Katrina

As we walked into the cafeteria, the entire room went quiet, which I had grown accustomed to; what I didn't expect was the murmurs that broke out afterward. I could hear whispers of my name and my mates' names, but I had no idea what they were whispering about. It wasn't a secret that I was their fated, the boys had made that clear on day one, but something about us had everyone talking.

"Do you want to know what they're whispering about?" Hilda asked, her bitch squad following close behind her.

"Not really," I replied, even though I was curious. I didn't want to rely on Hilda for my information.

I continue walking to the food line, blatantly ignoring the murmurs across the cafeteria, wanting to focus on breakfast and my classes. I was already behind before Miles dragged me away to his bunker, but now I was even further behind, and midterms were only a month away. I would have to focus on classes like crazy if I had any hope of passing.

"They're talking about how big of a slut you are!" Hilda yelled across the cafeteria, her arms crossed haughtily.

I wanted so badly to ignore her and her comments, knowing she was only looking for a fight, but by the way the murmurs around the cafeteria stopped; I knew that what she was saying must be somewhat true.

"What?" Aphelion asked, turning to glare at Hilda.

I tried to grab his arm and pull him toward the food line, but he stood firmly, flexing his muscles, his glare focused solely on the Queen Bitch.

"I said your mate is a slut." Hilda responded slowly, enunciating each word as if Aphelion hadn't heard her the first time.

Aphelion goes to take a step forward, but Miles grabs his arms holding him firmly in place. "Don't do anything stupid." He hisses under his breath, "We've got company." His chin jutted to the corner of the room; sure enough, Hermes was standing there, eyes glued to the current situation, waiting to report back to Zeus.

"I'm not going to stand idly by while this jealous cunt talks to my future queen this way." Aphelion hisses back.

"You can't call her that yet." Hilda taunts Aphelion overhearing his hushed conversation with Miles, making me wonder if she carried the blood of Hermes as well, not only Zeus's messenger but a known gossip due to his spectacular hearing. "She hasn't passed her council test yet," Hilda smirks, trying to cause an even bigger spectacle.

"She is my mate!" Aphelion yells loudly, glaring at Hilda and then turning his glare at Hermes, "The council can go fuck themselves. Katrina will be my Queen, no matter what her test results say."

The roof above us looks like a storm has blown over; there are crackles of lightning and thunder sounds echoing around the cafeteria. Aphelion's powerful aura filled the entire room.

"And there he goes." Beckett whispers, "Losing his damn temper. Drawing unnecessary attention to us."

Our fellow students look up in awe; Aphelion's divine gift is stronger than they've ever seen as the wind picks up and starts blowing loose napkins, empty chairs, and vacant tables around.

"Aphelion," I call to my mate, grabbing his hand, "Calm down, Sparky, I'll handle this." I can feel the succubus in me zapping his power, and soon, the winds die down, leaving the cafeteria a mess, but no longer threatened by Aphelion's powers.

"Sorry, Princess." He whispers gently to me, grabbing my face in his hands, "I can't stand hearing people talk about my most treasured gift."

I smile at my mate before turning to Hilda, keeping the smile plastered on my face as I walk over to her, only leaving a small gap between us. I can see the fear in Hilda's eyes from our proximity, but she doesn't back away; she can't afford for our generation, the future of our people, to see her cower in fear. Not if she wants any chance at ruling the sky kingdom.

"And why would everyone be calling me a slut?" I ask politely, keeping the venom I feel out of my voice.

"Because you haven't even known the heirs for a month, and you've already spread your legs for them." She spits smugly.

I laugh loudly, not caring if I look insane. In fact, I hope I do look insane; maybe that'll teach the other students who are jealous of my position to back up.

"Yes, I've slept with all of them, and I've taken two of them to my bed at the same time." I reply, the smile still on my face as I speak loudly for every spectator to hear, "What you and everyone else in this damn cafeteria don't know is how intense the mate bond is; how drawn you feel to your mates, how you trust them with every fiber of your soul, how you know that they're yours and you are theirs for the rest of your lives. And I feel sorry for each and every one of you, especially those who aren't lucky enough to find their fated."

Hilda looks at me flabbergasted, and I know I've shocked her; looking around, I see the shocked look on everyone's faces, even looks of disappointment. "So I don't care if your or anyone else's whispers about how big of a slut I am. At least I have these incredible men who love me; what do you have?"

And with that, I turn back to my men and walk to the food line, grabbing my breakfast of grits, easy-cooked fried eggs, and a glass of fresh orange juice before heading to the one empty table that's still upright, the one sitting in the center of the cafeteria. My men followed closely behind me, taking their seats around me. Aphelion and Miles are on either side of me, while Beckett and Samael sit directly across from me.

Miles places his hand on my knee, drawing my attention to him; he kisses me on the lips, smiling as he pulls away, "Spoken like a true Queen."

Aphelion clears his throat; his cheeks are tinged pink, "Maybe I should let you handle group settings from now on."

I lean in and kiss him, "It's okay, Sparky. You were protecting your princess's honor." I tease before leaning in and giving him a quick kiss.

"More like making an ass of himself to everyone in the cafeteria. Hermes included." Beckett laughs, causing me to kick him under the table. Unfortunately, I don't retreat fast enough, and he catches my foot, his hands wandering up and down my leg as far as he can reach, causing me to gasp.

Samael raises an eyebrow at me, but I know he can see what Beckett is doing."The council will have expected that reaction, as your fated, we become almost animal-like with our instinct to protect you and declare war on anyone who would try to harm you. I'm honestly surprised that Aphelion blew his top first; I was expecting it to be Miles."

We all broke out in laughter, including Aphelion. Samael's statement rang true; out of all my men, Miles has the shortest temper, which is why when we are alone together, I was shocked to find out he was also the sweetest out of them.

Samael reached out and grabbed my hand from across the table, intertwining our fingers, "Well, now that all that drama is over and Hermes has spotted the four of us together, I'll have to skip our Angelic and Demonic history class doll face."

I groan, "Not another nickname," and then the other half, the important half of Samael's comment, hits me, "Wait, what? Why? Where are you going?" I ask, feeling needed.

Samael looks around to see if anyone is near before he leans in, whispering, "The professor and I went to Tartarus because we found Etir in the underworld. We had to get a potion that Freyja created to eliminate the Etir. We both figured it would be better to use the elixir than have you use your other powers."

"Do you want me to go with you?" I ask, my eyes pleading with him, begging him to say yes.

"I wish toots, but you need to attend every single one of your classes until midterm. I have no doubt the council will be watching your every move; you'll have to play the role of straight-A honor roll student for the time being."

"Okay," I pout, "But while your down there, figure out what you want to call me; I can't keep up with the nicknames I already have; I don't need you adding a million more to the list," I tease just as the bell rings, single it's time for our first class.

"Whatever you say, sugar lips." He smiles, flashing me his perfectly straight pearly white teeth before stooping down and giving me a gentle kiss on the lips. "I'll see you tonight," He whispers before taking off.