“See you at school, nibbles.”
After a moment of silence, I risked peeking and saw I was alone. The cold didn’t even touch my flaming face as I got into the car.
The whole way into town, I wondered what Fenris was planning. It made me nervous that I had no idea. My palms were sweaty when I entered the Quills’ kitchen and startled Mrs. Quill.
“Good morning, Eliana. Are you hungry?” The way she looked at me made me feel guilty for not calling her last night.
“No. I’m fine. I just came home to shower and change before heading to the Academy.”
“I’ll fix you a lunch.”
“It’s not necessary. If I get hungry, whatever you make won’t help. On second thought, maybe you should make two lunches. I’m going to be with Fenris. He likes chocolate as much as I do, so can you add some candy bars too?”
At her joy-filled smile, I hurried from the room. Upstairs, I stripped and sent Fenris a quick message while the shower was warming.
Me: What am I supposed to wear?
Fenris: Anything you want. Be yourself or this won’t work.
That was the least helpful thing to say ever. While I washed, I mentally went through my clothing options.
By the time I returned to the kitchen, my stomach was in knots and there was a large paper bag waiting on the counter. I grabbed it and ran out the door.
Rather than heading straight to class, I went to Megan’s and fixed a fresh bowl of food for Elbner. Since I’d just fed him last night, he didn’t make an appearance, which was just fine for me.
In my car, I dialed Megan. She picked up on the first ring.
“Morning, sunshine,” she said. “It’s a little early for a daily update.”
“Not in my world. I had yet another surprise wake-up visit from Piepen. Apparently, that glowing mark I told you about is a homing beacon, and he used it to find me at Fenris’s cabin. I can’t escape the little hornball. He asked me to be his wet nurse, Megan.”
“Wait, the brownie or Fenris?”
“Not funny. The brownie. He thinks the baby his girlfriend just had is his, and she wants him to sell his wings for cash to feed the baby. His solution to that was me because he still thinks he got me pregnant when he marked me.”
“I’m trying so hard not to laugh.”
“I appreciate the restraint. But that’s not even the highlight of my morning. Fenris asked me to be his girlfriend.”
Megan yelled and whooped so loud I dropped the phone. While I was scrambling to pick it up, I thought I heard, “It’s about damn time.”
“What did you say?”
“What did I say?” she parroted.
“Megan, I’m being serious.” I quickly explained about Fenris acting out of sorts the day before, his confrontation with his dad, Jenna’s comment about scent conditioning Fenris, and finally Fenris’s solution to all of his problems. “I want to help him, but I’m not sure what he’s thinking. He said it was going to be real, but then said our relationship wouldn’t change. We’d be doing all the same things we’ve been doing, spending time together and talking and stuff, and he’s going to continue to respect my boundaries. Then, he grinned and said dating me was going to be fun. I think he’s going to test every boundary I have.”
“I think you’re right. But I also think you’re worrying about nothing.”
“Am I? He bit my collarbone this morning. It was on purpose to see how far he could push my hunger.”
“And how far did he push it?”
“Far enough.”
“If he’s not walking with a hitch and a limp third leg, I doubt that.”
“Megan. Please. I need advice from you, not my mom.”
