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He’d never spoken to me like that. The way his father had just spoken to me.
What had happened in that office? Where was my Apollo?
Feeling tears pricking hot at my eyes, I turned and ran for my room.
Later that night, Apollo crawled onto my window seat with me and tried to apologise. He gave no explanation as to why he’d spoken to me like that, but it wouldn’t be the last time. In fact, it was the first in a new normal of the public Apollo versus the private Apollo, the arrogant Apollo versus the sweet Apollo. And I was just desperate enough to keep a piece of my best friend with me that I didn’t tell him off for it.
Many times over the next few years, I remembered my conversation with Frenella and I wondered, if I’d had the confidence to stand up to him back then, maybe I could have stopped him from fulfilling his destiny quite so spectacularly.
Chapter Two
A year later and life had certainly changed, but I wasn’t sure it was the best day ever, every day.
I was less naïve. If only slightly.
I knew what God and his Angels meant, and I didn’t like it.
There was a hierarchy at Saint Benedict’s College. Every family had blood on their hands, of that I had no doubt but, those that had the most, ruled the school. And at the top was God and his Angels. Collectively known as the Saints. They were all entitled and cocky. But no more so than God.
Being God may as well have been exactly what it sounded like.
It meant privilege and arrogance beyond comprehension. It meant belittling and bullying and a lot more that I knew Apollo kept from me. Things like sex and violence. I saw the hints of weapons that the boys thought they hid from the nuns. I knew enough to be pretty sure that God had sent girls to make Apollo ‘a real man’. There was just something different about him now.
By the time we were preparing for our second year at Saint Benedicts, Apollo was already a changed man. And I could only do so much when my time with Apollo was hampered by Valen Kincaid, the dark-haired boy with tattoos down his arm and Apollo’s first Angel. By the end of the year, the future God of Saint Benedicts had filled two of his Angel positions with the introduction of Marco O’Malley. Between Valen and Marco, any time I spent with Apollo was filtered, was public. Valen even invaded our holidays, occupying the room next to mine at Callahan Hall.
I didn’t know what Apollo had said to Valen, but he’d made it his mission to make sure the whole school knew I was Apollo’s, and Apollo did nothing to stop him. It hadn’t taken long before none of the boys even looked at me. The one boy, who had the misfortune of getting the memo late and kissed me, had ended up with a broken jaw to match Valen’s bloodied knuckles. The rest feel into line pretty quickly after that.
I hated Valen Kincaid.
I hated who Apollo was becoming.
Everything had definitely changed, and I wished I’d paid more attention to Frenella when she’d tried to tell me that it was coming. Maybe if I’d been more prepared, I wouldn’t have looked the other way. But by the time I knew I shouldn’t be silent any longer, I’d been silent too long.
But nothing changed quite so much until the week before our second year.
An icy reception greeted us when Mum, Dad and I arrived at Callahan Hall.
Frenella and Mum still embraced, with forced smiles and warm words. But they hurried me away as quickly as they could. It didn’t stop me from feeling Valen’s contemptuous glare from up on the stairs. I looked up and saw Apollo standing there with him. Apollo gave me a terse nod and I felt that small part of me shrivelling again.
“Vanguard,” Archer said as he nodded at Dad.
“Archer.”
“Let’s get this over with.”
I felt panic well up in me. I may have been kept in the dark about a lot of what they did and why, but I knew something was going on. Something between our dads, and Apollo was just standing there like he didn’t care.
“Apollo,” Archer barked. “Dismiss your wolf and get down here.”
Apollo gave Valen a nod, then jogged effortlessly down the stairs.
That one action told me how much he’d changed. No longer was he just running down the stairs, just existing so he could get to me quickly. He was restrained, practiced, like he knew all eyes were on him. He moved with the beginnings of the smooth confidence of a man who knows he’s…well, God.
As he passed me, there was a moment where I saw the old Apollo in his eyes. He didn’t know what was happening either.
“Mum?” I asked her.
She just shook her head, took my hand and tugged for me to follow her. Follow her, I did. She led me up the stairs. I didn’t miss the small touch between her and Frenella as we went.
