Shifted Plans (6 page)

“No, you wouldn’t.”

“Yes. I would. I have shit I want to do, just like you. Plans and dreams that don’t
include a mate. Would I get over it? Probably. But at first, I would be disappointed
my time had been cut short, and I had to move on to the next phase of my life before
I got to do everything I wanted. I would hope whoever this mysterious mate of mine
is, he would understand and give me the time I need. Now, I’m not saying we can’t
have some fun in the meantime. Spend some time finding out about each other in and
out of the sheets, if you know what I mean.”

A chuckle escaped Avery, and it felt good. There was a chance she was being a bit
harsh on her mate. “Oh, my God, I don’t even know his name.” Avery smacked her forehead
with her hand.

“Didn’t you pay attention when the professor went through roll call?”

“No. I was too upset and trying to get through class. I’m not sure I responded to
my own name.”

“You crack me up. Listen. I’m going to call your advisor and see if I can get your
schedule switched. That is…if you still want me to.” Reese looked at her questioningly,
left eyebrow raised, hopeful look on her face.

Avery wouldn’t change her mind. Better to be safe than sorry. “Do it, just in case.
I don’t think I can deal with the drama if he ends up saying no in the end and I’m
stuck in class with him for the semester.”

Disappointment washed briefly over Reese’s face. “No problem. Why don’t you go lie
down? Maybe a little sleep will help you feel better. I’ll hang out and watch some
TV.”

Avery hesitated. She wanted her friend there. She didn’t want to be alone, but she
didn’t want Reese to miss her own classes. “What about your classes?”

“My next one isn’t for a couple of hours. I have plenty of time.”

“Okay.” Avery leaned across the couch and hugged her friend. “Thanks, Reese. I don’t
know what I would do without you.”

“You’ll never have to find out. Best friends forever.”

Reese held out her pinky. Avery hooked it with her own. “Best friends forever.” She
got up and went to her bedroom.

A couple hours later, a noise from downstairs awakened Avery.
Some of the girls must be back from their classes
.

Rolling over in the bed, she reached for her phone on the nightstand, and a piece
of paper crumpled beneath her palm. Picking it up, she smoothed the edges and read
the note.

Avery,

If I know you like I do, you’re going to question everything we talked about a million
times over. I love that about you, but not in this case. One of the first things they
teach us at the sorority is “when in doubt, text it out.” Give it a try. They’ll always
give you the help you need in the form you need it.

555-ROAR

Call me later…

Reese

ROAR. Could they really help in this situation? Her parents had made sure she knew
about the hotline and how to get hold of them if she needed them. Every shifter knew
about them. The mysterious pair who ran it would always help a shifter in need, regardless
of shifter type and regardless of the request. Sometimes, a shifter needed a safe
place to hunt, or they were new to a city and needed a place to meet and mingle with
others. They had even been known to send a taxi to someone stranded. ROAR should be
able to give her something she needed—advice.

Advice she desperately craved from an outside source. Avery didn’t feel she could
talk to her parents about her mate issue. They taught her what she knew. They wouldn’t
be objective to the situation. And while Reese made a lot of sense, she wasn’t mated,
had never experienced the feelings and emotions that went along with finding your
mate and being rejected.

Before she had a chance to think about it, Avery typed in the number for ROAR and
her message.

Need help. My mate has rejected me. What do I do?

Placing her phone on the nightstand, she decided the best thing to do while she waited
for a response would be to take a nice hot shower then grab a bite to eat.

Throwing the covers off, she got out of bed. With one last glance at the phone, she
grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take
too long to hear back.

Declan showed up for class early the next day. Sitting down at the table Avery used
the day before, he waited for her to show up, sure in his belief she would pick the
same place to sit.

Slowly, students filled the room, chatting and finding places to sit. Mark and the
other officers came in. Mark raising an eyebrow in question to the change in seating
but moving on without saying a word. He took a seat at the table close by. Whether
out of habit from working together or so he could have a front row seat to what went
down, Declan didn’t know.

It wasn’t until the professor walked in that he figured out she wouldn’t be coming.
The instinct to get up and find her rode him hard, the lion within restless and eager
to leave. He fought it and stayed through the class. He didn’t hear a damn thing the
professor said and made a mental note to ask Mark what the guy said during the lecture.

After class ended and everyone had cleared the room, save for him and Mark, Declan
approached the professor.

“Excuse me, sir. I had a quick question I hoped you would be able to answer.”

The tall, graying, older gentleman turned and gave him an assessing once over. “Of
course, Officer Weller. Course related?”

“Not exactly. There was a student here yesterday who didn’t show up today. I needed
to talk to her about something, but I haven’t been unable to track her down. I had
hoped to catch her today before class. Could you tell me if she’s still registered
for this course?”

The professor looked skeptical hearing his reason but seemed to let his inner questions
go. Picking up his grade book, he turned to a list of names. “This is the newest enrollment
form for this class. Delivered this morning. What’s her name? Last name first.”

“Hillman, Avery Hillman.”

The professor scanned the page, running a long, thin finger over the white sheet.
“Havers. Henry. Hill. Howard. No, I’m sorry there’s no Hillman. Must have had a scheduling
conflict and changed classes. It happens quite a lot. If you don’t mind me asking,
what did you need to see her about?”

Disappointment knotted his stomach, but he refused to let the other man see it. Shaking
his head he said, “Nothing important. I’m following up on an incident on campus that
may have been misconstrued. I wanted to speak to her and hear her side of the story.
Straighten out any misunderstandings.”

“Hmmm…good luck finding her. You might be able to talk to an advisor and find out
what her schedule is now.”

“Thank you for your time.” Declan shook the older man’s hand before spinning on his
heel and marching out of the room. The radio on his shoulder squawked.

“Weller, Hawk here. You and Stevens finished with class?”

Declan reached up and pressed the button. “Yep, walking out now. What’s up?”

“Chief wants us to check out the Canidae Sanctum. There are reports of rogue wolves
stirring up trouble.”

“Great,” Declan groaned. Another wrench in his search for Avery. One would think he
would be happy about putting off the inevitable, but he found he grew more and more
impatient to see her. “Meet you there in ten.”

“Copy.”

Declan and Mark made their way across campus in silence.

“Looks like you can put off your little talk a bit longer,” Mark said drolly. “You
must be thrilled.”

“Yeah,” Declan grunted with displeasure.

“Doesn’t sound as if you’re the happy camper I thought you would be. Changing your
tune about her already? Did your big dumb brain finally kick in and realize you were
fucking up your future with her?”

He grunted and kept walking. Declan figured a non-answer would be answer enough. Happiness
not even close to what he felt at the moment. He could act as if he’d never scented
her, never saw her, and never felt the undeniable, near overwhelming pull to be with
her.

Out of the class and no any logical reason for them to run into each other, he should
be on cloud nine. Business management and law enforcement classes didn’t go hand in
hand. They were even on different parts of the campus. His plan should be back on
track.

He had checked. Her classes would be near the Canidae Sanctum, the outdoor area designated
for wolves. “Shit,” he mumbled, but based on his chuckle, Mark had heard. Damn wolves
and their business sense.

Declan and Mark entered the Canidae Sanctum about the same time as Hawkins and his
partner Jackson entered on the opposite side. A light breeze blew through the area,
swirling the pungent stench of dog around. A group of wolves lounged in the sun while
a couple more mangy-looking ones stood guard, heads raised, ears perked up, ready
to bound into action if need be.

Three girls walked into the sanctum, followed by two men. The wolves on guard stealthily
moved forward. As two wolves snapped at the men, putting distance between them and
the women, another two attempted to herd the females over to the lounging wolves.
The head of one lazy-ass wolf lifted off the ground, studied the women, then let loose
a low, short, sharp bark.

Hawkins cleared his throat, pulled out his baton, and rapped it on a stone bench nearby.
The heads of all the wolves popped up and zeroed in on him. The guard wolves drifted
from the people they were stalking and made their way toward Hawkins.

Jackson, a beautiful red-tailed hawk shifter, mirrored Hawkins’s actions, taking out
her baton and smacking it against a wall. The lounging wolves slowly got to their
feet.

Declan and Mark closed in on the group from the rear, ready to offer support to the
other team, though he doubted they would need it.

A large blond wolf walked to the front of the pack and shifted. Once in human form,
the guy appeared to be approximately six feet tall, muscular with a swimmer’s body,
and shaggy hair. A trace of familiarity flowed from him, but Declan couldn’t quite
put his finger on where he had seen him before.

“Is something wrong, Officer?” the leader asked, addressing Hawkins as though the
man was beneath him.

Hawkins, a ferruginous hawk shifter, wasn’t a man you tried to intimidate. At six
feet six, he had a muscular and lithe frame. Quick reflexes and a sharp mind. People
often underestimated him and his strength, always to their detriment.

Taking a step toward the blond man, Hawk let his steely look do most of the talking.
“Are you students here?”

The blond shrugged nonchalantly. “At times.”

“Would this be one of those times?” Jackson asked.

“No. But I’ve never seen a rule saying we can’t come to the sanctum to hang out with
our people.”

“True, but harassing the students is a good way to get kicked off campus.”

The blond’s arm swung out in the direction of the mangy wolves. “The boys were only
playing. No harm intended.”

“Well, I suggest you have a talk with your
boys
and get them to stop. If you’re an occasional student, then you should know poor
behavior isn’t tolerated. Next time there is a complaint, you and your pack will be
escorted off the property and banned.”

The blond seemed to mull over Hawkins’s words. He looked over his pack before his
gaze landed on Declan.

Widening his stance, Declan thrust his hands onto his gear belt. Sliding one down,
he unsnapped the button on his Taser.

The blond turned his head toward Hawkins. “I see. We planned to leave anyway. Lots
to do in town. Places to prowl and what not.” Turning away, he held out his hand and
was promptly supplied clothes.

Around them, wolves shifted and got dressed. They sullenly walked off, but not without
a backward glance and a sly smile.

Campus security would have to have to keep an eye out for the pack. Declan didn’t
think their walking away so quietly and easily would be the end of it.

Declan and Mark moved to where Hawkins and Jackson stood.

“Nice way to start the morning,” Jackson said breezily.

“Nothing beats a little confrontation to get the blood pumping. Don’t you think, Dec?”
Mark looked his way, a smirk on his face. Seemed they weren’t done talking about his
failure to get his mate.

“Yeah. Exactly what I had on the top of my to-do list.” Declan was suddenly aware
of the weighted pressure brought on by someone staring. As casually as possible, he
scanned the sanctum, his gaze resting on every face passing by. When he didn’t see
anyone focused solely on him, he looked higher toward the building. On the second
level he found the source. Avery stood, hands pressed against a window, looking down
on them.

Her eyes widened as she nibbled on her lip. Their gazes locked for a brief moment
before she turned away.

“Found ya,” he muttered.

“What did you say?” Jackson asked.

Mark bumped into his side and looked up. “Dude, she’s gone.”

“Yeah. But now I have an idea of where to look. See you guys later.” Declan nudged
Mark out of the way.

“What about the paperwork from this little encounter?” Mark asked, even as he followed
Declan to the door leading into the Becker Business building.

“Hawkins will get it, I’m sure. They were the ones who got the call. Besides, we can
fill in our part later if they need it.”

“Whatever you say, man.”

Declan threw open the door then hooked a right. Fighting his way upstream through
the mass of students switching classes, he took the stairs two at a time to get to
the second floor of the building. As soon as he came out into the hallway, Avery’s
floral scent knocked him over. It crawled over his skin, caressing it, coaxing his
inner beast out of slumber.