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I HAD JUST FOUND KEEGAN and Ryane when I heard Collette, then the then next thing I knew; I was on the ground a tall beauty with Golden eyes glaring down at me.
“You owe me two bucks for being an ass!” she shouted with a snort, before spitting right between my legs and walking away. Her black kitten heels click clacking on the hard cement. I jumped back as I realized the ground between my legs was quickly disintegrating.
“Fuck Me!” I moaned, rolling to the side with a shortened laugh. As I started to get up, Collette was jabbering apologies but I didn’t much care. The scent had me. It was her. I might not have been able to see her with the sun in my eyes and her shadow eclipsing me, but that mixture of ginger and musk, and just a touch of coffee grounds was unmistakable. It was Aella, the girl from the Groove Brew. I got up and instantly scanned the crowd, looking for that topple of golden blonde hair, but she was gone, swallowed by the crowd. And Ryane and Keegan were now coming into my line of sight to see if I was okay.
“Damnit. Yeah, I’m good,” I answered before they could ask. “That was her.”
“Who her?” Keegan asked, confused. I’d never mentioned her to him. I didn’t need his jibes over it.
“Siggy?” Ryane insisted on continuing to call me that. I cut my eyes over to her, but I was too excited to really care. “Aella, that was Aella. Did you get a good look at her? Did you see where she went? Where’s Collette? Wasn’t she with Collette?”
“Sig, calm down man.” Gage laughed. “Yeah, she’s with Collette. They are checking out the clubs and stuff. How do you know the Freshie?”
“I well- I don’t- Not really,” I rubbed the back of my head, embarrassed. I’d built her up in my head so much that I was already laying claim. In my head we were already deeply involved.
“Well, she certainly seems to have it in for you.” He laughed, pointing to the hole burned into the ground.
“Yeah, seems I pissed her off. I’m gonna have to fix that.”
“Well, we have the Freshman Mixer this week. Try then. In the meantime, go and prep for the Orientation Speech. Ryane here needs to go to work, so I’ll take her.” Keegan put out his hand to me and I handed him the clicker. He looked at it and put it in his pocket, then gripped my shoulder. “I’m going to announce the Class Reps at the Orientation. This way there’s no immediate fight. I want them to stew in it for a while,” he whispered into my ear, although Gage had been added to the Guardians of the House of Teague, Keegan was still not sure of his allegiance. He didn’t have to say it, I could feel it in his mannerisms, in how he leaned toward me in new environments, showing his trust.
I nodded. “Got it, Bossman. Hey Gage? Why don’t we go on and head for the stage? Scope it all out, make sure it’s all been handled, security and safety wise?”
“Sure. Besides, if you are still looking for that girl, it’s higher ground and upwind.” He chuckled, tapping his superior nose.
“You make an excellent point!” I grabbed him by the arm and began to drag him toward Grigori’s Alabaster Hall.
***
KEEGAN RETURNED WITHIN an hour, smelling of sex and blood. “So much for moderation,” I grumbled as we stood on the dais. I had been watching the doors as the freshman class filed in, Human and Deviant alike, hoping to spot Aella, but so far coming up empty.
“I couldn’t let her go to work on an empty stomach, and the synthetic from my father hasn’t arrived yet,” he answered. “Not that I have to answer to you.” His eyes connected with mine and I nodded. He was right, it really wasn’t my business. Yet, my protectiveness of Ryane was ingrained. I know I am supposed to be his First Guardian, but I spent the last semester with her and I’ve grown very attached. I’d go so far as to call her my best friend, while Keegan and I keep things to a more professional level. Even when we are relaxed, there is still an air to our interaction that says there is a line we do not cross often.
They were giving the usual welcome to Grigori speeches now and Keegan was to be coming up to the podium next. This was when Ryane and I would be announced as the new Deviant Class Representatives and Greisen and Collette being removed from their previous stations. Where were they anyhow? I hadn’t seen them at all today and they should have been up here with the rest of the welcoming committee. No matter, here or not, they were to be ousted. Their lack of presence just showed how much they cared for their positions in the first place.
The Dean was now finished with his speech on the history and the life of Grigori.
“Now I introduce to you, the visionary behind the integration, President of the Deviant Class, and your Grigori Angels Varsity Rugby Team Captain, Keegan Teague.”
The upperclassmen roared as Keegan approached the podium with his classic, dimple filled, white toothed smile. You had to hand it to him, he could be charming when he wanted.
“Hello, and a huge welcome to Grigori’s Class of two thousand and thirty-four. To the upperclassmen, welcome back, this is going to be a fantastic year for us all! Last year saw some setbacks, I know. I know there were some hard rumors about me and my place here, but rest assured, I am back and I am here working toward our common goals, success in the integration, success in educating the masses, just as readily as ever. Building relationships and bridges between the classes is vital to our existence outside these walls. This very year we will be together with no walls between us, that is a great achievement and we should all strive for-”
The hall doors slammed open and I was automatically on top of Keegan, as I heard the sudden scream. We hit the ground, I spied Greisen, covered in blood, being carried by Collette and a tall girl with colorful hair, who seemed to be doing the heavy lifting. Gage was crouched down next to us as Collette screamed for help.
“Go, see what’s happened. I’ve got him,” I snarled as Keegan rolled under me. I could hear the rest of the room as it began to whisper and gasp. Gage jumped from the dais and leapt over the seats, plowing through the crowd.
“I’m fine.” Keegan assured me as I pulled up my chest, looking him over, my scales already on the rise, my black sails beginning to lift.
“Go, help them.”
I nodded, slicing through the tape at my chest, following Gage, although I flew, rather than leaping.
The room took a collective gasp as I landed in a hard and heavy thud, my wings clearing the crowd from their circumference as I pulled them in. Collette and the other one pulled back into each other as Greisen sat in a heap on the rug, leaning into the door frame.
“What happened?”
“Apparently the townies still don’t like us.” Greisen half-laughed with a cough. His face was busted wide open, ring marks and scratches were visible, it looked like his collar bone was out of place and his hand was mangled.
“Fuck, he needs to go to the infirmary, before this heals and it needs to be re-broken.”
Gage snarled, “This is why he was supposed to have Guardians too. Fuck man, I shoulda told the old man to fuck off.”
“You were doing your job.” Greisen winced as Gage helped him up.
“You! You didn’t step in?” Gage stared at Collette and to my surprise, the girl with them appeared to be Aella. She just looked so different, her hair, even the way she was carrying herself was somehow changed.
“What the fuck was I gonna do? There were six of them!”
“You’re a fucking Dragon!” He started to snap and I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him backward.
“You need to reel it in, or I’ll be locking your ass down,” I hissed, smoke ebbing from my mouth. This whole situation was beginning to piss me off. I looked at Aella, who was staring at her shoes. Where was the snarky, confidant woman who had scrawled her number on the coffee cup in June? What had happened to her in Amsterdam? I needed to talk to her, but not now, not here. Right now, I needed to take care of Guardian business. Which meant going with Greisen to take his statement and making sure he was being looked after properly. Being First Guardian sure was shaping up to be a full time gig, and it was only my first day.