Chapter 22

Anila POV

Xaden walked with Penny and me to the dining hall. Penny was quiet since the elevator and I knew she probably had a ton of questions for me, but she wasn’t going to ask with Xaden present. He kept his hands entwined with mine and honestly, I was okay with that. I wanted him close; something inside of me needed to feel his presence.

After that awkward elevator ride, I didn’t want him anywhere else. When Zach left the elevator, he went the opposite way and there was a part of me that wondered where he was going. Just before he disappeared, he paused, his eyes found mine. He held my eyes for only a second before turning and disappearing through the crowd.

Xaden pulled me along with him and we made it outside into the cool warm night’s air. I breathed in the fresh air and allowed it to relax my body as we walked together to the dining hall.

It was crowded as expected and it was a little overwhelming. But thankfully, I wasn’t alone. Xaden and Penny were with me, and we all walked into the kitchen where the scent of amazing breakfast foods assaulted my nose.

My mouth was already watering from the scent alone, but then I got to see what was prepared. Like dinner last night, they had everything imaginable for breakfast.

Pancakes, waffles, French toast, different variety of prepared eggs, and an omelet station. There was a different assortment of fruit, either cut or whole, hashbrowns, bacon, sausage, toast, breakfast burritos, and breakfast sandwiches made on the spot. They had cereal and oatmeal and even a barista making coffee orders. And so much more.

Xaden grabbed a plate for himself and me and went down the line to get food. I pointed at the food I wanted, and he piled it onto the plate for me.

My plate consisted of 2 pancakes, 2 sausages, 3 pieces of bacon, and a small amount of scrambled eggs with some ketchup on the side.

We went over to the coffee station and the barista made me a caramel macchiato; I had never had one before, but Penny swore that it was delicious so we both ordered one.

Xaden had a coffee black and a large amount of food as well.

Once we got our food and coffee, we went back into the dining hall and found Sage, Becca, and the twins already seated and eating their food. They were in the middle of a conversation when we joined them.

They were silenced immediately when they noticed Xaden, but he wasn’t really paying them much attention. He placed my plate in front of me and then sat beside me to eat.

“Hey,” Becca said to me with a kind smile before looking at Penny who was staring at her with wide eyes like she was trying to communicate telepathically. I knew they all had questions, but they weren’t going to say anything while Xaden was around.

It was bittersweet because I didn’t want Xaden to leave, but I also didn’t want them to feel weird about talking to me.

“Sage, do you think you can help us with our uniforms once you get settled into your classes?” Penny asked, breaking the awkward silence.

“Sure,” Sage said, returning to her meal. “I met the design team last night. They are really cool. I already have ideas for my uniform.”

“Are we going to the orientation together?” Sally asked. “I’m a little nervous.”

“Yeah, we can all go together,” Penny agreed with a nod but then her eyes flickered to Xaden who wasn’t really paying much attention to the conversation.

“Will you be coming to orientation too?” I asked him, keeping my tone soft for his ears alone.

He glanced at me and shook his head as he took a large bite of his eggs.

“I have to get to class soon,” he told me. “But by the time orientation is over it’ll be ready for our training, so I’ll come get you after.”

I smiled at him and leaned my body into his, needing to feel his nearness. He kissed my temple which caused another sharp intake from Penny. I wondered how long she was going to be astonished by this. She already knew that Xaden was my mate; it shouldn’t be that surprising anymore.

It didn’t take long for Xaden to finish his meal; he excused himself shortly after and said goodbye to me before he took off to his first class of the day. I couldn’t help but watch him as he left the dining hall.

Then I turned back to the girls who were all staring at me wide-eyed.

“I can’t believe you are actually his mate,” Penny finally said, breaking the silence.

“It’s one thing to hear about it, but not actually see it,” Sadie said, her face bright red. “It was certainly a sight.”

“I never thought I’d ever get that close to Xaden Gresham,” Sally chuckled, covering her face with her hands.

I felt my face heating and I lowered my gaze.

“That’s not all, you guys,” Penny said, leaning across the table toward her friends. “The rumors were true about all 3 of them. I saw it for myself in the elevator.”

“Wait, are you saying all 3 of them are her mates?” Sally asked, her eyes wide.

Penny nodded, excitedly.

“I thought Sarah was full of shit,” Sally laughed. “That’s insane. How is it possible?”

They all turned to me, and I lowered myself in my seat.

“I don’t really know,” I finally said. “It’s all a little much and I’m confused by the whole thing.”

“That explains why all 3 of them were fighting over you,” Penny laughed. “Are you going to choose between them?”

“Maybe she’s going to keep all of them for herself and have a little fun,” Sadie said, wiggling her brows comically, making the others chuckle.

“It’s not any of our business,” Becca said, fixing her attention on her food. “We should leave her alone about it.”

I was suddenly very grateful for Becca at that moment.

“It’s not every day we meet someone mated to all 3 of the hottest guys in the school and the most famous,” Sally said, shrugging. “Sorry, we asked questions about it.”

Penny was eyeing me carefully with a timid frown on her face.

“Sorry, Anila. We don’t mean to make you feel awkward. It’s just insane and unheard of,” Penny explained.

“I understand. I just wish I had answers. But I really don’t. I don’t understand any of it. But I know that I really like Xaden. I met him first. He’s the reason I’m here in the first place. So, I guess I’ll just stick with him for a bit,” I said, meeting her eyes. “Besides, I don’t have much of a choice. Zach seems like a player and Harely doesn’t want much to do with me.”

They all shared knowing looks.

“That’s no surprise,” Penny said, shrugging. “He’s very loyal to his friends and Xaden is his best friend. He probably doesn’t want to step on his toes.”

I nodded.

“Yeah, I figured that out,” I admitted.

“You don’t seem happy about it,” Penny pointed out, reading my face easily.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“I’m not sure how to feel about it,” I admitted. “It’s very confusing.”

They all nodded in understanding.

“How about we stop thinking about it and go exploring before orientation?” Becca said, glancing at her watch.

We all nodded in agreement and stood in unison to throw away our trash.

Once we left the dining hall, we walked around campus checking out everything. Next to the dining hall and gym area was another separate building that looked like a big dome. When we looked inside it looked like a big arena or stadium.

We walked through the academic center where classes were taking place. We walked through the art and design area where Sage was most excited.

We walked to the moon goddess temple which was located near the dormitory. Penny explained that this was where the witches and wizards did rituals during the full moon and most students were expected to attend but as new students, we were excused from the ritual tomorrow night.

By the time we walked the entire campus, it was time for orientation, which was located in the auditorium.

The entire auditorium was packed and for a second, I didn’t think we’d be able to find seats, but we soon did. Penny, Becca, and I sat together, and the twins sat in the seats in front of us.

As soon as Principal Rapport stood on the stage, the entire room was silenced, and everyone’s attention was on him immediately.

“Hello everybody. Welcome to Lunar Academy! I’m excited to have a new group of students join us on this journey,” he began, pausing so everyone could clap in appreciation. “As you already know, things are a lot different in this world than in the human world. For starters, our days and nights are reversed. The reason behind that is that as magical beings, we obtain our strength and power from the moon. For those of you who have never been nocturnal, you will get used to the change in time. We set an 8 am to 8 pm curfew. This means you aren’t to leave your designated dormitories until 8 pm and you must return by 8 am. Your dorm advisors will be keeping track of that.”

He motioned for the many dorm advisors who sat on the side of the auditorium. They all rose and waved as we clapped.

“If you have an issue or questions, you may report to them,” Principal Rapport continued. “Your dorm advisors have your schedules so you may see them after orientation. You are expected to be at class tomorrow at 9 pm.”

For the next couple of hours, Principal Rapport went over everything we would need to know. He explained about the 24-hour infirmary, and the rules of the school, including the fact that we aren’t allowed to shift or use magic around humans, not that there are many humans around Stardust Valley. But there are some villages we need to be wary of.

Once the orientation was over Kendra handed out our schedules. I thanked her and left the auditorium to join my new friends.