Damon
Chapter 4
It happened again. I was sitting in the Student Center organizing flyers for a D.O.G. meet and greet when suddenly my wolf surged to take control. I didn’t understand what was happening to me. He’d never acted like this before and it was starting to freak me out a little. Twice in one week? I hadn’t experienced anything even close since my first shift.
I was supposed to man our table for two hours, and suddenly I wished I hadn’t begged off work for the first two weeks. Anything would be better than this. I hadn’t been pulling my weight around the house, and this was supposed to be a way to make amends and get a few of the guys off my back, but I was not a recruiter. I was the one who enjoyed tormenting the bastards who thought themselves good enough to be one of us.
As a group of freshman guys wandered through talking to some of my competing houses, I put on a smile and tried to push down the feeling of unease that had momentarily overtaken me.
Three of them stopped by my table.
“This is the one I was telling you guys about,” the blonde one said.
He offered me his hand and I shook it despite my wolf growling in my head. Something was clearly not right. The level of aggression surging through me was not normal.
“I don’t know. I heard this was one of the toughest fraternities to get into, man,” the freckle faced kid said. Him I didn’t mind so much.
Still holding the blonde’s hand, I introduced myself. “Damon. What’s your names?”
“Tyler,” the blonde said. By all outward appearances he seemed friendly, but I couldn’t trust that with the way my wolf was responding to him. “My brother pledged Delta Omega Gamma and I plan to also. This is Pete and Brian, my roommates.”
“Nice to meet you guys. Brian’s right, you know? The D.O.G.’s are the toughest of all houses to rush. You sure you guys have it in you?”
Pete swallowed hard looking uncertain. Brian was clearly still not convinced, but Tyler had just the right amount of arrogance and flattery to remain unaffected by my warning. Truth was he screamed D.O.G. material, but that thought unsettled my wolf even further.
I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something about the kid that just wasn’t right. I was going to have to warn the guys about him, because I sensed he wasn’t going to back down.
“Thursday night?” Tyler asked, reading my flyer. I handed one to him trying not to hesitate when I did.
“Come on over and check us out. Meet the brothers and then decide,” I said as diplomatically as I could muster.
“Great, thanks,” Tyler said as the other two mumbled an awkward goodbye.
Wonderful! I thought.
The rest of the morning dragged on. There was plenty of interest from new recruits, even some sophomores and one junior stopped by expressing interest. With the hype over Chase and then Chad, the doghouse was the most popular fraternity on campus. Not that we weren’t to begin with, it just seemed our notoriety had increased significantly over the last year. I had twenty-seven signed up for the Thursday night meet and greet already. It was going to be a nightmare sorting through this year’s recruits.
“Twenty-seven?” Chase asked for the third time when I met up for him over lunch.
“Yes, that’s what I said,” I grumbled.
“This is insane.”
“And I was only there for three hours this morning. Chad and Brett are covering the table this afternoon,” I reminded him.
“You were next to the Panther house, right? Were they getting the same attention? Is it because of Jenna and me?” Chase asked.
“Yeah, they were, but no worries there.” I cleared my throat and used my high pitch girly impersonation. ‘Question number one. Are you a panther?’ If the answer was no, which ninety-nine percent were, then they dismissed them and told them they were panther exclusive.”
Chase laughed and shook his head. “Can’t say I’m not surprised to hear that.”
My wolf tensed as that Tyler kid walked passed, then stopped when he saw me and came over to talk.
“Hey, you’re Chase Westin, aren’t you?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah, I am,” Chase confirmed.
“I stopped by the D.O.G.’s table today.” He nodded at me like we were old friends and my vision started to cloud around the edges as anger coursed through me. “Hey Damon.” The casual way he said my name only heightened the problem. “I’m rushing Delta Omega Gamma this year,” he told Chase, seeming not to notice my response to him at all. The questioning look Chase shot me told me he did, though.
“That’s great. Best of luck to you,” Chase said.
“My brother, Richard, was a D.O.G. He said if I saw you around campus to stop by and say hello.”
“Richard?”
“Klein. I’m Tyler Klein.”
I was shocked and couldn’t put the two together. His brother had been a senior my freshman year. He’d been a bit of an asshole to me but had always had a soft spot for Chase. That helped me relax a little and must be why my wolf was responding so strongly to him.
“No shit. You’re Rock’s little brother?” I asked.
Tyler smiled and nodded. “That’s me.”
“It was nice meeting you, Tyler. Tell Rock hello for me,” Chase said.
I was grateful the kid didn’t try to stick around. “Can’t stand that punk,” I muttered when I was certain he was out of earshot.
“Come on, man, he seemed nice,” Chase defended.
“Do you remember all the shit his brother put me through?”
“Yeah, but you can’t take it out on the kid. He’s going to rush, and you don’t want to be the same kind of asshole Rock was.”
“I don’t know. There’s something off about that guy. My wolf gets aggressive anytime he’s near.”
Chase looked at me with concern. “Seriously? That’s not like you.”
“I know, it’s been freaking me out, but whenever I see him, my wolf surges for control and growls in my head.”
“Is there something you haven’t told me?”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“That kind of aggressive behavior usually comes with a mate. You’ve been taking off and hiding an awful lot. Are you seeing someone?”
I laughed. “No. That’s ridiculous. It’s not over a girl, Chase. It has to be his family scent causing it; it’s just driving me crazy. But if my wolf is that set against him, then he’s out. I can’t support him in the doghouse if he does come out to rush.”
Chase sighed. “That could be a tough one. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Maybe we’ll luck out and he won’t even bother coming out.”
No such luck. When Thursday night rolled around, Tyler was the first one to arrive with Pete and Brian in tow. He introduced the three of them around to my brothers and instantly found comradery there. It was like the kid was coming home, and my wolf still wanted to rip his throat out.