King Hall (Forever Evermore 1)

Written with apple pie sauce — probably with his spoon it was so terrible — on the side of the plate in teeny-tiny scrawl was: Fair. I had once said life wasn’t fair as I donated my blood as a treat to him and drank bagged blood to compensate, being a best friend. He was doing the same now. At a prime time when I needed it, too.

I picked up my spoon once more, peering at him through the veil of my hair.

His eyes met mine, and I nodded my head slightly. Thank you.

He blinked slowly. You’re welcome.

Then, he looked away, and I dug in.

Christ, I was running late. I had been doing so much better at being on time, too. Go figure, the big day of graduation and Awakenings, I had overslept. Luckily, my friends were taking their own cars today. The graduation was going to be held on the back lawn of King Hall, instead of the gym where it normally was, thanks to the size of today’s crowd.

As for the crowd, they sure weren’t helping my tardiness.

Tapping my fingers on the steering wheel, I waited in the long procession of cars to get through the gated front entrance. I was almost there, but “almost” in traffic easily meant another twenty minutes. Sighing heavily, I considered the view before me, regarding the impressive grounds of King Hall. After today, I wouldn’t be back here for some time, like, roughly twenty years.

I couldn’t say I was too disappointed, but there was something about seeing the place that had been such a monumental part of my life changing. If I had never gone here, I wouldn’t have met my mate. If I hadn’t gone here, I wouldn’t be the Prodigy Shifter. If I hadn’t gone here, I never would have met my best friends. So, yeah, the place I had dreaded had altered my life, but not in all bad ways, so I gave it a good perusal for memory’s sake as I eventually bypassed the valets, who waved me on when they saw the bodyguard detail in front of and behind me.

I parked in my normal place at the back of the parking lot under a large oak, the spot empty. No one ever parked there. They knew it was mine. There were some perks to my position.

Grabbing my large duffel bag with my graduation gown, ceremonial gown, dress and heels, and make-up, I slung it over my shoulder and started hauling ass to the entrance. I swerved in and out of parked cars and, mostly, tried to keep my head down so I wasn’t noticed and stopped. I didn’t have time to chat or let Shifters touch right now. I needed to hurry and change clothes to meet with the Kings, my friends, and their families, who were visiting before graduation began.

However, I stalled on the sidewalk, doing a double-take of the next couple pulling up to the curb a few feet away. My guards also stopped, but I waved a hand, murmuring, “Give me a second.” All obeyed, backing away a few feet to line the school building as I shoved through the mass of Mysticals congregating on the sidewalk just as the car stopped, a smile curving my lips. I knew I had correctly recognized them, because it was them.

Ezra’s parents.

Having seen that one photo on his desk, I saw that they looked exactly the same. His dad was Native American and his mom was Caucasian. Both were imposing and beautiful, and as his dad got out of their car, I could see where Ezra had acquired his bulking muscles. The man was enormous.

Quickly stepping forward, I offered my hand. “Hello! You’re Ezra’s parents. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.” Ezra’s mom quickly glanced at me, smiled, nodded once, then peered away as Ezra’s dad lifted his hand to mine. “I’m—”

“Don’t scratch her,” he ordered, cutting me off. “She’s new. Make sure you park her in the shade.” He released my hand.

In my palm was a set of keys and a ten-dollar bill.

I blinked, glancing from side-to-side, and saw the valets were wearing a similar outfit to me. Black pants, black shirt, and a black ball cap. The real valet’s eyes next to me went wide — he, obviously, knew who I was, and he quickly handed Ezra’s dad a numbered ticket. I was pretty sure my jaw was still hanging as they walked past, not glancing at me again, and his mom leaned toward his dad, linking her arm with his.

I heard her whisper, “They’re letting Coms on the grounds today? Unbelievable.”

Delicately, the valet took the keys from my motionless outstretched hand, mumbling hastily, “Keep the money. You earned it.” He quickly hightailed it away from me.

I was left standing there blinking, wondering how that had gone so wrong, when Aros and Felix stepped on either side of me. As of this morning, they were officially part of my detail, with school now out. Aros patted my shoulder, offering, “Your hair’s back in a ponytail, hidden under a ball cap. They probably couldn’t see you properly.” Also, I was masking my power, which I did normally now.

Felix snorted, but stated factually, “You’re late. Remember?”

“Shit,” I breathed, and turned, trucking it inside. I really needed to hurry and, besides, I would get the chance to meet them again in, like, ten minutes, or something like that. Pretty much however long it took me to finish getting ready in the locker room.

Hiking up the red graduation robe I wore, which was identical to the black ceremonial robe, thrilled I was able to wear clothing under this one, I raced to the administration building, heading for Mrs. Jonas’s office where the familial meet-and-greet was located. I had taken a little longer than I had wanted to in getting ready — fifteen minutes more — so I really was officially late, not just going to be late, like I had been before.

My guards chased after me across the lawn. The mad dash probably appeared like a twisted version of a children’s tale, since they wore black fatigues while I resembled a frantic madwoman, red robe fluttering about in the breeze. At least in this situation I was the wolf.

While they stopped, waiting outside, I slammed through the administration building’s front doors. A quick wave to the receptionist, then I was stopping to take in a few calming breaths before I hit Mrs. Jonas’s office. Running a hand through my hair, I rolled my shoulders, and dug into my pocket before entering. The office was packed.

By some means, I still managed to see King Kincaid sniff the air, then glance in my direction with a demeanor of exasperation. Smiling sheepishly, I maneuvered my way along the edges of the room to stand next to him. He bent to my level, whispering, “Did anyone see you run across the lawn?”

Probably the entire mass of people behind the main building seated for graduation.

“I’m sure they were looking the other way.” At least, the ones with the cameras had been, since they were aimed at the stage. In my opinion, those were the most important.