Chapter 30

I found the Philosophy building the next day and went inside, hoping I could just wander around a little and figure out which office was Adan’s.

It was easy enough to find him. I strolled the first-floor halls for a few minutes, and glimpsed him seated at a desk in the first room I passed that had an open door.

I knocked lightly. He looked up and smiled.

“Yena,” he said, “Come in, please.”

He jumped up from his desk and met me at the door, opening it wide with a welcoming gesture and a sweet smile. We exchanged pleasantries and then sat on either side of his desk.

“So you wrote this book, did you?” I asked, producing the hardcover from my bag.

I had forgotten that it was all out of shape from where it spent the night.

Adan looked at it and grinned.

“What did you think?” he asked.

“It was super interesting,” I said.

“Did you read the whole thing?” He raised his eyebrows.

I blushed a little. I didn’t want to admit to doing such a thing.

“A few chapters,” I said. I was about to slip the book back into my bag when he reached out and very smoothly snatched it out of my hands.

He took an ink pen out of a holder on the desk and flipped the book open. He pressed on the pages to flatten them out, then scribbled something on the first page.

He held it up and blew on the ink to help it dry.

“So what is it about the human world that fascinates you?” he asked.

“How do you know it fascinates me?” I replied.

“Well,” he said, passing the book back to me. “A lot of young werewolves couldn’t care less about humans. They don’t think that their world has anything to do with ours, and that ours is inherently superior.”

I nodded and asked, “And what do you think about that?”

He leaned back in his chair and looked me in the eye.

“That’s a complicated question,” he said. “To begin with, of course any academic would tell you that all people of the world are connected, and the actions of one affect the others. So to say a study of the human world is irrelevant, is akin to slighting the study of science or mathematics.”

I flicked my eyes away from him long enough to notice that he had autographed my book for me and written a note. I closed the book. I’d read the note later.

“Human governments and military organizations are incredibly powerful,” he continued. “So it’s important for us to understand their civilization and keep up with what is happening there.”

“You mean, your interest in their world is based on viewing them as a potential threat to ours?” I asked.

“Partly, yes,” he said. “But there’s more to it. The humans have a lot to teach us, too.”

“I wish I could study there sometime,” I said. “They have whole universities devoted to fashion design. Even if I could go for just one semester, I’m sure I’d learn so much.”

“You’d do great there,” he said, nodding encouragingly.

“So why did you leave?” I asked. “Why’d you leave the human world when you did? I know you said you were born here, and I’m guessing that means…”

“That I’m a wolf?” he asked with another mischievous smile.

I nodded.

“Yes, I’m a werewolf,” he said. “I doubt they’d let me teach here if I weren’t.”

“So you came back home. Any particular reason why now,” I pressed, “after all this time?”

He squinted at me and I worried for a moment I’d offended him by asking too many questions.

But he answered.

“If you don’t mind me sharing something a little personal,” he said, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the desk. “The truth is that I had my heart broken, and afterward, everything over there just reminded me of her. I needed a fresh start.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that,” I said.

“It’s alright,” he replied. “It’s for the best. In hindsight, she was never right for me.”

He gave me a melancholic smile, and our eyes locked. He really was very handsome, with big, expressive brown eyes lined with long, dark lashes. He had a neat, short beard and was dressed today in a sharp gray suit, with a lavender paisley tie and a plum purple vest under the jacket.

I tore away from his gaze and made an excuse to leave.

As I stood, he complimented my dress.

“Thank you,” I said. “I didn’t make the whole thing, but I did modify it from a gown I was given at the palace. It was too long for me, so I changed the hemline, then added some other embellishments as well.”

“I love the colors,” he told me. “The earth tones are beautiful. I love nature, myself… coming back to all this…”

He gestured out the window, from which we had a view of the forest.

“That has been the best part of coming home,” he finished.

I shook my head.

“You like the stormy weather?” I asked. “The forest is pretty to look at and all, but it’s always gray and gloomy here.”

He grinned and said, “It’s not for everyone, but I do love it.”

As we looked out the window together, a little streak of lightning, white with a purplish glow, dashed across the sky.

Adan chuckled. “Right on cue,” he said.

A beat later the thunder sounded, booming from a distance.

“Do you have an umbrella?” the professor asked. “It’ll be raining any minute now.”

“No, but I’ll be alright,” I said. “My car should be waiting just out in the parking lot.”

“Let me walk you down,” he replied. “I was just about to head out anyway. I’ve got a meeting at the administrative building.”

“Alright,” I said, stepping out into the hall.

He snatched up a long black umbrella from behind the door and fell in step with me.

“You’re very talented,” he said as we crossed the building. “And I know what I’m talking about. You have a bright future ahead of you, Yena.”

In the lobby, we both buttoned our coats all the way up. I pulled my hood over my head, and he stepped outside first, popping the umbrella open.

He held the door for me and ushered me under the umbrella.

The rain came on heavily right as we started down the steps. Adan put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in close to him under the umbrella.

I knew he was just trying to keep me dry. But it did feel a little… intimate.

I kept pace with his long strides and we got to the parking lot quite quickly. My driver was waiting there with another big umbrella. He looked surprised to see me rushing up to the car in Adan’s arms.

I pushed the professor away from me and thanked him hurriedly, darting over to the car and jumping quickly inside. The driver closed the door behind me, muting the sound of the pounding rain.

Adan stood for a moment watching me. He gave a little goodbye wave, then turned and walked off into the rain, his pace calm and leisurely.

On the way home, I had an idea.

I’d been struggling to decide on a theme for my competition collection. I kept thinking about what Adan had said about earth tones and his love of nature.

I already had the sage green gown in progress. That was going to be my showpiece. Suddenly I had a vision for how I should finish it.

And I knew the theme for my collection.

It would be an environmental theme. I’d use only natural fabrics, all in colors that occur in nature. Mostly neutrals, with varying textures inspired by water, sand, and stone. And little unexpected pops of color for moments of drama.

I got back home and went right to my studio.

I spent hours reworking the gown, starting with breaking the whole thing down again to its component parts, then put it back together according to my new vision.

Rafaela tore me away from my work in the afternoon, reprimanding me for trying to skip lunch in order to keep working.

On pause from my project, my brain was free to think about what else had come from my meeting with Adan this morning.

I’d been focused on the idea. The environmental design idea he gave me with his passing comment about my color choices.

But there was the other thing.

The flirting. I did not know what to make of that.

Having never really gotten any attention from boys at all when I was younger, this was a new and bewildering experience. I had always been the fat girl who got teased and excluded. Never the pretty girl who got gifts and attention.

Now, not only did I have one man at home who could hardly keep his hands off me, here I found another handsome guy who was apparently interested in me as well. Even knowing that I was unavailable.

I finished eating and retreated to the studio to bury myself in my work again.

I decided not to worry about Adan.

We could be friends. If he ever did try something more than the little flirtatious looks, I’d deal with it then. For now, I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt.