Msia Hamadi smiled at his head of security when he walked in. “Good morning, Chief.” “Good morning, your highness.” His smile faded slightly. “Ah, so it really is one of those visits.” He gestured to the chair across from his. “Have a seat.” “Thank you.” Msia’s PA came in and offered the chief of police a variety of beverages. When he declined, she left as quietly as she had come in and Msia had given Chief Ruthers all his attention. “I’m all ears.” “Nomusa Chule’s behavior recently changed.” “So I’ve heard. Is there something you think I need to be aware of?” “She’s watching a child.” Msia frowned. “A child?” Placing a piece of paper on the desk in front of the king, the chief of police added, “Someone who interacts with one of your sons.” Reading the transcript, Msia’s lips pursed and he looked out the window for a short moment. “It’s alright Paul. I know exactly who this is about.”

His experience walking through the halls with Ceanna still played in his mind as he got into his car and drove to the police headquarters to see his godfather, Paul Ruthers. It had been greatly uncomfortable even for him and he was sure he’d heard her moan of sheer distress at least once. Ceanna wasn’t the first person he’d dated from Alcombey, but she was the first person he had officially made his girlfriend. While his wolf was a little confused about that move, he reasoned that it was to keep the flock at bay. The likelihood of his mate being Ceanna Daley was so slim; he figured he could get to know this quirky wallflower without doing anything dishonorable toward her or his future mate.  And the fact that she constantly wanted to run in the opposite direction meant her wolf hadn’t felt the same infinitesimal spark which had triggered the dream and therefore, she probably wasn’t the one. In his quest to whittle down the list of possibilities, Ceanna on his arm would

“Besides the fact that she was brilliant in this discourse, my girl- I mean Ceanna Daley,” he grinned cheekily, “has a more rounded worldview than most of us here, simply because she wasn’t born here. So while she’s one of us, she adds an air of diversity which may make our student body committee more inclusive. I even believe she would work well with our international students.” More students in the class started nodding as he listed her attributes and before he knew it, they entered her name into the system. Leaning back in his seat, Keion smiled, a little surprised at the quick uptake of the idea that had come to him on a whim. Looking over at Ceanna, Keion started slightly seeing how unhappy she seemed with the nomination. The frown faded as understanding lit on his face a moment later. He leaned over and whispered. “I’m sorry about the girlfriend part. It was just a joke.” She whispered back emphatically, “You are not sorry.” Pause. “You realize you just rigged the whole electi

Keion was running drills with his team. His coach had revved everyone up for being slow after winter break and this was the second week he’d been put to task, driving ball skills and sprints from the front. Physically, Keion could handle it but he knew he was stretching the weaker guys’ limits. Mentally, he was a little annoyed because whenever someone made a mistake, coach would jeer about how their captain had spent his time kissing girls instead of staying on course and everyone else thought they could do the same.After an hour of that, Keion and everyone else had had enough. Coach Ferreira told them to take ten and he went outside to smoke behind the gym. The cheerleaders were practicing on the other side of the sports complex and Keion was aware that some of them were seniors who had been at the party.Pushing that to the back of his mind, he apologized for the way coach was using his incident as a point of reference.“Even if you hadn&rs

The old woman on the other side of the table tapped her pipe against her lips and gazed deeply into Keion’s eyes. “Try to open yourself up to this. Hide nothing from me.” Nodding once, Keion let his memories replay freely in his mind. “I see you’ve been busy, young prince,” the healer commented. “Very busy.” Not sure how to interpret her statement, Keion sighed, still feeling her treading carefully amidst his recollections. “Did I do something wrong?” Kaliah reached out and took hold of his hand, and he felt nothing but immense love. His father’s hand was on his shoulder and he knew they both supported him, but the dreams and emotions that assailed him unbidden felt almost like a punishment. “You are not being disciplined, but this will certainly be a significant test.” The Hamadi’s waited for the old woman to explain further. She reached over to the side of her desk for a small jar and took a pinch of the powder and pl