Chapter 8: Fate

Luci’s POV:

“Speak of the devil,” I muttered as I opened the message.

My fingers opened up the camera app as I pointed the phone to Carlos.

“Picture for the Alpha,” I groaned.

“Oh,” Carlos said as he adjusted his shirt and gave a goofy thumbs-up to the camera.

I took the photo and sent it to my father.

“How’s it look? Did I deliver?” Carlos said with a smirk as I turned the phone toward him.

“Of course. As always,” I said as I put the phone back on the table.

“You’re going to have to send me that. I can use it for a profile picture,” Carlos said as he took a swig from the coffee cup in front of him.

“Sorry about that.” The words pricked my tongue after I spoke.

“Don’t be, Luci! You can’t help how your Dad is,” Carlos said as he reached across the table and patted my hand. “If I can help you out by getting him off your back, it’s the least I could do.”

“Still though,” I looked down at my bowl and poked at the rice underneath the shredded chicken, “I’m a grown woman. What sort of adult lets her father treat her like this?”

Carlos nodded to my phone as it buzzed.

“Want me to read it for you?”

I nodded my head as I poked my food around.

“Read the whole thing from this morning on. That’s the first problem in my life.”

Carlos nodded as he flicked open the messages.

“The newest one says to have a good lunch and call as soon as we finish eating. That one wasn’t so bad,” Carlos said as he began to scroll back to the morning texts.

“Wait ‘til you see the rest.”

I took a few bites as I watched Carlos’s eyes become wider with each line he read.

The burrito bowl was probably one of the tastiest I’ve had from campus, but the taste was overshadowed by the annoyances of my morning.

“Have you read these?” Carlos asked as his free hand covered his mouth.

“Not all of them. I figured it was best if I didn’t. Was I right?”

Carlos nodded as his eyes moved back and forth as he read everything. He scrolled up and let out a shriek.

“Sorry,” Carlos said with a wave to the students he must have startled around us.

I saw him set the phone down as he looked back at me with eyes wide from shock.

“Which messages did you see?” he asked with a low voice.

“Just the ones where he wants to marry me off to the biggest jacka** about to inherit a pack, and that he’ll drag me away if necessary.”

I took another bite of chicken as Carlos stared at my phone before handing it back to me.

“Don’t… don’t read the rest of what he sent,” Carlos shook his head. “There’s no reason for him to have sent what he sent.”

I nodded and felt the frown tighten on my lips.

“Kinda figured. Thanks for reading it for me, I meant to do it after class, but someone was following me.”

Carlos choked on the coffee he had just gulped down and started coughing loudly. He brought his arm up and coughed into the crook of his jacket.

“Is that why you left the building?” he managed to get out between coughs.

I shook my head and set my fork down.

“No, that’s another story. I know they followed me to the commissary, but they didn’t follow me into the building. At least, I can’t sense them in here. Odds are they’re still outside.”

Carlos leaned back in his chair and his brow creased in concentration.

“Who do you think was stalking you? A student?”

I shook my head. If only he knew I got awfully close to being a stalker myself this morning.

“Maybe with my father. Maybe someone working for Alex or the Sombra pack. Not really sure. Maybe someone completely random.” I shrugged my shoulders and sighed. “Being real here for a minute, I’m not sure how long my father’s been trying to marry me off. Could be a scout from another pack trying to figure out what my deal is.”

Carlos took a sip from his coffee. His usually joyful eyes were glossed over from worry.

I felt a pang in my heart seeing him with that look on his face. I couldn’t help but feel guilty.

Being the friend of the Alpha’s daughter was difficult. It was a wonder Carlos had put up with my nonsense this long.

“What are we going to do?” Carlos asked as he gazed out the windows that surrounded the commissary.

“Nothing. At least, not yet.” I picked up my phone thankful to see that there were no new messages before I set it back down.

“We should stagger when we leave though,” I said with a nod to the door. “Text me if you think you’re being followed, Carlos. Odds are, whoever it was probably saw us together and they may try and see what you’re up to.”

Carlos nodded as he picked up my fork and put it in my hand.

“You need to eat or your Abuela is going to murder me.”

I chuckled as he poked my hand until I got food on the utensil.

“No wonder you got me chicken, you know I like carnitas better,” I said as I forced the food down.

Carlos shook his head dramatically.

“Uh, no. I can already hear your Abuela’s voice,” Carlos shifted in his seat and kicked his voice up a couple of pitches. “Aye, Mijo, you can’t let her eat carnitas when it’s hot or Luci gets sick.”

His eyes got big as he looked around the room.

“You don’t think the spy is for me do you? Abuela keeping me in check?”

“Nah,” I said after another bite. “She doesn’t need a spy. She can tell when you’re lying, even through text.”

We finished our meals in relative silence. I could see Carlos looking around every so often to see if we were being watched, but after he’d glance around, he always reluctantly went back to finishing his food.

“You should probably call your Abuela and let her know about the Alpha’s plans to get you into a marriage.”

“She probably already knows. I’m sure she’s chewing him out, but you know my father hardly takes his mother’s advice anymore.”

Carlos picked up the trash from the table and threw it away before coming to sit back down.

“You had a long morning, Luci. I’m proud of you for getting through it.”

“Oh, that wasn’t even my whole morning. Something weird happened that I wanted to tell you about.”

Now it was my turn to look around. Between Carlos yelling and coughing during our convo, he had drawn some eyes on us for a few moments, but it looked like everyone was back to their own business now.

If anything, some of the dining hall had started to empty as other students got up to leave for class.

“What do you mean weird? Like weirder than everything else that happened to you today?”

I tucked my phone back into my bag. I didn’t want any more interruptions.

“I feel like I lost my mind this morning. When I was on the phone with my father, there was this strange smell that I tracked all over campus. It was actually the reason I left my class building and was so far out when you called.”

Carlos quirked a brow.

“What do you mean a strange smell? Like, was it gross?”

“No,” I said as I shook my head. “It wasn’t like a bad smell. Honestly, it was so sweet, it was like someone left me alone in a bakery with ovens full of cookies.”

Carlos’s other brow raised, but he didn’t say anything.

“Legit, I felt like I was losing it. No one else picked up on it, at least none of the humans. I kind of wish you were around to see if you could smell it too. Did you notice any smell like that while you walked around?”

Carlos shook his head and leaned in a little closer.

“Not at all. Did you figure out where it was coming from?”

“Yeah. That’s the weird part. It ended up being a human, but I’ve never met a human with a scent so strong before.”

“Luci,” Carlos looked around before he whispered. “Do you think you met your mate?”

Before I could even consider the question Carlos posed, the all too familiar sweet scent drifted close from somewhere behind me.