Escaped Daughter (Morrigan University #1)

18

The guards were incredibly grateful when I came back with several boxes of Fortunate Cookies for them. They registered my new SUV and plates with the university so there wouldn’t be any problems later. Also, one guy filled me in that the two men who had been tailing me had been captured and handed over to the High Council guards to handle.

Nice. Seriously, nice. There was no way of my parents getting out of that or paying anyone off. Not that I didn’t have faith in our police… But it wasn’t as tight in checking everyone was above board as anyone working for the High Council would be able to.

I thanked them several times before pulling away when I saw other cars so I didn’t hold anyone up. I parked in the lot and let out a deep sigh.

“You okay, foxy?” Sergey asked gently, reaching over and rubbing my shoulder.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “It’s not going to get better. This will either make him back off for the moment or push harder because he keeps getting shut down. I just don’t know and it scares me. It was different when I was there and could stay ahead of their moves with what I heard and knew. Now I’m just…”

“Blind to it. Yeah, I know how that goes, but it’s better to be free and have that risk than as you lived,” he comforted. “I’ll teach you what you need to know. You’ll get there fast and it won’t be so scary then.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m a bit behind, but you got me too, Bevin,” Kelton promised. “And even the boldest of idiots won’t try for a student on campus, so you’re safe here from them.”

Sergey snorted as we climbed out. “Yeah, just not from the rest of the student body once the freshmen are fair game and the shit starts.”

“We haven’t even been filled in yet,” I grumbled. “But even the faculty were smirking at orientation, so I can only imagine how bad it gets. Well, entertaining for them but bad for us.”

“Your room is warded up the ass and you’ve got tricks up your sleeve. I’ll teach you more.”

Kelton snorted. “Yeah, that thing you can do with familiars will really come in handy. And you’ll get more points as it’s something others can’t do.”

“It draws too much attention. I shouldn’t have done it and let that bitch get to me,” I replied, leaving out it was about Professor Wyatt as well.

“You need to clear your head,” Sergey suggested. “You want to hit the gym?”

I adjusted my neck and nodded. “Yeah, a run sounds great.”

“I’ll change and meet you there,” Kelton quickly said.

I stopped in my tracks, glancing between them. “This is like a weird double date where I get both dates.”

Kelton shrugged. “We’re just hanging out.”

“Yeah, but I’ve gone out with both of you,” I hedged, not sure how to say what I wanted to… Or what I was trying to say even.

Sergey shrugged. “Nothing wrong with getting to know people as long as they’re good people.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “And if they’re not?”

He shot me an evil smirk. “Then I’ll fuck them up and hide the body without you even knowing, foxy.”

My mind went to Professor Wyatt, but I didn’t think that would be a matchup Sergey would win no matter what his mom taught him. I leaned in and brushed my lips over his cheek. “Thanks, but I’ll just sic Tracey and this new attorney on them. I don’t want you to get hurt for me.” I hurried on when he seemed like he might argue. “I’m going to change and meet you guys at the gym then.”

I jogged off with a wave before they could object, leaving the box from Fortunate Cookies with Sergey like I promised. The other stuff we left in my SUV as it was stuff that should go in my vehicle. I was actually shocked Tracey didn’t have supplies for me to start my new ideas but then again, there was always tomorrow.

I changed and met them there, the three of us working out. They did a lot more lifting than I did, but it was nice to have friends to go with.

And funny as they made it clear I was with them to several guys who strolled over to my treadmill with something I didn’t like in their eyes. It wasn’t simply interest but… Something.

“Let’s head to lunch,” Sergey suggested, giving me a look that it was time to go.

I nodded, slowing down my pace and then hitting stop. We were going to walk for a cooldown anyways. I frowned when both of them flanked me, leading me quickly to the exit. “What’s going on?”

“Gregg’s family made a move,” Sergey answered quietly, gently.

“I don’t get it.” I glanced between them again.

“They’ve given fuel to the rumor mill. People didn’t know who it was, but then figured it out when he was gone and no one could talk to him since he’s locked up. They’re saying you got drunk and he’s in trouble for not getting consent when you were inebriated.”

I froze in my tracks, horror filling me. “That’s not what happened at all .” I grabbed his arm as my heart raced. “Are they saying he—we— that? ”

“I don’t know,” he admitted.

“I got the impression those guys were led to believe that and it wasn’t your first time being so easy,” Kelton added, his tone equal parts pissed and worried. “Those guys were talking like you told me your family did.”

I flinched. “I’m damaged goods because I lost my purity and I’m just a whore to play with now.”

“You’re not ,” he growled, reaching over and cupping my cheek. “That’s not at all who you are. Fuck them. Fuck assholes like them because they’ve banged a list of people on campus, so how it doesn’t mean the same for them in their stupid little brains is just insane. We’re telling you so you are careful, not because we buy it at all.”

Sergey snorted. “Not one bit. You also need to know to shield up your armor. You’re an evolved woman who knows what she wants, not some wilted flower from a high-tier family who would buy into that bullshit or let people talk about her that way.”

I nodded, hearing him that I would give away too much if I even flinched at that sort of talk. It was hard not to after the way I’d grown up.

A pep talk from Tracey after I explained this to her and I knew she would help me set this right in my head. Yeah, that was a good plan.

“Okay, those kinds of guys you can beat up,” I told Sergey as I started walking again, shaking out my arms as if I could shake all of this off of me. It wasn’t that easy, but I would try my best.

“Part of it is someone heard you picking up a pregnancy test from the clinic and no one else is saying it was them you were with,” Kelton added under his breath.

Fuck. I hadn’t thought about… I needed to be more discreet. I wasn’t used to this sort of life. I nodded that I heard him, but my life would get way more complicated if Professor Wyatt told people it was him. I didn’t think he would do that because it could make him look bad, but he was also sending me messages I was ignoring. I had to be careful as he clearly wanted me as his.

And not in the way I wanted any man to want me.

But it was apparent he wasn’t giving up. That was all too clear to me when I swiped in at the cafeteria and immediately felt eyes on me. I glanced around to lock gazes with him sitting with some people who were probably faculty. I swallowed a shiver at his intensity and honestly didn’t know if it was a bad or good reaction. Part of me thought about what he could do to my body.

While the other part was scared of him.

I quickly looked away as if I didn’t care in the slightest and focused on lunch. We loaded up our trays, and after a few minutes I was fine, teasing them both on how much they ate.

Until he decided watching me wasn’t enough.

“I’ve been trying to reach you, Ms. Millen,” Professor Wyatt greeted as he stopped at our table. “You haven’t been responding.”

“Why would you need to reach a freshman?” Sergey asked before I could reply.

“I believe that’s between Ms. Millen and me, Mr. Koval,” he chuckled, not even sparing Sergey a glance.

I didn’t like his tone or him starting trouble, meeting his gaze and not hiding that. “He took on my independent study and being my power assessor because he wants to study me like a lab rat and get a chance to publish his findings to get notoriety, not caring what it could mean for me.” I didn’t stop when his jaw ticked, clearly not happy with me either. “He’s who warded my room if I didn’t drop the class.”

“And clearly, that was before you found out his intentions,” Sergey drawled.

“That’s not—” Professor Wyatt started to defend, but Sergey cut him off.

“I’ll ward your room like he has it. You can take it down, Professor, and I’ll make sure Bevin’s protected without even asking for anything.”

Damn. Dayumn .

He finally looked at Sergey then. “I did it to show her I was on her side and not to drop the rare freshman independent study like she was going to.”

Kelton glanced between us. “If you don’t want to do it, Bevin, then drop it.”

“No, I want to, just not…” I glanced at Professor Wyatt, making it clear I simply didn’t want to do it with him .

He ground his jaw, the promise of retribution in his eyes. “It was simply an idea , Ms. Millen, which I was trying to explain if you would have answered your teacher’s messages. If you don’t want to be involved in such a project, that’s fine , as I would never, not ever push someone like that.”

I blinked at him for a moment. “You mean you can’t force me because you were incredibly pushy in class, saying you would just talk to whoever and explain it all to them so I would do it.”

He took in a slow breath and then let it out. “I apologize if that’s how it appeared, but after you were clear you would only listen to that person, it was the logical next step to speak with them. I did not mean to treat you like a child or your opinions were inconsequential.”

“He brought this all up in class?” Sergey asked, glancing between us.

“Yeah, he didn’t want me answering some question about what I did and blurted out it was all because he wanted his own study of me to publish.”

Professor Wyatt narrowed his eyes at me. “You said you understood I wanted to study you and you agreed to it.”

Steam about came out of my ears on how he was turning this around. “Studying me as we worked together is part of being a power assessor unless the term is different here. Yes, you were the right person as the professor who teaches classes on familiars. That is vastly different than selling myself as your lab rat for a study for you to publish . You knew that or you wouldn’t have reacted as you did as busted.”

He glanced around when my voice got louder, accidentally drawing attention I didn’t want. “Clearly, we need to discuss this more and in private as that wasn’t what I meant at all and our wires are getting crossed.”

“My answer is no, no matter what wires you pull or try to play with,” I said firmly, my voice cold as ice.

He lost some of his anger, frowning as he nodded. “That’s fine, Ms. Millen. Truly, it is. I’m trying to explain things came off the wrong way, not talk you into a study you so adamantly object to.”

Great, now he was making me look like the overreacting freshman. “Glad you finally said that because you still acted as if it was on the table.” I forced myself to smile at him as if nothing was wrong now. “I’ll look over what you sent and get it back to you. Have a wonderful weekend, Professor Wyatt.”

He was back to grinding his jaw at my dismissal. “You as well, Ms. Millen. I’m glad we cleared this up then.”

Yeah, right, you asshole.

He walked off and there was an awkwardness at our table even if others around us went back to their own meals and conversations. I didn’t need two guesses to figure out what was going on. For once I knew as I could about feel the jealousy coming off both Sergey and Kelton.

They knew Professor Wyatt was the one who took my purity.

“It’s complicated,” I mumbled before taking a bigger bite of my sandwich than was polite.

“It’s hard not to worry when you say that,” Kelton admitted after a few moments.

“I’ll figure it out.” I tried to keep my voice confident, but I wasn’t sure I really would. I was between a rock and a hard place and Wyatt knew that. I didn’t know how to get out of this or not have a new enemy.

Right then, I’d take the win of making it clear I wouldn’t do his study of me and publicly. Next, I would just… Yeah, I had no idea. Wing it?

We finished lunch and I didn’t realize that things were getting tense since I was lost in my head.

“We should get some tutoring done,” Sergey declared as we were halfway to my dorm. “You wanted to work on more of that, right?”

“Yeah, I do,” I answered, realizing that might be my best bet to handle Wyatt as well.

Except it took me a moment to figure out that he was basically saying it was time for Kelton to leave us alone. Whoops.

“Good, I’m glad he can help,” Kelton said easily. “I’ll let you guys get to it and text you later about what time you want me to pick you up for our picnic date.” He leaned in and kissed my cheek.

“Okay, yeah,” I agreed, flushing when his lips stayed longer than a quick goodbye between friends. “Thanks for the help.”

“Anytime.” He gave a wave and changed course towards his dorm like everything was fine.

Well, that was good to know at least. I had enough on my plate after all.

Right when we reached my dorm, Sergey froze after he opened the door for me, pulling out his phone like he felt it vibrate. He glanced at it and smiled. “Mom already sent what we need to my dorm via circle. I’m going to go get the first books and come back over, okay?”

“Sounds great. See you soon then.”

“I’ll be quick, foxy,” he murmured as he leaned in and kissed my cheek… The one Kelton didn’t. Was that on purpose?

No, he was just closer, right?

He hurried off and I realized this was the perfect time to handle what I should because it clearly wasn’t going to get better. I jogged up the stairs to my floor and ducked into my room before pulling out my phone and checking my messages too.

Or someone’s messages.

But first I added him as a contact as it amused me to give him the label I wanted. Childish? Probably, but I needed at least the smile to deal with this shit and the two dozen messages I had from him starting right after class yesterday.

Prof. A. Hole: I really did need to speak with you. Come by my office hours.

Prof. A. Hole: Why did Quinn just bite me? What did you do to my familiar? He’s seriously pissed at me.

Prof. A. Hole: He’s mad I mistreated you? How did I mistreat you? What did you tell him? Time to explain, goddess.

Prof. A. Hole: Okay, I can admit when I’m an idiot. I didn’t heal you. I assumed you could, but you can’t if you were hiding your magic. You wouldn’t have been taught that level. I’m sorry, goddess. That was an honest oversight since you’re powerful. Forgive me?

Prof. A. Hole: I’m waiting for you at my office hours. Are you coming soon? I apologized. Don’t keep me waiting.

Prof. A. Hole: Why did you just leave campus with Sergey Koval? Do you have any idea who he is?

Prof. A. Hole: Okay, enough ignoring me, Bevin. I said I was sorry. I’ll even forgive you for ditching me after class and not coming to office hours like I said, but I have to talk to you.

Prof. A. Hole: Are you okay? I just heard what happened with campus security. They found people tailing you? Are you safe, goddess?

Prof. A. Hole: Please answer me and at least tell me you’re safe.

There were several more like that, getting more and more agitated… Until the stalker crossed another line with me.

Prof. A. Hole: Well clearly, I understand what you were doing with him since I can feel him in your room. You need to know who he is, Bevin. Stop ignoring me. I’m trying to protect you.

Prof. A. Hole: Come to my office in the morning so we can talk school and other things. Or my classroom. Either, but you need to come.

Prof. A. Hole: Why are you going off campus with both of them? Where are you going? How can I protect you if you keep ignoring me?

Prof. A. Hole: This is getting old, Bevin. When are you coming back?

Again, several more that weren’t happy with me not replying, but the ones after lunch made me really start to worry.

Prof. A. Hole: What the fuck was that at lunch? I get you—seriously, what the fuck, Bevin? We need to have a real talk because I don’t even know where that came from. We were good Thursday and I fucked up not healing you and I’m sorry for that, but the rest of this is out of line.

Prof. A. Hole: Bevin, I’m done with this game. Reply or call me or I’m going to come to your room and I won’t care who is there.

Fuck.

Bevin: I wasn’t playing games. I didn’t even read your messages. I didn’t give you this number, and the outline I received about the independent study made it clear we should communicate via email. I assume it’s the same for my power assessor. If you need to talk with me, please contact me that way going forward and we can arrange a time to meet in the library study rooms. Thank you.

The reply I received was almost immediate.

Prof. A. Hole: You’re kidding me, right? Are you teasing me, goddess? I’m not a fan of this sort of teasing.

Bevin: I’m not teasing at all. I also asked you to stop calling me that. I get you wanted—let’s just stop with extras and handle what we need to since I promised not to drop the independent study.

Prof. A. Hole: What the hell happened? I thought we were good. You don’t want to do the study, fine, but you blew up at me and put words in my mouth AGAIN. We need to discuss this.

I worried my lower lip. This wasn’t going well. I needed to make it clear I wasn’t playing.

Bevin: I’ve said all that I need to. E-mail me if you need to discuss class. I’m uncomfortable texting with a professor.

Prof. A. Hole: Come to my office right now.

Bevin: I apologize, Professor Wyatt, but right now doesn’t work for me as I’m about to start a tutoring session. If you e-mail other times to meet, we can meet up at the library in one of the visible study rooms.

He didn’t reply right away and I had a moment to hope he was really hearing me.

Prof. A. Hole: What the fuck happened, Bevin? I don’t even know how to try and process this. You’re really not fucking with me, are you?

Bevin: No, I’m not. I thank you for your concern, Professor Wyatt, but I’m fine, and if I have any issues, I will take them up with the appropriate parties, not my teacher.

I felt good sending that, making it clear and the line… Until he replied right as I was going to set down my phone and forget about it.

Prof. A. Hole: I’m more than that and we both know it. I’ll let you cool off a bit, but then we’ll discuss all of this face-to-face and discuss where we veered off course. Enjoy your tutoring and I’ll see you very soon.

Well fuck. Just fuck .