8. Life as it is

eight

Life as it is

10 years later

*ELDEN*

I push my way through the group of students, the vein on my neck pulsating in annoyance. There are yells and screams and whispers. Half of the school seems to have gathered here.

“Shut up and let me through,” I yell, successfully making the crowd part for me, my fellow schoolmates too afraid to cross me. At least one thing my asshole father’s name is good for – to terrify those around me.

“What happened?” I ask, once I’ve reached Jace, who is standing in front of the principal’s office.

“Not sure,” Jace says, looking annoyed. “I was grabbing lunch for us, and Flora wanted to fetch something from her locker. Next thing I know, I’m back, and that guy’s nose is bleeding.”

“Which guy?”

“Trevor,” Jace says, instantly making me frown. I know the guy. He keeps harassing everyone of lower rank, mostly the girls. My frown is growing when I see a man approaching. In long strides, he comes running towards us, pushes past us and enters the office.

“That’s his father,” Jace explains. “I mean Trevor’s father.”

“How do you know that?”

“We are in the same baseball team, Trevor and I. Daddy dearest, actually complained to the principal because his son wasn’t in the top ranks of players. Guess why, because he sucks! But he didn’t want to hear it and has enough money to be annoying. So, our team got enriched by Trevor, which means we are getting used to losing.”

“That asshole,” I huff, having heard enough. I reach for the door, just for Jace to grab my arm.

“Are you nuts? They said no one is allowed to enter.”

“That’s for regular people,” I say. “Not for me.” I hate using my rank and position to my advantage. I never use my dad’s name to get the upper hand or to receive benefits I don’t deserve. The only exception is Flora. I will pull any card to help her, no matter how shady it is. It doesn’t matter if I have to play my name, my future rank or my position as a Crown Prince. I will break every rule for her or do something morally questionable.

Fuck them.

“Right,” Jace nods. “I sometimes forget who you are.”

He steps out of my way, and I open the door to slip inside. My eyes catch Flora instantly. She is standing to one side of the room, her head tilted to the side with that signature expression of pure innocence.

“My son is bleeding!?” Trevor’s father roars.

Flora clasps her mouth. “I didn’t notice,” she says, her eyes wide in shock.

She is a peculiar thing. She is smaller than the other girls and looks younger than most of our schoolmates. While she is already seventeen, she easily gets mistaken for younger—a fact she usually hates but uses to her advantage when necessary.

Like now. I can see it in her eyes, the mischief and the glint of anger.

I march towards her, ignoring Trevor’s dad and the principal. “Flora didn’t do anything,” I say shortly.

“You weren’t even there!” that asshole, Trevor, argues. He thinks because his father is here, he will win, but he is just a pathetic piece of shit.

“This will have consequences,” his father yells. “I will make sure that this little sl-”

A growl leaves my lips, easily making the guy shrink back in shock. “Just so we are clear,” I hiss. “Your son is a piece of trash. He keeps bullying and pushing around girls he deems weak. Flora just defended herself. He just thought she was easy prey!”

“Oh, Elden,” Flora beams at me and grabs my arm, blinking up at me, like she is an innocent angel and completely helpless, which we both know she isn’t. It’s a game, and she mastered it. It’s her way of constantly getting us out of trouble. “He probably just slipped when he groped my ass.”

I stare at her in shock. That asshole touched her!? Seeing my shock, she simply shrugs and nods. I turn my attention to Trevor, feeling my angry beast pushing against my mind. “You did what?”

“Please,” the principal steps forward, wiping his forehead with a tissue. “I am sure we can talk about it.”

“I didn’t want to touch her,” Trevor blurts out. “I thought it was Clara!”

“Clara has a boyfriend,” Flora says quietly, suddenly sounding much more serious. “What made you think she wants to be touched?”

It’s eerily quiet in the room before the principal clears his throat. “You see,” he turns to Trevor’s father, “it was self-defense.”

“He tried to force himself on my mate,” I huff. “What are you going to do about it?”

It slowly seems to dawn on Trevor’s father that his son fucked up big time, and that he is probably messing with the wrong crowd. “I’m sure we can find a solution,” he says. “It was probably just a coincidence.”

Coincidence my ass! But Trevor looks so horrified and scared that I’m going to take a bet he won’t touch a girl so soon again. Flora and I spend a couple of minutes longer in the office, before the principal lets us leave without any repercussions for Flora.

Outside, we bump into Jace, who has been waiting for us. “Everything alright?”

“Trevor, the creep, won’t touch anyone anytime soon,” Flora giggles, her eyes glinting slightly.

I take her hand into mine, squeezing it. “He picked the wrong girl,” I say. “What an interesting coincidence.”

“Oh, Elden, what are you implying?” she beams at me. “I would never!”

My lips tug into a smirk while I look at her. She is the smartest and the most cunning, yet most beautiful and sincere person I’ve ever met. I let my fingers glide over the back of her hand, enjoying the hint of tingles I feel. Once we are both eighteen, we will finally feel the mate bond for real. Ever since we were children, we were fated to each other. We didn’t understand it, at first, like we didn’t understand the prophecy that mentioned us being fated to each other at a young age, but we caught up with the truth when we were both in middle school. When I realized that every boy seeking Flora’s attention felt like a threat to me, and Flora wanted to rip any girl apart who came too close to me, we began to accept that we were different.

Jace, Flora and I make it through the crowd, who keep whispering around us. Some girls smile and wink at Flora, a gesture she returns.

“Let’s have our lunch,” Jace says. “Before the afternoon lessons start.”

He is so busy rummaging through his bag that he doesn’t watch where he steps. “Jace, watch out!”

My warning comes too late, and he bumps into a tall young girl. “Watch out!” Jace exclaims, saving our food last minute. Part of his soda, however, lands on the poor girl.

“Why don’t you watch out?” she returns, while she looks down at her soiled shirt with a frown. Her voice is quiet but firm.

Jace raises his gaze now, finally realizing what happened. The girl in front of us is new; I haven’t seen her before. Maybe she changed schools recently. She is tall with dark blond hair, that she wears shoulder-length.

“Oh, she is so pretty,” Flora beams.

The girl looks at her, surprised. “I… this is the high school, right?”

“Yes, why?”

“Because…” she pauses. “How old are you?”

“She is seventeen,” I say.

“No way,” the girl mutters.

Meanwhile, Jace has finally found his voice again, clearing his throat. “I am sorry for bumping into you.”

The girl looks surprised, clearly not having expected his apology. “It’s okay,” she says. “It’s my way of making a first impression: Bump into an alpha’s son.”

“You know who I am?” Jace asks, surprised.

The girl looks away from him, almost looking a bit hurt. “I just moved to your pack.”

Jace looks shocked and a tad bit embarrassed. “Oh, I wasn’t aware. It had to be recently, right?”

“Yes, last week,” she says. “I moved in with my grandma. Emerald Moon was her old pack, and so we returned here.”

“Jace was out of town last week.” I help my friend, who has just turned into a Neanderthal in front of this girl. It’s not just the surprise that’s holding him back though, it’s also the disappointment. The girl in front of us is clearly half lycan, half werewolf, a beta she-wolf; as heirs to an alpha we can easily detect her rank. Normally, new pack members get accepted into a new pack through a beautiful ceremony. Seems like Jace’s father skipped it, which unfortunately, is nothing to be surprised by. She is ‘just’ half a lycan, after all.

His father is an even bigger elitist prick than mine, and that says a lot.

Jace straightens his back, finally finding his voice again. “Let me start anew,” he says. “I’m Jace Hearst, and it’s a pity I wasn’t there when you and your grandmother moved to my pack. Allow me to welcome you now, though. I hope you will like it here and feel at home.” He pauses. “What’s your name?”

She smiles at his warm welcome, and when he reaches out his hand, she accepts it, shaking it. “Janice,” she says. “Janice Mable.”

“Do you want to have lunch with us?” Flora offers.

Janice looks torn. “I… is this really okay? I don’t want to impose.”

“You won’t,” Jace reassures her, finally back to his silly self. “I mean, I did empty half of my food on you, so technically, you are already eating with us.”

Flora rolls her eyes, grabbing Janice’s hand. “Come,” she beams. “I will show you the restrooms and help you freshen up.” Before they leave, she jumps me though, wrapping her arms around me. “This is Elden, by the way, and he is mine.”

I decide to play along. “And that’s Flora,” I say. “She is mine.”

“They actually mean it exactly that way,” Jace explains to the confused girl. “They are mates.”

“What?” Janice exclaims. “How is that possible?”

“A weird prophecy, and just the Goddess being funny,” Flora chirps, letting go of me and taking Janice’s hand. “Come, I will show you around and then we’ll meet the boys for lunch.” She lowers her voice to a whisper. “I think you and Jace would be really cute together.”

Jace groans while Janice looks completely flustered. Flora, however, seems to really like her new idea and winks at Janice, telling her how much of an awesome guy Jace is and that he is really athletic and fun. Not like one of those typical spoiled asshole alpha heirs.

“Stop her,” Jace begs me, when Flora and Janice disappear through the corridor. “That poor girl is going to think we are nuts.”

“Are you kidding? There is no way I can stop Flora,” I say. “And she is cute, isn’t she?”

“Who?” Jace blinks.

“Janice,” I help him. Jace has dated quite a lot throughout the last couple of years. The fact that Flora and I were mates and committed to each other early on, was something he envied us for at first. He chased a few relationships to find a special someone, too, but eventually stopped this year. He told me he realized it’s just not going to happen that way, and that he doesn’t want to date until he finds his mate.

“I don’t even know her,” Jace says.

“Well, Flora likes her,” I say. “So, I bet you are going to get to know her soon.”

My words make Jace laugh. “You are right. There is no way I can take it up with your crazy girlfriend.”

“Careful,” I warn. “Don’t call her crazy.”

“Man, you call her crazy all the time,” Jace complains.

“That’s because she is my girlfriend,” I say. “I get special treatment.”

Jace rolls his eyes. “Whatever you say,” he pauses. “Are you coming to the party this weekend? You got an invitation, didn’t you?”

“I did. But I’m not sure if I’m going,” I say. “My parents are home for the weekend.”

“Oh, I didn’t know your father was visiting,” Jace says, eyeing me carefully. Every time we talk about my father, he treads carefully. It’s been years since my father left me with Aunt Geneva and Uncle Samuel, who took care of me since. He would only return occasionally, and never to spend time with me, just to see how the pack was running.

One day, two years ago, he returned with a new woman at his side. I couldn’t have cared less. For me, my father didn’t really exist anymore. He was just the man who would occasionally be here, yell at me and maybe slap me when he didn’t like what I had to say, and then leave again. This new woman, though, his chosen mate as he explained, wanted to connect with me, the pack, the staff, and our family and friends.

I wish I could say I hated her, but Emilia never made an effort to replace Mom, she never even tried to be luna, claiming that she was purely filling the position until Flora would take over with me.

Dad never explained how he met her or why he suddenly decided to remarry, but she carries his mark now, so logically speaking, I know she isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“I bet if you ask Emilia, she will let you go,” Jace says. “I think she likes you. Didn’t you say she doesn’t have any children of her own?”

I shrug. “It’s a bit late for me to have a mom again,” I say shortly.

Jace shifts around nervously, his gaze wandering away from me to the tips of his shoes. “It’s a party only for high-ranking kids.”

“That’s not making it particularly alluring,” I mutter.

“I know,” he says quietly, “but I have to go.”

My gaze snaps up, finally understanding what he is hinting at. “Oh fuck, they are on it again?”

“Mom wants me to find a suitable mate once I turn eighteen,” he says. “I’m going to try to get them off my back while I am in college, but I’m sure they will want to see me date someone.”

“I can’t believe it,” I groan. “Why are they like that? What about your future mate?”

He shrugs. “I don’t think they care.”

I sigh. At least my father doesn’t care for me or, for what I am doing, unlike Jace’s parents, who are constantly trying to manipulate him in a certain direction. For them, his only saving grace is his friendship with me. “I will talk to Emilia,” I say. “Usually, when she is on board, Dad doesn't say anything against it.”

Jace lets out a sigh he’d been holding until now. “Thank you.”