274
Lucy
I frowned and turned around to see David walking into the lunchroom, striding towards us, clad in leather armor that accentuated his broad shoulders and height. He looked like he walked off a battlefield or was heading to one. My breath caught at the sight of him. Duke nudged me under the table.
"What do you think of the preview?"
I nudged him back as my face heated, and Duke cackled.
"Hey, Lucy," David greeted, a grin playing on his lips. "Duke."
"David," Duke said, his voice full-on amused. "Loving the warrior look."
David smirked. "Yeah? What do you think, Lucy?"
My heart started to beat hard and fast as his gaze, burning and a little teasing, landed on me.
"It's... Nice," I stammered, my cheeks warming.
He smiled, stroking my cheek gently. "You're so lovely when you blush."
I turned, looking away as he slipped into the seat beside me.
"Pseudo-formal stuff," David said, waving his head. "And I have combat training after lunch, so it made sense to get into it now. How was class?"
I focused on getting my heart to calm down as we ate.
As the lunchtime chatter continued, I found my gaze drifting to David. There was an undeniable allure to the way he spoke about his training. My gaze kept drifting towards his shoulders and the strong lines of his body before I could even catch myself. I turned back, hoping he didn't notice that I was staring at him openly.
The cafeteria bustled with energy around us. David opened the cooler again to pull out food for himself.
"I convinced Blue to pack a few things," David said.
"Strong-armed?" Duke quipped.
"Negotiated very fiercely." He grinned as he opened his container. "Compromised very begrudgingly."
"Hey, David!" A familiar voice came from nearby. I watched Amelia saunter towards us, and something in me went defensive. She leaned on the table, practically ignoring Duke and me, which was irritating enough, but the way she looked at David only made me angrier.
"I didn't see you in class..."
They had a class together? I clenched my jaw and felt Duke nudge me under the table. I glanced at him, and he grinned at me like he had so much to say. I wanted to nudge him back, but it must have been written all over my face.
"Pack stuff," David said. "Duke, this is Amelia."
"Oh, this is the Duke you mentioned?" She looked him over a little disdainfully.
Before I could think of anything to say, Duke thrust his hand out.
"Never heard of you, but hi. Could you watch where you're leaning? You almost knocked over my lunch."
She bristled, and I almost laughed as she stood up straight. Duke pulled his container back towards him.
David's lips lifted into a wry smile. "Amelia, you've met Lucy before."
She pursed her lips, barely glancing my way. "Right."
I set my jaw at her tone as our gazes met. There was nothing but a challenge in her eyes.
"You don't mind if I join, do you?" She asked. "David and I have classes together, and I want a chance to catch up before the next class..."
Lie.
Some part of me knew she was lying. I glanced at Duke, who grinnned, then at David, who was looking at me, not her. That made me feel a little better.
Okay, it made me feel a lot better, and something vicious in me smiled back at her.
"Sure, Amelia," I said. She narrowed her eyes. "Have a seat."
She looked around at the table and set her jaw more firmly. The table was a picnic-style table for four, but the only open spot was between Duke and me unless David shifted over, and he didn't seem to be planning to. She lifted her chin and rounded the table. She took a seat, her attention primarily focused on David as she settled and glanced over the containers on the table. David pulled out his utensils and started cutting into the cut of meat in his container.
"So, how's your day been so far?" Amelia asked, her eyes lingering on David.
David didn't answer for a moment, mid-bite, but Duke piped up.
"I'm a bit tired of hearing the same speech about hunters but pretty good. Got to catch up on a few things. How about you, Lucy?"
David looked at me expectantly, and I sat up a little straighter.
It was so odd to feel like this, but I liked it. I liked David's attention on me.
"I'm glad to be done with most of my lectures for the day. David?"
He bobbed his head. "Pretty good. War Council went over well enough. Well, as well as could be expected."
"Oh, about the Festival, right?" Amelia asked. "I would have thought you would have been too busy preparing to attend to be worried about security measures... Being alpha and all."
I tilted my head at her tone and glanced at Duke, who looked like he had a front-row seat to the best show of his life. He smirked at me, and his eyebrows jumped.
It seemed like he'd heard it, too.
She wasn't just casually mentioning his status. She was calling him alpha. I didn't know if Amelia was a werewolf or a shifter. I didn't even know enough about werewolf culture to really be offended, but the tone sparked a burst of anger in me.
"Part of the preparations is ensuring the safety of the event," he said. "But I wasn't called in as alpha of Blood Moon."
"I mean, I know you're really talented, but I had no idea that you had such a relationship with Hecate..."
I tuned out their words to a point. Instead, I felt like I was just listening to her tone. David's tone never changed, but Amelia's was dripping with interest. I found myself growing increasingly annoyed. Amelia's attempts at flirtation became more apparent as she leaned forward.
"Well, it's coming up pretty soon. I was thinking about going, but I haven't decided on a color."
Duke shot me a knowing look. I felt the words starting to grow clearer in the back of my mind. The words I wanted to say even if I didn't know exactly what they were. Trying to maintain composure, I took another bite.
"Shouldn't you be asking your date?" I asked. "You could coordinate."
Duke's eyes widened, but he looked exceedingly proud. Then, David hummed.
"Yeah. You're going with... Casey, right?"
She shook her head. "I had someone else in mind..."
Then, she looked dead at David, but his gaze was back on his food as something chimed. He grabbed a napkin and made a tsking sound, pulling out his phone.
"Duty calls," he sighed and closed his container. "I guess I'll be eating on the go."
"You're leaving?" Amelia asked.
He shrugged. "Follow-up meeting."
He reached into the cooler and grinned, pulling out a small container and setting it beside me.
"This is for you. Let me know what you think."
I blinked at him, looking down at it. "You didn't have to."
"Audition," he said before sliding another to Duke. "Blue's compromise."
"I can't eat all of this."
"You'll figure it out." He frowned down into the cooler. "I thought there was another...."
He shrugged. "She must have taken it out."
He got up. "I'll catch you two later. Amelia, next class."
"We should get together so I can give you the notes."
He shook his head. "Jace already sent me his. Thanks, though."
Then, he was gone with little more than a brush of his hand across my back.
She watched him leave before turning back to glare at me as I opened my container and smiled at the beautifully decorated little cake inside. There was a blood-red rose cutting on top of it that smelled as if he had just picked it from the garden.
"Cake? Sweet!" Duke said.
"And who are you to David?" Amelia asked, glancing between the cake and my face.
I met her gaze, grabbed my fork, and took a piece to eat. It was perfectly cool, moist, and absolutely perfect like he'd transfigured a chocolate bar into cake.
"A girl he gives cake to."
Amelia gathered her things. "Well, don't get used to that. That'll be ending soon, Lily."
"Doubtful," Duke said, eating some of his own cake. "Ashley."
She flushed. "It's Amelia."
"Her name's Lucy," he said, gesturing at her. "Please leave."
She sneered. "I wonder how David's going to feel about you talking to me like this.
"I guess we can find out right around the time he finds out that you can't remember a name as simple as Lucy." He winced. "I heard he has a thing for intelligence...and a few other attributes you don't have."
She turned and stomped off. I looked at Duke, who grinned at me.
"I've always got your back, Lucy... But we've really got to work on how you deal with mean girls."
I chuckled. "I'll count that as lesson one."
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