INICIAR SESIÓN"Excuse me, Julian..." Sienna, still in her pastel pink outfit, taps her hot pink nails against his arm. "We genuinely don't have time for interruptions right now. We need to finish this project on schedule."I try to wriggle free of his hold, but he just tightens his arm around my shoulders, pulling me flush against him. I can feel his chest rising and falling steadily against my back."Look, Sienna," he says, voice gone cold as ice. His arm tightens further around me, a silent warning not to try slipping away again. "I've already handled the research and everything else. All that's left is stitching it together and writing the conclusion. I told you we don't need another meeting.""But I really think it would turn out better if we—""I've done my part," he cuts in, looking at her with open disdain, like she's some lowly subordinate overstepping her place. "Just make sure it's submitted on time," he adds, dismissing her coldly. The look on his face makes it painfully clear he's royal
The best part of working at the cafe, besides the location, is the flexible scheduling, since most of us are still in school. I clock out at 11:15 this morning since I've got a tutorial at 11:30, followed immediately by a study group. Just as I'm gathering my things to leave, I feel him before I see him, that familiar burn settling on the back of my neck, his presence pressing into the air around me. My heart jumps, stomach dips, skin prickling everywhere at once. Unbelievable how much just his presence does to me. "Oh, Freya! I think your toy, err, I mean your lunch, has arrived," Ivy calls out, way too pleased with herself. "Hot, hot lunch." God, I like Ivy, but sometimes I could genuinely strangle that woman. I sling my bag over my shoulder and head toward Julian, who's waiting near the entrance with a puzzled look. "Lunch?" he mouths. "Ignore her. She's unhinged," I say, loud enough that Ivy definitely hears it. "Hey, Freya!" Ivy calls after me. "Don't toy with your lunch!"
We stand there staring at each other. Me, frozen in horror. The four of them, thoroughly amused. My mouth opens and words just start tumbling out. "I don't toy with boys. I don't eat boys either. I really don't. I mean, toying with them and eating them, that would be mean. Just mean. Oh, no, no, no, no, nobody should ever do that." I wince. That came out so much worse. "I mean, I was joking. That was a joke. Ha ha, see? Funny, right?" Oh my god. Somebody make me stop talking. Right now. "No, no, no, no, one should never do that." I wince harder. That sounded terrible. "I mean, I was kidding. It was a joke. Ha ha, see? Funny, right?" Oh my god! Somebody, anybody, shut me up. Immediately. A choking, wheezing sound comes from behind me, and it hits me that I should probably check whether Ivy is dying back there, right after I find a hole to crawl into. "Imma go die in a hole now." Wait, what? Shut up, brain! "Okay," says the blonde lycan, clearly one laugh away from losing i
"Prince Incredible," I try. He's still visibly sulking, but his jaw loosens slightly in surprise. I smile. Wait, that's wrong, scratch that, "Julian. Prince Incredible," I add, careful to correct myself. "Prince Unbelievable," I tack on in a teasing tone, and I catch him fighting off a smile. I unclip my seatbelt and reach over to cup his cheek, turning his face toward mine. Not sure where this boldness is coming from, but I decide not to question it. I'm starting to figure out exactly how to handle this hot lycan prince. "You have to understand, this is a huge shift for me. The whole idea of turning into a lycan, on top of finding out you're royalty. It's a lot to process all at once." He sighs. "Yeah, okay. Fair point. I shouldn't have pushed so hard, I should be giving you more room to breathe," he admits. "Honestly, you've handled tonight far better than I expected." An almost-apology! I want to make him say it again just to be sure I heard right: "you're right." I doub
"So how exactly should I address you? Prince Julian? Your Royal Highness Prince Julian?" His mouth curves into a mischievous grin. "Sweetheart works. Or Prince Awesome, if you're feeling generous. Though honestly, Prince Incredible has a nice ring to it, makes me sound like some kind of superhero." I can't stop my eyes from rolling. "Unbelievable." "That works too." His grin only widens. A laugh escapes me before I can stop it, and he looks at me like I just handed him a prize. It's well past midnight, and we're back in his car, winding down the hill along the narrow road. No streetlights out here, just trees pressing in on either side. "I love hearing you laugh. Sounds like windchimes catching a breeze," he says, and I nearly choke. Wow. "That's my place," he adds casually, pointing, before I can even recover. My head is spinning. He nods toward the first house we reach after the road curves and merges into a wider one. I stare at him a beat longer before finally turnin
"I want something from you in return," I tell him. "Promise me you'll tell me the truth, even the parts you think might scare me off." "I'll be as honest as I can." "That's not enough," I say. "The truth. All of it. Promise me." His sharp, glittering eyes move over my face for a long moment before he finally nods. "Okay. I promise." He takes my hand between his again before he starts. "The most important thing to understand about us is that lycans answer to instinct first. It doesn't matter how refined or civilized we seem on the outside, underneath it we're lycans, plain and simple. "Our instincts, our souls, choose our mates for us. We call them erasthais, it's the closest thing to what werewolves mean by mate. Our souls reach for them, and theirs answer back. That's the pull you feel when you meet one, both sides calling out at once. "An erasthai can be anyone. A mated or unmated werewolf, a faery, a human, married or single, even another lycan. Since the pull is almost alway







