Chapter Seventeen

Celina

Bitterly, I pack my bags while Prince Christopher and his and my idiot brother sit on the couch. Every move I make, they’re watching me. It’s getting more and more frustrating with every passing second. I just want to shower and then fly to my apartment in my jammies. Is that too much to ask?

“Xander, will you and your posse please leave,” I whine. “I want to take a shower.”

He leans back and spreads his arms on the back of the couch. “Dad told me not to leave you alone. It’s the only reason he’s letting you go back to school in the first place. If you make me go into that hall, do you really think Dad will trust you enough to go back home?”

I stick my tongue out at him as I glare at the men. “I swear to the Goddess, if you follow me into that room, I will rip your throats out.”

Xander waves me off. “Yeah yeah, and we know you’re good at it too. Just go and take a quick shower. Dad texted me, our flight leaves in three hours.”

Well, there goes jumping out my window. I hate having bodyguards. You bite one Wolfsbane-infected lycan, and everyone is acting like it’s going to happen again the minute I’m out of their sight. Childishly, I grab some clothes out of my drawers, grab my phone, stomp into the bathroom, and then slam the door.

I drop the clean clothes on the bathroom floor and call Jenna; since she’s asleep. She answers on the third ring. “Celina, what’s wrong?”

“Help me,” I hiss in a whisper, turning on the shower to help conceal my voice.

“What’s wrong?” She demands again, more awake this time.

“I have three royal bodyguards sitting in my bedroom right now. I’ll give you five thousand dollars to help me ditch them.”

She starts laughing. “Cel, I love you but no way in hell am I doing that. Especially since I’m flying to your place in two days.”

“Why the hell why?” I ask, feeling a bit suffocated now.

“Because your dad has asked me to keep an eye on you, and go where ever the council moves you. Since I don’t want to be anywhere near my prick of an ex, I agreed. He’s transferring my schooling online as we speak.”

“You know, it’s getting harder and harder these days to remain a strong independent woman,” I tell her darkly, removing my pants and underwear.

She chuckles, “Love you too Cel.” She disconnects right then while I start to swear.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I mutter while I pull my top off. Still grumbling about it, I jump into the shower and quickly wash and clean up.

When I’m done, I pull my hair into a loose messy braid, put on a black crop top with black leggings, then put on a light black jacket. I quickly do my make-up before leaving the bathroom. After I leave the bathroom, I shoot a glare at the still-sitting men; receiving a big shit-eating grin from Xander in the process.

I roll my eyes at him and sit on the bed. While putting on my socks I address Xander. “So is there a single chance that you’re going to let me ditch you three?”

Xander shakes his head. “You know how people keep trying to bite your neck?”

I nod, watching him carefully for his point.

“That will be us, except they’ll be biting through our necks. Besides, why would I turn down the chance to annoy the living fuck out of you?”

I glare at him once more and put my running shoes on. “I don’t need you to babysit me.”

“Recent events state otherwise,” he smirks. “Come on. Your boyfriend and guards are ready for our flights, and your stuff is in the car.” I throw my pillow at him and march downstairs with them right at my heels.

We land in Seattle at six in the morning. Christopher worked on securing living arrangements, and I slept on his lap the entire time he did this. I don’t think he minded, especially since I woke up with his arm around me when we landed. He even had a small smile he tried to hide. I’m still not accepting him, but my wolf sure as hell has. That means I’m unconsciously drawn to him. I got a nap out of it, so I’m okay with it this time.

When we reach my apartment, it’s eight in the morning. We leave Christopher and Ruben behind so they can talk to my apartment manager regarding an apartment for rent. I lead my unfortunate new roommate, Xander, up to my apartment. I live in a penthouse on the top floor. You need to use a rotating passcode and go through a fingerprint scanner to be allowed to access the floor. Since Declan is insane, my father put me in one of the hardest apartment buildings to break into. I’m hoping that since I kicked his ass during the Claiming, Declan won’t be calling me anytime soon.

The elevator opens to reveal an open room with leather white couches resting on top of grey marble tile. A glass coffee table sits in the center with remotes and dozens of textbooks. A fireplace rests next to the windowed walls, allowing for as much sunlight as possible in this cloudy state. I love curling up next to it when I have to cram for a test. I even pushed a crème colored bean bag and knit blanket over by it.

I walk over to the couch and leave my bags next to it, and grab my school bag. I glance over my shoulder to look at Xander. “My class is in an hour, so I’m going to have to leave now if I want to buy breakfast before it.”

He gives me a critical look, “We barely landed.”

“Yeah, well it wasn’t your finals the Council moved up, now is it?” I huff. “I can’t afford to miss a class, especially this one.”

“Celina,” Xander sighs, pinching his nose. “You can’t leave unguarded.”

“Look, no one knows I’m here yet, right? My class is two hours. That’ll give you and the boys plenty of time to set up.”

“Cel, you know I can’t.”

I give him a hard look. “I’m not missing any more classes.”

Xander groans and stomps his foot. “Cel, I don’t even have a car rented yet.”

“Then take my car.”

He glares at me. “I need rest.”

“And I need to make it to my class.”

Xander glowers and locks eyes with mine. I give him my hardest stare as I fold my arms. He flinches and looks away. “Fine, just don’t tell Dad I let you out of my sight.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m going to an engineering class, not a decimated pack house. I’ll be fine.” I motion towards the hall, “Rooms are on the left. Yours is the one closest to the living room. It has a connected bathroom.”

“How many rooms do you have?”

I give him a curious look. “Four. One is a study room. One is an exercise room. The other is a guest room. Of course, you also have my room. Touch it, and I’ll kill you.” I flash him a smile before grabbing my keys from the glass end table by the door.

He groans. “I can’t.”

I roll my eyes. “Look,” I tell him; grabbing a perfume bottle that was next to my car keys. I spray the scent-neutralizing spray over me, covering my scent. “Dad made me start wearing it because of Declan,” I explain as I set it back down. “Better?”

Slowly, he nods and watches me slowly step into the elevator. I take the elevator to the parking garage while I scroll through my phone. The elevator opens to reveal my white Range Rover, reserved in the first parking spot and directly under a camera that is monitored at all hours by two of the pack’s soldiers. Dad doesn’t take my security lightly; it’s touching but also annoying.

I get to campus with just enough time to buy breakfast and coffee. I left my school supplies at home since I was anxious to get out of there before Xander changed his mind. I only have one class today since it’s two hours, and it’s hard. That way I get to go straight home and try to figure out what the hell I just learned. My teacher is horrible at explaining things to the class, but he does a good job telling the board. I’m still not entirely sure what his face looks like.

I go to the campus coffee house and am met with loud music. It’s upbeat pop that has to be from the nineties. I’m way too tired for this kind of energy. After I get my order of a bear claw and a latte, I put on my headphones and start playing hard rock; trying to wake up my mind. Only a few hours of sleep while still recovering from Wolfsbane sucks. Still, I’ve been through worse.

I feel my phone vibrate as I make my way to class; walking through the semi-packed campus. It’s nice out so quite a few people are studying on the ground or gathered in groups to gossip between classes. I read the text, and stop dead in my tracks. It’s from an unknown number. “You look good in that outfit. How does your coffee taste, Princess?”

I mute my music and text back; annoyed more than anything. I hate it when Xander is right. “I swear Declan, leave me the fuck alone.” I know it’s not him, but I’d prefer to appear naïve at the moment. I tuck my phone away as I roll my eyes while I take a sip of my coffee.

Using my werewolf hearing, I hear a low sharp growl coming from my left. Males. They’re way too hot-headed to be good stalkers. From the corner of my eye, I see a male with platinum white hair cut close to his head. He’s tall, but he’s barely over six feet. He’s well-built and is wearing a brown shirt and jeans; blending in with dull colors. He appears to be glaring at his phone and is leaning against a tree with his back to me. Interesting, I can’t smell him but I can sense his beast.

My phone vibrates so I pull it out. “Don’t call me that disgusting piece of trash.”

I smirk and take a picture of him. I text it back to him with the caption. “At least Declan doesn’t hide.”

I sip my coffee and record his reaction. Within a second he stiffens and runs off; being extremely careful not to show his face. I’d go after him, but considering I’m surrounded by innocent humans, I’d rather not trigger his fight-or-flight instincts.

I start walking to class as I groan. I regretfully call Xander after I text him a screenshot of the conversation, the picture I took, and the video. “Cel,” Xander demands, “what’s wrong?”

“They know I’m back in Seattle,” I tell him while I hear Christopher and Ruben arguing in the background. As always, I’m the topic.

“What the hell do you mean they know you’re back in Seattle?” That stops the argument while panic pulls through him.

“I mean exactly what I just said,” I tell him and stand outside the classroom door. “I texted you the exchange. Will you please work on getting me a new number and phone? I’m just stepping into class.”

“Why didn’t you confront him? Are you still hurting from the Wolfsbane?”

“No. I just didn’t want to start an all-out brawl in the middle of a packed campus. I’ll be fine in class Xander. I get out at eleven so I’ll be home soon. Now goodbye.”