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Alexander is massive, but so are these guys and it’s two against one, he’s probably going to lose this fight.
On instinct, I spin, grabbing a chunk of what might have once been Tobias Zion’s stone torso and lifting it over my head. I bring it down hard on the back of Ferris’s skull. He stiffens, then slumps to the ground and stays there, making me wonder if I’ve committed murder again.
“Do they kick you out for murder?” I hear myself asking aloud. “Or is it okay if it’s self-defense?”
“What the fuck?” Buzz Cut shoves Alexander off him and crawls over to Ferris. His eyes are bloodshot with rage when he screams at me, “What did you do, bitch? If he’s dead, I’m going to kill you. I’m going to fucking end you.”
“He’s fine, I can hear his heartbeat from here, and you’re not going to do shit,” Alexander says, taking my arm in a firm, but gentle grip, as he backs toward campus. “If you get caught roughing up a girl, no matter what dorm she’s from, you’ll be out of here.”
“Do you have any idea who my father is?” Buzz Cut seethes.
“Yeah, you’re a big shot with a rich daddy,” Alexander says. “And I don’t care. You’re going to leave Juliet and every other woman on this campus alone or the cell phone footage I took before I tackled your ass is going straight to the president’s office and you’ll be out, no matter what your last name is.”
Alexander turns, putting his arm around my shoulders. He waits until we’re a good ten feet away before he whispers, “Walk fast, but don’t run. Like any other predatory piece of shit, running gets assholes like Beck riled up.”
“Okay,” I say, more shaken than I expected to be. After all, getting terrorized by giant men was my life for a long, long time.
So fucking long…
But I thought things were going to be different here. I really did. I thought I was going to be safe. Orsafer, anyway.
That’s the only reason I can think of for the tears streaming down my face and the hitch in my voice as I murmur, “Thank you. For helping me.”
“Anytime,” Alexander says, the kindness in his voice making the tears flow faster. “I should have done a better job of warning you to stay in public places this morning. Even legacies like Beck don’t dare pull that shit where a teacher might see. That’s why I volunteered to be an orientation counselor, so I could keep things like this from happening. My sister wasn’t so lucky our freshman year. Some wolf jumped her by the beach and crushed her feet with a rock. She hasn’t been able to get on toe shoes since and ballet used to be her life.”
I look up at him, my throat tightening even more at the pain on his face. “I’m sorry. And I’m sorry we didn’t listen this morning. It’s just so hard to know who to trust.”
Alexander rubs a gentle hand up and down between my shoulder blades. “Well, me snarling at you didn’t help, I’m sure. I didn’t know who was coming through the woods, so I went on the offensive. It’s my default these days.”
I pull in a breath to respond when suddenly Ford appears around the next curve in the path, a look of such violence on his face that I freeze and take an instinctive step back, even though I know the violence isn’t for me.
Alexander lifts his hands into the air. “I’m helping, not hurting. If you want to kick ass, the two guys who attacked her are back there, but I wouldn’t advise it. Thanks to Juliet, one of them’s already unconscious, and the other one knows his ass will be in a sling if he tries anything like that again. And you’ll get kicked out if you hurt them without provocation.”
“I have plenty of provocation.” Ford’s gaze doesn’t waiver from mine the entire time Alexander’s talking. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
Before I can answer, Layla bursts through the woods behind Ford, sucking breath. “Fuck, you’re okay. Fuck. Thank Goddess.” She presses a hand to her chest, wincing. “I guess I need that two weeks of conditioning. Couldn’t come close to keeping up with this one.”
A screech echoes through the air above us. I glance up to see Diana circling overhead, keeping watch on our six.
“Come on,” Alexander says, nodding back toward the main part of campus. “We can talk more back at the quad.”
“You’re not in charge here,” Ford snaps.
“I’m trying to help, asshole,” Alexander says.
“He is,” I cut in before Ford can escalate things further. “He got me out of there before things got too bad. I owe him, and I trust him.”
“Then why are you crying?” Ford asks in a softer voice. “You don’t cry over nothing. You barely cry at all.”
I swipe at my face, but the stupid tears won’t stop. “I don’t know. Maybe I could use some fucking counseling or something, but I’m okay. Let’s just go. I’ll feel safer with other people around.”
Layla puts her arm around me as I move past Ford, hugging me as we walk. “Thank you. But you didn’t have to sacrifice yourself for me. That’s not something I expect and not how my friendship works. I want to fight beside you, okay? From now on.”
“Okay.” I swallow and manage a small smile, “Unless I decide I want to save your ass, then I will. I’m older, wiser, and meaner. Let me use that for the good of those under my protection.”
“And you’re tiny and stuck in your human body and not even a little bit prepared to face off against bullies like that.” She pulls in a breath before adding with respect in her voice, “But you’re also fierce as hell, so I’ll consider being under your protection an honor.”
“Thanks.” I lean against her, letting myself enjoy the support of a female friend for the first time in so long.
