Page 335 of His Hungry Wolf

Bolting out of my bed he said, “Sorry,” and scrambled unable to look me in the eyes. Collecting his towel and bath supplies, he scurried towards the door. Was he acting like this because we had just spent the night cuddling?

“Should we talk about…”

“No!” He said startling me.

Realizing how harsh he had said it, he calmed himself.

“I told Kelly I would meet up with her for breakfast. I gotta go,” he told me before exiting for the showers.

Figuring out what was going on with Cory was a good distraction. But eventually, my mind turned back to what was going on with Nero. Picking up my phone, I still didn’t find a reply. He wasn’t going to text me back. What we had had really was over. I had no idea what had gone wrong between us. My chest ached thinking about it.

Getting out of bed to get breakfast, I went through my day like a zombie. I didn’t understand. It was just a week ago that I was lying in Nero’s arms. Why had this happened?

Mercifully, the day eventually ended and I fell asleep. I was not looking forward to seeing Professor Nandan for my 8 AM class. Trying to hide in back, there was a moment when our eyes connected. Crap! He had seen me.

“Please reference your syllabus for this week’s reading. And, Kendall, can I see you before you go?” The professor said collecting his notes and packing his bag.

I did not want to speak to him. Last week he had warned me about mixing counseling with relationships. It didn’t even take a week for him to be proven right. I thought I had it all under control. But now Nero wasn’t even texting me back. Everything was a mess.

“There’s a video with Nero circulating online. Have you seen it?”

“What?”

“I think it’s from the away trip he just took. Anyway, it’s become a national story.”

“Really? Why?”

“Because Nero is considered to be the best draft prospect at his position. ESPN has been keeping an eye on him for a while. So, when they found the video, it gave them something to talk about.”

“I… I didn’t know.”

“You haven’t spoken to him recently?”

“The last time was on Thursday.”

“Huh. Well, to do a little damage control on Nero’s career, the university’s public relations team has set up an interview with a news outlet. Considering you’re his student counselor, I thought it would be good if you were there.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. Would you be okay with that?”

I considered it. As I did, it became clear why separating emotions and therapy was so important. I hurt thinking about how big of a mistake I had made.

Now the question was, would I admit to my professor that Nero and I had had sex so he could replace me and I could fight for our relationship? Or, would I prove to myself that I could be a professional by pushing my feelings for Nero aside and being there for him like I was supposed to be?

Chapter 10

Nero

Everything was spinning. It was like life had become a merry-go-round. I wasn’t meant to have been born. My mother had drugged whoever the unlucky man was and had raped him. And she had done it because she had lost the son she really wanted. Where did that leave me?

I was a mistake. I should never have existed. How was I supposed to live knowing the world would be better off if I wasn’t here?

Ever since I had learned the truth from my mother, things around me became more and more hazy. It was like I was losing control of the steering wheel of my life.

I hadn’t meant to let Kendall slip away, but I had. I hadn’t wanted to go to a New Orleans strip club, but I went. And I certainly didn’t want a lap dance. But once my teammates pushed her on me, my wolf took over. Now everyone’s pissed and it doesn’t matter how awful my wolf and I felt about it afterwards.

Cage is texting me about it. Coach is telling me that I might not get drafted because of it. And, I’m pretty sure I’ve lost my boyfriend.