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I’d address the fact that they called me a baby later. As it was, the person who’d saved me from busting my ass was gone before I could thank them. In front of me, a gorgeous woman with long, golden hair and a pair of massive white wings chased the spider—Trent—away. “Don’t mind him. He can sniff out a first timer like a bloodhound. Are you checking in?”

I tried to mask my sigh of relief. Swallowing hard, I nodded.

“This way,” she said, leading me over to the small table. “What’s your name?”

“Tate Collins.”

“Oh!” Recognition flashed across bright blue eyes. “I know exactly who you are. You might be the luckiest freshman we’ve got. I’m Lacey by the way.”

“What do you mean?”

Lacey beelined for a folder with a yellow tag sticking off the side of it. “We were so surprised by the turnout this year. Usually all freshmen are in Poe Hall, but it filled up so fast that we had to put a handful of you in Karloff Hall.”

A handful. Okay, I could work with that. At least it meant that I wouldn’t be the only “baby” in a sea full of upperclassmen. Lacey thumbed through a stack of cards and withdrew my student ID, placed it on a Creelin U lanyard—orange and green, naturally—and handed it over along with my welcome paperwork and written directions to Karloff Hall. I followed them, keeping my eye out for any more rogue spiders or grumpy antennae-men crashing into me.

The sky darkened and the temperature dropped, signaling an imminent storm and I found myself grateful that I arrived when I did.

Considering that I’d never seen any of the housing complexes before, I wasn't sure how they compared, but damn, they were nicer than any college dorms I’d ever seen on TV. I climbed the stairs to the second floor, and scanned myself into the room with my ID. The suite-style door opened into a kitchenette with a sink, microwave, and a fridge. A simple yet comfortable two-seater couch was situated in one corner of the living space, and a small study-slash-dining table sat in the other. I stepped into the space, peering down the short hallway. Two doors were open—my bedroom, and the bathroom between them. I assumed that based on the closed door and the silence in the suite, my roommate wasn’t in. Sighing, I trudged into my bedroom and dropped my bag onto the bare mattress, relieved to find that the rest of my things had been brought to the right place. Since I traveled such a long way, my aunt—who was practically one of the only family members who registered my existence—offered to have things sent ahead for me.

I stuck my headphones in, put on an audiobook, and got to work.

One box after another emptied, the contents being piled into the corners of the room in an attempt to have things semi-organized. Entirely enthralled in the horror novel I was listening to, I lost sight of everything else around me. The only people who existed were me and Mr. King. I finally found my bedsheets, but a noise from behind me had me yanking out one for my earbuds. My book paused automatically.

My bedroom was eerily silent. I scanned the haphazard piles of my belongings, and the stack of empty boxes—nothing. But… Did one of those boxes just move?

No, Tate, boxes don’t move on their own.

Except maybe in a school with monsters walking around.

I shook my head to clear it. I was imagining things. I was just too into the book. Against my better judgement, I put my earbud back in and continued making the bed. I fluffed out the top sheet, jumping out of my fucking skin when it lowered.

A black cat sat on my bed, flicking its tail and watching me like I was the one out of place.

“Hello,” I panted. “Who are you?”

Like the cat would answer me.

Its attention flickered to the nightstand and back to me. When I didn’t get the hint he was apparently attempting to transmit telepathically, he jumped and knocked my paperwork to the floor.

When I knelt to pick it up, a section highlighted in pink caught my attention:

Roommate: Carter Kim

Class: Senior

Species: Cat shifter

“Oh,” I snickered. “Are you my roommate?”

A loud meow, and the cat jumped down and sauntered out of the room.

“Okay, bye!”

But it was only about thirty seconds before the cat was replaced by a stunning human with a friendly smile that made his kind, monolid eyes sparkle. Silky black hair tickled delicate, flawless cheekbones. He was gorgeous. “Sorry if I scared you,” he said, his voice as smooth as his skin. He offered a hand. “I was napping in the window when you came in and I couldn’t resist. I’m Carter.”

“Tate.”

I moved to pick up the scattered papers on the floor, but Carter waved me off. “Let me do that. It’s my fault. How are you finding everything?”