Chapter Twenty-Four

Celina

I stare at him completely dumbfounded while my wolf chuckles. He tricked me. How does he keep doing this? I recover quickly and give him a seductive smile. “Perfect,” I say as I jump off my seat and go get my bag. Chris two, Celina zero. I can feel his eyes watching me as I walk away.

“You can’t think around that boy, can you,” Mara chuckles. She’s amused by how much Chris can rattle me.

“I will get one over on him,” I tell her while I look back to see Chris waiting by the elevator.

“Good luck with that.”

“Go back to daydreaming about Rajin,” I snap back bitterly. I pull at my hair that’s over my shoulder and turn my head away from Chris; highlighting my exposed neck. Almost immediately I hear his intake of breath as I turn to grab my keys that are on my coffee table.

I toss the keys to him with a small victorious grin on my face. He catches it with ease, wearing a staggered expression on his face. “You’re driving. Remember?”

He grimaces. “Do you really think it’s appropriate to wear that, considering your circumstances?”

I motion up and down; making him look at my black leggings and low-cut pale blue corseted tank top. “What’s wrong with this?” I then smirk and point to my exposed neck. “Or is it this that you’re protesting?”

His fists tense and he has to close his eyes. “Cel, I would appreciate it, if you covered your neck.”

Daringly, I step close to him and speak softly, “I was already planning on it.” His eyes snap open when the door dings, and I pull a scarf I had stuffed in my bag earlier this morning. I wrap the light blue and white scarf loosely around my neck, while I turn and start walking into the elevator.

I push the button while he stands there, stunned. “Are you coming?”

He trips over his feet; rushing to come stand next to me. Celina one, Chris two.

Chris was about to respond, but my phone ringing cuts him off. I groan and answer it. After twenty missed calls, they start to get mad. “You’re nearly as clingy as your son,” I tell him, annoyed as hell that he won’t stop calling me after my order today. I thought Xander promised he wouldn’t have my new number.

“Princess Celina, why are you ordering an investigation,” he growls; trying to make me flinch.

I chuckle darkly, “I ordered it, because you can’t reign in your pathetic son. After Declan’s multiple attempts on a member of the Alpha King’s family, and your failure to rectify the situation, it makes me question your ability to remain impartial and make a fair judgement, Grand Chancellor. Due to your inability to handle this simple task, I ordered the investigation.” “Celina, drop the investigation, now,” he growls; forgetting who he is dealing with.

I bark a laugh and speak with malice in my voice. “You should have done your job.”

His tone goes down a note, signaling I won this pissing contest. “If I order Declan home, and order him to go nowhere near you, will you order the investigation to stop?”

“Not a chance,” I tell him; enjoying him squirming. It seems that I managed to push his panic button. I hang up the phone, wondering where he got the audacity to ask me a favor for something he should have done months ago.

Chris looks at me as the door opens. I immediately stiffen and step behind him. Not today Satan.

Chris lets out a warning growl. “Get out of here Declan,” he warns, seeing Declan leaning against my car.

“I wanted to offer to drive Celina to class, so we can talk,”

“What the hell is wrong with you Declan,” I demand from him. “I don’t want you near me.” I step next to Chris as I glare at Declan, noting his hair is a mess and the majority of his clothes are shredded. He’s also covered in mud. “What happened to you?”

“I’ve been running all night because some white haired freak is pissed that I came near you.” He takes a deep breath to calm himself. “Celina, get in the car, and we can talk. You have to let me mark you.”

“Why? Why do I have to let you do that?”

“Because I love you, okay?” He snaps, his eyes beginning to reveal his beast. “I’ve never loved anyone the way I do you. Your rejection is killing me.”

“Your ego is killing you,” I tell him while Chris growls.

“Celina please,” he begs. “Your little bodyguard can even join us.”

“I’m her mate,” Chris growls, stepping toward him.

Declan raises his eyebrow, “Have you marked her?”

Chris stiffens, realizing his point. “No.”

“Then she’s still up for grabs. You may have marked her wolf, but you haven’t marked the one who counts,” Declan takes a step closer, “and we’re not the only ones that know that.”

“What do you mean?”

“That white-haired prick isn’t the first to chase me down and try to kill me for trying to mark Celina. It’s been happening since I first said hello to her.” Declan’s eyes land on me with a hard look. “Of course, this happens to you a lot, doesn’t it?”

Ice fills my veins as my stomach drops while Declan grins. “That’s right Celina, you’re not cursed.”

My eyes flash to his while I absorb that as I take a step back, anger starting to rise in my chest. Acting in anger, I shove Chris out of the elevator at the same time I push the button. Chris and Declan both yell my name while the elevator door closes. When the door opens, I pull the emergency stop and throw my bag on the couch as I angrily stride to her room.

“Are you kidding me,” I demand from Jenna as I throw her door open, making her lurch out of bed. “You’ve been talking to Declan?”

Jenna’s eyes widen as she gets to her feet. “Wha-what do you mean?”

“Cut the bullshit,” I snap at her; my eyes flashing. “The only person I ever told about my cursed theory is you. Then Declan just happened to mention it?”

“I only told him that to explain why you refuse to let anyone get close to you,” she pleads, trying to pull a silken nightgown over her pink nightie.

“Why are you still talking to him?” I yell, well past being reasoned with.

She bites her tongue and screams her frustration, “I can’t tell you.”

“Tell me,” I order her, slamming her with my aura with my eyes completely changed. I’m close to losing control of Mara, and bad things happen when I do.

Jenna bares her neck as she drops to her knees. “Because Randaul ordered me not to and he forced me to comply. I was also supposed to talk his son up to you.”

“When did you even have time to see him?”

“After you left home. He cornered me that afternoon when I was eating lunch in the dining room.”

I glare at her, making her whimper. “What does he want?”

“He wants you mated to his son, so he can take over as King of the Beasts. If you’re fully lycan, with your strength, you can challenge Exzecial and win.”

“And what makes him think I’ll do what he wants?”

“If you’re mated to his son, all he needs is Declan to force you to through the mate bond.”

I let out a low growl, “That’s what I thought.” He’s been aiming for Exzecial’s job for years. The Grand Chancellor is getting desperate, which means the others out there are too. It’s the only explanation for the amount of time and energy he’s putting into this plan.

I give Jenna a hard look, “You let me down, Jen,” I tell her before I turn around and leave. The second I’m out of her room, I run for the elevator. I already hear Xander stirring.

“Celina, where are you going?” Jenna yells as she starts following me. “You can’t be left alone. There is clearly more than just Randaul after you.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” I snap as I step into the elevator.

“Where are you going?” Jenna demands, running from the hall.

“I’m either going to kill someone, or just disable them. I’ll decide that later.” I tell her right before the elevator doors close. I push the emergency stop back in to disable it and hit the lobby button. I’m not getting any answers without being alone. It sucks that I’m going to miss class today.

I stalk out of the lobby while I pull my phone out of my pocket. I call Chris while I step into moving foot traffic. As I go, I cover my scent. “Celina,” he answers quickly, and I hear Declan heavily panting in the background.

“I wanted to let you know that I might miss our date, and you can go back to bed. I’m not going to school today.”

“Celina, what do you mean?”

“Don’t follow me,” I tell him and then hang up; turning off my phone the second the call has dropped. If he wants to play this game, then I’ll gladly oblige. Granted I might draw the wrong crowd with this action, but I’m willing to chance it.

The further I get away from Chris, the more I feel my wolf pacing. I feel three different sets of eyes on me. I know one of them is the one I’m hunting. He wants me alone, and that’s exactly what I’m going to give him. He wants power, and I’m not giving it to him. Why does no one understand that the last thing I want is to rule over one species, let alone more. If the Council is going to drag me into this mess, I might as well start doing a little revamping.

Knowing I’m running out of time, before my knight in shining armor tracks me down, I flag down a cab. Since he smells human, I gladly get in. “Mayfair Park please,” I tell him as I lean back in the seat and “play” on my phone; using the screen as a mirror to check for a tail. I spot one in less than a minute.

Once the taxi driver gets to the park, I turn my phone on long enough to pay him, then immediately turn it off. I get out of the cab then start walking into the park, keeping my aura up to prevent weaker wolves from approaching me. I’m after stronger game. He’s not going to approach me in the open, and I’m counting on that.

I follow a path off to a picnic area, sitting at an isolated table surrounded by woods, except for the open path that led me here. Water is flowing, so that gives me some comfort in case I have to escape.

Five minutes later, I hear his husky voice before I see him, “Why are you sitting alone, Princess?”

I give a hard smile as I see a man with peppered hair set on a charming face that can give even the most handsome con man a run for his money. “I’ve been waiting for you, Grand Chancellor Randaul.”