Chapter 43

Zora

What the fuck?

I stared into Maximus’s eyes. They were unflinching as they dropped Thorne. The stayed locked on me as Thorne darted behind Kairos. Petyr had gotten to his feet in the commotion. He yanked on Maximus’s shoulder and pulled him out of my grasp.

Maximus blinked once then tore his gaze from mine, seemingly pulled from whatever trance I’d locked him in. He violently shrugged his shoulder out of Petyr’s grasp then took a few steps back. He blinked as if he was trying to clear his vision. Then, he shook his head before stepping back again and shifting into a massive black wolf.

The wolf shook it’s coat, causing everyone in the cafeteria to stare at us. Again. Then, it bolted for the door, darting around students before barreling out into campus. I stared after it for a second before I felt Loren by my side.

“What the heck was that!?” she whisper-yelled. “What did you do to him?”

“I—I—”

“What did you do to him?” Kairos snarled. I jerked my head to where he was standing. He looked as angry as every, shoulders hunched as he bared his teeth at me.

“I didn’t do anything,” I said. My voice was small with the shock of whatever had just happened. Thorne and Kairos kept their glares pinned on me.

“Bullshit,” Thorne snapped. He jutted his chin towards Kairos. “She’s using the dark Magiks. You we’re right.”

“Dark Magiks?” Loren said. “All the tombs about them have been burned or sealed away. Are you crazy!? Zora lived her entire life in the human world. How would she have learned Dark Magiks?”

“I don’t know but I’ve never seen that happen before,” Kairos snapped. “Maximus has never gotten that angry at Thorne. Nor has he switched up in emotion that quickly. It has to be something she did.”

Maybe it was something I did. Maybe it was a result of our potential mate bond. But that had too many additional questions attached to it. My fated mate was supposed to be Thorne. By everyone else’s knowledge, I couldn’t also be mated to Maximus.

I didn’t know what to say. So instead, I shook my head.

“No, it’s not Dark Magik,” I mumbled.

“I don’t give a fuck what it was,” Kairos snarled. “Stay the fuck away from Maximus.”

On that, he, Petyr and Thorne pushed their way past me and out of the cafeteria. The subtle jolt of electricity I felt when both Kairos and Thorne passed me was not lost on me. If anything, it gave me more questions.

The commotion of the morning was enough to have me reeling through the rest of the day. I took my morning class with the rest of the first years then met Loren for my afternoon class. Afterwards, she suggested dinner, but I was far too traumatized from the morning to go back to the cafeteria.

Loren frowned but went without me, vowing to bring me something back to the dorm room. So, I walked back to the dorms alone.

Autumn had finally hit the campus. The wind whipped my hair off my back and into my face. I’d worn shorts that morning, but the evening air was sending a chill down my spine. I wrapped my hoodie tighter around myself and quickened my pace back to the dorms.

The sun had almost entirely set behind the building as I reached my dorm. I started to fish through my backpack for my keys. After about ten minutes of rummaging, I remembered that I hadn’t brought my keys that morning. I groaned and let my head fall into the brick of the building.

“That sounded like it hurt,” I jumped at the voice.

Maximus was walking towards the door. He was wearing the same thing he was wearing that morning except his tee shirt was in his hands. I swallowed thickly when I realized he was bare chested and walking right towards me.

“I forgot my keys,” I mumbled.

“Guess were shit out of luck then,” he swung his tee shirt over his shoulder. “Mine are probably still in the cafeteria.”

My eyes blew wide. “You been running as a wolf for that long,”

Maximus said nothing. He walked up to where I was standing and leaned against the outside of the building. I stared at him, waiting for an answer.

“Where’s Mini Moonbeam?” he said.

“Cafeteria,” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Way to change the subject.”

Maximus laid his head back against the building then rolling his neck to look at me.

“Do you want to discuss what happened this morning?” He said plainly. I swallowed. He rolled his neck back to face foreword.

“I didn’t think so,”

“Why is your girlfriend such a bitch?” I said quickly.

Maximus’s jaw ticked. He licked the front of his bottom teeth, eyes still facing away from me. “You must’ve misheard me. She’s not my girlfriend.”

I raised an eyebrow. “She clearly doesn’t think that,”

“I slept with her once,” His said. His voice was eerily calm. “It was a mistake. I know that and I will not be repeating it. She clearly thought it meant something when it didn’t.”

I hummed and turned to press my back against the wall. Our shoulders were a half a foot apart. It was like both of us were scared of touch. I shivered in memory of the electricity. Maximus side eyed me.

“Cold?” he asked.

“A little,” I mumbled.

Maximus shifted and pulled his tee shirt off his shoulder. I thought he was going to give it to me for a second before he yanked it over his head. Dick.

“You should shift,” he said. “Your wolf form will keep you warm.”

I swayed slightly on my feet. “I can’t,” I said softly.

Maximus’s gaze shifted to focus on me. His eyebrows were knitted together. “But Kairos—”

“It wasn’t controlled,” I shook my head. “Emotional shift. I can’t shift on my own yet.”

Maximus hummed then turned back to face the forest. It was silent save for the wind rustling the trees. I let my eyes float closed. My thoughts brought me back to memories of high school and hiding with my friends under the bleachers. We were cool enough to be in the stands watching the football game but we didn’t care. Under the bleachers was our version of cool.

I longed for those days. No wolves. No mates. No princesses. Just life as I always knew it.

“I can teach you,”

My eyes flew open. I glanced to the side at Maximus. He was still facing out towards campus. I furrowed my eyebrows.

“To shift?” I asked.

Maximus nodded. “To control it,” he said. “I’ve had my wolf since I was young. I’ve been controlling my shift for years. I’d say I’m expert in it.”

I snorted. “ ‘Course you would,”

Maximus gave me a flash of his scary eyes. I dropped my smile. “You’d do that?” I asked. He sighed deeply.

“It’s no use fighting it,” he said softly. He gestured to me. “Whatever this is between us. I know I’m supposed to be waiting for some Princess. I know Thorne is your fated mated and you’ve both rejected the bond.”

He shook his head then turned to look at me. His eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight above us. Every bit of him was beautiful in the soft white reflection of the moon. Even the scars on his shoulder and his cropped black hair looked magnificent. I found myself staring right back at him.

“But something about you,” he said softly as if it was a question. “I just feel like we’re supposed to be together. Mates or not.”

My breath caught in my throat. I stared back into his eyes and I wondered if I should tell him. If he should know that I was the Princess and maybe he was my mate after all. The beating of our hearts was pounding in my ears. The rhythmic lub-dub that seemed to follow me around. I leaned slowly towards him but was interrupted in my thoughts by a voice.

“Zora!”

I looked out to see Loren bouncing across campus. She frowned at me. “You left like a half hour ago? What happened?”

Her eyes darted between Maximus and I as if she was implying we were doing something together. I shook my head slightly enough that she would notice but Maximus wouldn’t. Her face fell then she looked at the door. I jammed my thumb towards it.

“Forgot my keys this morning,” I half-laughed. “Max too apparently.”

Maximus head whipped towards me. Our eyes locked for a second before he turned back to Loren. He nodded sharply.

“We were hoping you had yours,”

“Yeah of course,” Loren rushed foreward and unlocked the door.

The three of us ascended the stairs with Loren in the lead. She unlocked the door to our room and pushed in, making eyes at me that said I need to spill and quickly. I offered Max a small smile before I tried to go into my room.

“Zora,” Maximus said. I stepped back out to look at him. His lips were in a straight line. “I meant what I said. About helping.”

“Yeah,” I replied, heat flooding my face. “I’ll let you know.”

Maximus nodded back curtly and then opened his own. I walked back into my room and let the door slam shut behind me. I turned and saw Loren with a wicked grin on her face. She ran up to me and shook me, all while whispering “oh my Gods” over and over.

I couldn’t help but laugh. Maybe things were looking up.