Page 28 of Wild Fury (Fallen Royals 6)

Just like that, my good humor vanishes. I can’t think of anything worse than sitting at a table with these two. The invasion of privacy stings more than it should, but I have an intense desire to touch each photo and make sure Sebastian didn’t cause lasting damage.

“You have fun. I need to find Felicity,” I say.

Sadness creeps into Ruby’s eyes, but she nods and gestures for the rest of her family to exit ahead of her. When Hale passes, she smacks his shoulder.

“Control your friend,” she whispers.

He chuckles.

So he isn’t completely frozen, then.

“Sorry, Lucy,” Ruby says. “I just… I had hoped we could be friends, but I’d understand if Seb ruined that.”

I force myself to set down the portfolio. Some of my most precious memories are in here, captured through my lens. But he couldn’t have known. “It’s fine. I just don’t like people snooping through my stuff.”

She grimaces. “He won’t be back in here. Promise.”

“Thank you.”

She taps her fingers on the door. “We can grab dinner later. If you’re around.”

“Sure.”

Once she’s gone, I flop sideways onto my bed and peek at the portfolio. I can’t imagine what would’ve caught his attention—what would’ve prompted him to show Hale, so the two could be in on a joke together at my expense.

This is what I wanted. A college experience. Normalcy.

How’s that for looking a gift horse in the mouth?

I scan the images until I come upon the football ones, and a lump forms in my throat. Most of them are action shots—which is what I had to do for the school paper. But they never saw the ones I took of the Emery-Rose Elite team. Theo’s team.

The rivalry between Emery-Rose and my school, Lion’s Head, was too strong. I couldn’t afford ridicule. Rather, more ridicule. I was the weird one. Quirky, Grandma used to say. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

I stop at the one that must’ve caught Sebastian’s attention. A fucking close-up of Theo after Emery-Rose scored. His teammates are a blur around him, but he’s looking at me. A rare smile graces his lips. I distinctly remember being caught off guard by his smile. He never smiled at me. I could hear his voice bouncing around my head, repeating the age-old taunt: Take a picture, it’ll last longer. He seemed frozen when I raised my camera to my eye and clicked, three rapid photos in a row. Just in case.

And here it is. Sandwiched in the middle of the stack of photos. My favorite.

Sebastian and Hale now think they know something about Theo and me.

Assumptions are dangerous.

I take a deep breath and close the portfolio, tucking it back in its drawer. I need to hunt down Felicity, get food, and figure out my way around campus. And if I can manage to avoid any and all interaction with the football team, I’ll be in even better shape.

There. An easy plan for the day.

8

Theo

Move-in day is a crazy mess. The only way I survive the chaos is because I live off campus. Generally, we arrive early to start football practice. The coach had at-home training exercises for us, so the first two weeks back is one big fitness test. It also serves to bond the team, I think.

Team bonding was something I didn’t buy into at Emery-Rose. I had my three close friends, and that was enough for me. To everyone else, I was closed off. High and mighty, or just too intimidating for anyone to fuck with me. Too quiet—that unnerved a lot of people.

These guys have no such reservations.

Hale and Sebastian find me in the gym. Hale is the captain, the star quarterback, and a cunning fucker. He and I get along—barely—because I don’t push his buttons or contest his authority. I don’t really give a shit that he runs things, to be honest. He can take all the girls and attention at the parties, order the team around.

As I said: I couldn’t care less.

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