Chapter 29: Chapter 29

RAGE

I sat my plate down at breakfast and closed my eyes. I needed several moments to get myself together. My wolf was pacing and growling. His need to protect Everlee felt bigger than ever.

Derek slid into the seat opposite of me and placed a folder down in front of me. “I found out a little about your little friend Erick.”

Grabbing the folder, I began to flip through the pages in front of me. Erick leaned in and pointed toward the second page. “He’s packless.”

Being packless was the same as being rogue.

I glanced up at him. “And the university let him in?”

Derek snagged a piece of bacon from his plate and began to eat. “It says he used discrimination against lycan policy that your soon-to-be father-in-law had established.”

Scratching my head, I shut the folder and held my forehead.

Derek furrowed his brow. “What’s got you all worked up this morning?”

I sat back and glanced around the cafeteria. Nothing seemed different. “Someone nailed a wolf’s leg to Everlee’s dorm room last night.”

Derek choked on his food. “Seriously? Really? And you’re here.”

“The chancellor said we needed to leave. He needed to investigate and put in cameras. Harlan was there…. And something is off about him.”

“Yeah,” he said. “He’s hanging around a group of rogues with no rules. He’s becoming feral.”

“I want to call Alpha Allaire, but Ever says she’s talking to him this weekend. Maybe he knows about Harlan’s father. I know they killed him, but maybe they know what’s going on with him.”

Derek scoffed. “Why do you care about that? You need to show Ever that she’s protected.”

“No,” I said. “I need to make sure she’s safe, and I can’t if she’s spending time with Harlan. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. If the lycans are giving him bad advice or he’s… I don’t know, going crazy? We need to figure it out.”

Derek put his palms up in surrender. “You’re the boss. Do what you want.”

Starting in on my food, I tried to calm my wolf’s pacing. He was uncomfortable and pissed. I didn’t blame him. None of this made any sense.

The lunchroom door slammed across the dining area. Several lycans walked in to get in line. My wolf tensed at the smell of the lycan. He wanted to run over and drag him out of the building.

But we had zero proof.

One of our pack members walked over and asked Derek to scoot over. “Are you going home this weekend?” Seth asked.

“Probably not,” I mumbled, watching the lycans move through.

Erick’s gaze landed on mine from the midst of the line.

~Get him,~ my wolf growled. ~It’s your chance.~

“We have no proof,” I mumbled.

Seth knocked his knuckles against the table. “Is everything okay, Rage?”

Derek kicked my knee underneath the table. “Calm down. I can see your wheels turning. We don’t know anything for sure.”

“What are y’all talking about?” Seth asked.

The line moved and Erick walked toward a table in the middle of the cafeteria. I curled my fingers into fists, and I fought my wolf’s attempts at shifting.

“Nothing,” I said, forcing myself to look at my plate. “Everything is fine.”

I continued to eat, feeling their glares at the side of my face, and soon their whispers. Closing my eyes, I bit down my wolf. “What are they whispering about?” Seth asked.

When I opened my eyes, I felt my wolf taking charge.

Derek’s eyes rounded. “Don’t,” he warned. “No fighting. Let him come to you.”

My fingers curled around the edge of the table, and the wood whined. “Talk me down,” I whispered to Derek.

“You don’t want to do this. Think about Ever. You need to win without fighting. The chancellor said no fighting.”

Erick’s chair slid against the tiled floor and his heavy footsteps fell closer to me. When he stopped beside me, I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep myself together. His attempt at wearing me down was coming to an end. I stood up swiftly. I felt my eyes shifting as my wolf fought, and then Erick smiled.

“Why the hard feelings this morning, Alpha? Did I miss something?” He leaned closer to my ear. “Is something wrong with Ever?”

My wolf snapped.

The red haze took over, and I launched at him. The sound of wolves scattering around the room danced in the distance of my mind.

My fist landed heavily on Erick’s jaw, and I watched his own twisted wolf try to take front seat. Erick dug his thumb against my eye, but I twisted and tossed him off before he could harm me any further.

Blood dripped down the side of his mouth, and when he spit a tooth came with it. Erick’s humorless laugh slid under my skin like nails. “You’ll regret that, Alpha.”

He picked up a chair and attempted to throw it when the chancellor grabbed it above his head. He shattered it across the room. “You two. My office. Now.”

Two of the football coaches escorted us toward his building. With each step toward the office I felt my wolf trying to break through.

He was mad.

Heated.

I felt him trying so hard it rocked through my body. He wanted to protect Everlee, and I wouldn’t let him.

We passed Ever’s dorm room on the way. Several girls stood on the porch talking about Ever’s dorm room door.

She was in the midst of them.

She stepped out of the circle and watched as we were escorted away from her. “Don’t even think about it, Rage,” the chancellor called out.

Everlee’s face was ashen.

I lifted my hand to let her know everything was okay. But I wasn’t sure it was. I wasn’t sure what the chancellor would say to me, or if he’d consider this disobedient since it wasn’t Harlan.

I cracked my neck and loosened my muscles. I was tense, and I didn’t know how to calm my wolf down. Maybe a nice run would do me some good, but something told me not to wander into the woods alone.

For the first time since attending Werewolf University, I felt vulnerable.

I had a weakness now, and I would do anything to protect her.

The two coaches stopped at the chancellor’s door and shut it behind Erick. I sat down across from his desk and waited on him to speak.

“I’m trying to understand why the alpha’s king son and a lycan that’s went to school together for years are suddenly fighting. What’s the problem between you two? I’m confused as to why in the hell you’re fighting. I would understand you fighting Harlan more so than Erick. What’s the problem?”

I shifted in my chair. I couldn’t possibly explain this to him. I had no proof, but I felt it. I felt it deep down inside that Erick was out to get me.

The chancellor sat back and braced his fingers across his stomach. “No takers? You both had things to say earlier. Cat got your tongue?”

“It was a misunderstanding, Chancellor,” Erick said in that smooth voice. “I approached Rage because I could feel the hostility coming off him. I didn’t mean to step on any toes.”

I rolled my eyes. This bastard was a complete ass-wipe.

“Rage?” the chancellor asked. “Was this a misunderstanding? Because I hope it was. I don’t need fighting on campus. You’re the alpha king’s son. An example to other wolves and lycans.”

Erick snorted, and the chancellor glared at him. “And you’re on your last leg. I gave you one chance when we accepted you. Don’t push me, Erick.”

Erick nodded respectfully, but it all felt forced. This entire conversation was a waste of everyone’s time. Erick wasn’t going to walk out of here a changed person. He was luring me into a trap that I felt coming.

The chancellor leaned forward and braced his elbows on his desk. “If I catch wind of one more situation like this, you’re both going to regret it. Get out of my office. I don’t want to see either of you again.”

I stood up swiftly and left the building. My wolf was vibrating my entire body. I felt Erick close behind me, but I didn’t dare look at him.

I couldn’t.

If my wolf caught sight of him, he would unravel.

Luckily, Ever stood on the steps waiting on me. She had her thumbnail tucked into the corner of her mouth. “Oh thank God, is everything okay?”

She stopped when Erick walked past us with a wicked smile on his face.

“What happened?” she asked when he was out of hearing distance. “I was worried. I heard you two got into a fight.”

I placed my palms on her shoulders and kissed her. She melted into my touch, and it erased all of my wolf’s tension at once. She pulled away with those spellbinding hazel eyes and sighed heavily. “Tell me. I’m dying.”

I smiled and looped my arm around her waist to walk her back toward her dorm. “He approached me, taunted me, and I couldn’t stop my wolf. I think his plan is to lure my wolf out and get me suspended. Derek found out that he doesn’t have a pack.”

She gasped. “Erick is a rogue? And they let him in.”

I nodded and swiped my palm down my face. “Apparently, yeah.”

She frowned and tossed a piece of ebony hair from her forehead. “Well, we need to make sure your wolf is content, and forget about Erick as long as we can.”

I glanced down at her. “How would we do that?”

She smiled at me. “I have my first test tomorrow. I’m going to be in the library this evening. I booked a study room. Want to join me?”

We stopped in front of her dorm room. There were still a few girls lingering around, but it didn’t deter the moment. “I’ll be there, Ever. Anything for some alone time with you.”

She lifted onto her toes and kissed me softly. I watched her hips sway in those tight jeans until she was tucked into the group of girls on the front porch of the dorm.

The feeling of being watched loomed over me.

I continued to the alpha house without a second thought. Keeping myself together was my main goal.

No matter what the lycans tossed at me, I would prove myself an alpha.

An alpha king.