Page 31 of Red

Knowing I don’t need to entertain her, I fall back asleep in no time. When I eventually wake up, I climb out of bed and step in the shower, getting any of yesterday’s smells off me. The scent of roses fills the shower as I rub suds up and down my arms. I rinse, shake, and get dressed. I stick to shorts and add a dark-red sweater.

When I enter the main room, Nikki is cooking with another girl, maybe a few years older than me. Dark-brown hair similar to my own is braided into two down her back. She smiles at me when I walk over to the kitchen.

“Hi, I’m Lirea.”

“Aloka.” I smile.

Maybe I could attempt to have girlfriends. The chances of leaving here seems to be dropping.

“We’re just making lunch. Do you want anything?” Nikki asks.

“I’ll just have a salad. Thanks though.”

She goes back to stirring a pot and Lirea taps spices into a pan. Not long after, they choose seats at the end of the large table next to me.

“Sorry you had to come here,” I say.

“Don’t be.” Lirea stirs up her rice bowl.

“Stark asked. It’s no big deal,” says Nikki. She seems less nosey today.

Lirea smirks at Nikki. “You’ll probably be roommates soon.”

“You don’t say.” I hide the surprise on my face with my glass of water. Taking a gulp, it threatens to come back up.

“Well, with Stark and Nikki being mates, it only makes sense.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize. I keep trying to get home, but the Elders win.” I roll my eyes as I stir up the dressing on my salad.

“Seriously, the Elders are so about rules. I hate it,” Nikki says, and now I have to hate her less. “Stark and I aren’t officially mated yet”—she turns her bare forearms in the air—“but it’s coming.”

“That’s minor. You’ve already slept together,” Lirea says.

I try to block all bare-chested images of Stark out of my brain, but now Nikki is wrapping her hands around his neck. I shudder.

“You cold?” Nikki looks over at me, scanning my outfit again.

“I’m good. Are you mated?” I ask Lirea.

“Not yet, but I’ve got the sex thing down after going to school.”

So, I was right. Girls do talk about sex most of the time.

“You ever meet anyone? I know, like, your whole hidden-from-the-world story, but a girl’s got to get.”

I laugh. “It’s been a while, but I went to the cities for a bit before Pratt controlled my life.” After our mom passed, he got a bit out of control, but things eased after the first year. Though I was never allowed back to the cities—since he couldn’t hide the obvious werewolf factor of his build, I’d be going alone.

“Can’t say I expected that,” Nikki says, and I smile.

I blend, and going into bars was easy.

“But Nikki knows what wolf sex is like. I wish I’d find my mate to find out.”

Nikki’s eyes cast to the side. “Yeah, it’s something else.”

“I bet Stark is on fire,” Lirea says.

My chest burns at the image and I drown it with logic. Just because he has the most mesmerizing coat and eyes doesn’t mean I should be upset about Stark and Nikki being together. There is more to mating than looks. The man lacks any understanding of personal space and loves to give out commands. Though that rare laugh of his sends thrills through me each time I cause it.