Chapter 8
I heard Daciana repeat my name as I scrambled down the steps away from her. I didn't look back. I couldn't. I needed to get away from her. I needed to think and breathe without her scent and her voice in my head.
I could only think of getting to my car. I stepped off the path that led into the grounds and turned to try and find my way to the front of the big house. As soon as I stepped into the damp grass, I knew I had made a mistake. The heels on my lovely but totally impractical shoes sunk into the turf with every step. I wanted to take them off but I could hear Daciana behind me and I didn't want her to catch up so I sprinted the best I could manage across the lawn.
"Elle!" The hurt in her voice nearly made me double over.
Then I ran. Even when one of my shoes came off in the soft earth, I ran. I turned a corner and could see the valet stand in front of me. I slowed just long enough to slip my other shoe off and ran full speed to the valet.
I grabbed my receipt and shoved it into the hands of the tall wolf who looked concerned at my obvious distress. "The red mustang, there." I pointed. "Please hurry."
He eyed me. "Are you alright, Miss?"
I was fighting tears when I answered. "I'm fine. Please hurry."
He looked like he wanted to say something else but instead, he nodded and jogged to my car. As soon as he pulled up, I hurried to climb inside. I thanked him, shoved whatever cash I had in my wallet into his hands, and drove away as quickly as I could. Just as I was about to turn onto the long driveway, I glanced in my mirror. The princess was behind me, her bodyguard was next to her with an arm around her shoulders. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she watched me drive away.
****
I made it to my parent's house in half the time it should have taken. Pure luck was the only thing that kept me from being stopped by the sheriff's office as I sped through the streets of our small town.
I unlocked the door and dashed up the stairs to my room. I sank onto my bed. I was trembling and my body ached with restrained sobs. I grabbed my phone out of my small purse and sent a quick group message to my parents and brothers.
"Something came up. Gotta get back to school. Taking my car. I'll send a message when I'm there. Love you all. Thanks. Bye."
Then I was moving again. I tossed my bag of bathroom supplies into my suitcase changed my clothes and left my pretty new gown draped across my bed. Then I turned off the lights, relocked the door, got in my car, and didn't stop driving until I was in the parking lot at Hays Hall.
It was after two in the morning when I crawled into my bed, still dressed, and pulled the blankets up to my throat. My breath came in choked gasps as I finally let myself cry. It had to be a mistake. I had never imprinted before so I had no idea what it would feel like. This must be something else. Lots of wolves had same-sex partners before they imprinted. Everything I was feeling must have been a really big crush. The princess was beautiful. Gorgeous. Who wouldn't have a crush on her?
I knew I was lying to myself. This wasn't a crush. A crush meant you felt happy when you saw someone. A crush made you think about someone. A crush didn't steel your sense of being and wrap around you like a new skin. I had imprinted on Daciana. And she had imprinted on me, too.
I didn't sleep. I lay in bed trembling and sobbing until the sun started to come up through my window. I had to get out of here. Somehow, in the few moments we had been in each other's arms, Daciana's scent had transferred to me. My whole room smelled like her. I needed to be someplace else. I grabbed my bathroom bag and a change of clothes and headed down the hall to the shared bathroom. I showered as thoroughly as I could in a vain attempt to wash her scent away.
When I had done all I could, I put on my dry clothes and checked my phone. 5:45 AM. The library would open soon. I dropped my bag and my dirty clothes back in my room, grabbed my purse, and took off across campus.
A librarian was just unlocking the front door when I came up. She opened the door for me and smiled. I wished her a tight 'good morning' and took off into the stacks. On the second floor, there was a little alcove in the history section. One of the large columns holding up the roof created an area not quite big enough for shelves or tables. Some industrious designer or librarian had turned the little jog into a tiny reading nook. You couldn't see it from either end of the aisle, and unless you knew it was there, you might not even notice it walking down the aisle. It was my very favorite place on the whole campus.
I grabbed a book at random and sat down in the little chair in the alcove. The book was probably very interesting. It was the history of a group of school girls who had helped their classmates evade Nazis in World War II. But I couldn't focus. I just stared at the page. Every exhale seemed to say her name. Daciana. Daciana. Daciana. What was I going to do?
I jumped when a pair of muscular legs in dark pants stopped in front of my hiding spot. I sensed the wolf even before I raised my eyes to look at him. It was the big male bodyguard I'd seen with her yesterday. He was watching me down his nose. His arms were folded across his muscular chest.
My eyebrows lifted and I wanted to stand up but he was so close that doing so would have brought me nose to chest with the hulking man.
"Elle Banning?" His voice was deep and rumbly.
I nodded.
"I'm Ted Matei, I'm a companion of Pr- Daciana Horia's. She sent me here to talk to you."
My blood pounded in my ears as a nodded and waited for him to continue.
The big man squatted down so he was at eye level with me. "Dachee knows you've had a big shock. There are things to figure out. She wants to figure them out with you, though." He locked eyes with me. "She NEEDS to see you."
My breath caught. My voice was a whisper. "I can't go back to Avion right now. I have classes tomorrow and I've barely slept."
He matched my volume. "The princess isn't in Avion. She's at a hotel just off campus."
My stomach soared. She was here. I could see here today. Right now. That thought overrode everything else I was thinking. "Will you take me to her?"
Ted smiled and stood. "Of course." He offered me his hand.
Chapter 9
So. I got in the car of a man I didn't know. I let him drive me off campus and trusted he really was taking me where he said he was. It was probably not my best-ever plan. All I could think, though, was that I was going to see Daciana again. Don't try this at home, kids! Fortunately, Ted Matei is a good man and was taking me to the exact place I needed to be.
As we pulled into the parking lot at the hotel my palms were sweaty and I felt like I might be sick. I hadn't even brushed my hair after my shower and I was sure I looked like garbage. Still, I followed Ted into the hotel and got in the elevator next to him. I tried to fix my hair in the reflection of the elevator walls. Ted noticed my fidgeting and chuckled. "She just wants to see you, Ms. Bannister. You look fine." I stopped fidgeting and waited for the doors to open.
Down the hall and to the left Ted opened the door to a spacious sweet with an amazing view. I didn't notice any of it though because across the room, looking like she'd been pacing, was Daciana.
She stopped moving and watched as we walked in. I noticed her hands grip the back of a chair as she looked at me with a tentative smile. I smiled back and waved. I was ashamed of the fact that I'd run from her and felt very shy. Still, I couldn't take my eyes off of her face. Ted excused himself into the adjoining room on the left. I heard the door close behind him.
"I um..." I started. I didn't know what to say.
"Thank you for coming." She blushed. "I'm sorry about last night."
