HUNTED-Chapter 396: Typical Cafeteria Scene?

As soon as the bell rang for the end of class, Keira was out of the door with Rhea on her heel. Her hand clenched into a fist outside as she heard Kodi bursting into laughter at her departure. Fortunately, they weren’t in any other classes together, and she managed to forget all about him until lunchtime.

Keira, Rhea, and one of her worshippers—sorry, guys who were without a doubt in love with Rhea—walked into the cafeteria. It was grand, with high ceilings, marble walls and floors, decorative chandeliers, and the lunch line hidden behind a foggy glass wall.

For the vampires who had yet to join them, they had separate feeding stations where humans willingly and far too happily allowed them to drink from. That was private, though. Werewolves were disgusted by it, and humans were far too curious about the feeding stations.

Besides the extravagant hall and luxury, comfortable chairs and tables, there wasn’t much else different to regular schools. Or so Keira was told. There wasn’t really any set table system besides Rhea and Keira’s table always remaining free. Even if they didn’t use it.

Today was different.

It seemed the table across from theirs had been taken, and who else but Kodi and some of the newbie students congregated there. Keira felt his gaze before discovering where he was. It was unnerving how aware she was of him.

"Ohhh, they have salmon on the menu today or are you feeling like the Wagyu beef?" Rhea asked, tugging Keira’s sleeve and redirecting her towards the lunch line.

They walked to the front, where other students gestured for them to skip the queue and begin looking at the menu. "Wagyu is a bit much this early-"

"You’ll change your mind when you get your wolf," Tristan, the guy still trailing after Rhea and holding her bag, said.

Rhea glared at him over her shoulder. Keira shook her head. "It’s fine." She looked at the guy and smiled. "I’m sure I will. Until then, I’ll have some of the smaller meals." She looked to the assistant. "Salmon and salad, please."

"Yes, Your Highness," the lunch assistant bowed and served her food.

Initially, like some of Keira’s siblings, their guards would collect their food and bring the tray to their table. Keira forced hers to stop it on the first day she entered the Academy. She didn’t want attention as it was, and that also set her aside from others who only needed to go up to the lunch line and select their meals.

While they waited, Rhea leaned close to Tristan, using her looks like usual to make him almost weak at the knees. The guy was a buff blonde-haired werewolf, yet he couldn’t help but act under her spell. "Tris, what do you know about the new students?" Her whisper was too low for others to hear besides Keira.

Tristian looked behind them, making it all the more conspicuous. "Oh, they’re scholarship students."

"It makes sense," Keira nudged Rhea’s snobby comment. "What?! It does. They’re so… rough-looking. What about that Kodi kid?"

"Kodi?" Tristian followed Rhea’s gaze and quickly looked away, accepting the food tray on Rhea’s behalf. "He’s got a sports scholarship-"

"Figures. He wasn’t in any of our other classes." They were in ’Special Grade’. Keira hated the name, but it meant their classes were even more challenging. As a Cross, she couldn’t be anything less than Special.

"I hear he’s one hell of an athlete, even by werewolf standards," Tristian finished, ignoring Rhea’s little digs and commentary.

"He has the body of one," Keira murmured. Tristian nodded along while Rhea’s mouth dropped open in utter dismay and shock.

"His body?! Oh, you didn’t miss that huh? You like the whole bully romance thing?" Rhea continued dramatically, yet her voice remained a hissed whisper.

Keira rolled her eyes. "Seriously? It’s hard not to notice he’s ripped. It would be stranger if I didn’t notice," she justified, leaving Rhea to snort at her friend and wonder if Keira really did find that idiot attractive.

Rhea had high standards, usually vampires, so she could only just see what Keira might have found attractive- his muscles. It certainly wasn’t his personality. Gross.

On their return, Keira’s steps slowed down the path to their table, eying the werewolf who hadn’t once stopped watching her. She sat down half-heartedly after Rhea and Tristian took the chairs facing away from Kodi and his little clique.

Keira tried to pay attention to her friends but it was quite impossible when someone who seemed to hate the bane of her existence sat directly behind them and glared at her whenever she’d glance in his direction.

"What do you think?" Rhea asked, dragging Keira’s attention away from her annoying thoughts.

"Hmm?" She caught Tristian’s gaze as he quietly pleaded with her. But for what exactly?

Rhea huffed. "About going back to Broken Fang."

Ah. "Us two? Or…" I looked at Tristian.

Rhea snorted. "I mean… You can come along, Tris, but I’d suggest bringing some buddies. It is a vampire bar."

Tristian made a face before he could hide his reaction. Rhea arched her eyebrow. She considered herself more a vampire than a werewolf. "Huh, Tris, you may go." She flicked her hand, dismissing him.

Tris’ eyes bugged out by how quick she shut him down.

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"I didn’t mean anything by it-"

Rhea’s lips tugged up into a beguiling smile. "That’s okay. Vampire bars can be scary places." She tapped his cheek teasingly. "We’ll go just us girls."

That was most likely the plan all along. Keira really wasn’t bothered about going to the nightclub again. Fortunately, the bar was exclusive and great at keeping their patron’s privacy exactly that-- private, especially from the press.

Keira glanced at Kodi again, sipping a pink and red can of some fizzy strawberry drink and barely nodding to whatever his friend was telling him. Somehow, or maybe it was some narcissistic part of herself, Keira felt as though he was still paying more attention to her table than to what his friend was saying.

While Keira continued eating her food and observing the man who’d somehow barged his way into her mind already, Tristian was begging to stay with Rhea for the rest of lunch.

As annoyed and dramatic as she appeared, the girl loved it.

Honestly, at times, Rhea was like some villainess, but there were many situations the girls were in that called for a bestie like Rhea to take charge and say whatever was on her mind. Most were intimidated by Rhea and complied with her wishes immediately. Others admired and adored her, much like Tristian, who was infatuated with her yet still held a stigma against vampires.

Keira managed a few mouthfuls of food peacefully while Rhea continued teasing Tristian. She was like a cat with sharp claws tapping at her prey, watching in amusement at what he might do next.

Lifting her fork again, a piece of tender salmon rising to her lips, Keira paused. The weight of his eyes landed on her again.

How was she so attuned with this man she’d met merely hours ago?

Was it his striking eyes and looks or the way he subtly, or perhaps not so subtly, made her feel?

Keira met his gaze and lowered her food, trying and failing to arch an eyebrow. Dammit, she better not look like an idiot!

Kodi smirked, lifting his can in salute before bringing it to his mouth and holding her gaze. She couldn’t help but move her food about on the plate. Keira had to admit that she wasn’t used to such behaviour.

Most would drop their gaze while this Kodi challenged her.

Keira did not wish to be challenged.

She wanted a simple life—one she would never have.

She glanced at the banners at the end of the hall, with each of her siblings’ names already stitched on, revealing them as the top students in their year, Cato’s being exceptionally gifted than everyone else, and pushed her plate away.

Her appetite vanished.

The weight of the family name, to be as good as her siblings, suddenly caused the side of her temple to throb, and the stress tightened at the back of her neck.

Kodi’s eyes narrowed at her half eaten lunch.

His opinion is of little consequence to me.

"On second thought…" Keira said aloud, forcing her gaze away from Kodi’s. "It’s a nice day. I’m going outside."

Rhea and Tristian stopped their flirty banter and looked at Keira, who was already getting up. She didn’t mind going by herself if they wanted to stay there. Rhea tilted her head, followed Keira’s subtle gaze behind her, and glowered in the direction of the new students.

"I’ll come with," Rhea announced.

"Me too…" Tristian grimaced as he glanced at the skyline. It wasn’t sunny, and the clouds were darkening and appearing stormy.

So much for a ’nice day’.

Before the trio could walk further to the doors leading to the courtyard, other students caught onto Keira’s plan to leave and seemed to crowd the pair like the fans at Silver Crescent.

"Your Highness, I loved the outfit you rocked up in today! Where did you get it?" A girl gushed before another commented about Keira’s bike, and they openly conversed about the princess while keeping her from going towards the exit.

Others joined in, asking about her holidays and what the ’Untouchable Two’—Keira and Rhea—did. Rhea answered a few other questions before her displeasure started to show, and she waved them off. Tristian acted as their guard, raising his bulky arms and steering them away while the girls escaped.

All the while, a set of piercing, two-coloured eyes watched Keira’s every little movement. As she passed another table where some students didn’t get up to gush over the two royals, she managed to hear their gossip. Keira and Rhea weren’t the only hot topics of the first day. The new students were.

"I heard they were rogues," a girl sighed, sounding more disappointed.

"So?" Her friend, a human, questioned, clearly unaware of werewolf politics.

"If they are rogues," Rhea murmured, glancing in Kodi’s direction. "That explains his problem with us, or more so with you. We should stay away from them."

Keira nodded. It wasn’t uncommon to encounter rogues, but they didn’t particularly like to be involved with everyone else. They were lone wolves, or so she was told. It was odd that three students who were familiar with each other were all rogues and joined Cross Academy.

There was nothing dictating that they couldn’t attend school or any school as long as they didn’t cause trouble.

Tristian opened the door for them, and they stepped through. Keira’s shoulders relaxed immediately as the wind swept across her face and hair. She closed her eyes, and for a moment, she could forget about everything.