MORE GOSSIP AND NEWS

29 FEBRUARY, MONDAY, CONTINUED

In the end, lunch turned out okay. At least the announcement of our transferring schools wasn't the emotional upheaval I had feared. The later part of the lunch was weird though. Some of the kids in school had taken to standing around our table to take photos and/or videos, I don't know which. But they were also talking really loudly, very much like how we would talk when watching animals at the zoo.

"Oh, look that that! River and Keanu have matching lunchboxes."

"That's so cute!"

"I heard River is engaged to this Green Leaf Princess though."

That's NIGHT LEAF in the Green Packlands! Wth was Green Leaf?

"You mean the Warlock Princess?"

I'm the ALPHA princess!

"No, her sister, I think."

Yes. That is actually correct. River was engaged to Savy, so stop making eyes at him over there!

"I can't believe we have a warlock in our school."

No! I'm not a warlock!!! Which part of me even looked like a... I looked around the table in exasperation, but River, the closest thing to a real warlock here didn't hear anything. He was as deaf as a human, so I guess that was expected.

"OMG. That Young Alpha is hot though."

"What's so great about him?" (This was a male voice.)

"For one, he's the opposite of you." This was followed by female laughter. Girls could be so mean.

Henry acted like he didn't hear any of it.

"Yeah, what's so great about the hot young alpha?" I leaned over and repeated to the subject. I wanted to tease him, but Henry only smirked, "If you know it, you know it."

I very nearly smacked him.

"What did she say?"

"I can't hear."

"I can't stand how they're always flirting in public. She's supposed to be engaged too, you know."

I WAS NOT FLIRTING. IN PUBLIC. WITH HENRY. ALL WRONG!!!!

But I was fighting a losing battle here, especially since it seemed that we were expected to keep acting like we were not aware that we were zoo animals at feeding time.

At this moment, Liam decided he was leaving for football. He dropped a kiss on Jasmine's forehead - which caused a stir in our growing audience. EJ bounced up to go with him.

I decided that I've overstayed too.

Fluffy got up to follow me, but I mindlinked, {Stay.}

{Where is pretty alpha going?} Fluffy asked, but he sat back down.

{Somewhere you can't follow.} I answered - which could've been the girls washroom, but I was headed to the library.

For some peace a quiet. And Maria. It had been a while since I walked with her and now that I was leaving and never seeing her again, I just felt a little more generous towards her.

It would only be a walk or two more.

And she might not come to the library either. She did make it quite clear she wanted to break up with me.

So why was I walking to the library?

For what it's worth, not that I'd ever admit it aloud, Maria had been a good friend. Weird, sometimes dangerous, but she single-handedly made me revise my opinion of vamps in general.

Were vampires inhuman, blood sucking, socially dysfunctional psychopaths? Yes. Yes, they were. But they can't really help it since they were brought up like that.

Here's my personal theory about why vamps are pyschotic:

In their eyes, they exist on a completely different plane, and wolves were wild beasts and humans were cattle. And given that their children were spawn and their underlings disposable chess pieces... Anyone they can manipulate mentally is really just a tool. I mean, if you think about it in their warped and twisted way, what they did made perfect sense towards their species' survival and evolution and we were the mindless beasts/cattle that just didn't get it.

I was so definitely going to keep the Green Packlands a 100% vampire free zone.

I'm not saying you can't be friends (although I seriously wouldn't recommend it), but if you want to make friends with a vamp, meet them outside the Green Packlands.

Like somewhere in the Gold Packlands, such as a crumbly library in an old highschool building.

And know your vamp friend truly loved you as a human might love a dog.

Speak of the devil, or the vampire, Maria showed up just as I opened my first book.

"Why do you like to pose as if reading, alpha?" Maria teased. Her voice the same cold glassy shards as always.

"I am reading!" Of course, I took offense. I wasn't a poser.

"Are you really?" Maria asked, "I didn't know you could read ancient Lycan."

"Well, I can!" (Just very poorly.)

Maria laughed, her voice tinkering like glass bells. It was a sound that inexplicably made my wolf perk up. My wolf must enjoy messing with dangerous things.

"It's going to be so very boring when you leave." Maria sighed a little.

I put away the book and we start walking our usual route around the school hallways to pass Dionysus class. Omo I even actually knew his real name by now.

"I'll be leaving too." Maria told me then, "This has nothing to do with you. I'm not at all sad to see you go!"

Urm... Okay...

"The hunters are in town." Maria swallowed and I sensed her fear, just rising under her otherwise glassy doll like expression, "Last Friday evening, when we gathered for art club, there were three vampire bodies pinned to the fences of the rooftop where we usually held our club activities. It was a dark and cold night."

Well, it would be since you're out on the rooftop in the evening at this time of the year! Who held art club activities on the school rooftop on Friday nights anyways? When it's shade after shade... It's definitely a vamp thing.

Wait, what?

"Who's bodies?" I asked.

"No one you know." Maria waved it off, "Just weaklings, but one of them was the son of a councilman, so it's being investigated."

Or else you guys wouldn't have given a damn, huh?

"The point is, my life could be in danger." Maria told me.

Yes. Because Maria's life was all that mattered. (I'm being sacarstic, you know that, right?)

Anyway, Maria's Sire (aka the Vamp Dad, Lord Kosan) had ordered she stopped attending Winderhill effective immediately.

I raised a brow at Maria. Then why was she here now?

"He had to answer summons to the Queen's court last night, so there was no one to stop me." Maria waved off my unspoken question.

Then her laugh tinkered again, "Your expressions are so easy to read, I don't even need to mindlink you."

You don't mindlink. You mindwrap. But I wasn't going to waste my time explaining the intricate details of mindlinking to her.

We passed Dino's classroom.

"It's so sad he isn't here anymore." Maria mourned.

"He was one of the bodies?" I gasped.

"No, silly." Maria slapped me with an open palm. I know she was just playing but dainty vampa hit hard, "I told you the three bodies were nobodies."

Uh huh. Right. Of course Maria's beloved prince could not be one of them.

"Dionysus is very important and cannot be risked." Maria said as if that should explain everything.

Okay, whatever. I don't care. So there were vampire hunters around. None of my business.

"Alpha, what I told you is a secret." Maria informed me, "So you can't tell anyone. Especially not that other Young Alpha."

"Henry?" I asked, somewhat surprised. Why would I tell him anything?

Maria nodded, "He knows too much."

Okay again... I shook my head, "Then don't tell me stuff like that."

Maria smiled, almost like she was pleased with herself, "If wolves got involved, the incident would be escalated to your high council. We might even see it on the news!"

I shook my head, "Don't mess with our high council." Or our news channel - our LyNCh was perfectly capable of making up its own exciting stories.

"Then don't tell them." Maria smiled, "But I won't blame you even if you did."

So did she want me to leak the secret or not?

"It's none of my business." I decided, "I've had enough on my hands as it is."

Maria looked disappointed, "How boring. I had wanted to watch it on TV."

Apparently, our LyNCh channel was a great source of entertainment for vampires, "There are wars and love triangles - today you got bombed. Every day there is a new surprise. It's even better than the human's reality TV."

Gee. Thanks.

I'm sure our official Lycan news channel would be encouraged to hear that - encouraged to make up more stupid stories!

And so lunch ended, rather peacefully. We entered our classroom at the bell and

Maria dropped away from me and rushed back to the safety of her seat as she always did. And the male wolves around would flex their vocal cords and growl warningly as she passed, except today, she whispered so that Henry heard, "Don't tell Henry."

"Tell me what?" Henry stopped growling to ask.

"I don't know." I shook my head and dropped down in my own seat. We were separated by only the classroom aisle, but I had the impression that Henry and Marcus were usually at least a foot further away than this. I folded my arms on my desk and rested my head, "Don't ask me anything now, Henry. I'm tired."

I was telling the truth. I was suddenly feeling rather washed out. At first, I thought it had to be my exposure to Maria and her stupid mind games that exhausted me, but I was really tired... like a sluggish... wait a minute, Bell! What the hell was he doing?

My phone buzzed from my bag then, startling me because it made my chair vibrate. I took it out. It was Harvey reporting via text:

B.HARVEY

-Reporting to Alpha:

He had attached a short video clip taken from LNC Live. I tapped on it and watched the news report on the Lorent's Young Alpha, an apparition of the angel of mercy, healing those who had been injured during this morning's terrorist attack.

{Mate ~❤️ }

You should've seen him.

Bell was smiling his beautiful smile while Ki glowed gently from behind him. Every time he healed someone, the medical staff surrounding him would applaud and then they would lead him to the next bed, worshiping the very ground he stepped on. I could see Harvey in the background too. His expression somewhat terse, but alert. In every way, he looked like he was watching out for the safety of the pair of celestial like healers, but Harvey's texted report continued below:

[I've personally supervised your luna and ensured that everything has been carried out as you had wanted.]

A few seconds later at the next bed, a little girl woke up crying. The medical staff applauded and then scrambled to take out the tubes and stuff poking her. The mother cradled her crying child and repeatedly thanked her child's savior, "Thank you! Oh thank you, Alpha!"

Bell's beautiful smile looked strained, and Ki stepped in quickly, "Please, do not mention it, madam. It was our privilege."

The father of the girl burst into the ward at this moment and upon seeing his child awake (and still crying), rushed forward, "Thank the goddess!"

He was the same man with a bad throw who tried to throw a rock at the captives kneeling outside the school earlier, I only recognized him from his clothing though. His mannerism and expression was so very different as he held his mate and daughter in his arms and wept, "You're going to be okay."

Technically, she was already okay. Like fully healed. Because you know, Bell was a powerful healer - especially since he was spamming heals on MY power.

Ki was smiling to the reporter who had just asked why they were doing this.

"We had just been attacked in Winderhill, its true, but we also recognize that our attackers were not representative of the majority here. Our Alpha Princess is not one to turn a blind eye to those who had stood by her, so naturally, we will aid the community here and together, cover this evil with good." Ki, the PR king explained.

"Noble words, from the Lorent Beta on behalf of the Green Packland Consortium." The reporter concluded, "Even in adversity, this new generation of leaders from the wildlands come shining like a beacon of hope on a dark and cold day."

I'm not sure who was feeding this reporter her lines. I noticed Maria smiling creepily as she watched the video from over my shoulder. Did the LNC hire vamp writers now?

Anyway, the video was cut off at this point so I had to scroll down to read the rest of Harvey's report:

The captured rogue attackers were from an underground gang. They would be moved to detention facilities by local guards by sunset.

I guess that had to be Harvey's compromise so that my beautiful Luna can play angel of mercy all the while knowing that those guys were really going to be have to kneel there and bear the brunt of local hatred in the meantime.

Harvey was sending my Luna back home and would be back to pick me up after school as scheduled.

He was also made aware of the security laspe at school during lunch (what security laspe?) and had a firm word with Fluffy and EJ (No wonder they were both somewhat subdued). They were to be on active duty by my side for the duration of school hours and will be duly punished should they neglect their duties again. (Huh? What's that got to do with me?)

It took me a moment to process all that and then it hit me - was my good beta threatening me with my own guards? O.o!

How dare he?

I growled lowly at my phone, and then I put it back in my bag and went back to sleep mode on my desk.

Mr Devon was late, which was unusual of him, but I wasn't complaining. I was too busy plotting. In fact, I had very much recovered from my momentary exhaustion.

Fine! Harvey wanted me to stay with my security detail till the end of school hours right? I'll do that, but after school, let's see how he liked it if I went home on my own!

Hahaha! I checked my bag and found my ID and visa. I didn't have my travel card, but I was rich now. I had $40 in my wallet. I can well afford a ticket home. No problem.

Harvey will rue the day he tried to mess with me.

Yes, I know he had good reason to try to exact my compliance. I'm even quite sure this wasn't his idea in the first place. Maybe my head beta insisted. You know, the one named B.E.N.

And Ben was going to pay too. I'm not sure how yet. But I'm sure disappearing after school would be a good start.

How dare my betas try to manipulate me! Even if it were to protect me. Even if they were worried about me. Even if they were just doing their job. I stopped thinking about it before I should feel guilty.

I was the alpha. I would go where I want, when I want, with whoever I want. So there!