His explanation successfully changed the tone of our meeting, and my excitement returned as I leaned forwards.
“We are proud to have a very active and safe campus life for our students here, so I included a list of the residence halls, fraternities, clubs, organizations, and other programs that are hosting open houses throughout the weekend. I thought maybe you guys would like to check them out.”
Smiling, I exchanged a glance with Zelin, whose onyx eyes lit up, twinkling, as my excitement flowed into her. I took all the folders Walter offered, placing them into my messenger bag that rested on the floor, to go through the info later. Though, I made sure to pull out the map first, and the class schedule from my packet.
“Also,” the Supreme Alpha spoke, calling my attention back to him. “I have personally spoken to all your professors about you. They know your knights will be posing as students, but are here solely for you.”
Dread spread through me at his words. I was supposed to have a “normal” life here. Sigh.
“Don’t worry,” he added, sensing my tension. “Your professors were only told you are royalty, and you’ll have a security guard with you at all times. I didn’t give them any other details, for obvious reasons, and asked them to be discreet. As far as everyone will know you and your cousins are here to study. The professors will follow the pretense, guaranteeing grades for your knights, so they can focus on you. No such luck for you, I’m afraid,” he joked. “But I assume that with an IQ of 146, you’ll actually enjoy the dreaded test and classes.”
I grinned. “I’m looking forward to them. Thank you so much for everything.”
“My pleasure. I’ll speak with the Beta in charge of the counseling department in the headquarters, and let him know about your interest in joining the program. Is there a number I can call you once I have news, or should I just contact Audrick?”
“Sure.”
“Contact Audrick,” Zelin spoke at the same time, giving the Supreme Alpha her signature scowl. I sent a warning glare her way, and she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Here is my number,” I added, reaching for a post it on his desk and a pen. “I have a cell Franz got for me.” Scribbling the number, I handed it to him.
“Thank you, my prince. I’ll be sure to keep this number private. You need not worry.”
“Gustav,” I reminded and shrugged. “It’s fine.”
He stood, and I followed as he walked Zelin and I to the door.
“One more thing,” Walter added, and both Zelin and I turned to face him. “I am throwing a party in your honor at my estate tomorrow night. It’ll give you a chance to meet the other Alphas and Beta’s here, as well as their families. Also a good opportunity for you to begin familiarizing yourself with our local pack.”
“Good,” Zelin answered for me. “Please contact Audrick with the address to your estate. I’ll need to send two of my knights to inspect the premises before the party, and make sure all security measures are properly taken. As you can understand.”
“Of course, Eisen Ritter,” he offered a full bow to her. “Anything you need.”
“Are there any other like us in the institution?” Zelin asked, being vague as we stood close to the door.
“Ten professors, one of which you’ll have as your instructor,” Walter answered, his gaze shifting to me. “And a few students. More to enroll in the years to come hopefully.” His smile spoke of the happiness he felt at the notion.
“That’s wonderful news. Than you.” With another handshake, I followed Zelin out the door, joining the guys outside.
“That is exactly why I need my sword,” Zelin complained. “People think twice before speaking in the presence of an Iron Knight, when the silver sword is at their hip. It reminds them not to step out of line.”
I took her hand in mine, chuckling as we began to walk.
“And that is exactly why I didn’t let you bring it. We are not here to intimidate people, threaten them, or alienate them. Besides, I’m sure he’ll think ten times before speaking when you are around. He was scared as all hell by your presence. It will be a miracle if he ever speaks to me again.”
She huffed, though her lips twitched in amusement. Her hand remained in mine as we walked along the hall, but the moment we turned the corner towards the stairs, she stopped, tugging me towards her.
Our eyes met a moment before her arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me into a silent embrace meant to appease me after the trigger I had experienced in Walter’s office.
I gave in to her warm gesture. My arms wound around her back while I rested my cheek on her head. Zelin was an oxymoron. Touch as iron, as her title suggested, and able to cause immeasurable pain to anyone who dared cross her or me. But she was also a nurturer deep, deep, very deep inside.
Her affection was only reserved for me, and those she deemed needed her protection—like children and women—especially if they were omegas. Yet, her caring nature was still there, and it was one of the most beautiful sides of her.
“Love is so beautiful…” Dale sniffed, mockingly wiping fake tears from his eyes, and the guys chuckled.
Kissing the tip of Zelin’s nose I pulled away, chuckling.
“Shut up,” Zelin growled at him.
“Aaand, she’s back,” Egon taunted, casually swinging a throwing dagger around his index finger and my eyes widened.
“Where the hell did you get that?” I all but screeched.
“He has a three-knife holster in his boot.” Rod shrugged as though it should have been common knowledge.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Put it away, and don’t let anyone see you with those.”
Grinning, Egon nodded, and lifted the hem of his right jean leg, slipping the small dagger into his boot. I sighed, turning away from Zelin a second before she jumped onto my back again, and the guys flanked us as we took off to our first class of the day.
A chorus of stomach growls rose in the air as the guys, Zelin and I stepped out of Swift Hall after our second class that morning. Pulling my cell from my back pocket, I checked the time to discover it was almost 2:00pm, which explained why we were all starving. Logging into the university app I had previously downloaded, I nodded to the guys in the direction of the closest dining hall.
The place was close to the Technological building, which made me wonder if we might encounter the guys we had met earlier that morning. The thought sent the memory of the girls we’d met in the parking lot back to the front of my mind, and for a moment, I wished I had asked Sarah what she and her girlfriends were studying…
For the guys’ sake, of course. Rod and Olis seemed to like Sarah’s friends, and though I wasn’t sure whether or not knights actually dated, it didn’t hurt for them to make new friends.
Yeah, I was going with that.
I wasn’t sure why I was making excuses, to myself, in my mind, but I wasn’t up to the task to figuring it out while my wolf growled in hunger inside me.
We reached the dining hall before I even realized it, and rushed up the stairs to find a large common room like the ones you’d see on TV or movies, with several round tables along the space, and a buffet style food spread with servers all the way at the end. The atmosphere was light and animated as students filled the area. Some sat in groups, with friends or classmates while talking, laughing or studying while they ate.
I grinned like an idiot. After being tutored by Aunt Adie back at the castle, I had never really gotten to experience school dining rooms or anything like that. A low growl broke me out of the daze, and I turned to find Zelin glaring at about half the students present. We had undoubtedly called the attention of most of the people there, as the fourteen of us entered the room.
It wasn’t until then that I noticed the noise had died down, and people were staring at us.
“Uh, awkward…” Ivo, the quiet of the bunch chose that time to speak, while I stupidly froze in the center of the door. All eyes on me.
“Emory, go get us t
wo tables,” Zelin began barking orders at the guys with a huff. “Preferably, the two at the far right corner, so I can have a vantage point of the rest of the room.”
She swaggered inside the dining hall as though she owned the place, drawing the eyes of several of the men there. Her knee-high ridding boots struck the floor with confidence, hips rocking in the tight blue jeans she wore, with a white tee, navy leather jacket, and large checkered scarf around her neck.
Her shiny black strands almost bounced against her back as she moved, completely oblivious of the drooling college guys around her. Emory walked in after her, securing the tables she had just pointed him to in the corner.
“All smiles, Dale” followed them; waving at everyone he passed as though he were in a beauty pageant. “Hi, I’m Dale… What’s up? Hey, dude… How are you? I’m Dale. Nice to meet you.”
Olis flexed his muscles at the girls looking his way, joining Emory and Dale now seated at the first table, while the rest of the knights walked behind him, and I was still standing at the entrance like an idiot. Egon nudged me forwards, while the small throwing dagger once again swung around his index finger in lazy circles.
Goddess gracious, give me patience.
“Stop it!” I snapped into their minds and they all froze. Dale’s hand stopped mid-air as he still waved at people. I began to walk with Rod and Egon still by my side. “What part of do not call attention to yourselves don’t you understand?”
“Hey, it’s not my fault if I’m popular,” Dale answered, grinning at the cleaning lady who was staring at him from across the room, just as I reached the table.
“We just got here. How can you be popular?” Emory argued, to which Dale proceeded to give him one of his eloquent explanations about the power of a smile.
I tuned out of the conversation, leaving my messenger bag behind, and joined Zelin at the food line. She walked along the counter, checking out the options.
“Anything good, Z?”
“Everything,” she answered, almost salivating.
I chuckled just as five of the guys joined us and began choosing meals for everyone else. Luckily, the guys weren’t picky. They ate anything that was placed before them.
I was thoroughly enjoying my bacon cheeseburger when my name was shouted from the door. I turned to see Kevin and Zack, the guys from the parking lot, walking towards us.
“Hey, dude,” Kevin greeted reaching the table. “Glad to see you all again.”
“Me too,” I answered, pointing to the table. “Want to join us?” Ivo and Dale instantly stood with their trays, moving to our other table so our new friends could sit down with me.
“Oh, we didn’t mean to disturb you guys,” Zack apologized, but Rod waved him off, motioning for them to sit beside me while he bit into a burrito.
“No bother,” Emory added.
“Cool.” Kevin sat in front of Zelin and me, next to Emory. “Can you get me a burger too?” he called after Zack, who was already walking towards the food counter.
“How did you find us?” I asked, taking another bite.
Kevin threw a dubious glance my way. “Bro, you guys are hard to miss.”
Right.
“We saw your group walking here as we stepped out of our building. You were too far for us to yell, so we decided to just join since we were starving too.”
“Cool.” I took a sip of my soda, seeing his eyes gravitate towards Zelin, like they had this morning.
Kevin cleared his throat, offering his hand to her. “I guess I should properly introduce myself. I’m Kevin Jones.”
Zelin’s right brow rose as she stared at him deadpanned, and she took a bite of her fry. I internally cringed, seeing Kevin with his hand still extended. When her gaze dropped to his hand and she popped another fry into her mouth, completely ignoring him, the knights cringed too.
“Zelinda…” I warned, using her full name to make sure she knew I meant business.
She rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed by his interest and sighed. “Sorry, greasy fingers,” she excused herself, waving her fingers at him for proof.
Poor Kevin, who was already sweating, dropped his hand in relief. “Of course. I understand,” he added nervously. “And your name is?”
“Zelinda Von Reinheit, nice to meet you. You can call me Zelin,” she added slightly frowning at my scowl.
Kevin grinned at her response, and the guys cringed again, I joined them. “Are you Gustav’s sister?” he asked, trying to engage in conversation.
“Sure,” she told him with a shrug, eating another fry.
He frowned at her answer, but nodded. “Cool.” His gaze shifted to me and I smiled before his gaze returned to her. “So, you like it here so far?”
“Prepare for crash landing at five, four, three…” Egon began the count down through our mental link, and the guys struggled to hold in their chuckles.
Zelin stood the moment Egon’s mock count down got to one, and walked to the trashcan, throwing away her empty plastic plate, and leaving Kevin hanging as he waited for her response.
“Sorry,” I cringed YET again when he looked at me. “My sister is not your regular kind of… girl.” That was the understatement of the century.
“She’s very particular about people,” Emory offered, excusing her.
“It takes her a while to warm up to strangers,” Dale added politely from the other table.
“Nah, she just doesn’t like anyone other than us,” Rod unceremoniously admitted from his seat, and received a smack in the back of the head from Olis as I glared at him.
Patience.
“Sure. No worries. I get it.” Kevin cleared his throat, focusing on me as Zack sat next to us, handing him the food.
“So where are you guys staying?” Zack asked.
“Lincoln Park, N. Howe Street,” I answered setting my plate aside while Zelin sat beside me again, her keen gaze taking in every detail about our new friends.
“Awesome. I’m in Near South Side,” Zack offered, and then pointed to Kevin. “He’s Lake View area.”
“We were going to Red Lion tonight. It’s a British style pub, if you guys want to come. It’s like 5 minutes from your house, on North Lincoln Avenue,” Zack invited.
“On a Monday?” Rod asked confused.
“Oh, yeah. That thing is always full. No matter what day of the week,” Zack explained. “And it’s haunted.”
“Really?” I asked, shocked, and they chuckled.
“Yeah. They have tours and everything, but tonight a friend of hours is playing with his band during happy hour. You should come. We can have a beer. It will be fun,” Kevin added.
“I’m eighteen. Not sure I’ll be able to drink,” I answered, hating that I had to use my “human” age here, when in shifter years I was more like twenty-three years old. We aged much faster than a human, both physically and mentally, until we reached adulthood/full maturity, which I already had.
“No worries. I got you,” Kevin assured. “My dad and uncle are the owners, my aunt is the manager, and my older brother is the head bartender there. You can have a beer or two, just as long as you don’t get wasted.”
“Your family owns it?” Egon asked, seeing Kevin nod. “Then why didn’t you just say our bar?”
Kevin shrugged. “I’m studying Engineering, not exactly going into the family business.”
We chuckled.
“Sounds like fun. We’ll be there. And don’t worry, we won’t get wasted.” Our cellular nature wouldn’t allow us to, anyway. We would feel the “happy” buzz, but nothing else.
“It’s a date, then.” Kevin’s eyes swept over Zelin again, and his lips stretched into a grin. “See you at five.”
“How was your first day?” Ms. Elizabeth, our chef, asked as I entered the kitchen shortly after getting home. She was a beautiful brunette with dark honey eyes. To a human she would appear to be in her early thirties, but as shifters we knew better than to believe in appearances.
“It was awesome,
” I answered, jumping onto the counter, close to her work area, and stealing a few carrot cubes from her cutting board. I chuckled as she slapped my hand away. “I met the Alpha Supreme.”
“You did?” Her chopping knife halted mid-way though the potato as she looked at me excitedly.
“Yep. He’s very friendly. Helped me get the knights settled in the classes, and took care of everything for us.”
Zelin entered the kitchen then, finally catching up with me after a meeting with her knights. “He has a big mouth if you ask me,” she grumbled, taking a bottle of water out of the refrigerator while I chuckled.
“Child, mind your tongue,” Ms. Elizabeth reprimanded, but Zelin wasn’t fazed by it.
“He’s the one that needs to mind his tongue.” She stopped in front of me, giving me her back as she stood between my legs, pressing against the counter.
My arms instinctively wrapped around her torso, bringing her closer until I could rest my chin on the top of her head. “Stop being so grouchy, Z. You are going to get wrinkles from scowling so hard,” I half joked.
Her head snapped towards me with narrowed eyes. I grinned, waggling my eyebrows at her mischievously, and kissed the tip of her nose, seeing her lips twitch from amusement.
Here was the thing about my guardian, most of the time she had three personalities. Not in a “mental disorder” kind of way, but in the “I’m an Iron Knight” kind of way. There were three different sides of her.
One was the side the knights knew—a fierce warrior created by the Great Moon, who handpicked them from the royal army to fight at her side, trained them to be as badass as she was, and kept them in line. Well, for the most part.
Then there was the side she showed all others—the intimidating, scary-ass, and powerful guardian and harbinger of justice she was born to be.
And last, there was the side only I was privileged to know. The caring, funny, and sweet woman who would do anything for me. An antisocial Iron Knight who was weary of everyone around me because she wanted to protect me from everything and everyone, no matter the cost.
“I wish I could meet the Alpha Supreme.”
Wolf Prince Page 4