CHAPTER 14

KATHERINE. Elemental Science class took place at the top of one of the castle towers on campus: a big rectangular room that had a glass window instead of a wall on one side and sunshine streaming in to turn everything a golden color. The air was warm and stuffy, sparkling with dust motes, and the view of campus from this high up was quite nice. This was the only class Lenore and I had with Priyanka and Josie, and each desk could only have two people sitting at it so right now, I was sitting in front of Josie and Dave while Priyanka was at the desk in front of me. Lenore wasn’t in class yet – she told me she had something to do this morning and she might be late to class – so I was keeping the seat next to me for her and occasionally glancing at the door, waiting for her to show up. A tap on the desk drew my attention to Priyanka and she leaned closer before asking, “Did Lenore tell you where she was going?” I shook my head sideways. Lenore and I had woken up quite late this morning because we stayed up till some time past two am, reading about the mysteries of Blackwood and another elite werewolf university, Staerdale. She had used the bathroom before me and after I used it, I came out to an empty room and a message from her, telling me she had something to do. That happened about twenty minutes ago. A small frown pulled at Priyanka’s lips and after she looked around the class, the frown deepened. “Okay,” she muttered before facing forward once more and pulled her phone out of her bag, probably to text Lenore. The classroom’s door slid open and my head turned toward the sound before Blake waltzed into the space, looking like he had no care in the world. He then paused a couple of feet away from the doorway and glanced around the room. He was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt that clung to the shape of his broad frame and his golden hair fell in soft waves around his face, highlighting the lines of his face where the midmorning light glinted off his angled cheekbones and a strong jaw. At the sight of him, my cheeks grew warm as I remembered our interaction yesterday, especially the part when he called me ‘darling’, but that special feeling slowly began to fade away when most of the girls close to the door who also had unoccupied seats next to them tried to gain his attention by either waving or calling his name and he flashed them a smile, reminding me of how popular and friendly he was. Our interaction had popped into my mind several times yesterday but now I realized that he probably didn’t mean anything special by calling me darling. He probably called lots of girls that. I pursed my lips just before his gaze caught mine, and he hesitated for a moment. He tipped his head to the side and I couldn’t help but do the same before he glanced around the room once more and proceeded to make a beeline towards me. ‘Oh! Uh…’ “Hey,” he muttered just as he got to the desk and Priyanks glanced over her shoulder, giving him a once-over full of mistrust while he helped himself to the chair next to me, dropping his backpack next to the desk. “Uh…” My brain was still trying to process the fact that he chose to sit next to me instead of the other girls that he’d known longer than he knew me. The girls were currently glaring at me. “Hi. Um, I’m keeping this seat for someone.” “Too bad. It’s mine.” “Oh, yeah? I don’t see your name on it.” “Look closer,” he replied, pointing at the side of the chair and table where ‘BLAKE’ was carved and the corner of my mouth twitched before I gave him a blank stare. “So, vandalism?” I asked and he instantly almost looked offended by the term. “No. It’s not. It’s…” He glanced at his name carved in the desk and his brows tugged together as he returned his attention to me. “Not vandalism.” “What do you call it then?” “...Not vandalism.” His answer drew a snort from me just as Lenore finally walked into the class and when her gaze fell on the boy next to me, she also paused a couple of feet away from the doorway. I’d told her I’d keep a seat for her but since Blake was currently sitting in it, I waved at her and gestured at the empty seat next to Priyanka. Lenore’s gaze then slid to Priyanka and the seat next to her before she glanced around the classroom which had no other empty seats now. She then gave me a nod and made her way over to Priyanka’s desk, taking her seat as the professor walked into the class. “I didn’t get your name yesterday,” Blake said while the professor set up her things at her desk. “Katherine.” “Ah, K-Dynamite.” I drew my brows together. “What?” I asked, confusion evident in my voice, and the corner of his mouth tugged up. “I want to give you a nickname.” “Not that, please.” “Katninja,” he tried again and I furrowed my rows even more before he explained, “You were sneaky with the flag thing.” “I’m going to have to turn that down too.” “K-Blaze?” “Nope.” “K-Steel.” “Hell no.” “K-Phoenix.” “You’re lame.” His lips parted in mock surprise and I found myself focused on them for longer than I should have been. “That’s rude,” he said, sounding like I’d cursed him out, and I couldn’t help but laugh. The laughter died in my throat though when I noticed that some of the girls in the class were still giving me dirty looks and I cleared my throat before focusing on the professor. “Katya,” Blake tried again and I heaved a sigh even though I enjoyed his attention. “Do you have to give me a nickname?” “I give all my friends nicknames. He pointed at Lenore who was sitting right in front of him. “Leni.” “Okay. Fogarty, shut the fuck up,” Priyanka cut in, her gaze pinned on Blake while a smile that was anything but sweet was plastered on her face. I raised my brows, surprised by her reaction, while the withering look she gave him when he sat next to me came to mind. ‘Does she dislike him?’ I thought before the name she just called him – Fogarty – clicked in my mind. That was the last name of the Alpha of Blue Blood pack, one of Silver Bow’s allies, and finding out that he wasn’t just a member of Blue Blood but also the son of its Alpha put a damper on my mood. ‘Ugh.’ “So, Katya…” Blake started several moments after Priyanka spoke, but his voice was much lower now, and I cocked my head at the nickname while my mind incessantly repeated who he was. “I didn’t hear you say you hate it.” “...I don’t.” “I’m Blake.” “I know,” I replied with a small smile and he grinned before the class started.