Chapter 13

Ruby

“Who is he?” I ask, looking over my shoulder to see that the handsome boy has disappeared in the throng of students.

“That’s Earl,” Nancy replies. “He’s a top student, president of the student council, and he’s the speaker of the school opening ceremony every year. He’s basically the idol of all the girls in the school.”

“Hmm…” I mutter, still looking over my shoulder and wondering about the handsome boy as well as what may have happened to my navigator. What Nancy said about the headmaster flashes through my mind, but I decide that that’s just a silly rumor and nothing to really worry about.

My thought is broken again by someone else bumping into me and cursing at me angrily. I stumble into Nancy, who catches me and helps me regain my balance.

“You really should get a new uniform,” she says. “They’re only a couple thousand dollars.”

My eyes widen. “A couple… thousand?” That’s more than double my entire monthly salary that I used to make waiting tables in my old pack.

Nancy shrugs. Clearly, money has never been a concern of hers. I doubt that money has ever been a concern to anyone in such a wealthy school.

“Oh, and perfume is kind of a big deal here. All of the girls have their own signature perfume, and you can’t find any of the fragrances bottled in stores because each family makes their own. Think of it like… a status symbol.”

“Is spilt coffee a scent?” I ask.

Nancy laughs and digs through her bag to pull out a small crystal bottle. “Here,” she says, uncapping the bottle. “To make up for your shitty first day.” She spritzes me a couple of times. It’s the same cinnamon scent on the cardigan that she gave me, but stronger and fresher. I can’t help but smile at this girl’s kindness. I sincerely hope we can be friends from now on.

“Oh, and,” Nancy says, continuing her lecture on the ins and outs of the Lycan school, “the Homecoming Queen will be elected very soon. We always kick off the school year with lots of sports events and festivities. I’ve already joined the cheerleading team, and I’ve just signed up for the Queen’s election. You make sure to join a team or a club, too!”

Before I have a chance to answer, our conversation is broken by a public mindlink announcement.

“All students, please join us on the field for training.”

It’s Atwood’s voice.

“Wow, I guess we’re starting training early this year,” Nancy says, ushering me back toward our lockers as she gushes about Atwood.

“Lycan Atwood was so popular in school when he went here,” she says. “All of the girls -- and I really mean all of them -- wanted to be his mate so badly. He had countless suitors. Girls would practically throw themselves at his feet when he walked past. He never seemed to care much for romance, but still: he’s the Lycan King, and he’s just so good looking.” We arrive at our lockers and Nancy pauses in front of hers to look at me. “Needless to say, there was some… outrage when people found out that he has a mate. Still, he’s just so nice to look at. Everyone will be fawning over him at the training.”

I gulp nervously, partially from not wanting to give away the fact that I am Atwood’s mate for the sake of not wanting to be bullied even more by Donna and her crew, but also partially because I hadn’t expected Atwood to be at school today.

“Does… Lycan Atwood always get involved in training?”

“Oh, yes,” Nancy replies. “He’s so physically fit, and he’s very responsible with the training. He seems to enjoy keeping an eye on our training and drilling everyone himself. But I will warn you, he’s tough and goes hard on us.”

We open our lockers now. Nancy pulls out a pink gym bag and slings it over her shoulder as all of the excited students rush around.

“I have to go with the cheer team,” she says hurriedly. “You can just change into your gym clothes in the bathroom if you don’t want to use the locker rooms. I do that sometimes. And the sports field is straight through the main entryway, out through the doors in the back. You can’t miss it. If all else fails, just follow the crowd!”

With that, my new friend runs off and leaves me alone.

I take a deep breath and retrieve my gym bag, deciding to take Nancy’s advice and get changed in the bathroom.

When I enter the bathroom, I lock myself in a stall and open my gym bag.

I gasp at what has been prepared for me, and know that Alice must have had something to do with this.

Instead of the nice school gym uniforms that the other students are wearing, there is nothing but a stained and tattered old set of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. The sneakers are a full size too big and are so worn out on the bottom that they hurt my feet when I walk.

When I step out of the stall to look at myself, there are two girls standing by the sink and preening themselves. They’re wearing cute gym uniforms in burgundy and navy blue, with fitted t-shirts and tennis skirts. Their sneakers are nice and new, both pairs from nice, expensive designer brands.

If I wasn’t certain that Alice sabotaged me before, I am definitely certain now. It makes no sense that the King’s mate wouldn’t be provided with the best uniform unless someone wanted to see me fail.

The girls look me up and down, then look at each other and giggle. I can hear them whispering to each other as they skip out of the bathroom.

“Did you see that?”

“She looks like she’s homeless!”

“I know! I wonder what sewer she crawled out of.”

I clench my fists and stare at my miserable reflection in the mirror as tears well up in my eyes for the third time this morning. I don’t want to let anyone see me like this, especially not Atwood. I’m going to be a huge embarrassment, and he might not even want to mate with me anymore after my escape and now this.

“Last call for training,” Atwood’s voice sounds again through the public mindlink. Then, through the private mindlink, he speaks to me. “Ruby, where are you?”

I shut my eyes and a few tears squeeze out as I try to come up with a response. An excuse, maybe. I could say that I got my period, or that I hurt my ankle. I know he’ll see right through it, though, so it’s no use.

“Coming,” I respond.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves, and emerge from the bathroom. The hallways are empty as all of the students have already arrived at training, so I follow Nancy’s instructions in my head and exit through the back door in the main entryway.

When I exit through the doors and walk out onto the training field, the students are already neatly lined up for training. Atwood stands at the front, speaking quietly with the guard who I had dazed on our wedding night -- Beta Kayne -- as I walk shyly toward the back of the line.

Atwood and the students all look at me in unison.