Infinite Bond Page 5

  My face burned, the blush spreading down my neck when I heard a low chuckle. I gripped the handle and got the door open on my second attempt. I didn’t look back, even when I wanted to. Closing it, I dropped the bags to the floor. My back hit the door, and I slid to the ground, wrapping my arms around my knees and burying my forehead against them.

  Dread filled me, thinking about what tomorrow would bring.

  How was I going to live through everything without combusting into a nervous pile of goo?

  Not for the first time, I wished I had a bigger pair of balls.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Zeke

  * * *

  Micah.

  His name was still locked in my mind when I woke the next morning. I still couldn’t believe how close I’d come to hugging the guy. Instead, I had to settle for touching him. His nerves and the way he looked ready to bolt called to something inside me, and I wanted to help settle him. I didn’t know why, but hell, I would accept this strangeness and put it down to me wanting to help those who’d been through something difficult.

  My mom had always said I was too kind-hearted, and she was right. I could tell Micah had been put through the wringer. Not that I knew what he’d been through, but I wanted to find out.

  Rubbing at my chest since my heart was acting up, I climbed out of bed and made my way into the living room. Only to come to a stop when I noticed Hyde, in wolf form, sniffing at Micah’s door.

  A grin overtook me. “Morning, Hyde. Can you shift? We need to talk.” I walked to Cade’s room and knocked before moving over to the kitchenette to get coffee ready. It’d be a nightmare if I didn’t get caffeine into them before I explained about our new roommate.

  Hands slid to my waist. Hyde. “Mornin’,” he grumbled against my neck. Hyde was always touchier after being in his other form for a while. He preferred his wolf since Hyde had a few issues with his temper.

  No matter what mood he was in, though, Cade and I were the only ones he trusted at college. I rubbed the side of my head against his. “Morning. Did you get any sleep?”

  He grunted. That was my answer since he didn’t talk much. I hated when he had rough nights. When his past would have a presence in his dreams.

  “Who?” Hyde asked as he leaned against the counter beside me wearing jeans. His messy, shaggy black hair was everywhere, and his light green eyes didn’t shine like they did when he was in a good mood. My gaze caught on the piercing in his eyebrow, then swung to those in his ear before they slid down to his neck tattoo of a snarling wolf.

  Reaching out, I cupped the side of his face and ran my thumb over the scar on his bottom lip.

  “New guy. His name’s Micah. I’ll tell you more when Cade comes out.” I held out a cup of coffee to Hyde, and he took it before glaring at Cade’s door. No doubt he wanted Cade to appear so he could get answers.

  As if Cade knew, his door swung open, but it wasn’t Cade who stepped out first. A giggling woman sashayed out as she looked over her shoulder to Cade, who followed. Like Hyde, he also wore only jeans, which showed off his muscular form and his rib tattoo of the Grim Reaper. When the woman faced forward, my upper lip rose. Fucking Lola. Had Cade already gone through all the women in the school, and now he’d had to taste one of the head bitches? She wasn’t a shifter or part of the pack, and she was a vile piece of work we’d never trusted.

  Lola saw us and smiled. “Zeke, Hyde, lovely to see you both.”

  “Out,” Hyde snarled before he shot Cade a dark glower. Yeah, we hated Lola; she’d given Hyde hell when we’d all first started coming here.

  “Cade?” Lola whined, turning to him.

  Cade crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m done. Go.”

  “Cade.” Her hands went to her waist as she stomped her foot.

  “What? Did you think your pussy was going to slay me, and I’d be under your thumb like your powerhouse man who you control?” He pointed toward the door. “Get.”

  There was a chance her cry of outrage would wake Micah.

  When Lola got to the door, Cade called, “Before you go, this will be your last warning, and really, Lola, you brought this on yourself by not listening to all your other warnings. The shifters here at college are under my care. They aren’t to be messed with. You come to me if you have a problem with any of them. If you don’t listen this last time, your soon-to-be husband will receive a video of us fucking.”

  The color drained from her face. “You don’t…. You wouldn’t.”

  “The thing you don’t understand is that pack as a whole is family. I have their backs like they do mine. We put up with the little kiddy shit you dealt back in the day, but now you’re starting to get on my nerves when you keep playing these childish games with my family. Do you really think I wouldn’t have dealt with your petty self eventually? You weren’t important to begin with, you always refused to listen. Now if you continue, know I’ll end you in the worst possible way.”

  Lola fumbled with the lock on the door, but as soon as she had it, she bolted from our rooms, slamming the door after her.

  Sighing, I voiced, “Cade, you didn’t have to sleep with her to get her off the pack’s back.”

  Hyde nodded. “Exactly.”

  Cade snorted and walked to us to take the coffee I held out. “I didn’t even fuck her. She was blind drunk and didn’t know my dick from a dildo.” He cuffed us both in the back of the head. “Thanks for thinking I’d let that skank’s pussy near my dick. I don’t want it falling off when I have many other women to please.”

  “Haven’t you been through all of them yet?” I smirked.

  Cade grinned. “Not yet.”

  Hyde smacked me in the chest and pointed to Micah’s door.

  “Right.” I nodded.

  “What?” Cade asked, looking to the closed door.

  “We have a new roommate.”

  “The fuck?” Cade growled, taking in a deep breath. “Fuck, Lola’s perfume must be up my damn nose. It’s all I can smell.”

  “You can get a shower soon. But last night I happened to come out of my room for a drink when Sebastian showed with him. His name’s Micah. He’s shy as shit, guys, and gets nervous around people.” I smiled and glanced to the ground when the image of Micah popped into my head. The guy was tiny. Short, lean, and admittedly cute.

  “What’s up with that smile?” Cade demanded.

  “Nothing.” I could have kicked myself when I spoke too quickly and had both their gazes narrowing on me.

  When Cade had told Lola we were pack, he was right. Pack was family. We had our families at home, but here we were it for each other.

  Cade’s father was a good head alpha. He didn’t only allow panthers but other shifters—those who didn’t have their own family and wanted somewhere safe where they could feel the connection to an alpha. Since the age of six, Hyde had been taken in by Cade’s claw of panthers and pack.

  My family lived on the fringe of his lands, and ever since we were kids, we’d been thick as thieves. We stuck together and didn’t see the need to have other friends when we had each other.

  “You got a thing for him already?” Cade’s annoying blond brow rose.

  Scoffing, I shook my head. “No. I may be pansexual, but I like some type of connection before I lust after them. My dick’s picky. Unlike yours.” It didn’t bother me who I was with, but I had to like the person first.

  “I don’t want to fucking deal with someone new.” Cade’s jaw clenched.

  “He’ll be fine. I have a feeling he’ll keep to himself a lot.”

  Micah’s door opened, and the man staggered out. He hadn’t even looked up from the floor, but I could remember his blue eyes from last night. He rubbed at them and slowly lifted his bleary gaze. He stopped and looked down quickly, turning his head on the side and back a little, offering up his neck to Cade and Hyde.

  “Did you get any sleep?” I asked Micah as I placed my mug on the counter behind me. Micah shook his head and wrapped his arms around his stomach. “Micah, this is Cade and Hyde. The other roommates.”

  Micah nodded but wouldn’t lift his eyes. “Hi.” He shuffled his feet and bit his bottom lip. My cock jerked. There had been many times I’d been attracted to someone, but no one had called to my dick with a lip bite like Micah did.

  Why?

  Cade’s narrowed gaze moved from Micah to me, while it seemed Hyde was frozen in place as he stared at Micah, almost as if he was a new puzzle he had to figure out, but he wasn’t sure he’d enjoy it.

  I looked back to Micah when he took a slow step forward.

  Cade stilled. A growl rumbled out of his throat that had Micah stepping back.

  “Cade.” I hit him in the chest.

  Cade scowled. “I’m out of here.” He stormed to his room and slammed the door shut.

  While I watched Cade stalk off, I missed Hyde moving. A gasp dropped from Micah was the only clue I had. When I saw Hyde standing behind Micah with his nose buried in the curve of Micah’s shoulder and neck, shock had my mouth dropping open.

  Hyde hated new people, especially if they weren’t pack.

  He steered clear from new people.

  He wouldn’t approach someone unless there was a reason. He lifted his gaze. His pupils were blown wide. He moved around Micah and went off to his own bedroom, closing the door behind himself.

  Well… fuck. I knew Cade would act like a dick since Micah wasn’t a shifter or pack, but I didn’t expect Hyde to scent Micah. Could it possibly mean what I thought it meant?

  Did it really mean Micah was Hyde’s mate? That was the only explanation why Hyde didn’t just ignore Micah and disappear quickly with a snarl.

  I needed to question Hyde, but I couldn’t leave Micah standing there without saying anything.


  Turning from Hyde’s door, I offered Micah a shrug with a smile. “They’re not morning people. Anyway, I thought you’d still be sleeping. We have to go to class soon, but did you need something before we left?”

  He nodded, and a blush spread over his cheeks. “I was, um, just going to the bathroom. I-I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”

  I waved him off. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. Do you know where the bathroom is?”

  Another nod, and he shuffled toward the door. I had an insane impulse to follow him in case anyone thought it was wise to start on him about anything. The sleep pants he wore dragged on the ground. The long-sleeve top he wore looked two sizes too big, and his hands were tucked up inside the sleeves.

  Just when I was about to call out, Hyde’s door opened, and he stepped out, dressed in jeans and a tee. He didn’t like shoes, so it didn’t surprise me he wasn’t wearing them.

  “I’ll take you,” Hyde said roughly and overtook Micah to the front door.

  Once again, I gaped after him.

  Hyde pulled the door open, and I caught people walking about before Hyde moved out and waited for a frozen Micah who looked back to me. My heart swelled in my chest.

  “It’s all right.”

  Micah glanced back to Hyde before dropping his gaze and walking out the door, which Hyde closed after him. Placing my hands on my hips, I let out a laugh. If Micah was Hyde’s mate, I couldn’t be happier for the guy. He deserved to find someone special who was made for him. Yet a part of me was pissed. I was sure I’d felt something for Micah as well.

  I didn’t understand what it was, but I wanted to see if there could have been anything. Now I wouldn’t. I’d never come between destined mates.

  Not that any of it mattered since Micah was too skittish to even know who Hyde was to him. Not that I was completely certain either. I would talk to Hyde about it soon. Tell him to take his time. We didn’t even know if Micah was gay or bisexual like Hyde was.

  Then a thought froze me. Did it mean Hyde and I would never be together again?

  Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose. One second I was annoyed Micah was Hyde’s, and the next, I feared I would never have a chance to be with Hyde again. Already I knew Hyde and I weren’t mates. We’d had sex many times, and no bond had formed. So what did it mean? Could Micah be intended for both of us?

  I couldn’t get my hopes up on that thought. But the thought certainly pleased me, as I was definitely attracted to both men.

  Fuck me, this was confusing.

  Cade walked out his door carrying his bathroom bag and towel. His usual scowl fixed on his face.

  “Hitting the shower.”

  “There’s only ten minutes before your class.” I reminded him, knowing both their schedules since I was the most organized person between the three of us.

  “I’ll make it quick. Where’s Hyde?”

  “He led Micah down to the bathrooms.”

  Cade’s head jerked back in shock. “What?”

  “I think he might like the guy.” I didn’t want to tell him my full suspicions until I knew for a fact, and only Hyde would know it from Micah’s scent. Shifters were lucky that way. People with magic didn’t have that luxury. Sex was the only time a bond made itself known.

  Cade shook his head and ran a hand over his face. “I’ll get dressed and go to class. Have a shower later.”

  Didn’t he want to run into Micah?

  “He’s not a bad guy. You saw him give you respect by showing his neck.”

  “I don’t fucking care if he’s a bad guy or not. I have enough pack business to deal with, and I hate anyone new in my space.” He stalked back toward his room. He was right; he did have a lot to deal with since his father had appointed him in charge of the pack members at college. But when had he started hating people in his space?

  “Cade, just see how it goes with him around here before talking to Sebastian about getting him switched out.”

  “How do you know—”

  I snorted. “Man, I know how your brain ticks.”

  “Yeah? Well….” He shook his head.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” he clipped as the door opened, and Micah stepped in with Hyde at his back.

  Micah took us in before lowering his gaze. He shifted to the side a little and said quietly, “Thank you.”

  Hyde grunted, and we all watched as Micah quickly dashed toward his room, shutting the door after him. Cade left our suite before Hyde could close the door, too focused on Micah.

  I walked over to Hyde and placed a hand on his chest. He took in a shuddering breath as he nodded.

  “Your mate?”

  “Yes,” he snarled.

  “Isn’t that good?”

  “No.” He took my hand in his and pulled me closer. “You won’t leave me?”

  My heart stuttered. “You’ll always have my friendship—”

  He shook his head and glared. “Still want you.”

  How could that be?

  “But you have your mate. I mean, you’ll have to take time with him because he’s nervous and shy, but—”

  Hyde growled in the back of his throat. “I won’t accept him. I won’t complete the bond. I’m not good enough for him. You know me. You’ve already taken me inside you. You’ve accepted me. I won’t put my shit on any more people.”

  My fucking heart tore.

  “Hyde—”

  “No,” he roared. His chest heaved with every breath. He lowered his voice with a look to Micah’s door. “I won’t do it, no matter what you say.”

  “But—”

  “Please,” he uttered, gripping my tee. “I hate asking this of you, but I’ll need you through this.” He hit the side of his head with his palm before I could stop him.

  Wrapping my arms around him, I held him tightly to me while my heart shattered for him. “I’ll never leave you.”

  And I wouldn’t.

  He was family, but he was also a lover, and I had dreaded the thought of losing him. It wasn’t for the first time I wished I could dig up his father and kill him all over again for fucking Hyde up.

  To give up a mate because he was worried he would tarnish Micah was beyond wrong. I could only hope that with time, Micah would come to like Hyde and want to get to know him, to see what Cade and I saw in our packmate. That Hyde was kind, sweet, and caring. But also tough and scary when he needed to be. Which was why he would make the perfect enforcer for the pack.

  I didn’t know what was in store for any of us with having Micah around now. But please, let it be for the best.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Hyde

  * * *

  I didn’t go to class. I couldn’t—not when Micah was still in his room. My skin itched. My wolf wanted out and for us to claim our mate, but I wouldn’t let it happen.

  Instead, I sat like a goddamn stalker in the living room, staring at his door.

  All I could think about was his protection and how I’d kill anyone who messed with him.

  I’d kill them slowly. Watch them bleed with a smile on my face, knowing I’d saved my mate from their words or touches.

  No one would harm him.

  No one would come after him.

  No one—

  His door opened. Fuck my ass. He looked like heaven. His eyes, his hair—both blue—made his porcelain skin tone shine even more. He stilled when he saw me sitting on the couch.

  Christ, was he scared of me?

  Did he not like the way I looked?

  Was he even gay or bi or pan?

  What would I do if he preferred pussy?

  That thought had my heart dropping to my gut.

  No. It didn’t matter because I wouldn’t claim him, but I could protect him.

  I would.

  With my life.

  He slowly drew closer. Fuck. He smelled like caramel. I’d always loved caramel.

  “Um, hi, ah, I have to go meet my friend for lunch.”

  “Did you sleep?” He needed to because he looked tired.

  He grazed his plump bottom lip with his top teeth. I wanted to be his teeth. “A little.”

  I grunted. Good. “Friend?” I asked. I fucking hated talking since my throat was and would always be damaged. The piece-of-shit father of mine had stabbed me right in the jugular. It was lucky shifters healed quickly because he did it again and again. That wasn’t the worst yet. He used to—