Their Hidden Princess Chapter 81

After Basics, nothing got better. In fact, it got worse.

Everyone seemed to keep their eyes firmly glued to me as I moved across campus. It was bad in the locker room. I ran into a stall to change out of embarrassment. Then as I left, the eyes started to watch me again. They didn’t stop as I crossed campus and ran into the cafeteria.

I was assuming that was going to be my only reprieve. But it seemed like word of my morning kerfuffle and previous beat down on Amara had traveled fast. Even the lunch ladies were giving me dirty looks.

I slammed my tray onto the table and followed suit with my head. Loren sat down next to me and gingerly patted my back.

“Come on, it’s not that bad,” she said.

I twisted my head to give her a look. “It’s not that bad?” I repeated. “Everyone thinks I’m a murderous psychopath.”

“Well, they thought you were a psycho before so really not much has changed right?” Loren said with a shrug.

“So helpful, Loren, thank you,” I grumbled.

“You’re still training with Valentin?” Came a voice.

I lifted my head to see Maximus’s eyes boring into me. I blinked twice at him. We’d barely spoken since our last sexual escapade on the floor of the gym. I glanced sideways at Loren.

“Yeah,” I said, trying to not put any tone into it. “After I shifted he wanted to start working with me again.”

“And Thorne’s there too?” Maximus pressed. I nodded. His jaw clenched and unclenched. He opened his mouth then slammed it back shut. He tried again and his voice came out raspy.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It doesn’t change anything,” I said, aware that it had a double meaning. “It’s two different training styles.”

“Explains why you were burnt out the other day,” he said gently. His eyes flashed was something between lust and rage.

“I should’ve told you,” I said, softly. “I’m sorry.”

Maximus nodded once. Then he slunk down to the table and dropped his tray. It seemed he was eating lunch with us. I pinched my eyebrows together as he did, suddenly confused.

“Why did you ask?”

“I heard about your scene this morning,” he said. I cringed slightly. “Then Bella was talking about something that happened after you were training with him the other night.”

I froze. Bella was telling people I caught her and Valentin. That was not good for any of the parties involved. I glanced across the cafeteria and saw her sitting with her gang of third-year bitches. Suddenly, all the rumors got to me. I stood up slowly, still watching Bella chat with the rest of the girls like she wasn’t actively ruining mine and Valentin’s lives.

"I'll be right back," I said slowly.

"Zora," Loren pleaded. “Don’t—”

I ignored the rest of her statement and stormed across the cafeteria, eyes still locked on Bella. I’d had it with the bullshit rumors about me. I couldn’t do much about Amara but I could do a hell of a lot about Bella.

As I reached the end of the table, the laughter from Bella’s group completely died. All of the other girls gave me disgusted looks. Bella, however, was smirking at me. I stared her down with all the fire inside of me.

“Oh, look who’s decided to join us,” Bella chimed. “The little peeping Tom.”

“Cut the shit,” I snapped. “You and I both know this is going to hurt Valentin. So keep your trap shut.”

“Hurt Valentin?” Bella snorted then broke into a full-bodied laugh. She glared back at me. “Valentin is a man. He doesn’t need anyone to look after him, let alone someone as worthless as you.”

“I’m getting really tired of the names,” I said, anger licking the back of my throat. The girls around Bella shrunk away leaving me and her to glare down one another. I really wanted to wipe the smug smirk off her stupid face.

Permission granted, Mona growled in the back of my mind.

I took another step forward but was stopped as an arm came out and barred me across the stomach. I turned towards the person, growl looming in my gut. I was surprised to see Thorne had stepped in between us at that moment.

“It’s not worth it,” he said under his breath. “Fighting with her will only prove Amara’s point.”

I shoved his arm away from me. “Why do you give a shit about proving Amara’s point?” I snarled. “You already confirmed in front of everyone that I attacked her. And now you’re trying to protect me?”

I went to charge at Bella but Thorne’s arm came out and stopped me again. This time with more force. I glared up at him as he looked down at me.

“I suggest you let go of my mate if you know what’s good for you,”

Both Thorne and I turned around to see Maximus and Loren had finally caught up to me. Both glared down Thorne as he held me. Loren’s hands were on her hips, chest puffed up. Maximus had his arms crossed and eyebrow raised as if he were tempting Thorne to cross a line. Thorne dropped his arm and turned to sneer at Maximus.

“Your mate?” he snapped. “That’s rich.”

“Is it?” Max mocked. “Seeing as you broke your bond, I wouldn’t expect you to know anything about it.”

Thorne laughed, humorlessly then turned to face Maximus. He took a step towards his old friend. Both men had anger and resentment on their faces. Thorne took another step towards Maximus so their noses were almost touching.

“You know,” he mocked. “If every girl who sucked you off was your mate, I think you’d have more mates than any wolf in history.”

There was a beat in which neither man moved. Then, it all happened in the blink of an eye. Thorne was tossed across the room and slammed into the concrete wall of the cafeteria. Maximus barreled across the space he’d just chucked Thorne and shifted as soon as his hands hit the top of the table. His large black wolf snarled at Thorne as he tried to get back on his feet.

At the same time, Loren had charged at Bella with her claws out. She pinned Bella to the floor and began trying to claw her eyes out of her head. Bella held her arm up to accept the blows then used her core to spin them around so Loren was under her. The two continued to claw and gnash at each other in human form.

Meanwhile, Thorne had shifted into his auburn wolf. He charged back at Maximus and the two rolled across the cafeteria, bashing into tables and sending the other student running in all directions. I was frozen in place, eyes darting between the two fights at once. I was about to run and wrench Bella off Loren when a voice boomed through the cafeteria.

“That is ENOUGH!”

I slammed my hands over my ears. Loren and Bella followed suit. Both Thorne and Maximus’s wolves whined in pain. I turned to look at the source of the voice and saw Valentin.

He looked livid. His eyes were almost entirely gold, as if his wolf was about to burst out of his skin at any minutes. His hair seemed to float away from his face with power, as did the long black robes that trailed behind him. It was as if time had stopped and everyone in the cafeteria was frozen.

Valentin’s eyes pierced through the two girls rolling on the floor, then to the wolves bowing their heads to his right. Finally, he locked eyes with me.

“My office,” he barked. “Now.”