Chapter 7

After a boring first class of Elemental Theory.

My next class was Lycanthropy law and governance.

By the time I arrived, most of the students had already taken their seats. I scanned the room, searching for an empty chair.

There was one.

Beside one next to Kieran.

Perfect...

He was leaning back in his chair, spinning a pen between his fingers. His reddish hair looked as though he had been running in the wind, and a faint bruise marked the edge of his jaw.

He looked up as I approached. His expression changed immediately. "Hey."

I stopped beside the empty chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Kieran glanced at the chair, then back at me.

"Not unless you're planning to sit somewhere else."

I couldn't help it. A small smile tugged at my lips. "Funny. There always seems to be a seat available next to you."

He grinned. "Maybe the universe is trying to tell you something."

I rolled my eyes and sat down. "Or maybe no one wants to sit next to you."

He rolled his eyes, playfully. "I highly doubt it."

For a moment, the teasing eased some of the tension in my chest. Then Kieran's expression became serious. "About last night..."

I turned towards him.

He put the pen down. "I'm sorry."

I hadn't expected him to apologize. He had no reason to. "For what?"

"For the fight with Lucien. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. I started it when I saw him try to approach you after Sera had that episode-"

He looked uncomfortable admitting it, which somehow made his apology feel more genuine.

"I don't know what came over me. I felt the bond, and then I saw him standing there, looking at you like he had some right to claim you. I just..."

He exhaled sharply. "I lost control."

I studied the bruise on his jaw. "Did you at least win?" I asked trying to ease the tension.

His mouth fell open. Then he laughed. A proper laugh that made the girl sitting in front of us turn around. "Dahlia, are you seriously asking me if I won against, Lucien?"

"I'm asking whether you injured your face for nothing."

He pressed a hand over his heart.

"That is cruel. Besides there was no verdict. Grey stopped us."

A bit of warmth and ease washed over me. So he kept to his word.

"Should I be concerned that this is going to happen again?"

"Very concerned." I appreciated the honesty atleast.

I sighed. "Kieran, I spoke to Lucien earlier today."

"Oh," his jaw seemed to tense. "So you've decided."

"No. Let me finish. I don't know either of you well enough to make a decision."

"I know."

"And I don't want to be pressured into choosing someone simply because the bond says I should."

He looked down at his hands. For a moment, I thought he might argue. Instead, he nodded. "All right."

I blinked. "All right?"

"I have waited my whole for this. I never imagined it would happen like this but I guess the lady fate has her reasons."

There was a brief pause. "Well, I can try to be patient," he corrected. "But I'm not making any promises about being pleasant while I do it."

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it and his warm smile returned. "Lets just try to be friends. I don't want you to avoid me because of this. As hard as it will be for me to be around you. I will do my best to give you the time you need."

◇◇◇•••◇◇◇

By the time my final class ended, I was exhausted. All I wanted was to return to my room, take a shower, and spend a few hours without anyone asking me about my love life.

I made my way across campus, mentally listing the assignments I needed to complete, when I noticed several boxes outside my dormitory door.

I slowed.

One was open, revealing my books and a stack of folded clothes. Another contained my shoes.

A third was filled with the few personal belongings I had brought from home.

For a moment, I simply stared. Then I saw Elena standing in the doorway, holding a bundle of my clothes.

"Elena?"

She looked up and tossed the remainder of my clothes into the corridor.

"I am sick, Dahlia!" She shouted, "and tired of everyone asking me if I know who my sister is going to choose or if I knew who your third mate is!"

I glanced at the boxes.

"What is all this?" I asked.

She brushed her hands together.

"Your things."

"I can see that. Why are you throwing them they outside?"

She sighed, as though I were being deliberately difficult. "Dahlia, I've been thinking." That sentence had never once led to anything good.

"I think it's best if you go home."

I stared at her, waiting for her to laugh.

She didn't. "Go home?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Do you really need me to explain it to you?"

"Yes, actually."

She stepped closer. "Ever since we arrived at this academy, everything has been about you. First, your mate humiliated me in the courtyard. Then you attracted the everyone's attentiom eith your three mate nonsense. I don't think you understand how serious this is. Lucien and Keir come from prestigious families and your choices will negatively impact the future of our if you carry on like this."

"I never asked for any of this!

"Of course you didn't. Things just seem to happen to you, don't they?" Her voice dripped with resentment."And somehow, I'm always expected to stand and watch."

I stared at her.

For years, I had made excuses for Elena. I had told myself that she was spoiled because Father loved her too much that she was cruel because she had never been taught to appreciate what she had.

But standing there, looking at my belongings packed into cardboard boxes, I realised that I had spent so much time trying to understand her that I had forgotten to ask why she never tried to understand me.

"Elena, we're sisters."

She laughed without humour. "Don't use that word to make me feel guilty."

"I'm not trying to make you feel guilty."

"Then stop acting like I owe you something!"

I flinched. She noticed. For a second, something flickered in her eyes. It might have been regret, but it disappeared so quickly that I couldn't be sure.

"I don't want you here anymore, Dahlia," she said. "And I'm not going to share a room with you while you turn my life upside down."

I swallowed hard. "Where am I supposed to sleep tonight?"

She looked at the boxes. "Home. Call daddy and ask him to send someone to pick you up. Just go. There is no other choice for you. Housing admissions closed yesterday."

Then she stepped back into the room and shut the door on my face.

"Elena, please..." I couldn't go back home. The pack already didn't like me. If I went back because of this I didnt know what would happen to me and father would be dissapointed.

Besides I was meant to be at this academy and I was not going to just walk away.