Chapter 4

The rest of the morning passed by uneventfully, if you ask me a little too much so. At some points I thought I might slip into a coma if I got any more bored and I was hoping for drama just to break up the day a little. Don’t get me wrong, I love to learn but the problem is with the way college is set up.

Most of the subjects are incredibly boring and those that weren’t seemed to get the life sucked out of them by covering the material so incredibly slowly. I wish they would just let me take the exams rather than having to attend all these boring lessons.

When lunch arrived all my classmates promptly bundled up their belongings and rushed out of the classroom but I wasn’t in as much of a rush. I took the time to neatly pack my bag before following them cautiously, using all my senses to make sure that Felix or any of his followers weren’t nearby.

I couldn’t hear them and I couldn’t smell them but knew they couldn’t be too far away. I had memorised their schedule. I knew that their last lesson was only a few rooms away from mine and if they saw me they wouldn’t miss out on the opportunity to torment me.

Felix was the new Alpha’s younger brother and he has had some kind of fixation on me ever since I joined the pack. He found it frustrating that I seemed immune to his advances. I also don’t think it helped that when he tried to impress me with his fighting technique during our first training session together I kicked his ass.

By the time I reached the cafeteria, Ryker was already there sitting with our friends, Ava and Charlotte. Charlotte was sitting opposite Ryker, She was playing with her long blonde hair and hoping that Ryker would pay attention to her. Ryker however wasn’t in the least bit interested in what she had to say, he had his phone out and he was staring intently at the screen.

Ava was sitting next to Charlotte rolling her eyes. None of us were very close friends with Charlotte but with Ava it was verging on hatred. She didn’t like that Charlotte only sat with us when Ryker was around. She thought that Charlotte was fake, that she was only pretending to be our friend so that Ryker would ask her out on a date.

Ava was probably right about Charlotte but I tried not to let it get to me. Ryker was usually a good judge of character so I don’t think he is going to fall for her lies. I was content to let her play her games, the only person’s time she was wasting was her own.

I sat down at the table, taking my usual place next to Ryker. Charlotte threw me an irritated look but I completely ignored her as Ryker slid over a sandwich and an apple onto my side of the table. He knew me so well. I would usually skip lunch while I was at college because of Felix. I knew I could easily beat him in a fight but it really wasn’t worth the hassle.

Felix and his friends always seem to sit on the tables closest to the food counters so I stick to the other side of the room when I can. I should have probably started bringing in my own lunch but that involved the kind of forward planning that I am not capable of before my second or third coffee.

“If Mary-Anne tries anything like that again I am just going to tell her that you are mine.” Ryker teased.

“That’s gross,” Charlotte objected while wrinkling her nose in disgust.

“You do realise that we aren’t actually related,” Ryker asked, looking at Charlotte for the first time since I joined the table.

“Well yes but isn’t she like your adopted sister or something?”

I could see what she was trying to do but it was backfiring on her because Ryker was starting to get angry at her questions.

“What are you even talking about?” Ryker said, his annoyance was very clear from his tone but Charlotte didn’t even seem to notice. She just seemed happy at being able to hold his attention for more than a few seconds.

“Are you going to the Alpha’s party next Friday?” Ava asked.

I knew she was trying to change the subject but it was a stupid question. Felix made it very clear to everyone on campus that Ryker and I weren’t welcome at the Alpha’s house. I knew he didn’t really have any authority to make that call, only the Alpha himself had the authority to decide who was and who wasn’t invited to pack events. However, just like with the food situation, going up against Felix wasn’t worth the drama so we stayed away.

It was better that way anyway, I would rather stay as far away as I could from the whole family. If they were anything like Felix then they weren’t the kinds of people I wanted to get close to.

“I don’t think we are even invited,” I replied.

“You could come as my date, Ryker,” Charlotte said while fluttering of her eyelashes as him.

“What is this party about anyway?” I asked. There seemed to be parties or events at the Alpha’s house every few weeks, I could never keep track of it all.

“I don’t know, my mom said it was something to do with the stars. I don’t really understand it to be honest but it should be fun anyway. Are you sure you can’t make it?” Ava asked, the disappointment was clear in her voice and her eyes.

“I can’t but maybe we can go shopping next weekend instead?” I suggested. Ava’s face instantly brightened.

“I will hold you to that.”

Ava started talking about all the shops that we could visit and where we would eat lunch. Ava had to plan everything in great detail and she treated a simple shopping trip as though it was a military exercise. By this time next week, we would probably have a printed itinerary with our time planned out to the nearest minute. I had a feeling that Ava might have a bright career ahead of her as an event planner.

I loved her enthusiasm but I silently chided myself for agreeing to this. I should have known better than to give her so much notice.