It was early—way too early for anyone to be awake. However, since I only had a couple of late classes, I figured I’d whip up breakfast for everyone.
With a stretch, I let out a yawn big enough to swallow the full-size fake skeleton in the corner before I slipped on my green-and-blue checkered slippers—the same colors as my Scottish family’s MacKenzie kilt—and padded into the bathroom for a quick shower.
Later, with a towel wrapped around my head and my planner wedged under my arm, I wandered through the apartment, taking stock of the silence. Zeuswas nowhere to be found, probably scavenging on the neighbor’s roof or ambushing their hundred-year-old cat, his favorite morning workout routine.
The door to the room of my third roommate, Makena, swung open, almost slapping a badgood morningright at my face. Out stepped a guy so enormous I half expected him to duck under the frame. Wearing nothing but checkered boxers that oddly matched mine, it was clear what he had been doing—or rather,who.
His grin was unnaturally large as his half-lidded eyes zeroed in on me. “Oh, hello there,sweet pea!”
Nope, too early in the morning to get a new nickname. The guy looked like he should be tearing down trees with his bare hands, all rugged and fur-covered, like most werewolves. Yet his eyes were a surprisingly gentle shade of maple brown.
“Morning to you, Gentle Eyes.”
“Gentle Eyes?” A deep laugh rumbled from his chest like an old truck engine. I found myself liking him already. He seemed like the kind of guy to smile at everything.
Proving my point, he flashed me a toothy grin.
“You mean you fancy me?”
Okay, maybe I didn’t like himthatmuch.
“No, thanks. Besides, didn’t you just walk out of my friend’s room?” I arched a brow at him.
He gave a massive shrug, bumping into the amber pendant light hanging above him. “Meh. She’s not my mate, and I’m not hers! Could never work. Universal werewolf agreement.”
I strolled toward the kitchen with him trailing behind. One of his giant dinosaur feet smacked into the wooden cabinet where we kept Spiky, our pet cactus, and the tiny shrine for Gertrude B. Elion.
I rose onto my tiptoes to get the flour down from the top cupboard. Gentle Eyes took it from me and set it on the counter while I grabbed the egg carton from the fridge.
“Could you at least come up with a more beastly nickname?” He flopped down into a chair. Glancing down, he fished something from underneath him—Tiziano’s agenda, some of the pages creased—and tossed it onto the table. “Oops. Hope this isn’t yours.”
“No, it belongs to our other roommate.”
“Is she hot?”
“She’s a guy. And he doesn’t usually like butts, or any other body parts, on his agenda.” I tried to smooth out the pages with my palm, but after two hundred pounds had crushed them, I doubted they would ever be the same. Returning to dough rolling, I informed him, “And, no. You’re stuck with Gentle Eyes.”
He snatched an egg and twirled it around his index finger while grinning at me, making me giggle. He was just such a source of happiness that I wished Makena would date him.
My smile morphed into horror as he threw his head back, cracked the egg above his open mouth, and let gravity do the rest.
“You eat raw eggs like that?”
He wiped his mouth with his tattooed forearm. “Eggs are good for us, just like sex… Want some?”
I scowled. He raised his hands in defense—a jagged scar covered his left palm, and his last two fingers were missing the tips. “I meant an egg! Try it the Killy way!”
“You know eggs are basically chicken menstruation, right?”
He actually gagged, a palm covering his mouth. “Why ruin eggs for me? I made you laugh, made your friend come, and shared my secret egg-eating skills!”
“I just shared a fact.”
“Uh-huh. So, where exactly are we?”
“You don’t know? For real?” I popped in one earbud to listen to my podcast—Mindcraft: Hacking the Human Brain. Multitasking was my specialty. I’d had to learn it, with so little time and so much to do.
He wandered back with a jug (where did that even come from?), sat back down, and started chugging water, his throat working overtime as he guzzled it all down in one go.
