Read Guarded (True Alpha 2) for Free Online

Jupiter,” Mia said before her roommate could say anything embarrassing. “My roommate and clothing supplier.”
    “Nice to meet you, Jupiter,” Lucas said. “That’s a great name.”
    Man, he had a killer smile, and Mia could see it working its magic on her roommate. Her face was almost as red as her hair. Lucas extended his hand, and Jupiter stumbled out of the bed to shake it. Then a horrified look overcame her. She dashed to the chair, snatched her underwear off, and stuffed it in a drawer.
    “We’re normally much neater than this, Mr., uh… Lucas.” She yanked red cups off the desk and dropped them in the trash, then looked back to Mia. “I didn’t know we’d have company.” She clutched the blue-feathered purse awkwardly across her chest, hiding her bra-lessness.
    Mia shook her head and picked up a picture of her mom off the shelf. There was a pathetic amount of stuff in her dorm that was actually important to her. She would need her books and her laptop, but beyond that… she tucked her mom’s picture in the box.
    “Mia?” Jupiter asked, frowning at the tiny amount of packing. “What’s going on?”
    “I’m moving out,” Mia said tightly, really not wanting to explain any of it. She checked with Lucas, but he just gave her a small nod. “At least temporarily.”
    Jupiter’s eyes had narrowed to slits. “Why?” She was asking Mia, but her suspicious look trained on Lucas like a laser.
    Mia took a breath and turned to him, but his lips were pressed tight. He would leave it to her to explain. Only Jupiter knew nothing about shifters and packs and venture capitalist competition. Mia could lie and say she was moving in with Lucas, but that would just make things worse.
    “Turns out SparkTech’s paying me really well,” Mia said, which was true, as far as it went. “I just wanted to move out to a bigger place.”
    The stormy look on Jupiter’s face jumped to Category Five Hurricane Level. She glared at the paltry amount of belongings Mia owned. Even the slim black skirt and yellow sweater she was wearing belonged to Jupiter. And her roommate knew it.
    Suddenly Jupiter’s demeanor shifted to Sunny Day With No Chance of Clouds. “You know what? I’m in desperate need of a shower!” She gave a quick nod to Lucas. “Nice to meet you, Mr. SparkTech Man.” Then she turned and flounced in her tutu to the closet to dig through for some new clothes.
    Mia sighed. She would have to explain later. If there was a later. She didn’t know when she would be back to her dorm and her roommate again—from what Lucas said, that might be never. She put her books and laptop in the box, with a bunch of pens and pencils, careful to keep her mom’s picture on top. Jupiter was still rummaging through the closet. Mia would wait until she was done to pick through and find the stuff that actually belonged to her.
    Jupiter re-emerged with a whole rainbow of clothes clutched in her hands. She eyed Mia’s outfit. “Hey, wait a minute, sister! You’re not planning on walking out with my favorite sweater, are you?”
    Mia’s gaze dropped to the classy yellow top, much nicer than anything she owned. “No, of course not. I’ll get it back to you, Jeeter, I promise—” She looked up to find Jupiter giving her a skeptical look.
     “Yeah, sure you will. Come on.” Jupiter held up a t-shirt and some jeans that belonged to Mia. “Come to the shower with me. You can change while Mr. SparkTech packs up your stuff.”
    Mia frowned. She had always returned Jupiter’s clothes before. And in good condition, too. She was careful that way. But by all rights, she should really dry clean the clothes she was wearing now, or at least wash them…
    “Come on!” Jupiter said impatiently. “I’ve got stuff to do, too, you know!”
    Mia checked with Lucas, but he just shrugged. So she strode over to her strange, temperamental little roommate, took the clothes from her outstretched hand, and led the way out of their room.
    As