Page 29 of Thrown to the Wolves (Mate Hunt 1)

Ouch.

"I can drive you to the sandwich shop the next few days to give you time to heal," she said.

"I actually quit." I bit my lip. "I'm looking for another job."

"Wow. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah. Just thought it was time to take my life into my own hands," I lied.

She didn't look convinced, but still nodded.

We reached the dorm, thankfully, and got out of the car. I grabbed Jesse's leash but didn't bother pulling on it. The wolf would follow me whether I wanted him to or not.

Our dorm was on the fourth floor, so we headed to the stairs. Ebony climbed them without a problem, leaving me in the dust as I took one slow, painful step at a time.

She came back when she realized I was way behind her. "You should go to the doctor.”

"Can't afford the copay," I admitted.

That wasn't even a lie.

Her eyebrows knitted together. "How are you going to afford to feed the dog?"

I made a face. "Might have to start dancing at a strip club."

Jesse snarled.

Both of us looked at him, and he curled his mouth up to show me his fangs.

"Are you sure that's a dog?" Ebony checked.

I was sure it wasn't a dog.

"So says my mom," I lied.

She shrugged, and we kept going. Jesse kept growling, his side pressed up against mine.

How did I ever think he wasn't possessive?

By the time we made it to the top of the stairs, I was considering asking Jesse for a ride. But he wasn't that big, and I didn't want to crush him.

Though if I did, that would take care of my wolf problem...

I stopped at Madeline's door. She was only the RA for about half of the floor, since it was a mixed gender dorm. The guys on the floor had their own RA, who was kind of an asshat, but I rarely saw him so it didn't matter.

Ebony headed back to our room while I stayed to talk to Madeline. She said she had to clean a bit to make space for Jesse, but she was a neat freak. So, I knew that meant she just wanted to straighten up her desk… or avoid the uncomfortable conversation I was about to have.

I knocked on the door, and then waited. Madeline answered after a good three minutes, as always. Despite the tiny size of the dorm room, she was a music major who tended to get lost in her work and had a hard time pulling herself out of it to answer doors.

Once you had her attention though, she was all yours.

"Oh hell." She stared at the wolf, not bothering with a greeting. Her eyes lifted to mine after a minute. "Tea..." she warned.

"He's an emotional support dog," I offered. "He knows lots of tricks. Jesse, sit," I commanded without so much as glancing at him.

He sat.

"He's huge." Madeline shoved a hand through her wavy, platinum-blonde hair. "Sterling's going to throw a fit."