Page 115 of Caelum

Confused, I grumbled, “Look, whatever this is… can we move on? I feel like a lamppost and the pair of you are dogs that are peeing on me.” When they gaped at me, I scowled. “Anyway, what are you even doing here, Dre? Were you following me?”

“I was going to visit Nestor before I headed to the gym. Sorry. I didn’t realize I had to account for my every move.”

“Feel free to leave,” I retorted.

“No way. I’m representing the Pack because you’re too fucking stupid to know what you’re dealing with.”

Frazer’s face turned bright pink, and he bit off, “Cut with the attitude, Dre. She’s right, anyway. We need to focus. I assume, from your reaction, one of yours is mated with her too?”

For a second, I just gaped at them both. “Mated?” I drawled when neither spoke anymore, just glowered at one another as though they were engaging in another competition that was unique to men. It had to be because it made no sense to me.

If Frazer’s eyes were bullets, Dre had just been hit, point-blank, in the forehead. “You haven't spoken about this with her?”

“She's too backward to share most of the pertinent facts about the real world with, Frazer,” Dre grumbled. “How could we share this with her too?”

Frazer huffed, but he didn't argue, which irritated the heck out of me. “What does she know?”

“That she is getting annoyed with being talked about like she's not here!” I growled, and they weren't the only ones who were angry. This, apparently, was related to me, but I had no idea what they were talking about.

Mated?

Like animals?

Dre jeered at me, “Eve, when you're adult enough to mess around with shit like this, then you can bitch at us. As it stands, most twelve-year-olds know more about sex than you do.”

My cheeks burned hotly. “That’s not true!”

He snorted, his eyes irritatingly knowing. “Yeah? What’s a cock?”

I frowned. “You mean a rooster?”

Another snort escaped him, and he shot Frazer a look. “Yeah, I mean a rooster.” He rolled his eyes. “Because farmyard animals are exactly what we're talking about here.”

Frazer winced but he didn't attack Dre, even though, at that point, I would have appreciated him knocking Dre out again. I couldn't remember if, on my first day at the Academy, it was Reed or Frazer who had knocked Dre out for a solid two weeks, but I would be amenable to that happening again.

Soon.

Dre's attitude stank harder than Stefan’s socks after he'd been in the gym all day.

And that was saying something.

Boys stank.

I'd never noticed it before because I'd never been around that many boys back at the compound where I'd been raised. Womenfolk stayed with womenfolk and only really mingled when it came time for church or for special occasions. But even then, we tended to remain segregated.

If the New Order’s menfolk all reeked as badly as the boys here did before they'd showered off and cleaned up, I couldn't say I was disappointed about being kept separated from them.

“Mated is like being married, Eve,” Frazer told me, and I gaped at him.

“Married? I'm not married to anyone.”

He grimaced, and at the sight, Dre chuckled. “Maybe you’re right, Eve. I don't think you need me here for this conversation,” he said as he started to head out of the bathroom.

Before he could get too far, Frazer grabbed him and, shooting a grim look his way, commented, “I think you are needed here. Especially if one of your Pack is one of the reasons we have a problem.” To me, he said, “Creatures don't marry like humans do, Eve.” His tone had gentled as he turned to focus on me once more.

When he did, I had to bite my lip at his earnest expression.

Goodness, he was handsome.

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