“It’s honestly okay.”
“But now that we are alone, how did everything go?”
“I thought you were going to visit my father and his pack.” I sat down. “I figured he would have given you all the details.”
Rowan nodded. “I was going to. But then your father took off the day I was going to show up, and things came up on my end, so I skipped it.” He wiped his face. “I didn’t realize you took this course.”
“When we spoke, I hadn’t decided what course I was taking yet. This kind of landed in my lap.” I smiled, staying a little ambiguous.
He got this look in his eyes; he was a very smart man. “Your father helped you pick the course?”
“Yeah.” I smiled and winked. “He said it was a good way to make money from the humans and learn how to build my own security system for whatever pack I land in.”
Rowan tilted his head. “Whatever pack you land in? Have you not found your mate yet?”
I sucked in a breath. I didn’t want to lie to this man. But I didn’t trust where we were. “No. But it’s complicated already.”
“What do you mean?”
“Alpha Vince’s son, Brandon, was certain I was his mate. When I came back he turned out to be wrong…” I trailed off and bobbed my head back and forth.
“He didn’t take it well?”
“Let’s just say he still doesn't think he’s wrong.” I chuckled.
“So, back at your father’s pack?” He urged, but I looked around the room and grimaced. He looked around, and I watched understanding hit his face. He ripped a paper out of his book and started writing.
“Everything was handled.” I smiled.
“It’s okay. I’ll get the story from your father.” He handed me the paper, and I sat back down. “So, what are your goals for this semester?”
I laughed as I opened the note. My eyes widened when I read,‘Call me tonight. We can discuss everything after you seal your room.’ I met his eyes, and he nodded. I just nodded back.
“I want to do everything I can. I want to make enough money to cover my expenses for next semester. So I need to start now.”
“Expenses?”
“Yeah.”
“How much are your expenses?” He furrowed his brow as I wrote my own note on his paper.
“About four million.” He was taking a drink from his water bottle and choked.
“What, why?”
I scratched the back of my head. “I paid for every student to have ten grand on their food card. I don’t think it’s fair that any student would have to take time out of their day to work to pay for their meals. They should be automatic.” I met his eyes. “I knew my dad could help for this semester, but I don’t want to depend on him going forward.”
“You paid for every student to have ten grand on their food card?” I just nodded. “But they have a basic food plan included in their tuition.”
“It was removed about ten years ago.”
“WHAT?”
I jolted back, and he raised his hands. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“The included basic food plan was removed ten years ago.” I said it again. “Why are you confused? You work here.”
“I don’t, actually. I volunteer here. Like I said, this is my hobby, and I enjoy this kind of thing. And it’s not like I have a pack or anyone other than the council to worry about.” He tossed out the words so carelessly, and I winced.
