Chapter 10: Company

Luci’s POV:

There’s no way Carlos just did that. Not in a room full of people.

What the hell was he thinking?

Why would he knowingly bring Gavin over here?

I felt my jaw drop as I just stared at Carlos who had the widest Cheshire cat grin I’d ever seen.

“Are you f*cking serious right now?” I hissed as Gavin’s scent started to grow stronger in the air around me.

That’s the other problem I just couldn’t wrap my head around in all this.

Why would Gavin even come over?

He and I talked for literally ten seconds. That’s it. Why would he go out of his way to come over here?

That was weird right? Or was it weirder that I cared at all?

Gavin was just a human, nothing more.

“Well, if he is your mate,” Carlos continued. “You two should at least get to know each other right? And besides, I need to vet any potential partners you may have. It’s part of my duties as your bestie.”

Carlos crossed his arms and did his best to give off the appearance of a strong-armed bodyguard, when in fact he looked like a frustrated teddy bear.

“I’m about to host interviews for a new bestie,” I grumbled as I sat up in my seat.

“But why?”

“Cause if this goes bad, I’m going to unalive you,” I sneered.

Carlos clicked his tongue while still looking over my shoulder.

“Oh, you don’t mean that. It’ll be fine,” Carlos chuckled as he leaned back just out of my reach. “Besides, you’ll have to wait to kill me. Too many witnesses around.”

“Not in the desert,” I murmured just loud enough for him to hear.

Carlos’s eyes grew wide, but he recovered just a second after and put on his brightest smile as he looked past me.

“I blew Gavin off earlier to keep him away from whichever wolf was tracking me. He probably doesn’t want to talk to me anyway,” I whispered.

“Then this is your chance to make it up to him,” Carlos answered back.

He stood up before I could continue to protest in privacy.

I knew Gavin was only a few steps away now judging by how strong his scent was. A pressure built in my chest as I tried to keep my panic internal.

I don’t know what mortified me more at this point: that Carlos waved Gavin over like an idiot or that Gavin actually responded to his beckoning.

“What tea did you get?” Carlos asked as he pointed over my shoulder.

I felt Gavin near my right side. There was an urge at the back of my mind that was trying to convince me to look over.

“Thai iced tea with coffee jelly,” Gavin’s silky voice replied.

I bit the inside of my lip to keep myself from stealing a peek. Gavin probably just came by to be polite and he’d leave. I needed to remind myself that there was nothing more to his actions.

There was no proof that a human could have a mate bond with a wolf.

The sooner I realized that, the sooner I could focus on my next class and dealing with my father.

This entire weird situation was all just a coincidence and life would move on after Gavin left the table.

“Is that on the menu? It looks so good,” Carlos said just past me.

I didn’t have to turn in my seat to know Gavin was on my right. His scent would have brought me to my knees if I hadn’t already been sitting down.

But my eyes had a mind of their own and shifted for a brief second to see Gavin holding an orange-colored tea with little black squares in one hand and a container with chicken skewers in the other.

“It’s called Tiger Stripes,” Gavin replied, his voice like cold silk. “Thai iced tea with coffee jelly.”

“Oh, that looks good. I’m Carlos by the way,” Carlos said with a wave.

“I’m Gavin,” he responded with a head nod.

I wanted to look away, but I just couldn’t. Even though I couldn’t see his eyes, I knew Gavin was glancing at me.

Why did he even come over here?

Carlos pointed at the seat next to me.

“You can sit with us. I’m sorry for pulling Luci away earlier, I had a rough class so I was bugging her to rush.”

To my surprise, Gavin set the skewers and tea on the table and pulled the chair out next to me.

I could feel the hairs on my arm stand up straight as my body buzzed with excitement.

“It’s cool. She gives good directions,” Gavin noted as he sat down.

I peeked from the corner of my eye to see a small smile on Gavin’s lips before I looked away.

What sort of game was Gavin playing? Was I the only one who felt awkward as all hell about this situation?

“Oh! That’s cause she’s super smart. She’s working on her third masters right now!” Carlos just had to find a way to work that in, didn’t he? “I’m gonna go grab us teas, Luci,” he continued as he pulled out his wallet. “You want your usual?”

“Please,” I struggled to get the word out as I felt dizzy again with Gavin so close.

I waited for Gavin to say something, but he just continued to sit next to me in silence as he sipped on his tea.

It took a few seconds, but just as before in the classroom, I was starting to adjust to his scent.

My lungs started to relax as I began to take normal breaths again. As the strained sensation went away, I started to feel a little more like my normal self.

He wasn’t my mate. He couldn’t be.

“Did you find the Bursar’s office alright?” I finally asked, bucking up the courage to speak to him directly.

Gavin nodded as he set his tea back down. “I did. Thanks again for helping me. I’d been looking for it since this morning.”

That small smile stayed on his lips as he turned to look at me. Well, at least, I had a hunch he was. It was hard to tell between his bangs and his sunglasses.

Wait, why was he still wearing them inside?

I shifted in my seat and looked down at my bag in front of me. “Glad you found it. I felt bad for not taking you there. It’s easy to miss.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Gavin’s dark bangs swish back and forth against his pale skin. “Don’t be. Sounds like your friend needed you.”

I looked past Gavin to see Carlos at the tea stand doing his best to stare at his phone, but subtlety was not his specialty. Carlos kept peeking over to the table to see what was going on.

“It ended up not being as big a deal as he made it out to be,” I noted as I looked back to see Gavin pick up one of his chicken skewers.

“It’s better to check in with people,” Gavin said as he pushed the container of skewers in between us. “Did you eat already?”

Why was he being so nice to me? Was he like this with everyone?

“I did. Carlos got me lunch. Is it good?”

Gavin took a bite and nodded.

“Very,” he said before taking another bite.

“That food stand is new. I’ll have to get some next time,” I replied as I looked back to see Carlos duck his head toward his phone.

I felt my phone buzz in my bag. I looked at the screen and tried not to groan out loud.

‘If he just offered you food, you take it.’

Carlos’s message reminded me of something my Abuela would say.

“Sure you don’t want any?” Gavin asked as he nudged the container a millimeter closer to me.

I didn’t want to come off as rude, so I reached out and took a skewer. The chicken was grilled and covered in a dark glaze.

Once I bit into the skewer, my mouth filled with a sweet and salty flavor that kept the chicken juicy.

“Oh, wow. That’s good,” I answered with a satisfied smile.

Gavin nodded as he set the empty stick to the side before picking up another skewer.

“They had a couple of different flavor options, but this one is dakkochi. It’s a Korean sauce,” Gavin replied before taking another bite.

We ate in relative silence, but something about Gavin’s presence was comforting. Being around him was beginning to feel less weird and more…normal.

I finished the skewer and placed it with the other empty sticks that began to collect at the edge of the container.

“Luci! That place is awesome! We gotta go back,” Carlos practically screamed as he came over with two large teas.

He set a purple drink with crystal boba down in front of himself and passed me the green tea with pudding mixed in.

“Oh, wow. I didn’t think they’d have pudding,” I said as I stabbed my straw into the plastic film and sipped on the heavenly rich matcha flavor.

“That’s what I told the lady that took my order! It’s so hard to find pudding at the tea places outside of campus,” Carlos beamed as he started to chug his ube tea.

“What do you get if they don’t have pudding?” Gavin asked as he took a sip of his drink.

“Usually honey boba, but the pudding reminds me of flan, so I tend to get it when I find it,” I replied with a shrug.

Why was I answering his question? The entire situation seemed so surreal.

For some reason, it felt like the three of us sitting together was something that had gone on for years, rather than the last fifteen minutes.

Is this what Carlos meant? Is this what it felt like when a wolf met their mate?

I took another sip hoping to quiet my mind down. I was getting ahead of myself.

Carlos had to be wrong about Gavin. There’s no way he was my mate.

“So,” Carlos said as he turned his attention to Gavin. “Are you new to campus?”

“Yeah,” Gavin responded as he set down the last skewer stick. “I finished my undergrad in another state. My friend told me I should apply out here for grad school.”

“Well, we should show you around,” Carlos suggested before he let out an exaggerated gasp as he checked his phone. “Crap, I have to get to my next class.” He jumped up and gathered his belongings in a scramble. “Luci can give you a mini tour though. You don’t have class for a bit yeah?”

I couldn’t believe Carlos was trying to volunteer me to take Gavin around.

“No, I-”

“Great. Show him the campus, Luci. I’ll call you later.” Carlos picked up his tea and nodded at Gavin. “Just follow Luci, she’s got you.”

My mouth dropped as I saw the sneakiest smirk bloom on Carlos’s face.

I wanted to chew him out, but he was gone in a flash. His secret mission to leave me alone with Gavin was a success, and all I could do was stare after my bestie in shock.

Well, this should be interesting.