"Clayton... I..." I trail off, realizing I just called him by his name. It's yet another thing he hates.
Clayton's eyes darken, and then they go unfocused, signalling he's communicating using his mind link.
I don't need to ask to know exactly who it is. My heart drops to the pit of my stomach and my gut twists, apprehensive of the punishment to come.
It's not long before the door bursts open and Prince Casper, the menace of the quad storms in.
It's obvious he just woke up with how messy his blonde hair is, frazzled around his head. And the hickeys lining his neck is evidence of what he'd been up to.
The Northern Tower is always busy, flocked by the rotation of lovers the Princes entertain daily.
But Casper never misses an opportunity to make my life miserable.
His eyes land on me first.
My hands tremble and I clench my fists to hide it, but not before he notices.
Casper sneers, before shifting his gaze to his brother.
"You were late again?" He hisses, "Are you taking Clay for granted?!"
I shake my head quickly.
"Well? Cat got your tongue?!" He snaps,
I know better than to talk back, it never ends well. But still, the words slip out before I think them through. "Kathy was craving almond cakes late last night. She changed her request thrice and I had to go back and forth baking past my bedtime. So I slept in..."
"Are you saying it's my fault?!" Casper snarls.
The temperature in the room spikes, his fire element reacting to his fiery emotions.
Kathy is one of Casper's lovers for the week. Amongst many others.
I suppress a shudder of disgust at the thought.
Of course it's his fault. It certainly isn't mine.
But I can't say that. Not unless I want to end up as a pile of ash.
"No. But..." I try, but Casper moves faster.
In the blink of an eye, his claws snap around my throat in a crushing grip, cutting off my airflow.
My eyes bulge, and I claw at his hand, struggling to free myself. His palm is searingly hot to touch, and a scorching pain radiates around my neck.
When Casper finally lets go, I double over, coughing violently and gasping for breath. The skin around my neck throbs, it feels raw and I know it's probably red from his burning touch.
"What were you going to say?" He asks, his tone daring me to continue protesting.
I clutch my neck, shaking my head slowly.
"Words." Casper warns.
"No, Sir." I adjust quickly.
"I thought as much." He pulls out a kerchief, wiping his hands like I'm some dirt he'd mistakenly touched.
"You'll join us for breakfast." He adds, "Like a good little puppy kneeling at Clayton's feet."
"In that time, carefully think over exactly what you've done wrong and why you keep getting on Clayton's nerves."
___________
I trail behind Clayton as he heads to the cafeteria. My head hung low.
The Northern Tower has its own personal cafeteria, exclusively for the quad, but of course, Clayton has chosen to join the rest of the football team in the general cafeteria for all academy students.
The closer we get, my gut twists within me. I can already hear the voices even before we arrive at the doors, hundreds of excited students chattering and exchanging morning conversations.
And once Clayton steps through, a hush instantly falls over the cafeteria.
All eyes move to him. It's not everyday one of the Princes join the rest of the school for breakfast.
I can feel more than half of those same eyes move to me, hundreds waiting to witness my humiliation.
"Yo, Clay!" Reece, the Alpha heir of the Orion pack and vice captain of the football team calls out across the room.
My hands clench tightly at my sides, nails digging into my palm. Clayton leads the way to the table right in the center of the room where the members of the football team already sat.
They quickly adjust their seating positions to make space for Clayton at the head of the table.
Clayton sits, and I stand by him. My eyes fixed on my shoes.
No one speaks to me. I'm used to it. Everyone pretends like I don't exist now, except when the quad torments me.
An academy omega serving in the cafeteria quickly places a tray of food at Clayton's table.
Scrambled eggs, bacon and toast, alongside a cup of coffee. That's Clayton's daily choice of breakfast.
"Do I need to remind you what to do?" Clayton asks with a raised brow, as he sips his coffee.
No one looks away. My hands clench tighter, the humiliation clawing at my gut, but I know better than to disobey.
Clayton's punishment is always kinder than Casper's.
Slowly, I drop to my knees by his feet, eyes fixed on the cafeteria floor. I can feel the hundreds of eyes boring holes into the back of my head.
If only the ground could split open and swallow me whole.
Tears sting my eyes but I bite down harshly on my bottom lip to keep them from falling.
Breakfast continues on as usual, Clayton and his team diving into light conversations about their upcoming game.
I count down in my head. In a half hour, it would be time for the first lesson of the day and everyone would disperse.
But it only takes about twenty minutes before Clayton's phone rings. He pulls it out, grunting in annoyance as he gets up to his feet.
Just when I'm about to exhale in relief, Clayton stops, "You can only leave after everyone else has."
He doesn't even look my way. My heart sinks, and I nod slowly.
"What did Casper say about using your words?!" Clayton throws a disdainful look my way.
"Yes. I understand Sir." I say in a low whimper.
Clayton scoffs, "Until you learn to obey, Amy. You'll keep finding yourself back here."