Karis
Chapter 3
My first day of classes had gone great. I had tried to split up my schedule so that no one day would be that hard, but it hadn’t worked out in my favor. I had five classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and then only one on Tuesday and Thursday, though that was the one I most looked forward to.
I never had the opportunity to travel, but I knew my parents had celebrated their mating with a honeymoon of sorts traveling across Italy. As a little girl, Oma liked to tell me their stories, and as a result I had always wanted to visit Italy. As an International Relations major with a concentration in International Conflict and Security, I was required to study a foreign language and when I found out they had an Italian department, it was a no-brainer.
I had chosen my major for practicality. In truth, Upa wanted me to go away and experience life during these years. It didn’t matter what I studied, my place in the Pack was secured. I knew what I would do with the rest of my life, but I couldn’t see wasting all this time and money without some benefit at least, so I chose a field of study that I thought maybe could benefit the Pack someday.
I would certainly be dealing with daily conflict resolution, and security had become even more important to me since a packmate had been kidnapped along with three other shifters right from our village a few months earlier. It was my responsibility to ensure the safety of my people, and anything I could learn while away from them that would improve that was a good idea in my book.
I had tested out of a lot of the mandatory general education classes and was taking more classes with my major than the average freshman, but I was up for the challenge.
After classes, I’d met up with Sabrina and her new friend Tara for dinner. They both talked a lot, so I was patient and stayed quiet while I ate.
“There were so many cute guys in my classes. Oh my gosh, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven,” Tara said dramatically.
“I know what you mean. Did you see the blonde sitting in the back of the room during English? He was hot,” Sabrina told her.
“No way could you miss him. We have to get his name and number on Wednesday. I wonder if he’s going to pledge a fraternity. Have you guys thought of what sorority you’re going to rush?” Tara asked.
Sabrina shrugged. “Undecided. I don’t know if I’m cut out for Greek Row, but I hear Theta girls are a lot of fun. We’ll have to at least check them out, right Karis?”
“I don’t know. I don’t really see myself as a sorority girl.”
“But you will attend the parties with us, right?” Sabrina asked.
In truth I’d never been to a party before, and I didn’t know what to expect. It made me a little nervous, but this was college, and I knew all too well just how short life could be.
“Of course I will,” I assured her, watching her instantly perk back up.
“Did you meet any cute guys today in your classes?” Sabrina asked. I knew I blushed when her eyes grew larger than normal. “You did! Tell us all about him.”
I considered not talking about it, but I had to tell someone. “Okay, so, I’m sitting in World History and this guy comes over and asks if the seat next to me is taken. I told him it wasn’t, so he smiled at me and then sat down. He was gorgeous. His name’s Tyler, he’s a wolf shifter from New York City, and we really hit it off. He walked me to my next class and we exchanged phone numbers before he left. I really hope he calls or texts me.”
Both girls had dreamy eyed looks and sighed. “He sounds amazing. I can’t believe you got up the nerve to talk to him like that,” Tara said.
“It really wasn’t that hard. He was super easy to talk to,” I admitted.
“I always get tongue tied around cute guys. Like seriously, I think it’s a condition or something,” she confessed.
“I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Sabrina said, then shut her mouth and looked up, just above my head.
“Hey, Karis,” a voice behind me said. I turned in my seat and looked up. My heart raced as I saw Tyler standing there.
“Hi, Tyler,” I said, genuinely happy to see him. “These are my friends, Sabrina and Tara. You on your way out or want to join us?”
He looked around, a little uneasy and nodded his head in my direction as two guys at a table across the room stood up and grabbed their trays.
Tyler looked back at me and grinned. “Got room for three?”
I glanced past him at the guys walking our way and shrugged. “Sure.”
Sabrina shot me a look somewhere between pride and shock. The guys introduced themselves as Brian and Pete, and sure enough, Tara got so tongue-tied she couldn’t even spit out her own name in return. I took pity and helped her out, making the introductions for all of us.
Tyler and his friends joined us and although Tara continued to struggle to talk, Sabrina got past her initial shock and relaxed back to her normal bubbly self. I kind of thought she and Pete hit it off.
When we finished our meal and the conversation began to lag, Tyler asked if they could walk us back to our dorm. Of course I said yes. He hung back behind the others and I joined him.
“What dorm are you guys in?” he asked casually.
“Fenrir.”
“Really?” he asked with a grin. “So are we. We’re on the fourth floor.”
“Third for us, well, Sabrina and me at least. She’s my roommate. I’m not sure about Tara. She’s friends with Sabrina, but I only just met her at dinner tonight.”
“That’s cool. So what sort of things do you like to do, Karis?”
The way he said my name gave me butterflies. I knew he wasn’t my true mate, but I’d never even had a boyfriend before. I wanted to live and experience life before I settled down and Tyler seemed like the perfect starting place.
“To be honest, I’m still learning that myself. I love music. It’s sort of my escape from life. Don’t get me wrong here, I love my Pack, and Alaska is great, it’s just that I don’t feel like I’ve really gotten to experience enough things to really know what I like. This is the first time I’ve ever even left Pack land, so it’s all still new.”
I wasn’t sure why I’d just confessed so much to him. It was like I started talking and couldn’t shut up, the exact opposite of Tara around a cute guy. He probably thought I was some naïve idiot.
“I know what you mean,” he surprised me by confessing. “My Pack’s nowhere near as cool as Alaska, and New York City is great and all, it’s just not great for a wolf, you know? We have to be super careful. Roaming Central Park at night can be tough, and I wouldn’t dare go for a run during the day. Did you know there are acres and acres of land here where you can just be at one with your animal spirit? It’s amazing. I’ve never had that before.”
I laughed. “And that’s about all I’ve ever had. My grandparents are big on connecting with your animal spirit. Some of our Pack spend much of the winter months in their fur just because it’s easier and more comfortable in the cold. It’s nothing to see a wolf walk into a store.”
He laughed. “I can’t even imagine such a place. Maybe I could visit one day.”
“Perhaps,” I told him coyly. After all, we’d only just met.
When we reached the third floor of Fenrir, the girls and guys said an awkward goodnight and Sabrina and Tara disappeared quickly. Brian and Pete kept walking to the next level, but Tyler hung back.
“I should go,” I said. “Maybe I’ll see ya around.”
“I hope so.” He grinned as he turned to head upstairs, stopping once and looking back for a last wave goodbye.
I walked down the hall to my room and flopped backwards on my bed with a sigh.
“Well, he is definitely cute,” Sabrina said.
“Yes he is.” I propped myself up on my elbows so I could see my roommate. “What was up with your friend? She was acting so weird.”
“I know, sorry. She talks a good game, but she’s from a small town in the middle of nowhere. Nebraska, I think. I’m not even sure what species she is, but when boys aren’t around, she seems pretty cool.”
“I hope it was okay that I invited them to join us like that.” I didn’t want to make things weird with Sabrina because I was already crushing on Tyler.
“No, it was cool. And you are definitely going to the parties with us if those are the kind of guys you attract,” she said.
We laid in bed talking and giggling late into the night. My only class didn’t start until eleven, so I slept in. Sabrina was already up and out. I took some time to go back through each syllabus I’d received the day before. A few classes already had assignments, but nothing too difficult so far.
I showered and dressed for the day and decided to go for a walk before class. Oma didn’t like down time, so I wasn’t used to having so much free time with nothing to do. I knew I’d have to find some ways to occupy my lighter days or risk going crazy from boredom.
At the Student Center there was a hallway lined with bulletin boards covered in flyers for every possible club, sport, or activity known to man. I snapped a picture on my phone of a few that looked interesting so I’d have the information for later. I liked the idea of trying out a few different things. Maybe it would help me on my path to self-discovery.
As I wandered through the halls watching people, my stomach started to flutter. It was an odd sensation I’d never experienced before and was soon followed by the most intoxicating smell ever. My heart began to race as my wolf surged forward, tracking the delicious scent.
When I turned a corner, I literally ran into Tyler. I lost my balance and fell backwards, flailing my arms in circles trying to right myself, but it was too late. I landed with a hard thump.
“Karis! I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
I smiled up at him. “A little embarrassed, but no worse for the wear.”
He grinned down at me and offered his hand. “Well I’m happy to hear that.”
I took a deep sniff and realized Tyler was not carrying the smell my wolf was tracking, and when I took his hand to let him help me up, my wolf growled in my head. What the heck was going on? I ignored her warnings, apologized again to Tyler and told him I’d see him later.
Looking at the time, I realized I was late for class and took off running across campus. I was out of breath and sweaty when I sat down just at the start of class. The professor shot me a stern look, and I returned with my most apologetic face, disappointed by a rough start to what I thought would be my favorite class.