She never thought she'd be sneaking not one, but two boys into her dorm room, but here she was. Cliff hadn't said much since they'd left the farm. He was subdued, which was a state she couldn't remember ever seeing him in. Did he truly still feel a bond to her? Whatever she'd felt so strongly three years ago was now a faint memory, especially compared to what she felt when she looked at Nate. It was as if a whole world of possibilities was opening up with him at the center.

"I have an extra mattress and an extra box spring," she said as she unlocked her door. "Nate, I think you should take the mattress. Cliff can phase if he's uncomfortable."

"Don't you still need to phase?" Cliff asked as he followed her into her room and tossed the sleeping bag he'd pulled from the back of his car on her sloppily made bed. "Hey, do you remember when we were pups, how you used to cuddle next to me at nap time?"

"I remember you cuddling next to me even though it was about a hundred degrees outside." She sniffed the air. Her room smelled okay, even though it was a mess. Good thing she'd done her laundry.

"You should phase," Cliff urged again. "We could explore campus. You could show me around. I've never been here before."

"Right. Two wolves roaming around. Nobody will notice that at all." She started pushing her desk against the wall so there'd be enough room for both boys to sleep on the floor. Nate dropped the sleeping bag he'd borrowed from Alpha Miguel on the floor and rushed to help her.

"I can do it Nate. You should rest a few more days."

He made a face. "You sound like my mother."

"No, I sound like your doctor which I might be someday."

He scrunched his nose. "Hmm, my wife as my doctor. That sounds both intriguing and dangerous."

"Your wife?" Cliff said at the same time Aiyana said, "Dangerous?"

"Yes dangerous," Nate said, ignoring Cliff. "I wouldn't be able to get away with anything. You'd probably make me eat healthy and give up smoking and drinking."

"You smoke?" she asked.

"No, but if I ever did..."

She lightly punched his arm. "If I were your wife, I'd get on your case for smoking whether I was your doctor or not."

He reached out to touch her cheek. The look on his face made her insides feel like they were melting. "How about if I promise never to smoke. Will you be my wife?"

She was sure he said it in jest, but he looked serious. What would he do if she said yes?

A loud "No, she will not!" pulled her out of her thoughts. Cliff pushed Nate out of the way and started forcefully scooting the desk across the floor. The feet squealed against the tiles* in protest. "That's the lousiest deal I've ever heard."

Her eyes found Nate's. They were in agreement. Irritating Cliff was fun. "He's right." She pretended to think for a moment, "but perhaps we can come to some arrangement."

Cliff abruptly turned toward Nate and snarled.

Her own wolf, who had been steadily ignoring Cliff all evening, leaped up inside her, ready to defend the still recovering Nate. "No Cliff. Don't touch him. If you touch him I will never speak to you again." Her wolf was so mad she could feel the anger emanating from within. Cliff jerked as if someone had lassoed him and pulled the rope tight. He spun around and dropped to his hands and knees and whined with his head down even though he was still in human form. His human sign of submission was akin to a wolf lying on his back and showing his belly. Her wolf preened. Her human side was disturbed.

"Cliff, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry."

"Cliff, stop fooling around."

"I don't think he is," Nate said, his head tilted curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"You used coercion on him and it was strong enough to drop him to his knees. Only the most powerful of the alphas can do that."

"I didn't mean to. Cliff, stand up. I'm sorry."

He climbed slowly to his feet, but he didn't raise his head.

"Cliff, look at me."

His shoulders raised and lowered as he took a breath, then he raised his head. His brown eyes were full of remorse and she was reminded of the time he'd accidentally beheaded her favorite and only Barbie, permanently.

"I'm sorry Cliff."

He shook his head. "Don't be. My wolf was about to attack. That would not have looked good on my report of my very first job with the pack."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "Still have a bit of a temper, eh?"

"Yeah. I got into a couple of fights at school. Got tossed off the basketball team. Lost my scholarship. Alpha Wayne's been helping me get it under control. Guess I'm not as cured as I hoped."

A long time ago, like when she was six, she might have hugged him. She settled for a pat on the shoulder. "It's a challenging situation. I'm sorry I pushed you. I'll try to be more considerate."

He gave her a half-smile. "You always were the considerate one. So how long have you been an alpha?"

"I'm not."

"Um, yeah. You are."

She shook her head and turned back to the desk. "Let's get the furniture out of the way. It's getting late and I want to do a little more studying before I go to bed."

Cliff nodded toward the window. "I think we should secure the window better. Maybe we could move the dresser in front of it. That balcony makes it too easy to get into your room."

If he had his way, her room would have to be completely rearranged. "The dresser will barely cover the bottom of the window."

"I know." He looked around the room for a moment. "We can stack the dresser on top of the desk."

"That's a bit much, don't you think?"

"No," Nate answered for Cliff. "It will give us more room and he's right. Anyone could get in from the balcony."

"But Alpha Miguel has people watching the dorm," she argued. She liked her window and the way the sun shone through it in the morning.

"And what if they look away for a moment?" Nate asked.

"Why are there people watching the dorm?" Cliff asked suspiciously. "Has something already happened?"

"She's in danger," Nate said, "from someone other than the Scottish people."

"What do you mean?"

Nate rubbed his forehead. "I don't know. I don't remember. I just know that she's in danger."

"Someone attacked me in the parking lot where I work last Tuesday," Aiyana supplied.

"The same day your aunt was attacked," Cliff said.

"Yeah, but it wasn't related to that. He asked me if I was Nate's mate."

"Aiyana, why didn't you tell me?" Nate asked. "I would have been more careful about being seen with you. I wouldn't have come here."

She walked around Cliff and wrapped her arms around Nate. He put his arms around her and she could nearly sighed with happiness. "I'm glad you're here. I don't want to hide what we are."

"How can you not know she was attacked? Cliff asked behind them. He wasn't growling, but the hair on the back of her neck was tingling and his voice sounded forced.

She released Nate and turned around to face Cliff. "He was unconscious at the time and I guess no one thought to tell him after he woke."

"Unconscious?" Cliff frowned.

"Yes. A hunter shot him in the head, then Nate got sick. You should probably also know that the hunter and Nate's cousin were found in a truck in a lake, both dead. No one knows why and Nate can't remember."

"We are definitely covering that window and one of us is going to stand guard at all times," Cliff said, his eyes on Nate.

"Agreed," Nate said behind her.

*I don't know if the dorm still has tile floors or not. The pictures online were carpeted, just in case you are trying to figure out my challenge.