face in the mirror, only a few faint green smudges remained. Sadly, they clashed with my red hair, so to hide them, I pulled my hood up before heading down for some breakfast.

The usual morning chatter in the canteen rolled over my head. A few students pointed and stared while whispering to each other, but I ignored them. Let them gossip. It mattered little to me. All I cared about was stuffing my face. Then I planned to go back to bed and spend a few more hours sleeping.

I chowed down on my breakfast—eggs, sausages, pancakes, and toast, washed down with a very large mug of coffee—while mulling over the events of yesterday.

Being attacked by two moronic shifters was just another Tuesday for me, but Tank’s wolf saving my ass again had taken me by surprise. My she-wolf seemed convinced he was our mate, but I struggled to see how it could even be possible. I mean, she also thought Tobias was our mate. Oh, and Simba. Not to mention Tate fucking Montes.

Yes, it was becoming increasingly clear my wolf was camping on the edge of reality.

She huffed crossly before going back to sleep. Ever since I’d walked away from Tank and Tobias, she had been in a sulk. I’d offered to let her out for a run this evening, mostly so I could heal the remaining twinges in my ribs and head, but she had shown zero interest in shifting.

I stabbed my fork into a juicy sausage just as Simon slid into a chair opposite me. He glanced around before leaning in.

“Are you okay?” he whispered, making me feel awful for not letting him know via text.

“Shit, sorry. I meant to message you, but it was late when I got back, and then I fell asleep almost immediately.” I cringed while avoiding his gaze. Stars, I was a terrible friend.

“Oh, that’s all right,” he said with a small smile. “I was worried, though! Especially when the Frosthaven wolf followed you.” My snake friend shuddered. “He scares the crap out of me.”

“He does?” I didn’t find Tank that scary. Not anymore. He seemed more like an overprotective teddy bear than a psycho killer.