2
Colsin Stone. He was the alpha’s son, and although he had years before he’d lay claim to the Mystic Cove wolf pack, others treated him as if he was already a king to be revered.
Nel wasn’t important enough to be noticed, so she didn’t expect him to know who she was, but she definitely knew him and not for effort of trying. It was hard not to know the great Colsin Stone. Every guy envied him, and every girl wanted him.
Colsin had a strong jawline, one older than that of a mere seventeen. He had stubble on his face, but it wasn’t messy like the disheveled hair atop his head. But even that looked good on him. His skin was fair, and his eyes were exuberant in their deep blue hue. Nel could have sworn that they weren’t always that color, though. He was large in stature and almost brutish in appearance. And arguably the most attractive young alpha in Mystic Cove. So, it certainly wasn’t just his title that made him well known.
Nel and her mother were constant cleaning companions for the Mystic Cove packhouse. They’d also, on many occasions, serve meals in the packhouse. So, there were many times that Nel was forced to wait on Colsin. The only thing that she’d learned about him throughout all this time was that…well, he didn’t smile much.
“I’m sorry for not-”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said dismissively, and picked up Nel’s schedule.
“Thank you,” Nel replied in a hushed tone. She assumed that he was waiting for her gratitude because he stood there a bit longer than was necessary.
“Yeah,” he replied.
She didn’t look into his eyes, but she could feel his heated stare on her. Nel wanted to run away from this situation fast, but unfortunately, the young alpha was blocking her way. Was saying excuse me considered rude? she asked herself as she tried to figure out how to get past him and out of the door.
“Better…get to class,” Nel attempted to hint.
To her surprise, a few moments after, but he moved to the side without another word. He kept his gaze on her though, making Nel more nervous than she was before. Why was he staring so hard? She asked herself this question already knowing that she’d never find out.
“Okay, class, settle down! We have a new student!” The elderly woman announced excitedly to the class.
Her name was Professor Fripps. She was a cheery person and seemed to love her job. Her auburn hair was pulled back loosely, stray tendrils falling down her subtly weathered tan, freckled face. There was something easygoing about her that Nel really liked. Professor Fripps was another one who Nel recognized from her mom’s restaurant.
“Ah! I know you! You’re the hot girl who gives me my food at that place on Elm!”
The young man’s outburst seemed funny to almost everyone in the class except a few girls, who held a look of forced amusement on their faces.
A grimace fell across Nel’s lips before she recovered and replaced it with a muted smile.
“You remember me, red?” he said in a follow-up of his clownish pursuit for mirth.
Of course, she remembered him, but Nel wouldn’t make a point of encouraging him by reciting his order verbatim.
“I do.” Nel decided to answer him with a small smile, knowing that if she hadn’t it’d only make things worse for her. He’d no doubt make her out to be a stuck-up girl who couldn’t take a joke and then follow by continuing his barrage of jokes.
“Of course, you do,” he grinned.
Nel had decided before, she initially answered that this would be a lose-lose situation. At first, she thought that she’d chosen the lesser of two evils by answering him, now, however, she wasn’t so sure about it being lesser at all. Be flirted with relentlessly or picked on incessantly? Both were losses in her eyes.
“Okay, Ethan,” interrupted Professor Fripps. “That’s enough.” She smiled. “Let’s all be kind and welcome miss Larken to Inhuman Anatomy.” The professor then turned to Nel with a warm smile. “Welcome, Nel. I look forward to having you this year.”
“Thank you.”
“You may find a seat,”
Nel pinched her lips together before nervously walking toward the wandering eyes of her peers. There were hardly any desks to take and the ones that were empty seemed to be obviously taken by someone who was absent that day.
“Hey, you can sit next to me, red,” said Ethan.
“You know that seat’s reserved, Ethan,” said a girl who was hardly sitting a few inches away from him.
“He’ll live,” said Ethan as he winked Nel.
“Miss Larken, you may have a seat there,” suggested Professor Fripps.
Instead of prolonging the casual debate on whether Nel was permitted to sit there or not, she decided it best to listen to the teacher despite her concerns. Nel slid into the desk with her things.
As she attempted to get settled, taking out her notebooks, Nel felt Ethan’s eyes on her, and awkwardly, she lifted her green, curious eyes to meet his. She had hoped that in doing this he’d maybe tell her what he wanted, putting a quicker end to this uncomfortable interaction.
“So, you’ve been home schooled this whole time, eh?”
“Yes,” answered Nel as she continued to pull out a few more supplies.
“I always wondered who you are. I didn’t know that you were the loner’s daughter,” he smirked. “Explains a lot,”
“Does it?” Nel replied, releasing a hint of impatience.
“Yeah, but, uh, that ain’t too much a bad thing.” He smirked.
“Great,” Nel shortly replied once again. She was trying hard to end this conversation without being rude, but it was evident that whatever hint she was trying to politely throw out there Ethan wasn’t too interested in catching it.
“Mister Powell,” said Professor Fripps.
“Yeah, teach?” he replied, though his eyes were still on Nel.
“Since you are so keen on helping out Miss Larken, how about you grab her a new textbook.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary, Professor Fripps, I-” Nel started to rebuttal.
“Sure,” Ethan interrupted. “It’ll be my pleasure, teach.” He quickly got up out of his seat and headed across the classroom for the book.
As he did this, Nel awkwardly shifted in her seat. It felt extremely uncomfortable to be made the center of attention and Nel wanted it to stop. So did the girl sitting two seats over, it seemed.
“Feels nice, doesn’t it?” she said. “Being waited on instead of being the waiter.”
Nel knew that the girl was trying to mock. She didn’t take the bait, however. Nel didn’t like the idea of being the new girl, and she was nervous about the notion of showing her true colors. That didn’t mean, however, that she was a pushover by a long shot.
Nel gave her sickly sweet smile. “It is nice. Should do it more often.”
As she said this, Ethan returned to his seat, and it seemed that he had heard the conversation. It shouldn’t have been a surprise since almost everyone in the class had heightened senses.
“Well, well, looks like red has some feistiness in her. Watch out Sara,” He snickered. “You might not be able to intimidate this one.” He sat the book down on Nel’s desk, “A girl who can stand up for herself,” and then pinched the hem of Nel’s pleated skirt. “I like that.”
Nel had already decided once she dotted the door that she wasn’t going to like this Sara as she’d dealt with derisive girl a few too many times at the bar. The girl already seemed to have something against her in the first place, so Ethan’s unwitting or maybe witting attempt to pit them against each other was something that Nel did not need.
“She’s new,” Sara said with a bitter grin. “She’ll learn.”
Rolling her eyes, Nel shifted her attention to her notebook for a moment before casing the classroom to see whether she could find another desk for next time. She refused to sit in the center of such drama. Taking a deep breath Nel began to talk to herself.
Okay, Nel, ignore them. Do your work, stay to yourself. Do what you’re supposed to do, and you’ll be fine. She repeated this to herself multiple times as she counted the seconds for class to end. Suddenly, she could not wait for that bell to trill. So, this is what you’re going to have to deal with for the school year, she said to herself. Looks like I’m going to be needing that counselor quicker than I thought.
The remainder of the school day went off without much of a problem. Nel did find that she had yet another class with the duo, Ethan and Sara. That, she wasn’t too happy about, but she would deal with that in the best way that she knew how.
Fortunately, after lunch, Nel was dismissed and was glad for it. Suddenly, she was glad that she’d had three less classes than what was initially called for.
“Call me when you’re settled at home,” said Nari as they started to separate from each other.
“May be a while. You know I have to go help mom, today.”
“It’s Friday,” Nari chuckled. “I’ll wait up.”
They shared a laugh before parting ways. Nel made her way to the Mystic Cove packhouse.