I knew it while still in wolf form but was hoping he would perk up once we shifted back into our skin. But he remained distant, sad, maybe even a little regretful.
We stayed in our fur for another two days before the doctor cleared us to shift and we were ushered straight to Dean Shannahan’s office minutes later.
“It’s going to be okay. You didn’t do anything wrong,” were the first words out of my mouth.
“I could get expelled from the ARC for this,” he reminded me.
“I know. And if that happens then we’ll deal with it. You were just trying to rescue me, nothing more. This wasn’t your fault.”
If I could have gotten the upper hand and killed that guy myself, I would have. I was proud of how Monte had protected me. It made me feel safe knowing he would always have my back no matter the circumstance.
“Zoey, I could be excommunicated from my Pack. This is really serious.”
“I know. But that’s worst-case scenario. I don’t think it will come to that. But if it does, how do you feel about Montana?”
“Your Alpha isn’t likely to take in an excommunicated wolf, Zoey.”
I grinned. “Sure he will. He loves me. He’ll do anything I ask. I’m his favorite cousin.”
“The Alpha is your cousin?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
We were waiting outside Dean Shannahan’s office. Monte’s Alpha had been called in as well. They were going to be questioning us individually and then together. And they were going to make a decision on our future.
Technically it was on Monte’s future here at the ARC, and possibly regarding his Pack status, but after going through this with him, I knew my heart was long gone. I was his even if he hadn’t marked me yet. Whatever they did to him, they did to me too.
I should have been more terrified about this. We were one semester away from graduating, and they were talking about kicking us out. Most couples would be worried about their future, but I knew we would be okay. My income was more than enough to support both of us.
And the fears I’d had before the attack were long gone.
I understood clearly why Monte had gone after the kid on the quad. It had terrified me to see him like that, but that guy had broken a boundary that should never be crossed. I saw it all quite differently in hindsight after what had just happened and vowed to put up tougher barriers between me and the public, even if it was just a bunch of mostly innocent students here. You just never know when one of them will cross that line.
I shuddered and Monte wrapped his arm around me.
“It’s all going to be okay,” he tried to reassure me, even though I knew he was really trying to hold onto that reminder for himself.
“I know. No matter what they decide today, we are going to be just fine.”
“We?”
I smiled at him and nodded. “We.”
He leaned down and kissed me. Any remaining concerns vanished in that moment.
“I’m sorry I screwed up.”
“You did not screw up anything. Do you hear me? And when you go in there, you remember that you were not in the wrong. They attacked me and as my mate you had every right to protect me. Don’t forget that.”
“And on the quad?”
“That was different, but you didn’t hurt anyone. And that guy was no better than the other two.”
As if I’d somehow manifested them, the door to the Dean’s office opened and two of the three boys from the quad incident walked out.
They didn’t even look my way, just hurried past us when they saw my mate.
“Guess they learned a lesson about inappropriate behavior towards females,” I said.
