“My ass is— Forget it.”
“Get your godsdamned bow and arrows and meet me at the range and we’ll prove who’s superior.” He glanced over his shoulder. “And when you lose, you babysit while Phelan and I go out for a meal.”
He stalked off, leaving me and Phelan open-mouthed. Gods, he had so much energy after having the baby. That was my blood doing that. Shame I couldn’t get some of it back.
“Fine, but I’m not losing.” I hadn’t told him what I expected when I won. Maybe he could be my servant for a week. I read that used to happen in old-timey boarding schools.
I raced after him, wanting to reach the archery range first. It was usually empty at this time of day, and I had something to prove. Grabbing my bow from where I stored it in the gym, I slung it over my shoulder and took a quiver of arrows.
I shot first, wanting to show off my skill. I’d been practicing while the latent had been confined to the infirmary, and I suspected almost dying would have affected his ability. Myarrow hit close to the center of the target, and I puffed out my chest.
Coach appeared, and I noted the fancy watch she was wearing as she studied her top-of-the-line phone. Wow. Sombertooth must be paying the staff top dollar. I had to ask Father if he’d buy me one.
Coach glared at us as her phone rang, and as she stalked off, she mentioned the sports center before getting into her car.
Rawling ignored me and planted his feet on the ground. He lifted the bow, and the arrow buried itself in the dead center. Shit! He hit it again and again, and his arrows were clustered tightly together. How did he do that?
He lowered his bow and glanced at me. “Again or shall we declare me the winner of this little wager?”
“You can thank my blood for that. You didn’t do it on your own. And since I gave it to you, I’ve been really tired and sleeping more, so it’s your fault I didn’t do as well as you.”
TWENTY-TWO
PHELAN
It was early morning, and I was strolling around the Sombertooth grounds pushing Eira in the stroller.
“Phelan.”
I’d never had much to do with the professor outside of the classroom, but Rawling had an extended history. And from everything he told me, especially the latest update where he’d been weird about Rawlins’s sister and refusing to divulge who she was, my opinion changed from neutral to something more sinister.
“Professor.”
He elbowed me and gripped the stroller handlebar, giving it a tiny jerk as if he wanted me to let go. Eira was asleep, but the reclining seat where she lay trembled. Not wanting to wake her, but willing to risk it in favor of getting this guy away from us, I yanked the stroller toward me and forced my mouth into a smile.
“I’m sure you don’t want to disturb the baby, Professor.” I leaned toward him because he was still clasping the handlebar. “She’s become very fussy and will only allow me and my mate near her. If she sees anyone else, she screams the place down.”
I removed his fingers one by one and got between him and the stroller.
His nostrils flared as he peered around me and gave our sleeping daughter side-eye. “So, Atticus is her uncle?”
“Biologically. But I am herfatherand so isRawling.” Atticus didn’t figure into ourfamily.
The professor, my father, Atticus’s uncle, and Rawlins had all been here at Sombertooth at the same time. Maybe he was questioning if Eira resembled my former roommate or his uncle.
“I wonder how likely it is that she’ll be human.”
Shit. That was a loaded statement. He was testing me because he was well aware of my mate’s true identity, and I had to swerve around that topic. If I acknowledged Rawling was human, he could haul me before the shifter council, though after the last few months, that prospect wasn’t as scary as it would have been a year ago.
“My daughter is a shifter. She’s already exhibiting signs.” That was a stretch. Sure, she didn’t need as much sleep as most babies, but that wasn’t proof she had a wolf inside her.
He stared at me and opened his mouth but snapped it closed. He studied the tennis courts over my shoulder before asking, “How are you managing to attend classes with a newborn?”
I told him we were juggling but my folks were arranging interviews with mannies.
He grinned, and my belly roiled. Ewww. His teeth had a yellowish tinge. How had I never noticed that? Was he a smoker? Oh maybe it was all the tea he drank.
“You must need a break.” He leaned over Eira again, and I was glad she was asleep because if I were her, I’d shriek at a strange face being so close.
