Page 31 of Feral
Ella gave her an apologetic smile. “Yeah, just thinking about the trip,” she whispered.
The professor was so enthusiastic about the topic he was lecturing on that he rarely noticed when students had their own discussions going on, as long as they were quiet about it. There was even a guy who’d fallen asleep on his desk to Ella’s left.
“It’s gonna be amazing,” Avery said excitedly. “I heard the ski lodge has a hot tub, and all the rooms have private balconies.”
“And there’s the historical site, too,” Ella reminded her.
Avery grimaced. “Yeah, that. Hey, you wanna room together?”
Ella blinked in surprise at the invitation. She was so used to other students torturing her, ignoring her, or at most being forced to tolerate her presence when a teacher forced her on their group. Avery actually seemed to like spending time with her, and while she had no shortage of toms who wanted that lately, it was nice to be around someone with no ulterior motives.
“Yeah, that’d be great.”
Avery smiled and turned back to her notes. Ella decided to do the same. As boring as this particular lesson block was, it had become her favorite class if only because it was a ticket out of the Academy.
Chapter 15
Sterling
It was the day of the history class trip, and when Sterling arrived in the office to deliver his quarterly report to the Headmaster, he found the man’s secretary mid-meltdown. She was on the phone while typing frantically on her computer.
“Are yousureyou can’t make it?” she asked in a strained voice. She glanced up for barely a second to acknowledge Sterling and immediately became reabsorbed in what she was doing. “I know, but they have casts for that kind of thing. Well, yes, I can see how a broken ankle would put a hindrance on chaperoning a ski trip, but…”
Sterling wandered over to the desk, his curiosity piqued. He’d found out about the trip too late to sign up as one of the chaperones, but the opportunity to get away from the Academy was infinitely appealing. He’d considered taking a sabbatical just to clear his head, considering that being around Ella got harder rather than easier with each day that passed.
Especially knowing every block headed tom in the Academy wanted to stake a claim his lion was convinced belonged to him.
And that was the most irrational of all. It didn’t matter how her existence had struck him like a freight train, or that she’d become all he could think or dream of ever since. It didn’t matter that not taking her into his arms the moment he’d realized her need and showing her the way an actual man treated a queen was the hardest thing he’d ever done—or rather, not done.
It was entirely, wholly inappropriate for a myriad of reasons, and the fact that he was her teacher was not even the chief among them. She was the future Empress. As prestigious as his line was, she belonged with a male from one of the royal families. Tradition demanded it and their laws all but did.
He had to get her out of his head, and when he’d realized that was impossible, the next best thing was getting himself out of the state.
“Excuse me?” he called, stepping up to the desk.
The harried secretary looked up, still clutching the phone with the indignant professor ranting on the other end. “Yes, Mr. Bryant?”
“I couldn’t help but overhear. You’re in need of a chaperone for the school trip?”
“That’s right,” she said, hanging up with the other man still on the line. “I don’t suppose you’d be interested?”
“Actually, I–” Before he could finish, she had a stack of forms and a pen in front of him.
“It would be a lifesaver,” she said in a rush of breath. “Mr. Collins slipped on some ice in the parking lot and broke his ankle. Guess cheetahs aren’t as agile as they say,” she added with an eye roll. “I can’t getanyoneto sub in on such short notice.”
“I’d be happy to help,” he said, filling out the top form.
“What about your classes?”
“It’s not a problem,” he said, ignoring her look of confusion. Itwasn’ta problem. Not in comparison to the one that would form if he stuck around while his resolve was dwindling more each day. Especially after the pathetic scene the two toms who were playing at courting Ella had made the other night.
He should have known better than to think a few coaching sessions in civility would be enough to get Axel Hill into shape. What was going on with Bishop was another matter entirely, but he was just as worrisome when he was fully in control of his instincts.
Perhaps even more so.
Not that Sterling could talk. The more time that elapsed, the more certain he grew of the fear that had plagued him from the moment he’d first laid eyes on Ella. It was all the more reason he had to leave.
“Here’s the itinerary,” the secretary said, once he’d finished filling out the forms. She dropped another stack of files in front of him. “And here are the injury waivers, the room assignments, and of course, the class roster. Do you want to have a look at everything before you commit?”
