Accommodation

Chapter Six

Phina’s POV

Accommodation 

“W-, wolf?” I stare at the both of them trying to wrap my head around what I just heard. 

“Is that what he identifies as or something?”

Leander has this amused look on his face, like he’s trying to restrain himself from laughing out loud. The principal on the other hand doesn’t seem too excited. If anything he seems annoyed in a calm way.

“Rachel didn’t tell you now, did she?” He slumps back into his chair. Like there could be any logical explanation my mother could possibly give me for the words he just said. 

“You know my mother?” I squint at him. 

“We all know ourselves.”

“That’s enough sire. You’re frightening her.” Leander shifts from the doorframe he’s been leaning on, he’s standing now. 

“With time, she’ll learn what she has to. But you can’t info dump on her, she’s not going to assimilate all of it.”

“I usually don’t like to agree with you Leander, for this case, unfortunately, I will.”

“Come on.” He’s at the door now. 

I stand up, the contract now clamped to my chest. The rest of the conversation keeps ringing in my head. 

“Phina.” He has a worried look on his face.

“Yes?” I’m still distracted.

“You’re one of the freshmen that was recently admitted.” I look up to find this lady staring at me. We’re in a different hall. 

“The porter. In charge of hostels, addresses and portals.”

“Portals? Like some people teleport in a portal thingy?” 

“Forget I said that.”

“Are you with your keys Phina Dela…Croix?” Something flashes past her eyes at the mention of my name.

“No, I’m not with my keys.”

“You belong to a clan, you should have a key.”

“I belong to a what now.”

“She’s a freshman. She doesn’t know.” 

I hear it again, that growl inside his chest, this time, he sounds like he’s really upset.

“Oh? Well then, she can offer to rent an apartment off campus.”

“No.”

“Leander.”

“She’s here on scholarship, also, I forbid you from letting her stay in extreme danger zones, off campus is wild.”

“Off campus is a habitat Leander and since when did you become a protective bodyguard to some new rando?”

“Mate.”

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion, I want to tap him and ask him what the hell mate means, but if I know growling haughty 6-2 well enough, he’s going to slide it off or in the worst case scenario, gracefully grant me deaf ears. 

“Do you want to stay off campus Phina?”

Something about the way they say it makes the entire thing creepy. 

“No.”

“Well, we have choices she can pick from, all of which, I’m quite sure, she’ll be unable to afford.” 

I swallow, ignoring the pain. He feels it too. I can tell from the way he’s staring at me, as if our pain is shared.

“Let’s hear the options first,” I say.

The porter pulls a file from one of the drawers beneath her desk.

“There’s the standard freshman hostel, the private residence, and the lodge.”

“What’s the lodge?” I ask.

“The Veyra Lodge is a residential facility reserved for students who require additional privacy and security. It offers furnished rooms, private bathrooms, meals, and access to the university’s restricted grounds.”

That sounds suspiciously like a hotel. A hotel I cannot afford.

“How much?”

She tells me.

I blink.

“Sorry, I think I heard you incorrectly. Could you repeat that?”

She repeats the amount.

I stare at her.

Then I look at Leander.

Then back at her.

“Does the price include the building, or am I buying a piece of the land too?”

Leander coughs.

I turn to him.

“Are you laughing?”

“No.”

“Your face says otherwise.”

“My face says you’re dramatic.”

“And yours says you’ve never had to check your account balance before ordering food.”

His amusement disappears for half a second.

I wish I could take the words back.

Not because they aren’t true, but because something about his expression makes me feel as if I’ve accidentally touched a bruise.

Then he leans against the desk.

“Put her down for the lodge.”

I turn so quickly my neck protests.

“Put me down for the what?”

“The lodge.”

“Did you hit your head somewhere between the principal’s office and here?”

“Not recently.”

“Then perhaps you should consider doing so. It might knock some sense into you.”

The porter looks between us with the kind of fascination usually reserved for people watching a public argument.

“Leander, the lodge is considerably more expensive than the standard residence.”

“I know.”

“And her scholarship doesn’t automatically cover it.”

“I know that too.”

“Then why—”

“I’ll pay.”

Three words.

Simple words.

Words that should not have made my stomach twist the way they did.

I stare at him.

“You’ll what?”

“Pay for your accommodation.”

“No.”

His eyebrows rise.

“No?”

“No.”

“Would you like to offer an alternative?”

“Yes. A reasonably priced room that I can actually afford.”

“The standard hostel is full.”

“Then put me on a waiting list.”

“It could take weeks.”

“Wonderful. I’ll sleep standing up until then.”

“Phina.”

“Leander.”

We stare at each other.

His eyes are an impossible shade of blue. Mine are probably two seconds away from rolling into the back of my head.

“I’m not accepting charity from you,” I tell him.

“Good. Because I’m not offering charity.”

“Oh, really? What would you call it?”

“An expense.”

I gape at him.

“An expense?”

“Yes.”

“I’m a person, not a line item in your budget.”

“Then stop behaving like an accountant is going to burst through that door and repossess you.”

I open my mouth.

Close it.

Open it again.

The audacity of this man deserves academic research.

“Look, whatever arrangement you have with the university, I don’t want to be part of it. I earned my scholarship. I can find somewhere to stay.”

“You didn’t apply for the scholarship.”

The words land between us.

My grip tightens around the contract.

The porter suddenly becomes very interested in her file.

I look at Leander.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Everything, apparently.”