Page 72 of Untamed

“Bye, Ms. Ebon.”

Finally, I tug the heavy door open and slip out into the hallway. My mind is freer than when I first found myself here. I had my misgivings about Ms. Ebon, but she’s actually one of the good ones.

I take the stone steps up to the Daybreak and Lunar floor two at a time. When I come around the corner, Mia pushes off the wall, staring at me in wonder. “There’s a very naked mate in your room.”

I laugh at her grimaced expression, walking up to her and throwing my arms around her shoulders, squeezing. At nineteen years old, she was my first friend, and she’s a damn good one, too. “Thank you for being so nice to me.”

She sighs. “I guess this means you’re leaving, huh? There were a bunch of rumors about why Lydia Greystone showed up at the academy yesterday.”

I pull away from her, shaking my head. “Shit got scary for a bit.”

“But you’re okay now? Do you need chocolate?”

I grin. “I’m okay now. I’ll be leaving as soon as my Pack Council meets and allows me to.”

She glances toward my door. “And your mate is in your room because?”

I stifle a laugh. “Because he’s full-blown territorial right now.”

“So, that’s the reason he snapped at Nathan, then?”

I gasp. “He didn’t!”

Mia makes her eyes round and nods. “He did. Jumped right into your room in his wolf form and went ballistic. He shifted and apologized, but I’m pretty sure Nathan has PTSD.”

My head falls to the side as I regard her. “You guys were waiting for me?”

“We were worried.”

I wrap my arms around her again. “Is there a way we can keep in touch when I go? Phone? Visits?”

She tightens her grip around me, too. “You better keep in touch. Think how bad it would look for you if you lost your first and only friend.”

I chuckle. “Yeah, this is all for show. Nothing else.”

“Naturally,” she says, pulling way. She stares at the floor. “I’ll let you get back to your mate. You’ll let me know before you leave?”

“Of course.”

She takes off, shoulders rigid. I watch her all the way down the hall until she turns into her room. She doesn’t look back once, and I can’t blame her. She’s one of the longest running students here, and I’m sure it doesn’t matter that she likes me, she probably hates me a little right now, too.

I hate the whole system for what it’s done to her.

With a deep breath, I open the door. Jonah pulls the sheets over his naked torso as he sits on the edge of the bed. When he sees it’s me, he stands, and the fabric falls to the floor. “I just wanted to make sure it was you.”

“Yeah, Mia left, and I heard Nathan left before that?” I raise a brow, waiting for his excuse.

He shrugs. “There was an altercation, but it ended quickly.” His smirking face tells me he’s actually pretty proud of himself for whatever went down.

I shake my head. “You’re something else.”

“No,youare something else, Little Mate.” He closes his arms around me and drags me toward him, pressing me against his hard ridges. I’m liking being up close and personal with Jonah’s nakedness whenever I want. I can’t see ever tiring of it.

I jump, closing my legs around his hips and sliding my arms across his shoulders. Threading my fingers through his hair, I smile. His eyes glaze over as he stares at me with so much love that my heart might actually burst from it. “How much time do you think we have before they let me out?”

“At least until tomorrow.” He rocks into me, the full length of his erection sliding between my legs.

“And if I don’t go to class, they can’t kick me out, right?”