Chapter 77: Made It To School...
Faye’s POV
I
swear, I never expected to spend the night with Princess in the house. It wasn’t the plan at all. I really thought they were all coming back in the afternoon, which would have given me plenty of time to get her out of there. But my luck just isn’t like that.
Before my brother could even get himself together and stop staring at the ceiling, Eriko took charge. He told Princess she had to leave right then. He said Paye wasn’t going to wake up properly or stop acting like a ghost until she was gone from the house. Since she was already heading out, he also asked her to drive Dina to school. It was the fastest way to clear the room.
As for me, I didn’t have time to sit around and worry. I scrambled out of bed. I quickly took a bath, brushed my teeth until my gums hurt, and threw on my clothes. By the time I came out, Paye was already back on his feet. He was awake, but he was doing that thing where he looks right through you. He refused to speak to me. He wouldn’t even look in my direction. We couldn’t settle anything or have the big talk I knew was coming because I was already late for school. Eriko ended up driving both of us as usual. I had to sit in the back seat and shove my breakfast down my throat while the car was moving.
Eriko wasn’t even mad about me and Princess. He didn’t seem to care about the drama or the fact that an Alpha was in my bed. He was just angry about his toaster. And honestly, that had nothing to do with me. That was all Malo. He was trying to make a sandwich yesterday and decided to break the toaster in the name of defying gravity.
He had told Sasha to use her powers to levitate the toaster in the kitchen. Then, he purposefully knocked it off just to test how strong her psychic hold was. He wanted to see if she could catch it before it hit the floor.
Yeah. That didn’t end well at all. The toaster hit the ground hard and that was the end of that.
Eriko told me I should be the one to replace it. He said it was my responsibility since they were my friends. No questions asked.
...
"Okay, you two seriously need to buy Eriko a new toaster. That dude is beyond pissed," I said. I sat down at our usual table in the cafeteria. It was finally lunchtime, and Malo and Sasha were already there, halfway through their food.
"But I thought you said he wouldn’t even notice it was broken," Sasha said. She looked up from her tray with a guilty expression.
"I thought so too, but he did. He noticed the second he tried to make breakfast. Now he says I owe him a brand new one. So you two need to pay up because I’m not spending my money on your experiments."
"Wow, Faye, look at you. You’re practically glowing," Sasha teased. She leaned in with a devilish smile on her face. "Did something good happen last night with you and your sexy idol? You look different."
I started to snap back at her, but then I noticed her left hand. It was wrapped in a thick white bandage.
"What happened to your hand?" I asked, pointing at it.
"Oh, it’s nothing," Sasha said, waving it off like it was a mosquito bite. "Just a minor incident last night. Don’t worry about it. It looks worse than it is. Now come on, tell me about your date. Give me the details."
"Seriously, girl," Malo cut in before I could answer. He looked annoyed. "Your phone isn’t just for decoration, you know. When someone calls, you’re supposed to pick up. That’s the whole point of having one."
"What are you talking about? You didn’t call me last night," I said. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check. "I didn’t see any missed calls from you."
"Not me. I’m talking about your Alpha mama," he said. "She made me call you nonstop yesterday. Sunday was supposed to be our big fun day, but all Princess did was sit there and make me dial your number over and over. Then, right in the middle of our paintball game, she just stormed off. She didn’t say a word to anyone. She just left. We all thought she went rogue again. Kiara went totally crazy and started screaming, but Beam managed to calm her down and took her home."
He let out a long, dramatic sigh and leaned back in his chair.
"And what about me? I got painted by the enemy. It was the first time we ever lost to those geeky bastards. They laughed right in my face. They painted my whole face and kept calling me shame for the rest of the day."
"Oh... I’m sorry about that," I said. I felt a little bad, so I reached over and patted his shoulder. "I’ll pick up next time, I promise."
"Don’t worry about it. I already told them I’ve got my own group coming for them next time. Next Sunday, we’re going back for revenge," he said. He looked very proud of himself, like he had just planned a real military strike. "I told them I’ve got a punchy wolf who’ll knock their teeth out and a purple psychic who’ll rip their hearts out."
I just stared at him. I couldn’t believe my ears.
Did he really just sign us up for an actual war over a game of paintball?
"Hey, MG... when you say geeky bastards, you mean Big Roland and his sweaty brothers?" Sasha asked. Her voice sounded a bit worried now.
"Yes. The Rollys," Malo confirmed.
"So you’re saying it’s just the three of us against all of them?" Sasha asked. She put her fork down. "You do know they were the only ones who ever came close to defeating the Trios, right? And everyone knows Sammy always aims straight for the head."
The two of them kept going back and forth like this was some life or death battle they were heading into. They were acting like it wasn’t just a game with colored ball.
Meanwhile, my mind was still stuck on everything that happened last night. It felt like a dream, but the marks on my skin told me it was real.
Princess claiming me in the dark.
Princess marking me like I belonged to her.
She didn’t give me a single moment to breathe or think straight. She just took what she wanted.
I still can’t believe I actually let Princess Kings mark me. It was such a huge step.
All she has to do now is fix the rest of her life. She needs to break things off with Kiara. Once she does that, I won’t have to feel like some secret or a side piece. I want to be the only one.
Back in the old days, everyone knew the rules. When an Alpha marks their mate, it means they’re one. They are bonded for life. There’s no need for anything else. It’s a claim that everyone has to respect. It’s a bond that can’t be broken easily.
All Princess has to do is cut Kiara off for good.
If she does that, we can finally be a real family. We can stop hiding and stop the lies.
The three of us were still sitting at our usual spot in the cafeteria. Malo and Sasha were still arguing about paintball tactics and how many extra rounds they would need to bring.
Everything felt normal for a second. Then, our biggest nightmare appeared out of nowhere. A hand slammed down on the table so hard the plastic trays jumped.
"Faye Grande... did I not warn you to stay out of my head?!"
