CHAPTER 29: THE BONEYARD

It didn’t surprise her much when she woke up the next morning to see Zeke lying next to her. She wanted to smash his face again, but assembly was in ten minutes.

She freshened up quickly and came out of the bathroom, throwing on her black cape. Zeke was awake now, staring at the ceiling quietly. Does the dude never go to class or what? Or he probably thinks he’s some kind of king?

There were no new announcements at the assembly, except the usual warnings. Classes went on, and it was soon time for lunch break.

"Where are we going?" She asked Liam next to her.

"Where else? To get some food," He replied.

They arrived at the boneyard and walked in alongside many other students.

The moment they walked in, the scent of meat, heavy coffee and something between blood and cinnamon hit her nose. The place gave off a gothic vibe with marble floors and literal bones of some ancient beast carved into the structure.

There were long tables at every corner of the large room, many enough to take almost every student of Gravemont. But what caught her eye were the exclusive booths that sat down next to the massive windows looking at the courtyard.

Two students sat there currently - One was excessively huge and dominating, but handsome. The other looked like the quiet type, with unnatural purple eyes and a consuming look underneath.

The line of food counters stretched to the other side, where students walked in a straight line and picked any meal of their choice.

"Is this your first time here?" Liam inquired after watching her stare at the sight in awe.

"Yeah," She answered as they picked up a food tray, following the line.

"But you’ve been in school since Sunday, right? Where have you been going to eat?"

"I can survive for months without food," She casually answered like that was normal.

"Months?!" Liam was puzzled, "But can’t a wolf only survive a month without food before passing out?"

She shrugged, "Yeah, the same doesn’t apply to me and my wolf,"

Liam was standing behind her so when he didn’t say anything for the next few seconds, she glanced back at him. He was thinking about what she just said, and she started to wonder why she told him something delicate in the first place.

They got their food and sat down in an empty seat. Liam got pure meat, and she got meat too, but with a side dish of fruits and some soup. Not many in the cafeteria ate much fruit or soup. In fact, when she glanced around, she only found one other person with fruit on their plate.

And it was just three pieces of grapes.

She looked back at Liam, whose attention was on the exclusive booths.

"You wanna go sit there?" She asked, pulling his attention back to her.

It was a teasing question, but his answer took her by surprise, "That’s where I’m supposed to be seated,"

She paused halfway with a piece of grape to her mouth, "Really?"

"Yeah. Those seats are reserved for only the most prestigious students in school. The Pendragon, Sinclair, Voss, Blackthorn and Devereux sons,"

She looked back at the two guys seated there, "So those two are from the Voss and Devereux family?"

"Yeah," Liam pointed at the huge one, "That’s Aurelius Voss, son of Alpha Leonard Voss and heir to the Argent Tribunal Pack. Together with Celeste Devereus," Liam then gestured at the other one with purple eyes, "Son of Alpha Vincent Devereus, they both rule the South. Then, there’s me, there’s Hezekiah Pendragon, son of Cain Pendragon of the East, and the last seat has been reserved for Harrison Blackthorn, heir to the Bloodmoon Vanguard Pack and son of Alpha Darius of the North,"

Theodora half scoffed. Harrison was planning to come here next year and would relish and bathe in the sublime feeling that he was one of the top guys around.

"Speaking of The Vanguard Pack...," Liam continued, now looking back at her, "Your family are related to them, right? Your mum and the late wife of Alpha Darius are sisters, aren’t they?"

She nodded, "Yeah,"

"Tell me, were you guys present for the Tournament games that recently ended in the North? I heard Darius’s firstborn daughter shocked the hell out of everyone and came out on top after defeating her brother,"

Theo paused, then nodded, "She did,"

"Then... She ran away because her betrothal to the Dark Alpha was announced to the whole world,"

A bit of apprehension kicked in, and she dropped her fork this time, "Where did you hear about her running away?" Theo had no idea the news had gotten out already.

"Oh, it’s kind of a rumour going around the top families. There are many spies out there looking for her as we speak," He took a huge bite of his meat. "I’m surprised, though. If Cain hasn’t found her yet, she must be very good at hiding,"

"She must be," She murmured, taking a silent bite of her food. Then she asked again, "Do you think the dark Alpha has spies inside this school?"

"Not any that I’m aware of, but his influence is always spreading. I won’t be surprised if he does,"

So, Gravemont wasn’t totally safe like she thought. It had her thinking back to that shadowy figure that had been following them yesterday from the club. Was it one of his spies? She needed to be extra careful. And if the figure shows up again, she would confront it properly.

"Have you noticed?" Liam asked.

"What?"

"People keep staring this way and whispering,"

She looked back and caught many eyes looking in their direction, "It’s probably because of what I did to Zeke yesterday. It’s like you said, I’m popular now. Just ignore them,"

"You can ignore the students all you want, but you can’t ignore this one,"

Footsteps approached them.

"What’s that?"

She heard the footsteps stop right behind her, and could instantly smell trouble standing there.

She looked down at her half-eaten food and sighed. Can’t she at least finish this in peace before any drama happens?

"Redhead," A tough voice called from behind.

"Hey, Aurelius," Liam casually greeted, but the rivalry slithered in his tone.

"William!" Aurelius’s voice was loud, "Who’s your little friend that has chosen to ignore me?"

Liam looked back at her, then back up at Aurelius, "Someone you shouldn’t bother yourself with,"

"And yet he’s managed to not only befriend you, become roommates with Pendragon, but also punched him last evening? Seems like an interesting guy I would also like to know,"

Theo finally moved. She stood up from her seat and faced the 6’5 guy, staring up at him like they were equals - Hell, like she was the bigger one in the room. There was not an atom of fear in her body language as she spoke, "What would the big guy like to know about me?"