The Alpha Prince can Kiss My Ass Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Fraternization



Maryam



“I’m not going out there, Shannon,” I say, narrowing my eyes and crossing my arms over my chest.

“Oh, yes you are,” she murmurs, waving a hand at me, dismissive.

“There won’t even be anyone to hang out with! They’ll be guarding us!”

“Only two at night,” Shannon says, pointing at my packet with a wide grin. “Which leaves four for…free time. Me time. It’s Shannon o’clock, baby! We’re going to go find some boys!”

She whoops, excited, but I just glare at her, tightening my arms, refusing to go.

“Fine,” Shan says, shrugging and unscrewing the tequila’s cap, taking a long swig that makes her shudder, grimace, and then laugh. My mouth drops open at her gall. “I’ll go alone then – to hang out with a bunch of ravenous wolves who haven’t seen a girl in months –“

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Shannon,” I snarl, standing up and snatching the bottle out of her hand. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Yes,” she says, beaming at me, accepting the frankly accurate description with ease. “Come be ridiculous with me! Because if you don’t go and flirt with Rafe Sinclair, then I will.”

My mouth drops open at my friend.

She grins at me and I snap my jaw shut, glaring at her even as my mind whirs, torn about what to say or do.

“Actually,” Emma says, surprising us both by striding forward and snagging the bottle out of my hand. “I’m in.”

“What!?” I shriek.

She shrugs, taking a swig. Shannon squeals, clapping her hands and jumping up and down, thrilled. “Dr. Hank said we have to have empathy for these people,” Emma says, shrugging and wiping at her mouth. “And how can I do that if I’ve never really even met a wolf, let alone an Alpha?”

My mouth drops open. How…how can she be betraying me!? My most docile friend!?

“This is very wise, Emma,” Shannon says, nodding sagely to her. “I really appreciate your empathy at this moment. Your true professionalism.”

“How can she be professional!” I bite out. “She’s drinking tequila!” I gesture vehemently at the bottle as Emma takes another sip.

“It’s liquid courage, Maymay,” Emma says, grinning at me. “Wolves are scary.”

“Wolves are –“

But my words are drowned out as Shannon laughs, putting her arm around Emma and turning her away from me, asking her what she’s going to wear.

“What to wear!?” I blurt out. “What’s – what’s wrong with what you’re wearing!?”

But both of them ignore me, starting to sort through their backpacks – the only luggage we were allowed to bring – for something cute, of all damn things.

I scowl, crossing my arms, hating both of them because we’re all aware that I’m not going to let them leave me here all alone.

“Oh, I hate you,” I snarl, storming forward and grabbing the tequila from Emma, taking a long slug from the bottle.

“We have converted her,” Shannon whispers, her voice mock-awed and reverent. “She is one of us now.”

“A wicked, willful woman,” Emma intones, playing along. “A rule breaker. Independent. Free.”

I scowl at both of them, wiping at my mouth even as I glare. “If you two get me kicked out on the first day, I’m never forgiving you.”

Shannon laughs, reaching for me and tugging me closer. “Don’t worry, Maybee,” she says, “I’m very sneaky. Come on, let’s pick you out something cute!” I sigh, shaking my head and turning my attention to our outfit choices as Shannon and Emma start to pool their clothing together, picking something out.

_ _ _

I shake my head at Shannon as she bounds ahead through the woods, a little canvas bag full of tequila bottles banging against her hip. “I can’t believe she wore that.”

Emma laughs at me, throwing out a hand towards the tank top and booty shorts that hug Shan’s generous curves. “She looks cute!”

“She’ll freeze!” I bite out, glaring at Ems now that Shannon’s too far ahead to bear my wrath.

“Nah, she won’t,” Emma says, bumping her shoulder against mine. “She’ll find a nice furry wolf to cuddle up with.”

“Not looking like a snack she won’t,” I grumble. “She’ll get gobbled up. I’ve read like a dozen fairy tales about this exact situation.”

Emma just laughs and we move forward through the dark woods. We’re not going far, of course – a little map at the back of our instruction packet showed that the Guard’s tent is just across the clearing from us. But considering that we don’t want to get caught walking right through the middle of the camp, we’re taking the long, secret way round through the dark woods.

I sigh as we pick our way carefully through the underbrush, a little shiver running through me in the cold night. Passively I do worry about Shannon, who always privileges fashion over practicality. I cross my arms over my chest, grateful for my hoodie and jeans.

“Come on, Maryam,” Emma says softly. I look up to see her studying me as we walk. “What’s really wrong?”

“I just – I don’t get the point of this – going to flirt with the wolf boys,“ I say, gesturing a hand out towards the fire I can see burning in the distance with a few figures gathered around it. Probably the guards and whichever of the other nursing students snuck out before us – we certainly weren’t the only ones. “I mean, it’s not like a relationship between a human and a wolf can ever actually work.”

“I mean, I’m not sure Shan cares about a relationship,” Emma murmurs, smiling a little as we walk. “But also, why not?”

I roll my eyes at my friend. “Thousands of years of prejudice, Em!”

“How does that figure?” she asks, frowning down at her feet. “I mean, humans in Moon Valley didn’t even know wolves were real until like twenty-five years ago.”

“But wolves knew humans were real! Plus, they spent all that time consolidating resources and power! It’s not like Dominic Sinclair took the throne a poor man. He’s a billionaire! And he got that way by exploiting capitalist systems that privileged his secret knowledge about wolves and his physical strength.”

Emma looks at me like she’s worried, her mouth flattening into a straight line. “You know I’m always down for a critique of capitalism, May,” she says. “But these boys are not their fathers.”

I blink at her, shocked that she doesn’t agree with me.

“Come on,” she says, nodding to the fire as we arrive at the edge of the guards’ camp. “Just…talk to them. See what they’re actually all about. If they suck, we’ll go.”

“You forget,” I snap, glaring a little. “I grew up with these wolves. I know exactly who they are.”

I turn away from her, storming into the little circle of firelight and taking a seat at the far side, pointedly as far away from the four wolves and their band of new friends as I can get. Rafe Sinclair turns towards me as I sit, his brows raised in surprise.

But I just stare into the fire, scowling and ignoring him.

Or at least, pretending to.

Emma sits down next to me and secretly I’m grateful that she didn’t abandon me. “Sorry,” I murmur, meaning it but not happy to admit it.

“We’re good, Maymay,” she says, smiling and giving me a nudge. “Look, Shan’s having a good time.”

I raise my eyes to the group again, immediately seeing Shannon laughing, seated on a log next to a very tall, broad-shouldered blonde guard, sharing the bottle of tequila with him. She flicks her long hair over her shoulder, looking lovely, thrilled, and perfectly at ease.

Even as I try to find something to hate about the moment…I can’t. Shan. She’s just so…happy. And I’m not going to begrudge her that.

I do narrow my eyes at the blonde though, thinking that he’d damn well better behave himself.

As Em and I sit, quietly enjoying the warmth of the fire, I let my eyes move over the rest of the group. Daniel and Amari are here, but there’s no surprise in that – they’re verysocial. I recognize a couple of other girls from our year at school mingling with them and two other guards. Some sit, some stand – but it’s easy to see that everyone is being very friendly, eager to get to know one another.

I try to concentrate on my fellow nursing students, trying to remember all of their names and match them to faces. But my eyes move, of course, fucking inevitably, to Rafe.

I huff out a sigh through my nose as I watch him, trying to figure out what the hell everyone else sees in this guy.

He sits a little apart from the group, graciously greeting everyone who comes to say hello and being quite friendly. But every time he evades getting sucked into a conversation and instead returns to his seat on another log around the fire.

What. Too good to talk to us humans? I narrow my eyes to a glare.

He has a wide stick in his hand and is whittling at it passively with a knife, biding time and keeping occupied. But I realize as I watch him that he’s not paying very much attention to it.

Instead, every few seconds he looks up, scanning the forest around us and casting his eyes over his men to ensure that they’re behaving. Shan moves over to Rafe to introduce herself, abandoning her blonde to offer the Prince some tequila. Rafe smiles warmly at her –

I roll my eyes when Shannon basically melts at that –

And then Rafe takes the bottle. He raises it to his lips and lifts it. But I narrow my eyes because…his throat doesn’t move before he lowers the bottle and hands it back to Shannon.

My jaw drops.

Did…did Rafe just fake taking a drink?

Anger sweeps through me from head to toe. What, is Shannon’s tequila not good enough for this fancy-ass Prince!?

Next to me, Emma laughs. “He’s on guard, Maryam,” she whispers. “He faked the drink because he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. He’s being really nice.”

I scowl, realizing that she’s right.

But who the hell does he think he is, anyway!? What, he’s more stoic and responsible and dutiful than the rest of us!? I roll my eyes and huff out a breath, hating him as he sits back on his log, turning his eyes back to his stupid stick.

“Come on,” Emma says, standing and tugging at my arm. “Let’s go say hello –“

“No way –“ I gasp, leaning back as she tries to pull me up.

But just as she tugs harder at my arm, headlights sweep through the camp. The whole group around the fire goes still for a second before the nursing students panic, cursing lightly and ducking down to not be seen in the sudden light. Shannon squeaks, dropping to the ground at her blonde wolf’s side.

Emma and I slip off our log, not really able to hide behind it but sitting still and watching as another military transport pulls into the clearing.

“Must be the psych volunteers,” Emma murmurs to me. I nod, agreeing. Didn’t dad say they were coming soon?

As I watch, the door to the transport opens and an absolutely stunning girl swings herself down. I blink a bit, taking in her willowy form, her long mane of white-blonde hair, the camera that hangs around her neck on a leather chord. I frown at that. Why on earth does a therapist need a camera?

She steps away from the transport so the next person can climb out and looks around the camp with interest, sniffing the air. Then her head snaps towards us. “No way,” she says, her words ringing out through the camp. “No way!

She bursts out laughing and runs in our direction.

My head snaps back towards the fire when I hear Rafe’s voice. “Are you kidding me!?” His face bursts into a wide smile.

“Rafe!” the girl cries, dashing into the circle and leaping into the air, throwing herself at him.

Rafe roars with laughter, catching the girl in the air and spinning her in a circle. “Theresa! What are you doing here!? It’s so good to see you!”

My lips flatten into a thin line, my eyes focusing on the beautiful girl in Rafe Sinclair’s arms, laughing prettily and gazing down into his face. Her cheeks dimple prettily as her hair floats down around her shoulders, looking like spun gold.

Rafe grins up at her, holding her up in his arms, her perky butt supported by his forearm. I clench my teeth when she strokes a hand over his hair, asking how he is and how his family is doing.

“Wow,” Emma whispers. “Who…who the hell is that?”

I don’t answer. I have no idea, after all.

But I do know one thing.

Whoever this girl is? I…fucking hate her.

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