"Should I worry?"
Doc shook his head. "No. I think if Deputy Morrison were going to try and blame the fire on us, he would have shown up and tried to arrest me already and the other thing is interesting, but not actually a problem at this point."
"Leaving me in suspense."
He smiled. "Get to class. We can grab takeout, so Nikolai doesn't starve."
"I think we need to talk with Victoria, too. She may have some contacts that can help us. I think events have progressed enough that we need outside intervention."
Doc's brows furrowed for a minute before he nodded. "See if she wants to come up to the yurt for dinner. She can see our new accommodations. I'll bring you both back down here before it's too late so you can sleep at the dorm."
I pouted.
"Unless Victoria wants to cuddle with a bunch of guys she's not dating, she probably won't want to stay up there," Doc said quietly, eyes glinting in amusement.
I laughed. "Okay, point. Let's plan on that, and I'll tell you if anything changes."
Doc sighed and nodded. He clenched his hands into fists and shook his head. "Pretend I'm giving you a big hug right now, and get to class." There was no way anyone could overhear us, but he spoke even more quietly than he had before.
"See you soon," I replied.
"Looking forward to it."
I left the classroom and made it about halfway to my next class before I ran into one of the people at the top of my never want to see again list.
"Sofia," Alex purred my name. "Looking diminished."
To hear him say my name with such familiarity and comment on how being just me lessened me somehow made me want to show him everything the demon had left me with and leave him a smoking crater in the ground.
I growled, clenching my hands, trying hard to resist destroying him where he stood. As confident as Alex looked right then, I knew I would win.
Ironically, Allan saved Alex.
"Sofia," he came up to me and claimed my mouth with his. It might have been the only thing he could have done to keep me from completely losing control and showing everyone on campus once and for all that magic was very lethally real.
After a quick moment, I could sense that seeing Allan kiss me so openly seriously pissed off Alex so I pressed myself to Allan, using him for a minute in a quick revenge. Of course, I got the impression from our pack bond that Allan was doing the same exact thing.
Alex finally made a gagging sound. "Try not to get a hairball," he growled and stalked away.
"Cats!" I called after him, "Cats get hairballs, idiot."
"Sorry about that," Allan said, cheeks coloring a bit. "I, uh, thought it would piss him off. Not that I didn't want to kiss you..."
I cut off his unneeded apology with another kiss, pressing my lips to his, my body molding to his muscular one, hands digging into his back. Forgetting for a moment that we were on campus and not up on Doc's property.
Someone catcalled and I broke away, laughing.
Allan grinned at me.
"Timely rescue," I said when he took my hand and we headed toward my next class.
"Yeah, I could feel you pulling all your magic. It was pretty intense. Fortunately, the visual show hadn't started yet. I don't think anyone but Alex and me noticed."
"Fucker," I growled again.
"Yeah. He probably was trying to provoke you."
"He has no idea what he's getting into." I clenched Allan's hand.
"No, but we gotta be careful."
I sighed and tried to relax my shoulders. "I know. Thanks for the save."
"Anytime, Sofia. We'll get them. We just have to figure out how to do it."
"I know," I grumbled. "Allan, I..." I hesitated as I met his eyes. The intensity and hint of wilderness I saw in them melted me inside. I needed to tell him how I felt now, in case something happened. We were in a literal fight for our lives. Why was I hesitating? Because I was being dumb, that's why. There was no reason not to tell Allan I loved him. None at all.
"Yeah?" He brushed his fingertips across my temple.
"I love you. You know that, right?" There, that wasn't so hard? Was it?
His eyebrows rose. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting that, but his eyes softened, glistening. "I love you, Sofia."
We kissed gently before breaking apart.
"And, we're going to be late for class." I sighed.
He shrugged. "At least we'll make it. A few weeks ago I never thought I'd get the chance to tell you how I felt in words."
I smiled. I'd been right. They needed to be said. Now I just had to get some alone time with Ed.
∞ ∞ ∞
Ed and Allan met Victoria and I at our dorm later. We waited in the common area for Doc to show up. A few other students used the space to study, so we kept our quiet conversations to safe topics. Exams were starting to wear heavily on my mind, and I studied my tablet, hoping to unlock more immediate access to the knowledge I had to have gained over the last couple of months.
Though none of the information was new to me, it was becoming apparent the demon hadn't truly applied herself toward paying attention in classes. That didn't exactly surprise me, and I couldn't blame her at all, but I wanted to end the semester with decent grades. I knew my parents would understand if they slipped a little, but if I could at all avoid having that conversation, I would.
Finally, the wolves heard Doc's pickup and we headed outside and climbed in. Victoria took the passenger seat and I got in back with Ed and Allan.
"Did you get takeout?" Ed asked Doc.
"Nikolai said he had cooking covered, so I stopped by the store instead."
Ed and Allan were quiet for a minute before Allan whispered,
