Chapter 10 #3
“I’m going to sign us into the cafeteria this morning,” he explained as we walked down the Eclipse driveway. “Once we get your ID, you will be able to sign in yourself and make any other purchases for food, but I want to make sure you eat before we handle any of that.”
“And make sure you eat as well,” I added quietly.
“Worried about me?” he teased as we reached the intersection of crossing into the Student Union. Instead, we turned right towards a building that had a large patio covering and glass doors. It appeared to be two floors and read ‘Cafeteria.’
“I am,” I admitted honestly. “Is that weird?”
“No.” He flashed me a smile and squeezed my hand. “Makes me feel less crazy.”
“Crazy?” I teased.
“Very,” he hummed. He opened up a large glass door and ushered me in as we were instantly warmed by the heat. I noticed there was a room labeled ‘Mail Office.’ Julian must have caught me looking as we neared a front desk with an older woman sitting and reading.
“We can get your mail key later,” he assured.
“I won’t be getting mail,” I promised, almost smiling at that notion. Until my admission letter, I’d never received a piece of mail in my life.
Julian frowned down at me but didn’t question my tone as I watched him scan his ID against an electric pad, the woman sitting in front of the sign in greeting us as we walked towards a massive archway. I paused in shock, my eyes going wide.
Now, I had always eaten enough at home. Not more, not less, but two meals a day, usually. Enough. But this? This seemed excessive.
The cafeteria had a massive arched ceiling that was absolutely beautiful, much different than the one in my high school.
There were windows facing out towards the lake, and more than anything, there was a massive circle, almost maze-like, of granite counters that had serving trays overflowing with food.
I couldn’t even pay attention to any of the other students there, because the scene in front of me was like a utopia.
Fresh fruit. Breakfast food. Meat. Everything.
I felt my pulse pick up as my wolf began to sort through all the different scents.
Then a weird pang of guilt hit me, thinking about all the younger Whitepaw Pack members that would never see a situation like this.
That wouldn’t even know it was an option.
My heart tightened, wishing that I could somehow bring this to them.
Not their parents or the jerks in my class, but all the kids that never asked to be born into such a cruel situation.
“This is a lot,” I mumbled.
“Come on.” Julian pulled my hand gently. I grabbed a plate like he did and put some fresh fruit on it before I had an omelette made by one of the chefs, my small plate tiny in comparison to Julian’s. How the heck did he eat so much? Seriously, the man had a fantastic body… so how?
I followed him towards one of the tables, and as I took a seat across from him, I shed my coat, gloves, and backpack like he did.
“You know, I usually eat breakfast alone,” he pointed out, his ankle hooking with mine as I picked at my fruit, interested in how the heck he was going to eat so much.
“I don’t usually eat much for breakfast,” I admitted. “We would have a big dinner, but that was about it.”
He frowned and shook his head. “No more of that shit.”
I warmed at the concept of him worrying about me as his eyes suddenly lit up and he pulled out an expensive-looking phone, pulling up what appeared to be the campus map. Oh. That would have been smart to bring today. Then again, that paper map they’d given me was pretty torn up after yesterday.
“So the entire campus is about only a mile or so long,” he explained, pointing to where we currently were. “On this side we have the Eclipse dorms, the Student Union, the sports complex, cafeteria, and then three other dorm buildings.”
I nodded as he drew his finger down a path that led along the lake to another grouping of buildings. “Down here are the academic buildings and administrative buildings. The Student Union can handle dorm stuff, but everything else will be down here.”
I continued to eat fruit as I nodded and then leaned forward. “How can I tell which buildings I will have classes in?”
“Once we get your schedule it will be easier,” he explained. “Have you declared a major?”
“I don’t think so…” I tilted my head. “What’s the options?”
“A ton.” He chuckled softly. “You have some supernatural community required classes you will have to take, and then also some liberal arts requirements, but what is your actual interest?”
My mouth opened, and I automatically answered, “Economics.”
Julian blinked at me and then slowly smiled. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.
“Why?” He asked with genuine interest as I tried to shake my concern that he would have a similar reaction to Gerald.
“Um, I find the change in markets over time interesting, for one,” I mumbled.
“And the fact that perception of the economy can influence it in its entirety. It’s stupid, probably, but I have always found it interesting.
Gerald was pissed at me when I brought up our pack’s socioeconomic status. Like really pissed.”
Julian’s eyes flashed dark. “What did he do?”
I swallowed, my eyes darting away. “Yelled at me.”
“Effie.” His voice was hard as I looked back at the way his eyes seemed to swirl with gold.
There was that tone again, the one that had me wanting to give him an answer, almost like a compulsion.
Or maybe that was my excuse. Maybe I just wanted someone to tell me that what I’d gone through wasn’t okay.
I picked at my omelet, taking a bite and nearly moaning at the cheese before finally answering on a tired note. “He hit me.”
Julian froze, his entire frame seeming to tense as he examined my expression, before his eyes closed, a shudder rolling over him.
I watched with a bit of fascination as he tried to shake it, because I could feel his wolf right under the surface.
I got a flash of a massive, dark creature darting past mine before I flushed and realized he was letting out a low growl.
“How often?” he finally asked, his voice soft. “How often did he hit you?”
“Not as much as Theresa,” I pointed out, nibbling my lip. “I sort of figured his actions weren’t normal, but your reaction is making that extremely clear.”
“Lots of people in your pack were violent,” he assumed, his pulse still jumping, and I had a feeling he was close to losing control over his emotions. I felt both intrigued by his reaction and also a bit worried. Also guilty. I wasn’t positive how to fix this.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I pointed out as he continued to stare at me before nodding and looking away.
His posture changed slightly as he saw something from across the room, his eyes flashing with amusement for a moment before he returned back to his somewhat relaxed posture.
I wasn’t sure how relaxed he actually was, though.
“Little wolf.”
Dakota’s voice in my head had me following Julian’s gaze and smiling.
The man in question was crossing the room, completely ignoring two men that tried to say hi to him.
Instead, he ran a hand through his dark hair, his eyes completely focused on me, enough so that my face was flushed pink.
I curled in on myself just slightly, not because I was scared of him, but because I didn’t want to launch myself at him.
I was seriously starting to worry about my lack of control around these men.
“Tore following you?” Julian asked curiously as Dakota grabbed the seat next to me, instantly pulling my chair closer to him. I squeaked in surprise as he flashed me an amused look before placing his arm around me.
“Yeah, he was getting ready when I left. Where did the other bastard go?”
I looked away from them, not wanting to talk about Caedmon. Mostly because I didn’t know what to do with all of that.
“He left early this morning,” Julian hedged.
“Weird.” Dakota tilted his head and looked at me. “Was he acting weird last night when you slept in his room?”
Crap.
“You knew about that?” I flushed, feeling embarrassed, yet relieved that it wasn’t some odd secret.
Julian didn’t answer, but Dakota’s smile grew, amusement filling his eyes. “Yeah, little wolf, I knew exactly where you were all night. I always know where you are.”
“Oh, yeah, that doesn’t make you sound like a fucking creep, Dakota,” Julian mused, scrolling through his phone, seemingly back to himself.
The man in question looked over my reaction before he shrugged. “I’m not going to lie to her.”
Would he find it odd that I actually loved the concept of him always knowing where I was? That I craved his attention fully focused on me?
“I woke up and he was gone,” I admitted. “I had gone in there wondering if he was cold and gave him my comforter. I couldn’t sleep very well because of the storm, so I tried to stay up, but I ended up falling asleep in his room on the floor.”
“You gave him your comforter?” Dakota asked, interest filling his face.
“You slept on the floor?” Julian frowned.
“I knew he didn’t have a lot with him,” I pointed out and then shrugged. “I was against the radiator, sort of comfortable to be honest.”
Julian let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head. “Effie, you probably scared the poor man to death.”
“Scared Caedmon?” I arched a brow. “I scared him?”
Well, at least I hadn’t been completely wrong about reading his emotions.
“Not how you are thinking.” Dakota picked a piece of fruit from my plate. “But he’s not wrong. Doesn’t surprise me he ran away like a pup this morning to lick his wounds.”
“You have to forgive him at some point,” Julian sighed. “You know his father.”
“I don’t have to forgive shit,” Dakota muttered.
“I hurt him?” I frowned, thinking about the wound comment.
“No.” Dakota shook his head. “He’s just not good with emotion.”