Alpha’s Hybrid Cinderella
Chapter 36

It happened so fast that even in a gossip-heavy place like Scarlet University, no one was really certain what had happened that morning. There had been next to no witnesses except the couple dozen confused passersby who had been straining to see what was happening between the cars and over everyone else's shoulders, and Flicka's friends certainly weren't going to tell anyone the truth.

By the end of the day, the general consensus was that there hadn't actually been a fight, but that I had shouted Flicka down and reduced her to pitiful tears. Somehow, she had also ended up naked, caught by one phone camera that had managed to film about two haphazard seconds of the incident. But that too was written off as a wardrobe malfunction. Certainly the tiny hybrid girl couldn't have actually beaten Flicka in a real fight.

In some ways, it was even better than the truth. The sheer humiliation of the rumors must have been the reason Flicka never showed up to the afternoon class we shared. After all, the high and mighty princess of her family couldn't hold her head high when rumors said that a mere half-breed half her size had reduced her to a blubbering mess in the parking lot.

I avoided the inevitable questions that came my way, usually whispers from neighboring students who tried to get my attention right before or right after lecture. I rushed out before anyone had the chance to block my way. Rafael, however, had no such inhibitions. Leon's best attempts at containing her had been futile.

He gave me an apologetic look when we met up for a quick dinner at the cafe on the west end of campus, but I only shook my head with a smile. There was no one on earth who could stop Rafael when she put her mind to something. I could hardly fault Leon for being steamrolled by her enthusiasm.

"Are you telling me you weren't shouting it from the rooftops today!" she exclaimed, banging her fists on the table. "You're crazy! If it were me, I would have been up in her face and singing it like I was in a musical! Everyone from here to the coast would know about it!"

"Everyone does know about it at this point probably," Leon sighed as he held her wrists down, urging her to calm herself. "You were going off all day to anyone who would listen. If I hadn't been there, you would have been in a fight yourself with Flicka's friends." "They should have tried! I would have whipped their butts. I can't believe you didn't milk this for everything it was worth, Claud. What a wasted chance! Tomorrow-"

"I'm okay with this," I told her, smiling. "Don't forget, I never picked a fight with her. She's throwing herself at me, and I have more important things to worry about."

"Oooh, the fancy Claudia is too important to beef with people! Ha! Wasn't true this morning when you were laying into her like she chewed on your ankles."

"Well, she didn't show up for classes apparently, so I'm assuming she learned her lesson at least temporarily. She won't bother me again if she knows what's good for both of us. Mostly her."

"Ohhh, Claudia so tough. Girl, I hope she does come after you again! I wanna see it."

"Raf!" Leon and I both scolded at the same time.

She cackled.

***

It was a turning point, whatever had pushed me to take Flicka to task over her bratty attitude. I rode the adrenaline clear into the next day when Ken Joseph sent me a string of texts around lunchtime, which culminated into his inviting me over to dinner. Raf, who had been watching my face closely with her forkful of salad paused mid-trajectory to her mouth, sent me a stern frown.

"I'll take care of it," I said. "I've been thinking about how to handle it. The best way is to be straightforward. I don't want him to think I've been playing games with him."

She shrugged. "I didn't say anything."

"You did with your..." I gestured at my face, indicating the expression she had just shot at me. "I don't know how you do that, though. How did you know it was him texting me?"

I didn't say his name even then, so her next reply was proof she had guessed correctly with her fearsome intuition: "Ken has been nonstop coming after you for weeks now. It would be weird if he didn't text you all of a sudden. And you looked like you just got punched in the stomach when you saw the text, so it was either Evan playing another dirty trick on you or it was guilt, over Ken. I guessed right."

Leon nudged her under the table, warning her off of being too blunt about Evan, but it was fair of her. I couldn't deny her skepticism. The jury was still out on whether Evan would continue to search for his mate in the future... Even today he had made no promises about it. Yet. But he would come around. I believed it with all my heart.

"So?" Raf asked. "What are you going to do about Ken? You two were practically dating at this point. I'm pretty sure he stopped talking to, like, all the girls who were going after him hard. You're going to have to make this a good one, letting him down easy." "I know." I placed one hand over the other on top of the table and folded them tight. "I'll make sure I'm fair to him. I did this, so I'm going to do right by him. Not just as... whatever we might have been, but as friends. He was good to me and I don't want to ruin our friendship, if possible."

"He's a nice guy. Even if he was a player, he's always been good to people around him. I think it'll be okay... Just don't expect him to be all bubbles and smiles like usual. Claudia, don't break his heart too bad, okay?"

***

I was a lot more confident before I walked into the cafe. It struck me just as I crossed the threshold, smiling at the young woman who held the door open for me even though she had cups of coffee in both hands. The little kindnesses in the people that surrounded me blew me away day by day still, even if there were plenty who had no idea what to make of my hybrid nature. It was a far cry from Dark Moon prejudice against my kind.

Ken Joseph was one of those who saw the real me, never thinking once much less twice about how I was a 'half-breed'. He had always been kind, and he had always been brave about pursuing me, never forceful but never so timid that I didn't know where he stood. That I was half-human never changed how he treated me except perhaps in the way he intervened if anyone was about to act nasty toward me because of it.

But now, I was about to tell him. I could no longer accept his gentle advances. I had made my decision.

"Hey, Ken, how are you?"

"I'm good! Presentation went well, and final preparation is starting up early. Going strong."

He had already bought my coffee for me as he waited, which only made me feel worse. But I slid into the booth to join him and took a deep breath, steadying myself for what came next. He saw it, too. Maybe that was why he took it so calmly, because he had seen it coming. "Ken... If I'm misunderstanding, then forget what I'm about to say." But of course I wasn't. I could hear his thought and had always been able to. "I think you were looking for something serious between us, and for a while, I was thinking maybe I was, too. But... I haven't been totally honest with you, and if you hold it against me, I understand. The truth is that I have feelings for Evan and have for a long time. And until recently, I was trying to get over him. But something happened that makes me want to try again." I wrapped my hands around my coffee and held his gaze, willing myself to stay brave. I hated it, the crushing disappointment that coursed from him to me as he struggled to swallow my words with a smile, so that I wouldn't know he was hurt. But I did know. I knew and still I had to keep going.

"You know why he took me in and that I'm not his mate, but I still want to try," I continued. "And... Evan might be trying too. So I want to take this as far as it can go. And that means I have to be honest with you and tell you that. I'm sorry if I've tread on your feelings." He leaned forward. "Does he care about you?"

"Yes. I believe he does."

"Will he take care of you, and protect you?"

"Yes. He already has been."

"Then that's all I can ask for, as long as you're happy." His smile slipped a little, but he recovered quickly. "I remember you telling me once that you had a bad home life in Dark Moon. I don't want you to ever feel trapped again. I want you to go after all the things that make you happy. You first, then everyone else. Okay?"

I smiled back, heart aching for him but glad that he didn't resent me. "Okay."

"Well, I still want to hang out if that's all right. We have a good half-hour, don't we? I wanna talk, just you and me. Like... while we're on the topic, you never told me about what it was like for you in Dark Moon. I always wondered how I never saw you even though I've been there more than a handful of times. Will you tell me about it?"

"It's not a happy story."

"That's okay. As long as it's yours."

"Well..." I took a deep breath. "It started with my mother..."