Page 25

“It’s honestly okay.”

“But now that we are alone, how did everything go?”

“I thought you were going to visit my father and his pack.” I sat down. “I figured he would have given you all the details.”

Rowan nodded. “I was going to. But then your father took off the day I was going to show up, and things came up on my end, so I skipped it.” He wiped his face. “I didn’t realize you took this course.”

“When we spoke, I hadn’t decided what course I was taking yet. This kind of landed in my lap.” I smiled, staying a little ambiguous.

He got this look in his eyes; he was a very smart man. “Your father helped you pick the course?”

“Yeah.” I smiled and winked. “He said it was a good way to make money from the humans and learn how to build my own security system for whatever pack I land in.”

Rowan tilted his head. “Whatever pack you land in? Have you not found your mate yet?”

I sucked in a breath. I didn’t want to lie to this man. But I didn’t trust where we were. “No. But it’s complicated already.”

“What do you mean?”

“Alpha Vince’s son, Brandon, was certain I was his mate. When I came back he turned out to be wrong…” I trailed off and bobbed my head back and forth.

“He didn’t take it well?”

“Let’s just say he still doesn't think he’s wrong.” I chuckled.

“So, back at your father’s pack?” He urged, but I looked around the room and grimaced. He looked around, and I watched understanding hit his face. He ripped a paper out of his book and started writing.

“Everything was handled.” I smiled.

“It’s okay. I’ll get the story from your father.” He handed me the paper, and I sat back down. “So, what are your goals for this semester?”

I laughed as I opened the note. My eyes widened when I read,‘Call me tonight. We can discuss everything after you seal your room.’ I met his eyes, and he nodded. I just nodded back.

“I want to do everything I can. I want to make enough money to cover my expenses for next semester. So I need to start now.”

“Expenses?”

“Yeah.”

“How much are your expenses?” He furrowed his brow as I wrote my own note on his paper.

“About four million.” He was taking a drink from his water bottle and choked.

“What, why?”

I scratched the back of my head. “I paid for every student to have ten grand on their food card. I don’t think it’s fair that any student would have to take time out of their day to work to pay for their meals. They should be automatic.” I met his eyes. “I knew my dad could help for this semester, but I don’t want to depend on him going forward.”

“You paid for every student to have ten grand on their food card?” I just nodded. “But they have a basic food plan included in their tuition.”

“It was removed about ten years ago.”

“WHAT?”

I jolted back, and he raised his hands. “Sorry. What did you say?”

“The included basic food plan was removed ten years ago.” I said it again. “Why are you confused? You work here.”

“I don’t, actually. I volunteer here. Like I said, this is my hobby, and I enjoy this kind of thing. And it’s not like I have a pack or anyone other than the council to worry about.” He tossed out the words so carelessly, and I winced.