Infinite Bond Read online

  I couldn’t go there. I wouldn’t, or I’d lose it.

  “Yes, ah, her name’s Tanika.” He lifted the backpack strap higher as he shifted on his feet. I could put him in my pocket; he was so short.

  “Lunch?”

  He hummed under his breath and nodded. His chest fluttered up and down quickly. I wished he would look up at me, flick his hair back so I could have his eyes. His hair was cute, though.

  Blue was now my favorite color.

  My cock thickened.

  Claim, my wolf snarled at me.

  I wanted to. I really wanted to.

  Gripping my knees, I looked down and shook my head. My heart hurt, knowing I couldn’t have him. I didn’t know Micah, but from his manners, his looks, his nerves, his musical voice, I could already tell he was my breath, my heart, my soul.

  There was a hollowness inside me, and I knew it was meant for him to fill.

  It was waiting for my mate to fill it.

  But he never would.

  I’d live with this hollowness if it meant I could protect him from the one thing that could hurt him the most. Me.

  Standing, I tucked my hands in the pockets on my jeans so I didn’t reach for him. “I’ll come.” It wasn’t in me to have him go on his own. Not when he was new here. Not when he could get lost. Until I knew this Tanika person was safe for him, I would stay by his side.

  Protect.

  Micah’s wide blue gaze finally snapped up to me. “Y-You want to come?”

  Nodding once, I walked to the door and opened it. I didn’t know what he was thinking, and I wanted to. But I worried he thought I was weird. I knew I was different from others. But pack had accepted me as I was. Could he?

  Yet my mate, my Micah, nodded and walked toward me. He was trusting me.

  Lightness filled me, and I looked away to smile.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Micah

  * * *

  When Tanika offered to pick me up from my dorm room, I’d declined, telling her I’d meet her in the cafeteria. For a reason I was yet to work out, I didn’t want her coming to the rooms. The thought confused me, like many other thoughts I’d had since arriving.

  The main confusion at the moment was who stood beside me as we walked into the lunch area.

  Hyde.

  My nerves rattled my body when he was near. Why was he willing to help me? Why didn’t he go to class like Zeke and Cade?

  When he had offered to show me the bathroom earlier, I’d been beyond surprised, especially since Zeke had told me Hyde could be an ass. So far, he hadn’t. Yet as I walked down the hallways, like when I’d followed him to the bathroom, everyone quickly bared their neck and greeted quickly, but didn’t approach him. They almost seemed a little wary of him. Did it have something to do with him stepping in as an enforcer for their pack when Cade became top alpha?

  Did I need to be wary of him also?

  Or did it not matter because I wasn’t pack?

  Licking my dry lips, I peeked out the corner of my eye at Hyde. Beside me, he scanned the room with a scowl on his face. A face that had taken my breath away, as had Zeke’s and Cade’s. Though, as we’d moved through the halls, there had been many good-looking people. I wondered if it was in the admission book somewhere. A “you must be hot” to attend. I snorted inwardly. If that was the case, then what on earth were they doing letting me be here?

  “Micah” was yelled across the room, and my face burned. Tanika waved from a table to the right. I ducked my gaze down and quickly weaved through the tables. With quick glances at Tanika, I noticed when she went from happy with a smile and a twinkle in her eyes to shocked as she gaped at the man who followed me.

  Why was he here?

  Did he not trust me?

  Did I already do something wrong, and he was sent to keep an eye on me?

  Did it have something to do with me throwing Sebastian?

  I could have asked him, but the words got stuck in my throat every time I tried to talk to him. Biting my bottom lip, I pulled out the chair opposite Tanika and sat down, dropping the backpack to the floor. The seat beside me was tugged out, turned around, and Hyde straddled it. He rested his arms on the back and hunched while flicking looks all around the room.

  Tanika opened her mouth, closed it, and shot me a quirked brow. In front of her sat a tray of mouth-watering food, and my stomach took that moment to roar to life.

  At my side, Hyde glanced my way. “Food.”

  Nibbling on my thumbnail, I nodded. “I’ll get something soon.”

  Hyde didn’t like that answer. He growled under his breath and stood. Peeking out from under my fringe, I noted he stalked across the ground to the line. Only, when those in the queue saw him coming, they scattered. Did that have to do with his position in society? Also, was I supposed to follow him?

  “Quick, tell me what the fuck is up with that?” Tanika asked, dragging my attention back to her with a hand covering mine on the table.

  “I don’t know. He’s… um, being nice. Helping me find places.”

  She blinked slowly.

  Then again.

  “Micah….” She blew out a breath and scrubbed a hand over her face. “Okay, fuck, look, you don’t know Hyde, but you might have seen the reactions nearly everyone has over him? People outside of his pack more so, but then again, even they seem to be standoffish of him.”

  “Yes.”

  “Even I wanted to pee my pants when I saw him next to you and then when he sat down here. Do you feel that piss-off energy he throws off?”

  Thinking of it, I cocked my head to the side as I bounced my leg up and down. I could feel eyes on me. Wondering who the new person was… and I was getting off track from my original thought.

  “No. I don’t.” I shrugged. “He’s been nice, quiet like me, but nice.”

  Tanika shook her head. “It’s not only that. I can just sense the… I don’t know, darkness inside him. Sometimes I get creepy vibes from him. Don’t you get that from him?”

  Darkness?

  Creepy?

  No, he wasn’t any of those. At least, I hadn’t sensed anything like that, but then again, I hadn’t been around him long. He may be quiet and kept to himself—or with Zeke and Cade—but that was all. He was different, like me. Which could explain why I was comforted with him around.

  “I don’t feel it,” I admitted.

  Tanika’s head jerked back before her brows pinched in thought.

  “Maybe he’s being nice to me because the dean asked him to help me? Maybe Ezekiel did? I don’t know.” It was what I considered after I’d gone back to my bedroom earlier this morning.

  A new question popped into my mind. Why did I call Zeke by his full name to Tanika? When I heard Sebastian use Zeke, I found it suited him better and wanted to use it over his full name, yet I found myself not wanting Tanika to use Zeke like I did. Which was strange.

  She hummed under her breath. “That could be true. He would listen to Sebastian or Ezekiel, even Cade, over anyone.”

  “Food.” Hyde appeared and placed a tray down. When he sat down and pushed the tray my way, I stared from the food up to him.

  Was it all for me?

  My stomach’s nervous flutter turned into something else. No one had gotten me food before. It was mine, right? I didn’t see another tray for him, and this one was piled high with all different sorts of meals.

  “For me?” I queried in a low voice.

  He grunted, and I glanced at him through my hair. His gaze was lasered in on Tanika’s hand over mine. I hadn’t realized she’d still held it. When Hyde’s jaw clenched, I moved my hand out from under hers and pulled the tray closer.

  “Um.” I blew out a heavy breath. “There’s a lot here.” Hyde nodded. “Do you, ah, want to share?” My face heated for a different reason. I wasn’t embarrassed for asking; instead, I was flustered because the thought of sharing food off the same tray seemed intimate.

  Hyde’s gaze jumped up to mine. I sat frozen. Did I do the wrong thing?

  My knee resumed bouncing, and I was sure even Tanika held her breath as she watched us. More heat consumed me on the inside since it wasn’t only Tanika watching. I could hear whispers and feel their gazes locked on us. My stomach churned before it growled again. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday, and add the lack of sleep, since I stayed up studying, I was on the verge of throwing up bile or fainting.

  Hyde nodded before he adjusted the tray between us. He started on the right side while he passed me a fork. I took it with a shaky hand and silently ate beside him.

  Tanika cleared her throat. “So, after lunch, Micah, we’ll head to Sebastian’s office to get your schedule, and I’ll show you around. Did you go over the classes?”

  Swallowing, I nodded and glanced at her bottle of water.

  She smiled. “You can have some.”

  Reaching for it, I nearly had my hand around it when Hyde pushed it further away. “I’ll get one.”

  My stomach rolled in a pleasant way. “Um, okay?”

  He stood and stormed over to the line, and once again, people moved out of his way with a nod or some type of greeting. Glancing back to Tanika, I saw she watched Hyde with a slack jaw.

  “Tanika?”

  Her body jolted before she shook her head. “Nothing. You were going to tell me about classes.”

  Excitement bubbled up inside me. It was another reason I had stayed up. Besides learning how to act around an alpha, there were many college courses to drool over, but I narrowed it down to computer science, programming, and cybersecurity.

  I didn’t know if I wanted to work on all three and have no life or pick one to see how I would go. I had an old, second-hand laptop back at the trailer that I used to use, and it always kept me busy for hours
on end. It helped ease my anxiety whenever I heard noises outside my trailer.

  “I’d like to do something with computers.”

  “That’s a good start.”

  Hyde dropped a bottle of water in front of me. I let out a mew and quickly covered my mouth. “Thank you,” I mumbled before I went back to eating.

  Hyde took his seat again and continued shoving food into his mouth as he glared around the room.

  For a while, all of us sat in silence, which I was fine with, and finished our meals. I could only eat half of the food Hyde had gotten for me and felt guilty for not finishing it. I worried it would go to waste. I didn’t like it when food was thrown away. It had always been hard to buy quality food with the small amount of money I had left over after paying other bills.

  “Do you, um, think I could take the rest back?” I asked softly and absently rubbed at my stomach.

  Tanika’s face softened. “I’m sure that will be fine.” She started to reach for my hand, but Hyde moved his arm between us at the same time to grab some pepper packets. Tanika stopped and frowned at Hyde before she looked back at me. “But you do know even if you don’t eat it all, it won’t go to waste.”

  “It won’t?”

  “No. They have a compost pile for the herbalist students.”

  “That’s good then.”

  “Have you had enough?” Tanika asked, and when I nodded, she stood, taking our tray and hers in hand since it seemed Hyde had also finished. “I’ll meet you by the doors, and we’ll go to Sebastian’s office.”

  A nervous flutter swept through my belly. “Okay,” I uttered.

  When she walked away, I didn’t know what to say to Hyde, but I felt I needed to say something. Was he going to come with us or find his friends or go to class? Running my damp hands over my thighs, I glanced out the corner of my eye and then down to the table. “Um.” I licked my lips and gripped the bottle of water. “Did you want to come with us?”

  “She’s a good friend?” My ears seemed to like his rough, deep voice, and it was nice to hear more than one word from him.

  “Yes, Tanika’s a good friend.” I picked at the bottle’s label. If I didn’t look at him, I might be able to manage a longer sentence without getting flustered. “I’ve known her for two years. She helped me get here after… after my power showed.”

  Hyde stood, walked around me, and grabbed my bag. He picked up the bottle of water and slipped it inside. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Oh, um, okay.”

  My heart tripped over its beat. Had I said something wrong?

  Glancing up through my fringe, I caught Hyde looking down at me with a puzzled look on his face. He reached out and pulled my chair back, and I quickly stood. He thrust my bag into my hands. It wasn’t the first time I noticed how much shorter I was than him. Like Zeke and maybe Cade, the top of my head had only come to their chests. Usually it would have intimidated me, but for the first time, I felt protected.

  That was another strange thought I would add to my list.

  “Stay with friend,” Hyde ordered.

  “I will.” I nodded before I shifted around and started for the door where Tanika waited. Hyde was at my back. Heat radiated off his body, warming me in a way I was yet to figure out.

  At the doors, I glanced over my shoulder to Hyde’s chin and mumbled, “Bye.” I got a grunt in return. Knowing nothing else would be said, I faced Tanika again.

  “Let’s go.” She smiled.

  The further away I got from Hyde, the colder I felt. Was it because I thought I’d found a new friend in Hyde, one who acted like he would protect me? Or was there another reason why? I couldn’t deny his looks appealed to me, as well as Zeke’s, and I’d also admit to Cade. I’d never had that reaction before—found someone so appealing, let alone three someones.

  However, it wasn’t the time to unpack the reason why when I had other things to do.

  The halls were busier than when I took my earlier trip to the bathroom. People lingered, walked, and ran by. I wondered what they were, if they held power or were a vampire, or maybe a shifter. How would I ever tell without being told? Maybe in time I would learn.

  “So,” Tanika drew out, “what do you think of your roommates?”

  Honestly, I was yet to see what she had been worried about, but again, I’d only been around them for a few hours.

  “They seem okay. It’s only been this morning that I met all of them.”

  “Tanika” was cried, causing me to jump. A girl off to the side waved madly with a beaming smile as we walked by. She blew Tanika a kiss, which my friend caught and held it to her heart before winking at her.

  “Did you want to go talk to her?”

  She shook her head. “I’ll catch her later. She’s a bit of a player, so I’m acting cool around her, waiting for her to see what a catch I’d be. Besides—”

  “Micah.” Zeke stepped out of a room just ahead of us. With him was Cade. Zeke smiled as they approached. Cade scowled and looked everywhere but at us. Whispers started around our group.

  We stopped in front of each other, and with a quick glance, I saw Zeke smiling down at me. My heart took notice also.

  “Hi,” I uttered.

  “What’s going on?”

  Rubbing at the back of my neck, I looked to the floor and clenched my jaw. Sucking in a breath, I lifted my gaze to his while my nerves ate at my stomach. “This is, um, Tanika, a friend. We’re, ah, going to see the dean.”

  Zeke’s grin widened for some reason, and I quickly thinned my lips so I didn’t gape and allow my newfound attraction for the man to show.

  Cade groaned as if in pain. “I’m out of here,” he stated coldly, and stormed off. “Fucking dweeb,” I heard muttered from him.

  Dropping my gaze, I bit my bottom lip. Cade’s words had been directed at me, but I didn’t understand why. He didn’t know me. He’d just taken an instant dislike to me. Did it have to do with me not being a shifter or part of his pack? Or even with Hyde and Zeke? Because my other roommates were nice to me? Did he think I was stepping on his toes and would come between them? I wouldn’t let that happen.

  All I wanted was peace. To be able to attend this college and have a new start, all without any trouble. I didn’t want to be the cause of any problems.

  “Hey,” Zeke said softly. I lifted my gaze to his clenched jaw. “Don’t worry about him. Sometimes he can be an ass to people outside of the pack.”

  Tanika snorted beside me. “True. From what I’ve seen and heard, you’re the nice one out of your little group, Ezekiel. Yet Hyde’s following Micah around like a little lost wolf.”

  “Tanika—”

  Zeke’s hand briefly touched mine. “No, it’s fine, Micah. Tanika, wasn’t it?” She hummed under her breath and crossed her arms over her chest. “I asked Hyde to help Micah out today. I didn’t realize you would be escorting him.”

  Why did a ball of disappointment roll through my stomach? Had I really wanted Hyde to spend time with me on his own accord and not because his friend asked?

  Yes, I did. Now that I knew he was doing a favor for a friend, disappointment stabbed at me.

  It was sad how pathetic I really was.

  Just because someone was nice to me, I’d believed it was because they wanted to get to know me.

  Zeke was probably doing as Sebastian asked and then had ordered his friends to be nice, but only Hyde had managed it. If Sebastian hadn’t said anything, would Zeke and Hyde act the same as Cade?

  Tanika shifted, bringing me from my thoughts. “I’ll always be there for Micah.”

  Maybe Tanika as a friend was all I needed. I could spend my time on studies and not fall into the comfort of having other people, which would be distracting.

  “We should go,” I said and gripped the bag to me. I knew both were looking at me, but for once, I didn’t blush. I couldn’t find it in me to care.

  Honestly, I was tired of caring and worrying.

  “Micah—”

  “Bye,” I said quickly and moved around Zeke. With my head low, I went the rest of the way to the dean’s office in silence. Even when Tanika caught up and I heard her open her mouth to say something, I kept my mouth shut. When I shook my head, she stopped, and I appreciated it.