“Well, that would be boring, wouldn’t it, now?” Connor grinned over at her. “And it’s true, isn’t it? You didn’t have to tell me anything. Scent doesn’t lie.”
Andrea had known too, right away. Maria heaved a sigh. “If I admit that yes, I had sex with Ellison, will you stop talking about it?”
“Nah.” Connor laughed. “It’s fun to see you blush. So what about it? Ellison’s dying for a mate. Sun and moon, eh? We’re loving all the mating ceremonies around here. Nice excuse to get drunk and party.”
“Connor. I have to take my SATs this morning. Can we talk about mating later?”
“Sure. Next question . . .”
Fortunately, the drive to the school that was administering the test didn’t take long. Maria parked in the front parking lot, her stomach knotting even more. Connor got out of the truck with her and gave her a long hug.
“You’ll do great. And I’ll be right here to pour you back into the truck when you’re done and take you home. Or out for a drink. I remember when I finished my SATs. I was all wound up, and I wanted to sleep for a week.”
“Thanks, Connor.” Maria returned the hug. Connor had dark hair and blue eyes like his uncles and grandfather, his body already filling out to their formidable bulks. Girls liked to stare at him, and when Connor finished his Transition years from now, he was going to be in high demand. “You’ve helped me so much.”
“Hey, we have to stick together. I’m not old enough to take my place in the hierarchy yet, so who knows where I fit in? You’re trying to figure out your place too. That makes us automatic friends.”
He pulled Maria close for another hard embrace. Reassurance, comfort—Shifters knew how to give it. Maria hugged him back, grateful for his unconditional acceptance.
Finally Connor released her, patted her shoulder, and held out his hand. “Cell phone.”
Maria turned it over. Cell phones and the like weren’t allowed at the test. She had to go alone with her calculator and the host of number 2 pencils Olaf had given her. Connor pocketed the phone, clasped Maria’s shoulder again, and sent her off toward the building with a little shove.
Maria looked back as she walked down the curved sidewalk. Connor had climbed into the bed of the truck, leaning back with his feet up, to read a newspaper. He’d wait for her. He’d be here, her anchor.
The kids who’d come to take the test this Saturday morning were all about ten years younger than Maria, excepting a few adults who, like her, were hoping to go to college for the first time. America was a fine place, she thought as she walked. Here, a person of eighty years old could decide it was time to get a college education and go. It cost money, but there were ways to find it and people who would help. Maria had explored every avenue and put together a plan to combine scholarship opportunities with working. It would be tough, but she would do it.
An air of anticipation hung over the building Maria entered. She checked in, following the directions to the room where she’d take her test. Kids who knew each other talked excitedly, hiding their nervousness, while others found seats, eyes wide with anticipation.
The current of anxiousness was palpable. Maybe Maria had lived with Shifters too long, because she picked up every nuance of worry, fear, and excitement.
She chose a desk near windows that overlooked the parking lot. Maria could see Connor lounging in the truck fifty yards from her, the sight of him reassuring. Connor had been such a help to her ever since she arrived. She couldn’t imagine surviving this long in Shiftertown without Connor. Or Ellison.
Ellison. No, Maria needed to focus. She’d suck it up, do the test, and then relax on Dylan’s porch with her friends, and let thoughts of a bare Ellison run through her head all she wanted. He’d been beautiful as his wolf, his fur itself quivering with his strength. She’d loved stroking him . . .
“You may start,” the man who was proctoring the test said.
Maria jumped, watery fear running through her, and opened the test booklet. She looked at the first question with numb eyes, and let out her breath again.
She knew that one. She could do this.
Maria answered a few more questions with confidence, then looked up and out the window to reassure herself with Connor’s presence again.
And saw him slumped over in the truck, his body limp. She also saw two men she didn’t recognize climb into the front of the truck and drive it away.
Chapter Eleven
Maria jumped out of her seat. The other test-takers looked up and around in irritation.
“You need to sit down,” the proctor said.
Maria remained standing, watching the truck speed up and out of the parking lot. She turned around, blindly afraid, and made for the door.
“You can’t leave until the break,” the proctor said, rising and following her.
“I have to. This is an emergency.”
The man looked annoyed. “If you leave the room, you’ll need to turn in your test and forfeit your fee.”
Meaning she’d have reschedule the test for who knew when and save up more money for the fee. But someone was busy abducting Connor, and all thoughts of tests, university, and the rest of her life went away.
“Sorry,” she said. She shoved her incomplete test at the proctor and ran out of the room.
Outside she stared at the parking lot from which Connor had disappeared in dismay. He had her cell phone, and she was in a building whose offices were shut up for the day, and the campus was deserted, everyone here today focused on testing. The proctor might have a phone she could borrow, but he’d decidedly locked the door after she’d run out. She needed a phone and needed it now.
An ordinary person might have given up. But Maria had grown up in a tiny town with few luxuries in the middle of a desert, and she’d learned to be resourceful. She started jogging down the street, heart in her throat, wishing Ellison was with her, and knowing she needed to find him.
***
Ellison held down his sister’s wolf, growling at her. He was dominant. She needed to obey.
Deni snarled and fought. She’d woken up out of a bad dream this morning, confused and forgetful again. She’d charged out of her room in wolf form, attacking Ellison as soon as he’d walked in the front door after standing guard over Maria all night.
Deni and Ellison had fought a silent battle on the floor for a long time before Deni had suddenly gone limp, giving up. Ellison had carried her back to bed and turned to get dressed again to go with Maria and Connor to where she’d take her test, only to discover that Deni had been playing possum.