Damon
Chapter 6
I was lying on my bed with the music cranked up in my headphones trying to drown out the insanity in the main room. I was still pissed they’d actually allowed that punk Tyler to rush our fraternity, and they all damn well knew it too. No one seemed to understand. My wolf had always been docile, but ever since Tyler first came near me, he’s been getting stronger and harder to control.
That wasn’t normal. Something had to be seriously wrong with that kid for him to respond so strongly. All I knew for certain is that it was best if I stayed far, far away. As it was, I’d felt unsettled and restless all evening, probably just from knowing he was in the house. I couldn’t actually live with him, so why would any of my brothers even entertain the idea? I mean, it wasn’t like I hadn’t tried a million times already to explain this to them.
Even though my music was turned up as loud as possible, it wasn’t like my hyper sensitive wolf ears couldn’t still pick things up, like when Chad came to check on me and no doubt try to guilt me to join in with whatever insanity they had planned for the night. I tried to pretend I couldn’t hear him and kept my eyes closed, but he wasn’t buying it.
As he stood over me, the hair on my arms stood up and a low menacing growl rumbled through my chest before I knew what was happening. Chad backed up as I tried desperately to rein in my wolf, but it was too late. I shifted on the spot and stalked him.
Chad screamed and Brett ran into the room, followed by Chase to see what was wrong. They both checked up the moment they saw me. My wolf sniffed each in turn and growled, barring his teeth and gnashing his jaw. I struggled, fighting to regain control until he finally submitted to me. I shifted back, gasping for air.
“Get out and lock the door. I’m not sure how long I can contain him. He’s never acted like this before,” I yelled, afraid of what I might do if they didn’t listen. “Now,” I yelled as they began slowly backing out of the door.
With them gone, I could breathe again, sucking deep breaths into my lungs. I concentrated hard and somehow managed to subdue my wolf. What was happening to me?
An hour later Chase knocked on the door. “Is it safe to enter?”
“I don’t know,” I told him honestly, but he risked it anyway.
As he got closer, my wolf stirred again. “Shit,” I murmured, and that’s when I smelled it. It was a faint scent coming off Chase. I’d smelled it before. My wolf liked that smell, but not on other males. It smelled like that Tyler-kid. “Dammit, you were around the punk, weren’t you?”
“Who?” Chase asked.
“Rock’s kid brother, the one I warned you all about.”
Chase thought for a minute. “Yeah, I was actually.”
“I told you. I begged you guys not to let him rush. Now his scent is in the house and my wolf is going nuts because of it.”
“We had to let him rush. He’s Rock’s brother. You know that, and you would agree if you were just thinking rationally, which you’re not,” Chase said.
“I damn near bit your head off in the literal sense of the phrase tonight, and you’re telling me I’m not thinking rationally? I can’t even control my wolf right now. Don’t you see that? And all because of this kid and the fact you’d rather not upset his asshole of a brother who’s not even here anymore. This is not normal behavior, Chase. How else would you explain it?” I was ready to hear any other possible excuse, because I felt like I was losing my freaking mind.
“Calm down, Damon. I don’t want you to go into a rage again.”
“All I saw was red, Chase. It was like I knew intellectually that it was you, Brett and Chad in here, but I didn’t care. I was only acting on instinct and that wolf instinct said kill you all, and I don’t even know the hell why!”
“We’ll figure it out. Why don’t you come and stay with Jenna and me for the rest of the weekend? It might be safer there. Plus, we have all that forest to run in. Maybe you just need some time in your fur.”
I snorted. “You’re probably more insane than me to let me near your mate in this condition.”
Chase smiled sympathetically. “I’ll shower and change clothes here before we leave. If you’re right and Tyler’s scent is causing this, then the crisis is over and Jenna’s never even met him, so she should be safe. Okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it’s worth a try. Thanks, man.”
Chase was true to his word. Freshly showered and changed, he approached me slowly. Nothing. My wolf didn’t even give him a passing thought. I smiled in relief and nodded. “Good. I told you. I’m not going crazy here.”
I packed a duffle bag quickly, shoving whatever I thought I may want into it, grabbed my backpack and left. The brothers were all whispering in the living room and fell silent as I walked in. Brett approached me, and I felt my skin prickle. Shaking my head frantically, I walked on through and out of the house as quickly as possible.
“I don’t know what to think, but I showered and changed and he was fine. No aggression at all. Brett’s still carrying the kid’s scent and he’s starting to freak out again. Maybe there’s some truth to what he’s saying here,” Chase told them.
“Maybe we shouldn’t have jumped so quickly in allowing him to rush,” Chad said. “I like Tyler just fine. He seems like a good guy, but my loyalty goes to my brother and roommate first.”
I tuned out the rest and walked to Chase’s Jeep, opening the passenger door and slamming it shut behind me. I plugged in my headphones and tried to block out the rest of the world.
Staying at Chase’s wasn’t so bad. He had a cabin a few miles off campus. We all laugh at the term—cabin. It was a large five-bedroom house sitting on a crazy amount of land that he’d bought for Jenna when they were still mating, just to have a place they could be alone.
Panthers are a tight, elite group of shifters. A bunch of stuck up bitches if you asked me, except Jenna. She was always cool. Her sisters weren’t exactly thrilled with the idea of her dating a wolf. I mean cats and dogs don’t exactly play well together, but for whatever reason, it works for them. Who am I to judge?
Seeing how happy Chase was made me long for a mate of my own—someday.
The weekend passed much too quickly, and Monday morning rose much too early. I didn’t mind early mornings, but I was dreading returning to campus. Chad and Brett had brought my car over the night before, so at least I didn’t have to run to school.
My first class passed, and I was still in a fog headed, sleepy blur, but my body woke up quickly as I entered my next classroom. The tingling started at the base of my spine and moved up this time. I looked around but didn’t see the kid. I sniffed the air around me, and there it was. His smell that assaulted my wolf was all over the front row. I moved to the back as far from it as I could possibly get and practiced some deep breathing technique Jenna had showed me over the weekend.
I wasn’t sure if it helped or not, but I managed to get through the class without shifting or even snapping anyone’s head off. Two classes later it happened again, only this time my wolf was relaxed and happy. I sniffed the air and the scent was there, but it was different this time. Much more pleasant too. It dissipated quickly, and I laughed to myself wondering if Chase was right. I was losing my freaking mind!