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“But what?” she snaps, hands balling on the table as she stares him down.

My cell phone pings in my pocket, breaking the moment, and despite the amusement of watching someone else be on the receiving end of her wrath for a change, I check to see what it is.

“Fuck.”

“What’s wrong?” Brody asks, and I sigh.

“My father is here.”

“Here?” Raiden repeats, his eyebrows knitting together as I nod. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” I murmur, placing my cell phone on the table. “It’s probably to throw his weight around like usual.”

“But you’re not part of the pack anymore,” Kryll points out, and I nod again.

“I know, but that doesn’t really matter to him. He thinks he’s above the law, remember?”

“Why now?” Raiden asks, confusion dancing in his eyes, but I see what this is.

“My little alpha over here has probably piqued his interest.” I point across the table at Addi, watching in amusement as her eyes widen and her hand flies to her chest.

“Me?”

“You,” I confirm.

Her lips purse and annoyance scrunches her face as her eyes narrow on me. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have let the duel happen,” she says.

“I didn’t say I was mad about it,” I retort, taking a drink of my water as her glare darkens.

“Well, you should be.”

I wink at her as Raiden sighs. “Are you going?”

“No.” Grabbing my cell phone, I quickly type out a message, hit send, and place it back on the table.

Finishing my burger and fries, I turn my focus to the pretty blonde at the table, but before I can enjoy staring at her, a shadow falls over me. A quick glance to my right reveals Professor Whitlock, the head of the wolves, beside me.

Fuck.

“Mr. Kenner, you’re being summoned.”

“I’m aware, but I declined.” I turn away, hoping he’ll take the hint, but unfortunately for me, he leans closer, bracing his palms against the table.

“Mr. Kenner, it’s not an option. To keep the peace, the faculty have let him on campus, and he’s awaiting your arrival.”

FORTY

CASSIAN

Itrudge behind Professor Whitlock toward his office. He doesn’t offer me a single word of guidance, like his job title implies, knowing full well that I’ll be on my own when I step through those doors.

My father is feared by everyone, and it seems that panic filters all the way through the academy, too. When I was small, he scared me, but as I got older, wiser, I learned a lot of his crap is all smoke and mirrors. He also taught me to fear no one. He probably didn’t mean to include himself in that equation, but here we are.

The professor’s office door creaks open as he pushes it with his hand, but he steps to the side so my father only sees me standing at the threshold. Loser. Stepping into the room, I note the small lamp offering the only source of light so my father can look even more dangerous now that the sun has set.

He leans back in Whitlock’s high-backed leather chair, ankle propped on his knee and his fingers laced together, offering me more of a sneer than a smile. His brown hair is long and uncontrolled, covering half of his face, but his piercing blue eyes are prominent, even in the low light.

The door clicks shut behind me as I edge farther into the room. My father waves at the seat on the other side of the desk and I take it with a sigh.