But I quickly placed my hand over his active mouth.
Ludmilla seemed nice, placed in the category of acquaintances I only ever met when I hung out with Makena’s wild pack of pharmacy and radiology friends about twice a year. The two of us had never conversed much beyond small talk, which my wolf and I considered a waste of brain energy.
Ignoring Tiziano, she popped a hip. “I’m fine, girl! We’re going to the vet med faculty later. Wanna join for more drinks?”
The amount of time I could devote to these people without getting drained was not unlimited.
“Early class tomorrow. Next time!”
“Definitely not next time.”Tiziano’s voice buzzed through our private mind-link, probably the most useful werewolf feature. It was like having phones installed in our heads, just with fewer privacy settings. At least it only worked with members of the same pack.
“Sure, no worries.” She wore a sheepish smile, avoiding my eyes.
“Why is this girl still here?”he grumbled.
“Actually, I need a favor…”
Ah, here we go.Five minutes of banal conversation to get to the heart of the matter.
“Could you lend me your phone, please?”
Strange request, but still, it sparked my curiosity. I slung one leg over the other and lifted my glass of pear cider to my mouth. Yes,pear ciderwas my alcohol of choice.
“Of all the people here, why is she asking you?”
“Behave, Tizzy!”I warned with a suppressed chuckle.
“Ask her to sanitize her hands first!”
“You know I wash my phone every night anyway.”
“I need to text someone to solve a…miscommunication issue. Bit of an emergency.”
Ludmilla seemed off. She brought her beer to her mouth for a long pull.
“I think the alcohol’s finally gotten the better of her werewolf genes. Her skin has started to shrivel.”
Ignoring Tiziano’s meanness, a result of Ludmilla intruding in our conversation and the ice melting in his glass, I placed my phone in her awaiting hand. “Here. Hope everything is okay.”
“Thanks, Yvaine! You’re the best!”
“If the simple act of lending a phone was enough to be rated as the best, then we would have been better off staying acquaintances with this girl and not friends,”Zelda, my wolf, scoffed inside my head.
“Harsh. But true.”I turned my attention back to Ludmilla. “Who are you texting, anyway?”
“Just this boy…”
I raised my brows. “That’s a lot of information.”
Ludmilla pouted. “A boy I’m seeing.”
Tiziano gave her a patronizing pat on the shoulder. “Doesheknow that, sugar?”
Cider slid down my trachea, and I coughed. Tiziano slammed a hand onto my back before I dabbed at the corner of my mouth with the napkin he dangled in front of my face.
“Yeah. He blocked my number over a silly misunderstanding. And I think he has most of my friends’ contacts, so…” She rubbed her chest. “I have to text him from an unknown number, because I?—”
Tiziano let out a loud snore, pretending to wake up all of a sudden.
