Focus

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

  “Nice.” A few other guys joined him, likely noticing he’d struck up a conversation with our group.

  “So, are you freshmen?”

  “Yeah. What year are you?” Anne asked.

  “Sophomores,” his friend answered.

  “Cool. So are you an Alpha Omega then?” I asked.

  “Yeah. I’m glad you girls decided to come by.”

  “We wouldn’t have missed it.” Anne put a hand in the pocket of her dark, jean skirt.

  “So what are your names?” the first guy started to ask.

  “Allie? What are you doing here?” A brown haired boy wearing a collared shirt interrupted.

  “Brandon? Wow, I forgot you went to Tulane.”

  “You two know each other?” the second guy asked, looking between us.

  “We went to the same high school,” Brandon explained. He looked completely different from the last time I’d seen him. He’d always been a little on the nerdy side—people had been surprised when he decided to go to school in New Orleans. “I didn’t know anyone from your class was coming here.”

  “Yeah, this was last minute.”

  “Cool, cool. We’ll definitely have to catch up.”

  I nodded. It was fun to see a familiar face. “Sure, that sounds good.”

  “Oh Brandon, this is Hailey, Anne, and Tiffany.”

  “Hi there.” He didn’t bother to introduce the guys who had been hitting on us.

  I noticed Brandon checking out Anne. She didn’t seem to mind it.

  “It’s a small world, isn’t it?” One of the mystery guys asked.

  “Definitely.”

  “I’m David, by the way.” He held out his hand, and I accepted the handshake. “Do you need more to drink?” He looked into my nearly empty cup.

  “Yeah, but make sure it’s the same stuff.”

  He laughed. “There’s nothing in the other punch. I promise.”

  Before I could respond, the guy from out front was whispering in his ear.

  David paled. “Uh, sorry. I had no idea who you were.” He backed away.

  “Who I am?” I looked at Hailey for an explanation.

  Hailey shook her head, and I knew this all had something to do with Levi.

  I turned back to tell David not to worry but he was gone, as were his friends. Only Brandon remained.

  “That was weird…” Tiffany trailed off.

  “Weird isn’t the right word,” Hailey said bitterly. “Allie, I think we need to have a chat with my brother and his friends.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.” Levi had no right to interfere with my life like that.

  “Can we come?” Anne asked.

  Hailey and I looked at each other. She shrugged. “Sure, why not.”

  We finished our drinks, tossed the cups, and walked back through the house and out onto the front lawn.

  “Are you sure they’ll be there?” I asked as Hailey led us down the street. It’s not that I really wanted to talk to those guys, but I didn’t need Levi scaring away every male on campus.

  “Yeah. I guarantee they’ll be at Bruno’s.”

  “All right.” I tried to stay calm. Being mad at Levi was nothing new, but it didn’t get easier. It’s hard to deal with a guy who you both love and hate.

  “But isn’t Bruno’s nineteen and up?” Anne asked. “I don’t have a fake.”

  “You don’t need a fake. It’ll be fine.” Hailey picked up her pace. She was clearly anxious to confront the guys.

  “Nineteen and up, isn’t that random?” Tiffany tugged on her skirt. I guessed it was shorter than what she usually wore.

  “It’s to keep freshman away.” Hailey pulled her hair clip out, letting her long, red hair spill down her back.

  “Meaning us...” I trailed off.

  “Technically.” She smiled.

  “Geez Hailey, what would we do without you tonight? First you tell us what drinks are safe at a frat party, and now you’re showing us how to get into a nineteen and up bar.” I nudged her arm.

  “Shut up. You know you love me.”

  “Of course I do.” Hailey and I had gotten even closer over the few weeks before starting school. I adamantly refused to go to anything Society related without her, and I’d turned to her when I didn’t think there was anyone else to trust. She was definitely the silver lining in all the craziness that was my life.

  “IDs,” the bouncer asked as we walked up.

  Hailey looked him straight in the eye. “You don’t really need them.”

  He laughed. “I don’t? Come on.”

  I tensed, waiting for Hailey to use some Pteron power, but she did something even more surprising.

  “I’ll say it again. You don’t really need our IDs, do you?” She leaned in closer to him.

  He smiled. “All right, Hailey, I’ll let you in, but don’t make it a habit of trying to sneak your friends in.”

  “I won’t.” She smiled again, flirtatiously. “My brother’s here, right?”

  “Yeah, they’re in there somewhere.” He unabashedly checked Hailey out.

  “Okay, cool.”

  “See ya.” I turned around and he was definitely staring at Hailey’s ass.

  Anne and Tiffany looked to me for answers about what just happened, but I could only shrug. We followed Hailey in through the crowd.

  ***

  “Hey girls, how was the party?” Owen laughed. We found all three of them sitting at a table with two girls, both blondes.

  “It was great until you ruined it.” Hailey’s voice was cold. I was glad that I wasn’t on the receiving end of her anger.

  “You scared everyone away.” I looked directly at Levi as I spoke. He leaned back in his chair, blatantly ignoring the blonde that was hitting on him.

  “Oh, heaven forbid we stop guys from hitting on Levi’s fiancé.” Jared smirked, turning his attention back to the girl next to him.

  “Fiancé? You’re engaged, Allie?” Anne asked.

  “Not exactly.”

  “You’re wearing my ring.” Levi looked back at me, challenging me to argue.

  “I can’t get it off.” At least that part was true.

  “So you broke off the engagement?” Tiffany looked back and forth at the two of us.

  “We were never engaged.” My fingers went to the ruby ring, more out of a habit than anything else.

  “Then why are you wearing his ring?” Anne shifted her weight between her feet. I’m sure all of that walking in heels was wearing on her.

  “It was a misunderstanding.”

  “A misunderstanding?” Anne arched an eyebrow.

  Hailey thankfully moved the conversation off me. “We weren’t the only ones you messed with. You screwed stuff up for our friends too.” She gestured to Anne and Tiffany.

  “Oh, hello there.” Jared turned back to us again.

  “The rules, Jared,” I reminded him none to gently.

  “Seriously?”

  He’d already turned his attention to Tiffany. If I had any doubts before, I knew for sure that Jared went for the blondes. I figured that’s where the girl currently pawing Levi came from.

  “Are you going to join us or stand there all night?” Levi asked.

  “There aren’t enough seats available.” I nodded toward the blonde closest to him.

  She smiled, inching closer.

  “My lap is always available.” He grinned.

  “That again? I thought we settled that a long time ago?”

  “A lot’s changed since then.”

  “Yeah, the offer is less appealing.” My purse started to slip off my shoulder so I fixed it.

  “You can go now.” Jared didn’t even look at the girls as he spoke. He was still eyeing Tiffany.

  “He doesn’t want me to leave,” the girl next to Levi cooed.

  “Leave.” Levi had moved his attention from my face to my legs. He wasn’t even trying to hide it.

  “Did you not hear the part about this being his fianc�
�?” Owen asked the girl.

  “She said she wasn’t.”

  “She is. It’s just a game we’re playing.” Levi never took his eyes off me.

  “What?” I took a deep breath, having this fight in front of my new friends wasn’t smart. I already had a lot of explaining to do.

  “But what she can’t seem to understand is that I always win games.”

  In the weeks after tricking me into becoming his mate, Levi had tried a number of tactics to get me to forgive him. He tried being ultra-attentive and sweet, but we both realized how horribly that act worked. Next he tried to be aloof like he didn’t care, but he crumbled after about a day. I wasn’t just a girl to him. His position as the king of The Society depended on us being together. No pressure or anything.

  “Fine. This is boring anyway.” The two girls got up and walked away. I realized they were older than I originally thought, probably in their mid-twenties. I guess Jared didn’t discriminate on age. I couldn’t help but feel a little satisfied watching them leave. I might have been angry at Levi, but I didn’t like the thought of him with anyone else—not that he could be. Giving me his family ring and consummating our relationship meant that if he as much as kissed another girl he could lose everything. I had to admit he was taking it pretty seriously.

  “Now you don’t have an excuse. Sit down.” He gestured to the chair next to him.

  We were still two chairs short. I looked behind me and noticed two empty chairs at the table next to us.

  “Are you using these chairs?” I smiled at the guys at the table.

  “Nope, want to join us?”

  “No, she doesn’t.” Levi got up and pulled the two chairs over to his table, sitting down in one. My friends had taken the rest of the open seats.

  “Thanks.” I sat down. “Was that necessary?” I asked Levi.

  “Yes,” he whispered in my ear. “Very necessary. My mate wasn’t going to be sitting at a table with a bunch of blood suckers.”

  “What?” I turned back to look at the guys. “Like literal blood suckers?”

  He laughed. “Yes. I know how much you wanted to see real vampires.”

  I leaned into Levi without thinking. “I had no idea.” I shivered.

  “You can tell by their eyes. They all have a ring of color. It’s nearly invisible unless you know what you’re looking for.” He put an arm around me and leaned in close. “But you’re safe with me. Soon they’ll all know to stay away from you.”

  “That doesn’t help my friends.” Thankfully, Jared was happily entertaining Tiffany. Anne seemed more than happy talking to Owen. I can’t imagine what they would have thought of our conversation.

  Levi shrugged. “It’s you I worry about.”

  “How thoughtful,” I grumbled.

  He laughed. “So the party was a bust, huh?”

  “You can’t do that.”

  “Do what?” He took a sip of his drink.

  “Tell everyone to stay away from me.”

  “Yes I can, and I will.” He tightened his arm around me. “I’m giving you time, but we’re going to be together, Al. Don’t ever doubt it.”

  “Don’t ever doubt I can change my mind in a second.”

  He tensed. “Okay, we’ll back down, but don’t do anything stupid.”

  “I should be telling you that.”

  “You look great tonight.”

  Talk about a topic change. “Flattery isn’t going to get you anywhere.”

  “That’s the shirt you were wearing at the beach, isn’t it?”

  He was right. “You remembered what shirt I was wearing?”

  “It’s the first time I took your shirt off, of course I remember it.” He leaned in so close, his lips brushed against my ear. “I also remember that black dress. I’ll never forget that one.” He so didn’t need to be bringing up the one and only time we’d had sex.

  I yawned. It had been a long day. “Okay, I’m kind of tired. Anyone else want to head back?”

  “I’m ready.” Tiffany gave me a sympathetic smile.

  “Same.” Hailey pushed back her chair.

  “You coming, Anne?”

  “Yeah. Nice meeting you, Owen.”

  Owen waved politely.

  I went to stand up, but Levi put a hand on my arm. “One of these nights you’re going to come home with me, and it’s going to be soon.”

  “Keep telling yourself that. Night, guys.” I waved.

  As we passed the bouncer, he lightly touched Hailey’s arm. “Find them?”

  “Yeah, we found them.”

  Hailey had some explaining to do.

  Chapter Three

  Microeconomics at nine a.m. wasn’t my idea of the best way to start the day, but when you register for classes last you don’t have much choice.

  Tiffany had a nine a.m. on the main quad too, so we walked together after breakfast. We left Hailey and Anne eating their cereal.

  “Do you think it’s going to be really different from high school?” She played with the straps on her backpack as we waited to cross the street.

  I thought on it for a moment before answering. “I honestly don’t know. I took loads of advanced placement classes in high school, but I don’t think it’s going to be the same.”

  She took a deep breath. “I think you’re right. Okay, I need to relax.”

  I laughed. “You’ll be fine. And remember, we’re going to celebrate surviving our first day tonight.”

  “Pizza and chick flicks. It’s a good motivation.”

  When we reached the quad, I started looking at the names on the buildings. I was about to give up on finding mine when I noticed the sign. “All right, Tilton Hall, this is me.”

  “I’m in Gibson. That’s the big one, right?”

  “Yup. Good luck.” I’d been in that building once to meet with admissions, but I’d been more focused on not killing Levi or his father than anything else.

  “You too.”

  I pushed my tote bag up on my shoulder and headed into the building. A burst of air conditioning hit me as soon as I walked in the door. After checking the number outside the door twice, I walked into the mostly empty classroom. I was expecting a huge lecture hall, but it wasn’t all that big. The tables were on risers but didn’t go too far up. I took a spot in the middle row, pulling out a notebook and a pen. I knew a lot of people would be using a laptop for notes, but I liked to do it the old fashioned way.

  “Hi.” A guy with brown hair took a seat next to me.

  I looked around a little surprised he’d sit so close considering the class was empty but didn’t really mind. “Hi. I guess we’re early.”

  “I thought it might take me longer to find the classroom.”

  “Same.”

  The room started to fill, and I people watched for a while. I didn’t recognize anyone else in the class, but that wasn’t surprising because it wasn’t very big.

  “This seat’s taken,” a gruff voice interrupted. I turned around and came face to face with Jared.

  “Really? There are plenty of seats.” The guy wasn’t so shy after all. Jared wasn’t exactly an easy person to stand up to.

  Jared moved a tiny bit closer. “Really, move it.”

  “Quit being an idiot, Jared, and sit down.” I gestured to the seat on my right, the completely empty one. People were starting to stare.

  “Fine.” I didn’t miss the glare he gave the still unnamed guy. I decided it was the perfect time to introduce myself.

  “I’m Allie, by the way.” I reached out a hand.

  He accepted the handshake. “Brian. Nice to meet you.”

  Jared cleared his throat loudly. “So tell me, Princess, why’d you sign up for a nine a.m.?”

  “I didn’t have much of a choice.”

  “If you had let Levi take care of your registration, you could have had anything you wanted.”

  “I bet.” I wasn’t going to let Levi do me any extra favors. Getting me in last minute was plenty. “The real que
stion is what are you doing here?”

  “Just doing my job.”

  “Your job is to annoy the hell out of me?”

  He leaned in closer. “No, but if that’s a side effect, I don’t mind. I’m protecting you. Levi would have signed up for it himself, but he needs certain credits still to graduate, so for two classes you’re stuck with me.”

  “Two? What other class?”

  “Some sort of chemistry thing. I don’t know.”

  “Organic Chemistry? You’re taking organic chemistry with me?” I opened my notebook up to a blank page.

  “Yeah, that’s it. I’m not really into science so you better be ready to tutor me.” He smirked.

  “That’s a joke, right? Please tell me that’s a joke.”

  He was prevented from answering when the professor walked in.

  Professor Talcom looked exactly the way I pictured a college professor would look. With graying hair and thick glasses, I had no doubt he knew a lot about economics.

  He made a quick introduction and then started taking attendance. It didn’t take long before he got to my name. “Allison Davis.”

  “Here.” I raised my hand.

  A guy and a girl in the front row turned around and looked at me.

  Somehow I knew the stares I was getting had to do with Levi. I nudged Jared, but he ignored me, answering with a loud “here” when the name Jared Florence was called a few people later.

  “If you could all take a look at your syllabus, we can get started.”

  I got a pen ready and watched the professor.

  “As you can see, the majority of your grade will be determined by four exams and the final. There will be one short paper as well.”

  I made an asterisk next to the grading section.

  Jared snickered.

  I nudged him and he stopped.

  After discussing the syllabus and his expectations for the semester, the professor let us out thirty minutes early. The same kids turned to look at me before leaving the classroom.

  “See ya.” Brian gave a small wave as he left.

  “Bye.”

  I packed up my stuff, and I walked out with Jared. “They knew who I was, how?”

  “Word’s out Levi chose a mate and your name’s circulating. Most people just don’t know what you look like. They were checking out their future queen.”