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“I know,” Remi interrupted. “But it’s complicated.”
“You’re also a fucking prince,” Thad told him. “And he’s literally staff. What the fuck is it going to say to everyone watching when some mutt starts telling you what you can and can’t do? You know some reporter’s going to ask you what was up with this semester. They’re going to want to know why the royal family of Midlona sent the heir to the throne back to college with something that spawned from a dog and a Demon.”
Remi felt a sudden urge to put his fist through Thad’s face. Literally. The very idea of calling Jeremiah anything but a godsdamned miracle that made Remi’s life worth living made him want to drop claws and tear the room to shreds. And the terrifying thing was, the more he and Jeremiah were together, the more that felt like a possible scenario.
Remi had been avoiding the campus pool since they got back for the simple fact that he could apparently shift now, and he was shit-scared of not being able to control it.
“Can you just drop it?” he finally asked.
Thad shook his head. “No. I literally can’t. I don’t care what you say to him, but you either show up, or you can kiss your letters goodbye. I might have power, Rem, but I can’t work miracles. Rules are rules for a reason.”
Remi narrowed his eyes. Gods, he was so fucking tired of this. Let the fucking frat boot him. What did he care anymore? He’d been holding on to his old life with the tips of his fingers, and why? What was so great about being around people like Brendan and Thad who made shitty comments about Supes but then added a “except you, dude” to the end, acting like that made it better.
He’d made so many damn decisions in his life because he was scared. Maybe it was time he chose what he actually wanted, and that was Jeremiah. Maybe the Hellhound would leave him in the end—gods, the thought alone made his chest ache—but would he throw away what they had just for some dumb party?
But he couldn’t say all that five minutes before class was set to start, knowing it would cause a huge fight. Thad hadn’t exactly been subtle about wanting to parade Remi around at upcoming events, and despite his threats about Remi losing his letters, he had a feeling the guy would lose his shit when he found out Remi was done with the frat.
“I’ll do my best,” he said, forcing a smile.
Thad’s face relaxed, thinking he’d won. “Fuck yeah you will.”
The classroom door opened a second later, and Remi felt something familiar shoot up his spine. His eyes lifted and fixed on someone he hadn’t seen in a while. Oz had been avoiding him since their split, but his gaze sought and found Remi’s like maybe he wanted to come over and talk to him but changed his mind when he spotted Thad and Brendan.
Oz changed direction, walking over to the professor’s desk, and leaned over, speaking too quietly for anyone to hear.
“Freak alert,” Brendan said with another high-pitched laugh. “I bet he’s here scoping undergrads.”
Remi watched the way Oz’s back tensed, but the Nephilim didn’t look over, even as Thad laughed loudly and added, “Guard your dicks, boys. I heard his kind can touch you without being near you.”
“Stop,” Remi hissed, horrified.
Thad gave him an incredulous look. “You’re fucking defending that asshole after what he did to you?”
“Dumping me isn’t exactly a crime.”
“He hypnotized you,” Thad said, his voice rising. “Everyone knows creatures like him are capable of it. They get off on it. They prey on humans because they think we’re lesser. He thought you were an easy target because you’re a…”
Halfbreed.
But Thad didn’t say it. Not that he needed to.
Remi gritted his teeth. “It wasn’t like that.”
“You just need to embrace the fact that he was able to trick you because you’re more human than the rest of them. It’s why we let you pledge. It’s why we can call you brother. And it’s why we want to protect you from the freaks your parents keep sending with you to this school.”
Remi opened his mouth to argue, but Oz swiftly left the room, and Remi felt guilt filling his stomach like a ten-ton boulder. Oz had left him because they weren’t meant to be. Because he was a Supe with a fated mate out there somewhere, and it wasn’t Remi. Remi understood that now, even if he hadn’t before.
But he knew what they’d had was real. It hadn’t been some magical or mystical mind manipulation.
He couldn’t wait to separate himself from these people he thought he could be friends with. It made him queasy to sit there and act like everything was fine through class, but he promised himself he’d tell Thad things were changing as soon as he could.
* * *
Thad: Waiting outside. How much longer?
Remi: I’m trying to get out. Just give me a few.
Pocketing his phone, Remi walked into the kitchen and saw Jeremiah cleaning up what was left of their little dinner. It was a far cry from campus takeout and microwaved commissary burritos that Remi had been surviving off the last few years. He hadn’t expected Jeremiah to be able to cook, but the Hellhound had many talents, and Remi would have married him for his carbonara alone.
