Page 2 of Operation: Ogre

If I did, I wondered, would we have looked alike? The Kim siblings did. Carter had the same long face, black hair, brown eyes, and pointed chin as his siblings, though if I was being completely fair, Carter was the prettiest in his family, with delicate features, a svelte frame, and short stature—even Samantha was taller than he was.

When I couldn’t take the silence any longer, I gave the same answer I’d given to Samantha. Carter reacted much the same. My mind wandered as he went on and on about how I should’ve come to their home over the summer and that he and his parents had missed me, which was astonishing as they’d only met me briefly on move-in day last year. I fought a sigh. I could already imagine being in my dorm room and unpacking all my stuff. Hopefully, Chris would be there. We could go to Mummy Mocha together.

Ugh. A blended linen mocha with pea milk sounded so good right about now, though Seth, the proprietor and a student here, would always make jokes even though I never answered, but at least he stocked pea milk for me. It was more environmentally conscious than soy or oat milk. Also, it was nice he stocked plant-based chocolate for his vegan customers.

I blinked when Carter slapped my back, then raced off to greet other people with more bodyslam-hugs. Sam had also disappeared, no doubt to meet more people. I’d been too lost in thought to notice, apparently. I shrugged it off. I would see them soon, no doubt when they were next crashing into me in signs of affection.

Finally, I was able to walk across campus and into my dorm. I shoved open the door, and yet another person smacked into me. This time, I grinned. Dropping my bags, I wrapped my arms around Chris’s lean body and easily lifted him off the ground. He laughed and only squeezed me tighter.

Slapping my back in a move reminiscent of his older brother, but which didn’t quite feel like a “bro-hug,” Chris said, “It’s so good to see you. I missed you so damn much.”

“It’s only been a couple weeks,” I mumbled, wiggling and feeling rather flushed—and I wasn’t sure why.

“Doesn’t matter. I missed you.” Chris grunted dramatically as he squeezed me again, then dropped to the ground gracefully.

He often reminded me of a cat, like his family, but he was the only human among them. When the Halloween Wave came (some sort of magical wave that transformed regular humans into monsters, or in some cases, like the ancient pharaoh Seth, woke monsters up) and changed his parents and older brother, Mrs. Kim had been in labor with Chris. He’d been born a human, though. However, he’d inherited or learned the same agile movements, even if he wasn’t as fast and didn’t possess the same enhanced senses as his shifter family.

My eyes couldn’t help but track down his body. His shiny black hair seemed longer, but it was pulled up into a messy knot on the top of his head, so I couldn’t really tell. Otherwise, he looked much the same, with his golden brown skin, lean muscles, and soft smile. Chris had the best smile. It wasn’t overly bright like his siblings, but it was so authentic and joyous it always made me grin too.

“Brought enough bags?” he teased, looking at the mound of suitcases in our doorway.

I snorted. “Brought enough books?”

“Ugh.” Chris rested his hand on his throat and said in an exaggerated voice, “You dare question my taste? I need my books. Books are life.”

I laughed, but also stared at the towering stacks on his desk and the pile on the corner of his bed. Christopher loved to read. His Grimoyre was in a place of honor on his pillow, though he always had the e-reader on him when he left the room for emotional support, but he loved physical copies of books. Hell, I had some of his books in my room back home because he hadn’t been able to fit them into his suitcase when he’d finally gone back home and had just left them on my desk with a shrug.

He only read romance novels, though. It didn’t matter the genre, but it had to have romance in it or he wouldn’t read it. While Chris had never dated someone he’d bothered to introduce me to, he hooked up a lot. He was known as something of an expert (or campus Casanova as he’d called himself) on dating and sex. People often asked for his help. It was quite comical and interesting to watch Christopher as he helped people; he got very into it. Apparently, he’d also slept around in high school, according to his friends Dan and Penelope, who’d both attended the same high school as Chris and were now here at Creelin U.

Sex was his thing, along with books, and I didn’t care because unlike books, he never brought his conquests back to our room.

Chris threw himself onto his bed, making the pile of books bounce, and demanded, “How was the rest of your summer?”

“Good.” My shoulders hunched as I began to put my clothes away. These closets were so small. I was a big guy, over seven feet tall with a hulking frame. I needed more space to fit my clothes. You’d think Creelin U would better accommodate, and they did to some extent, but I was larger than their average student and not a shifter.

“Did anything fun happen?”

My shoulders practically kissed my ears as I replied, “No.”

“Uh huh.”

Silence reigned for a couple moments, making me shimmy and wiggle as I systematically hung my clothes and organized them so I could find everything with ease.

“Why are you lying to me, big guy?”

If anyone else in this universe had called me that nickname, I probably would’ve growled at them, but I didn’t mind it when Chris said it for some reason. I peeked over my shoulder at him, and he was staring at me with the damn soft smile of his, and I sighed. I literally couldn’t refuse him. “No” never seemed to come out of my lips where he was concerned. It was a problem.

“I met someone.”

“Oooooooh.” Chris sat up straight, drawing his legs to his chest, and his smile grew huge as he rested his pointed chin on his knees. “Do tell. And spare no detail. I want it all, even the spicy bits. NO! Especially the spicy bits. Don’t hold out.”

I rolled my eyes but moved over to my unmade bed and sat down. Tucking my hands between my knees, I stared at the floor and mumbled, “There’s nothing to tell.”

“What?”

“There’s nothing to tell,” I repeated louder this time.

Chris tilted his head, and some of his hair fell free to his muscular shoulder, making me want to tuck it behind one of his rather round ears or put it back up into his bun. He shifted closer to crouch in front of me and placed a hand on my arm. “What happened?”