“But I sort of like the thought of you following me around campus,”she whispered shyly.
He groaned again.“Don’t tell me that, because I’ll totally fucking do it. I don’t care if I fail my classes, but all of your professors are going to end up hating me.”
That made her laugh.
“Awkward doesn’t begin to describe it.” Anton cleared his throat loud enough to catch everyone’s attention. “Since no one else is willing to ask, what in the hell is going on with you two?”
“Leave us alone,” Remy grumbled.
Lana laughed. “If you want us to leave you alone, what was the bloody point of inviting us to dinner?”
“Because the food here is excellent,” Damien stated as he suddenly teleported into the room with Remy’s sister, Ava, by his side.
Starla already knew who they were from seeing them in some of Remy’s memories. Even if she had never experienced that type of mind merge with someone before, hearing his thoughts and viewing his memories was as easy as breathing for her. Although she was comfortable being in his mind, Remy wasn’t as used to that part of their bond yet.
It would have been easy to identify that Ava was Remy’s sister just by glancing at her, though. They had the same black hair with silver streaks and brilliant green eyes, but where Remy was ultra masculine, Ava was the epitome of grace and beauty.
“Hi, everyone! Sorry, I’m late. I’m Ava, Remy’s sister. I…whoa, what the hell is going on with Rem?” she asked, sounding more amused than curious. She set a large gift bag on the table before taking a seat in the empty chair between Anton and Remy.
“Don’t mind him. He’s been like that since we got here,” Koa said.
Starla smiled warmly as she held out a hand to Remy’s sister. “Ava, I’m so happy to meet you. My name is Starla Vale.”
Before Ava could shake her hand, Remy growled and snatched it away before his sister could touch it. Amused, Starla stroked his hair to try to calm him down.
“Calm down, killer.” Ava rolled her eyes. “Damn, Rem. You’re acting weirder than usual.”
“I think he’s scenting,” Damien said as he took a seat at the table.
“Scenting? I thought that was something only females did,” Anton said with a laugh.
Remy stopped rubbing his cheek against Starla’s shoulder long enough to shoot a glare at his friend before he pressed his face back against the crook of her neck.
“I think you mean nesting,” Jessica said. “Scenting is a different thing.”
“So, those are both real?” Ava asked. “I thought those were just concepts used in stories.”
Claudia snorted out a laugh. “Just look at him. He can’t keep his hands off her, and he growls if anyone gets too close to them.”
“What exactly is scenting?” Starla asked.
Not that she minded. She loved that Remy didn’t mind being affectionate with her in front of his friends, but she was starting to get a little worried about his behavior since it wasn’t exactly normal for him. Over the last few days, he could barely stand being a few feet away from her. While she actually loved the attention, she knew they had to figure out how to control their codependence if they were going to attend classes.
Damien grinned as he poured himself a glass of wine. “Scenting is an extremely possessive trait that occasionally flares up in a shifter mate right after a claiming. Basically, he is trying to rub his scent all over you as a way to warn others away.”
That made Starla frown. She didn’t think she had given Remy any cause to be insecure about their relationship. But if she was doing something to trigger his possessiveness, she wanted to know.
“Do you know what’s causing it?”
Damien shrugged. “I think it just happens sometimes, but it should ease up soon.”
Ava pushed the gift bag forward. “That’s for you, Starla. Consider it a welcome to the family and thank you gift for putting up with my brother.”
Starla tried not to wince as Remy tightened his arms around her. She figured he probably didn’t want her to touch something someone else had given her, but it would be rude not to accept it. Peeking into the bag, she gasped in delight. She pulled out a bronze statue of a fairy resting on the curved branch of a tree with heart-shaped leaves and set it on the table.
“Oh! It’s lovely! You made this?”
Ava nodded. “I mostly sculpt mythical figures and occasionally abstract pieces.”
