Page 42 of Seven is Swell

“Mr. Aspis, you should be getting home so you can relax. You’ve been putting in so many extra hours this week.”

“I appreciate the concern, but really, if this gentleman says it’s important, I believe him. Have a good weekend.” He’s totally sweating.

“Alright, if you’re sure. You have a good weekend as well. Be sure to find some time to relax.”

“Come on in, Mr. Lawrence.”

I don’t hesitate. I’m in that office and closing the door before he’s in his seat. “I need you to do a favor for me.”

The headmaster freezes and whips around to look at me, then maybe gets to thinking I don’t know about the incident and he relaxes, taking a seat in his chair with his hands laced on top of his head. He takes deep, calming breaths while trying to appear unaffected by my presence. “And what makes you think I have any desire to do that? As my secretary already told you, my office hours are over. It’s a four-day weekend. I should be heading home.”

“So you can eat your frozen tv dinner on your couch with no pants on? Please.”

“I will not tolerate disrespect, Mr. Lawrence. I’ve been very accommodating of you and your brother’s presence here, and I expect you both to stay within the lines I’ve drawn for you.” Ooh, headmaster means business.

I can mean business, too. “Let me rephrase this. Your fated mate just had her locker pried open and destroyed, her personal property dumped all over the ground, and her backpack slashedopen while she was in class. Now. You want to tell me again that you don’t want to help me?”

He’s on his feet instantly. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You want to get angry, I can get angry right back, and out of the two of us, I bet I have the physical advantage unless you want to shift and cheat.”

“If you’re insinuating that Ms. Duncan is my mate, you have bad information. I am single by choice, and I plan to remain so. However, I can help you out since she’s a VIP student here and I don’t want her to feel unsafe.”

“Cut the shit. We all know.” His defensiveness says he's completely aware of the situation.

He stares at me, clenching his jaw and I can almost hear the gears turning in his head, trying to decide if he should admit to it or not. I don’t have time for games, though. I pull out my phone and show him the picture of Delaney’s arm, right where the mark appeared when she said out loud that this man in front of me was her mate.

“What do you want me to do with this?”

“You’re not giving her enough credit. She’s a bodysmith and knows exactly how you feel about her because she was called to your office and sucked your dick. She sensed the connection and admitted as much and now she has a mark for you. We all know, so like I said, cut the shit.”

He exhales heavily and collapses into his seat, but his mode is still stuck on pissed off. “You have no proof of any of these unsubstantiated claims—"

“Oh, fuck off. I’m talking to you as one of her mates right now, not as someone that respects your authority on this campus. Someone made her feel unsafe, and I know you have the senseof smell to track them down. So, we can sit here and debate who is or isn’t fated to be with the best thing that’s ever been given to this world, or we can help her feel like someone cares enough to fix the situation for her. Which side you want to fall on?”

He stands and grabs his jacket and a stupid leather briefcase, tucking his phone into his pocket and locking his office door. Good. Looks like he’s going to play along.

“Where is she at right now?”

“I sent her home with everyone else to try and unwind and get some food. She was kind of shaken up and I think she has good reason to be. You want to know what was in her locker before class started?” I hand him the note I’m still carrying and let him read it.

“Ring?”

“Beautiful and matches her eyes. Currently on her hand and I don’t foresee her taking it off anytime soon. Something told her to keep both things out of her locker during class, so the important stuff was already removed before someone broke in. But clearly, they knew it was going to be in there because why else would they target Delaney’s locker at that exact moment?”

Fury is still pumping through my veins as I recall the way Delaney shut down after we got her away from the locker room, and I know she’s shaken up by the near miss more than anything, but none of us blame her.

“What’s with the reference to the goblin heart?”

“One of her mates gets premonitions and acquired one for her years ago and recently gifted it to her. We’ve since been made aware of some of its properties and how it could possibly help free the gargoyle stuck on the side of your school. What the fuck, by the way? How many students have used that room witha cursed creature stuck outside the window? Doesn’t that seem a bit fucked up to you? No one has tried to help him? Surely a goblin heart isn’t the only way to get him down from there.”

“I cannot interfere in such matters. My job as headmaster is to oversee the students and make sure my staff are taken care of and allowed to teach what they’re being paid to teach. He’s been quiet as a rock for years, to my understanding.”

“That’s a terrible pun.”

He quirks a lip up. “But an appropriate one.”

We don’t talk much after that as we head down to the athletic building where he uses a giant ring of keys to gain us access.

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