Alpha’s Hybrid Cinderella
Chapter 7

I turned to see a familiar girl standing a few feet away - I recognized her expensive, branded ensemble from head to toe. Flicka, from class.

Now that I was face to face with her, I could see how tall she was, even for a female werewolf. And she was pretty, of course, which I'd seen immediately, but she also had a model-fit body that could make even rags look good. Unsurprisingly, her opinion of me was far from the same.

(The clothes are good, but name brands can't make up for what's inside them,) she thought nastily, and I had to stop myself from turning my back on her and driving away. Right. She'd wanted to say something to me, and she had every right to an opinion no matter how ugly. But what was it she wanted from me?

"You've been walking around and trying to insert yourself everywhere like you think you deserve it," she said. "Do you have any idea how annoying it is? You should be sitting at the back of the lecture halls, not squeezing between the rows up front. It's so f*****g annoying."

Thankfully, I had plenty of experience in dealing with snappy jerks. I didn't have much to thank Elly and Maria for, but maybe this was one of those moments. My patience wouldn't have held out otherwise, and there were other students who had stopped walking to stare at us. Many students. Ugh.

"The back row seats are always taken by the time I get there," I said gently. "I have lots of classes back to back, so I can't make it any earlier, either. The empty seats are closer to the front, so I don't have a choice."

"Oh, look at the new it girl on campus. She likes to argue. Why, do you think you're all that because Evan keeps you around? Is that where the ego comes from?"

Oh, no. Another Evan fan. The others had kept their bitter thoughts to themselves, but she was the first one to voice her jealousy outright. But that wasn't all. I was about to reply when another thought swept her mind: (There's no way she's Evan's mate. How could anyone think that? It's so obvious.)

For whatever reason, she was confident I wasn't who everybody else seemed to think I was. Well, good. Finally.

But I wasn't going to answer her anyway. I didn't need to make nice with assholes. I turned without answering and pulled open my car door, no longer interested in the conversation.

She moved forward as if to stop me, and maybe she had been about to grab the door so I couldn't close it, but I fixed her with a stare, and she glared back.

"Things aren't going to be as easy as you think they will," she snapped. "You have no idea how annoying you are, but trust me, everyone else does."

I didn't break the staredown, but there were some smug smiles in my peripheral vision that told me there were indeed those who agreed with Flicka. All day long, they had kept to the background, never confronting me, but their true colors showed as they gathered around and soaked up the scene.

But of course, Flicka was the worst of them all. Even now, she was wishing she could put her hands on me.

(She looks so f*****g weak. I could strange this stupid b***h so easily.)

Right. So she was another Elly, basically. Well, nothing new there, and her friends who watched on were nothing special, either. If only Alpha Evan had prepared something for me to deal with all of his ardent admirers, I wouldn't have to deal with this right now.

I climbed into my car since she had apparently run out of things to say, and the other students backed out of the way when I pulled the vehicle into reverse. The stray thoughts in some of their minds revealed that they were more worried about damaging my expensive car than of impeding me, and I rolled my eyes before glancing at the rearview mirror.

There was, Flicka along with several other girls who came to stand next to her, all glaring at me as I left.

Alpha Evan had better figure this out. I was not going to take his problems as my own.

I was angry when I returned to the manor. I would have kept a better lid on my emotions, but I'd made two wrong turns on the way to the manor. It had felt so much easier to drive to the campus than to come back from it. So annoying.

But maybe that was for the better. I should be fired up when I talked to Evan about the bullying he was about to bring upon me. I'd dealt with it nonstop in high school; I knew the signs better anyone.

To top it all off, it even started raining hard the second I pulled up into the separated garage, and I had to scurry inside with my clothes soaked through. My hair dripped as I went up the stairs and headed for Evan's suite.

The door was open when I reached it, and I stopped short of the doorway at the piles and piles of vinyl records stacked on the floor. Vinyl? He was a collector? He must be a vintage music enthusiast. Not exactly how anyone would envision the feared Alpha Evan of the Scarlet pack... Especially since those records were all classical music recordings, I realized upon closer inspection.

"You're done with classes. Go inside."

His voice came from behind me. He had stepped out, of course - that was why his door was open. I should have noticed it straightaway.

"I thought you were inside already, sorry. I didn't mean to snoop."

"The door's open and you're standing outside. You're not snooping. I was at the capital and didn't get back until now."

Training a new crop of soldiers, he didn't say aloud, but I read them clearly in his thoughts. My blood chilled at the fresh reminder that this was no mere classical music-loving Alpha. I had to remember this was a violent, bloodthirsty, conqueror Alpha who had already forcibly taken over dozens of territories... That was why this entire city was even under his monopolizing control at all.

All intentions to complain about Flicka and her friends slipped from my mind. What had I been thinking? Had I really forgotten what kind of situation I was in?

He gave me a long look in the silence. "Little maid."

"Yes, Alpha."

"How have the last two days been? Are you adjusting to university life? Herbology major, right?"

"Yes, Alpha."

"You like plants."

That drew me out of my stunned shell enough to let me reply. "I'm good at growing them," I said. "I have a green thumb."

"How green?"

"I raised a rose garden myself with no instruction when I was small. Delcotta roses. I didn't know that was what they were at the time." At his raised eyebrow, I added, "They're rare, and very hard to grow. Typically they need around-the-clock care in special greenhouses."

"I see. A good choice, then." He c****d his head the other way. "But there's something else you want to share with me, isn't there?"

How observant. Fine. Now that I was no longer cowed, I might as well say it outright. If he was in a good enough mood to make conversation with me, surely he wouldn't lay a hand on me for daring to make a small complaint as long as I was careful. "I've been mistaken for your mate by almost everyone. It's affecting how they're treating me. In the parking lot, namely."

Again, his memories rose up in his mind. He didn't answer as he battled with the echoes of pain and hatred they engendered, and I obediently waited for him to respond on his own. Whatever had happened that night nine years ago... it was something that followed him still. Every time I brought up being his mate- or not - he was reminded of it afresh.

"Is it that bad to be mistaken for my mate?" he asked.

"It's not about whether it's good or bad. I'm not your mate, and I'm sorry about that. I know you're still looking for her." He had to be, right? That was why he was training up more soldiers and fighters. He wouldn't need to conquer and inspect any more packs if he wasn't looking for his mate anymore. Right?

"But right now, everyone thinks I'm your mate, or that I'm close enough to it that everyone who's unhappy with the arrangement is about to take it out on me."

"College life is boring without gossip, isn't it?"

I stared. What? Boring? Gossip?

For a second, I had to swallow down another tidal wave of disappointment. But I was the stupid one to hope that he would show a protective streak and step in. Didn't he say that my duty was to take care of myself? Why would he have said that if he didn't care what happened to me?

But the way things were going, he was going to end up just like Alpha Kris, my so-called father, who hadn't cared one whit about the bullying I'd endured in school.

Fine. Evan could do whatever he wanted, leave me to my own devices. Maybe this wouldn't be the paradise I'd hoped for and almost believed in, but I could take care of myself.

In his head, there were more echoes of amusement. He was enjoying this? Enjoying that I was complaining about something he could easily fix, but was deciding not to?

"If anyone else comes after me, I'll tell them the truth. That you're not who you think I am."

But he was far from intimidated. He smiled back. "I bet if you tell them you sleep with me, their reactions will be even more entertaining."

There was nothing more I could say. He'd made his stance clear. And I was the stupid one for having hoped for more, so I would fix that and never expect any help from him again. I left without a dismissal.