Page 114 of Volik

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you outside the main doors.”

“Okay. See you in a moment.”

I hang up and grab my room key.

Shouldering my bag, I make sure I have everything I need, then I lock the door on my way out.

Whispers reach my ears almost immediately, but I keep my attention down as I move down the hall toward the back doors.

I don’t know if the reporters are still out front, but I’d rather play it safe than have some weird clip of me trying to avoid them on the news.

As a journalist, I get it. Volik, or any vampire, finding their mate, is a huge deal. Not to mention one of the world’s biggest vampires getting bigger… That’s news.

But it’s like the dean’s email said: we’ll make a statement.

We just need to figure out the when and where.

Learning shifters and druids are real would also be global news, but that’s not our information to share.

Stepping outside, I keep my eyes on the path as I think over the logistics of the article we’ll need to put out.

I can’t publish the story myself. But there’s a woman I’ve been following…

“Oh, uh, hey.” A guy, maybe twenty, steps up beside me. “You’re the one that… ya know… right?”

I press my lips together, not sure what I’m supposed to say to that.

“Beat it, kid,” Jenny’s voice snaps out, and the kid and I both swing our heads forward. Jenny sticks her arm out, pointing back toward the admin building. “You want me to go tell him you were standing that close to her?”

I bite down on the urge to smile, knowing full well that Volik isn’t in his office. But based on the speed with which the kid backs away from me, he doesn’t have the same knowledge.

Jenny crosses her arms, staring the boy down as I close the distance between us.

“Uh…” I let my grin take over. “That was awesome.”

“That was nothing.” She snorts and pulls the door open. “But maybe we get our food to go and eat it in my office. I have a feeling…”

As we walk into the large food court, the noise level shifts. “Your office sounds great.”

Jenny goes with me to the sandwich counter.

I tell her it’s on me. And we both order meatball subs. Then I order two ham and Swiss and two grilled cheese with bacon sandwiches.

I can feel Jenny holding back her laugh beside me, but she waits until we’re out of the building before she breaks. “You really did want lunch.”

Laughing, I adjust the sandwich-filled bag on my shoulder. “I’m hungry.”

I really am.

I had three servings of oatmeal for breakfast. And between classes, I ate both of the granola bars that were in my desk, plus an apple. And I still feel like I haven’t eaten in days.

“For real, are you gonna put those all down? Because I’m about to be wildly impressed.”

“Prepare to be… disappointed.” We both laugh as I hurry up the few steps to the front door of the admin building and hold it open for Jenny. “I do plan to crush the sub though. But, uh, I’m staying at Volik’s tonight. And I don’t actually know if he has regular food in his house.”

Jenny gives me an impressed look as she passes. “Sounds like you two are hitting it off.”

I’m glad she’s walking ahead of me now so she can’t see my blush. “Yeah.”