Chapter 6: Truth in the Slums
The first hour passed like torture...application after application of the same rehearsed melancholy. Poor kids with perfect teeth and perfect grades and perfectly empty souls, all desperate to be placed among alphas and have positions in this world of ours.
Khellon sat still as a statue, his turquoise eyes scanning each application on the screen with the intensity of a hunter. But his real focus was elsewhere; his unique ability was diving into the minds of every applicant whose photo flashed before them. Their thoughts were all the same boring shit: please accept me, I can produce good alpha heirs, I'll do anything to get in.
Pathetic.
"Next," Dean Matteo called out, his voice already hoarse from reading.
Professor Sterling picked up the next application, her eyes widening slightly as she read the header. "This one's... different."
"Different how?" Nikolas asked, though he sounded like he couldn't care less. His fingers drummed against the arm of his throne, already bored out of his mind.
"Well, she's from District 47... the slums. Scholarship candidate." Sterling's voice carried a note of surprise. "Meredith Gwen."
Dante's flames flickered higher around his fingertips. "Another slum rat? What's entertaining about her? Probably some sob story about how hard her life is."
"Read it," Khellon spoke for the first time since sitting down, his voice calm but commanding. His words carried such authority that every person in the room immediately became more alert, except the Apex Alphas.
Sterling cleared her throat and began reading from the screen:
"Characteristics and Skills:
Red-haired woman who doesn't apologize for taking up space.
Skilled at survival despite being unwanted.
Expert at seeing through elite bullshit and calling it what it is.
Abandoned by a father who couldn't handle what he created.
Raised by a woman who taught me the world's ugliest truths.
Good at giving a SUCK."
The room instantly fell dead silent. Faculty members exchanged horrified glances, some covering their mouths in shock. Dean Matteo looked shocked, and she regretted not having cross-checked all these applications at first, even though it was against the rules.
"I'm sorry, what the fuck did she just say?" Professor Martinez whispered, her face flushed red.
"She called us bullshit," Dante said slowly, his flames growing bigger. "This little slum bitch just called the entire elite system bullshit."
Nikolas scoffed as he leaned back in his throne with pure disgust written all over his face.
"It's highly inappropriate. Clearly a mistake. We should reject this trash immediately and move on. Why are we wasting time over this?"
But Khellon wasn't listening to his words. His mind had already reached out, searching for the girl who wrote this application. What he found made his breath catch.
Raw. Honest. Angry. He could see it all in her.
Her thoughts weren't like the others...they weren't trying to impress anyone or hide behind fake politeness. She was exactly what she claimed to be: someone who'd survived hell and wasn't about to apologize for it.
Interesting. He could already feel his cock harden at the thought of her, her bruteness, fuck.
"No," Khellon said quietly, but his voice cut through the room like a sharp blade, shocking everyone except the Apex Alphas.
All eyes turned to him, and several faculty members actually shivered when they met his turquoise gaze and immediately bowed their heads.
"Excuse me?" Dean Matteo squeaked, his voice trembling.
"I said no." Khellon leaned forward, his attention fully focused now. "This girl just did something none of these other candidates managed, and I want her in this school."
His mind was already reeling with interest. For once, something had caught his attention, and he was going to see if this was someone who would cower like the others or perhaps... perhaps make a good queen of the two most powerful regions.
"What's that?" Nikolas asked, his gray eyes narrowing with suspicion. He knew that look on Khellon's face, and he fucking hated it.
"She told the truth."
Nikolas let out a harsh laugh. "The truth? She insulted us and called us bullshit, and you think that's the truth? She's nothing but slum trash trying to get attention."
"Exactly," Khellon replied, a slow smile spreading across his face. "She's not trying to kiss our asses or pretend she belongs here. She's warning us she won't play our games."
"And the last part about 'giving a SUCK'?" Dean Matteo asked weakly, clearly hoping someone would explain it away.
Khellon's smile turned predatory. "Skills, Dean. She's telling us she's good at what she does, whatever that might be."
This was getting more exciting than he thought.
Dante had been quiet during this exchange, watching the way Khellon's entire demeanor had changed. The bastard was interested—really interested—and that pissed Dante off more than he cared to admit.
"You want to bring some unwashed street rat here?" Nikolas's voice dropped to that dangerous whisper that made smart people run. Frost began forming on the arms of his throne. "Some worthless human who thinks she can insult us and get rewarded for it?"
"I want to see what she's made of," Khellon replied calmly. "When was the last time anyone surprised you, Nikolas? When did anyone last make you feel... anything?"
"This place isn't a charity," Nikolas snarled. "We don't take in strays just because they amuse you."
Dante's flames suddenly grew higher, drawing both their attention. "You know what?" he said, grinning at Nikolas. "I think Khellon's right."
Nikolas's head snapped toward him. "What?"
"This place has been boring as hell lately," Dante continued, his yellow eyes gleaming with mischief. "Same rich bitches, same perfect applications, same predictable bullshit bowing down to us. At least this girl has some fire in her."
The truth was, Dante couldn't give a damn about some slum girl. But if Khellon wanted her here, then Dante wanted her here too... just to see how far he could push his rival's interest.
"You're both insane," Nikolas said coldly. "She'll be eaten alive here. The other students will destroy her in a week."
"Then that's her problem to solve," Khellon replied. His mind was already made up, and when Khellon decided something, it happened. "Accept her."
"Like hell... that won't happen..."
"Accept. Her." Khellon's voice carried that unmistakable command that made weaker minds bend to his will. Even Nikolas felt the pull of it, though he was strong enough to resist.
All eyes turned to the Dean, who was sweating so hard his shirt was soaked through. Two Apex Alphas wanted the girl accepted; one wanted her rejected. No matter what he chose, someone was going to be pissed off.
But Khellon's power was pressing against his mind, and Dante's flames were getting dangerously close to setting the room on fire.
"Meredith Gwen," he announced with a trembling voice, reaching for the golden seal. "Accepted to Apex Academy. Full scholarship."
As he stamped the application, Nikolas's expression turned murderous, like he was ready to kill something, but he wasn't about to murder the entire faculty over some slum girl. Ice spread across the floor around his throne, and when he spoke, his voice might have made even hell freeze.
"When this little experiment goes wrong, don't come crying to me."
He stood up abruptly, his throne almost breaking in half... cracks appeared from the sudden temperature change. "And when she realizes she's in over her head, I'll be the one to throw her back to the slums where she belongs."
Without another word, he stalked out of the room, leaving a trail of frost in his wake.
Dante chuckled, his flames dancing higher with amusement. "Well, this year just got a lot more interesting."
Khellon said nothing, but his turquoise eyes glowed with something dark and possessive. He'd found something worth his attention for the first time in years.
And he wasn't about to let it go.