Page 36 of Suspicions on the Stage
They all look at one another, their expressions darker as it hits them. Magnus and his cronies may have filed all sorts of lies and bullshit they don’t know about. I wanted them to understand that, so I’m glad it’s sinking in.
“Okay.” Vasielios pats his knees, then stands. “We will put together a file for your assistant by the end of the week. It would be foolish to reject your offer to give our feedback, especially given the circumstances you’ve described.”
The three women stand as well, and I rise from my desk, crossing over to shake all of their hands. “I’m sorry that I had to be so… circumspect, but I am uncertain what has been shared with everyone. I want to be fair and even-handed, but without help, I fear I won’t achieve that.”
In fact, I’m almost certain that I will not.
intruder
LUCAS
After Slade and I parted ways, I headed for my dorm. I have stuff at Morgana’s, but now that we’re…settled… I have zero desire to go back to pretending I’m a regular dude at college. Nana offered to get me my own place when I started here, obviously, but I insisted on being semi-normal so I could be one of the guys with my team. Unfortunately, since the fuckingmurderaccusations, it’s clear that camaraderie is long gone. I’m not thrilled with figuring out how to lead them with people looking at me as if I’m going to shank them at any second, but I don’t have to pretend to be anyone other than who I am now.
I guess that’s a blessing in disguise… sort of.
My classes are light—as are most division one athletes’ schedules—and that means I can go back to my faux humble abode to pack up what I deem to be most important, then get a service to load up the rest by the end of the week. I don’t think my mate will care if I simply move in as long as we don’t make an enormous production of it, and it simplifies alotto not have to come back here. I look up at the highest tier dorm building with a sigh,shaking my head as I consider how much my life has changed in a few months.
I don’t think anyone from my past would recognize the guy I am now, despite it being who I’ve been all along. Being a Wolfberg and Nana’s heir meant wearing masks most of the time, and I did my best not to wear the ugly ones some of my peers don because of their positions in life. But I wore the ones I needed to in order to get through my childhood and teens, and now, it’s kind of a relief to be amongst people who don’t expect me to do that. I can breathe, and it’s ironic as hell that the family I’m making is chockfullof very wealthy and infamous supes who allow me to be completely normal where lesser people in my circle did not.
Who would imagine the Prince of the Daybreak Court to be as kind and cuddly as Liam is? Not me, that’s for fucking sure.
My face heats as I think about him and Lady M with me, a tingle running over my skin. I honestly didn’t know I had it in me, and I’m still feeling a little shy about how inexperienced I am. I guess I’d feel that whether Li was a bazillion years old like he is or if he really was in his late twenties, but it’s an odd sensation for someone who grew up as I did. I’m not used to being the one who isn’t a Casanova with notches for miles; Li and Morgana definitely have me beat in the variety of experiences columns. How much I enjoy it is a surprise, as well as how much I like them being in charge.
“That’s the biggest surprise of all,” I mutter with a crooked grin. A bulky dude who probably plays football gives a weird look as I talk to myself while entering the building, but I don’t give a shit. That freedom to not worry about what the random idiots think of me is another benefit of my new situation, and it makes myveins sing with happiness as I head for the elevator to go to the top floor.
Of course, no matter how good all of this feels, we still have a fuckton of shit being flung at us, and it’s not a happy-go-lucky fairytale—yet. We have to get Thorne to clear my name, figure out who’s aiming for us, and eventually, tell the families who are still involved with some of us. That will be a challenge on Li’s part, and probably the professor’s. Nana might balk at first because of the scandalous rep Morgana has, but I think in the end, she’ll be happy that I’m happy. She’s always said that was what she wanted for me, and everything she’s done to protect me from my parents’ bullshit reflects that desire.
Poor Liam has it worse, I think. His dad is a royal fuckhead—literally—and I doubt his choices will go over well.
The doors close as I grin again, knowing that the laid-back royal truly doesn’t care if he pisses his dad off—at least, according to his grumpy protector. I doubt Liam would let Kaspar say that if it wasn’t true, so I’m pretty confident we’ll all be okay. I mean, Morgana would lose her ever-loving shit if someone fucks with any of us—even said asshat dragon—and that should be threat enough. How she dealt with that filthy dickwaffle Magnus should be scary enough for people to back the hell off the things she cares about unless they have a death wish—not metaphorically, either. I’m pretty sure my mate would charge right up to fucking Thanos and stab him in the dick if he were real; she’s that damn brave and independent.
That image makes me chuckle and the two dudes I didn’t even notice getting on the elevator give me odd looks. I narrow my eyes, letting the bear flash in them for a second. They get the point, turning to face the door quickly as their faces pale. Feeling satisfied, I cross my arms over my chest as the floors whizzby in silence. I’m not a weakling myself; people don’t quite get that despite their fluffy image because of a soda company, polar bears whoaren’tsupes can peek in second-story windows of buildings on their hind legs. Add in the extra dimensions and power and I’m no fucking joke if you make my bear bristle.
Just because I look like a jolly frat dude doesn’t mean I won’t tear your arm off and beat you to death with it—I just reserve that for necessary situations.
My phone buzzes as I muse to myself, and I pull it out of my pocket to see what’s up.
LadyM: These meetings might actually kill me.
MusicMan: Are they giving you more trouble?
MagicMan: Which departments? I could give them hives.
I have to give the mage credit—he’s really put his back into it since the trip out west. The plane ride and the look of bliss on Slade’s face when they emerged from the bedroom must have been the asswhooping the dude needed. I don’t know if the others have noticed yet, but I definitely sense his eagerness to earn Morgana’s trust. There’s a quiet desperation about the delicate siren, too, but I’m not sure if Iggy’s worked that out all the way yet. He’s sort of pining and mulling it over, as far as I could tell yesterday and this morning.
Maybe he thinks he missed his chance? I doubt that highly, so the guy needs to nut up and soon.
Puckboy: I’m stopping by my ex-dorm to get more stuff.
LadyM: Ex?
The amusement in her tone comes through the text so strongly I can almost hear it, and I chuckle. The dumbasses in front of me shift as I do, so I let a small growl escape to encourage them to keep fucking off. When the bell dings for the top floor, they scurry off towards the opposite end of my hallway, making me wonder who the fuck has those little shits visiting their quarters. Neither felt like they were magical enough to be in this dorm, nor were they built for sports. I look in the direction they went for a moment, filing that away for later perusal, then turn toward my dorm. It’s at the end of the hall—a corner suite with a view of campus that I thought was perfect.
That is, until my view could be my mate walking naked to the shower, and now I could give a rat’s ass about bucolic scenery. I pull out the security card and flip open the scanner device at my door, unlocking it to head inside before I respond to Morgana. Once the door is closed, I text back, grinning broadly.
Puckboy: By the end of the week, it will be completely deserted, and that makes me your problem, woman.
PrettyPrince: These text names amuse the hell out of me, but I am excited to have you permanently within reach, cub. We will all feel safer when our family is nearby.
