Marrying The Lycan Prince

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I whirled around, suddenly aware of a crowd of werewolves and humans gawking at me. Their eyes were full of judgment, like I was some kind of criminal.

"What the hell?" I was completely lost. "Why are they accusing me of plagiarizing Alice's graduation project?"

As I stood there, stunned, Alice suddenly appeared in the crowd. Her eyes were red from crying, and several girls were comforting her. "Don't be upset, Alice. Everyone knows what kind of person Kristen is now. We're all on your side!"

My blood was starting to boil. "What the hell are you all talking about?!"

"Oh, drop the act!" One girl rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might fall out of her head. "Your design is almost identical to Alice's! We've already reported you to the professor. You might as well start packing your bags!"

I finally realized what was going on. My hands clenched into fists as the rage took over.

"I plagiarized her?" I roared. "She's the one who stole my design!"

As a design student at Prince University, I was part of a unique mix of werewolf and human students. While werewolves made up the majority, the human population had been steadily growing.

With graduation looming, I'd been pouring my soul into my final project for the past year. I'd just wrapped up a bridal-themed design that had consumed my every waking moment. It never even crossed my mind to be suspicious of Alice. Hell, I'd even shown her my sketches!

"How can you keep lying like this, Kristen?" Alice wailed through crocodile tears, playing the victim card. "I published my work first, and I've got timestamps to prove I had early drafts months ago! That's it – I'm done with this toxic friendship!"

My chest was filled with rage. "I showed her my designs! She must have published them early!"

Alice's face contorted with mock outrage, but I caught a flash of defiance in her eyes. "Where's your proof, Kristen?" She sneered. "Stop making things up!"

I was furious, ready to slap her across the face, but the hostile stares from everyone around us made me think twice.

It never crossed my mind that a day like this would come. Of course, I hadn't kept any evidence to defend myself.

"That's enough, Alice!" Lily finally snapped, stepping in front of me protectively. "You know damn well Kristen didn't plagiarize anything. She's not that kind of person! If anyone's the real snake here, it's you – the homewrecker who couldn't keep her hands off Kristen's boyfriend!"

Alice's face darkened for a split second before she burst into louder sobs. "Now you're slandering me? How dare you!"

I noticed the crowd growing more hostile by the second. I grabbed Lily's arm and pulled her away, silently willing her to stop talking.

It was clear that Alice, that manipulative b***h, had played us all for fools. We had no way to turn this around now.

Lily and I slunk away like defeated soldiers. Our appetites ruined. We grabbed a few sandwiches and retreated to our dorm room.

My phone buzzed with a message from Klein, reminding me about dinner at eight. I read it and let out a growl, clutching my head in frustration. "I can't take these assholes anymore! I've got to take this to the Werewolf Court and torch their reputations!"

Lily shot me a worried look. "But what about your final project?"

"That can wait. This needs to be dealt with first." I sat up, rolling up my sleeves with newfound determination. "There's no time to lose. I'll sneak into Klein's place tonight and get my hands on that security footage. That'll prove he's cheating with Alice!"

But reality hit me like a ton of bricks, and I deflated. "Still, I can't afford to burn bridges with him. He is an Alpha, after all."

At eight sharp, I threw on the first dress I could grab and dragged myself to the restaurant to keep up our charade of a date.

Klein was already there, waiting at the entrance. Swallowing the bile rising in my throat, I let him take my hand. He swaggered up to the host, oozing confidence. "Your best booth, please."

To our surprise, the waiter shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir, but a VIP has booked out the entire restaurant for this evening."

"What?!" Klein's demeanor instantly changed. "Do you know who I am? I'm the future Alpha of the Twilight Pack. You're turning me away for someone else?"

The waiter's face fell. "I apologize, Alpha. It's the owner's orders. We're expecting a very important guest today..."

While I was curious about who could be important enough for the restaurant to refuse Klein, I couldn't help feeling relieved. I wouldn't have to endure dinner with him after all. As I glanced towards the main entrance, I froze. A familiar man in a suit was walking through the lobby.

Perhaps my stare was too intense, and he saw me. "Isn't that the guy from my one-night stand?" I thought. "What on earth was he doing here?"

Cassius' POV:

Thank goodness for my beta, Lewis. Thanks to his efforts, we were making progress in rooting out the traitors. Today, I was undercover as a businessman, meeting with an elder suspected of collaborating with the rebels at a restaurant in Twilight Pack territory.

I never expected to see her here - the woman who'd mistaken me for a hooker and bolted after our... encounter. Even more surprising, she was accompanied by a male werewolf.

They were clearly heading in for a bite, but the staff blocked their path at the door. I'd had Lewis flex his muscles as Lycan prince to clear out the joint, ensuring our chat wouldn't be overheard. The owner didn't know I was the Lycan prince, but he treated me with utmost respect all the same.

"Who's that guy?" I asked Lewis beside me.

Lewis answered promptly, "Isn't that the son of the Twilight Pack's Alpha? Klein, I think. You know, Your Majesty, I don't believe you've met this pack's Alpha yet."

"Is that human woman with him his mate?" I inquired.

"Possibly. I've heard he has a human mate," Lewis replied.

I nodded thoughtfully, but inside, I felt somewhat annoyance. This woman already had a mate! Damn it, and she still had a one-night stand with me. I must have lost my mind to fall for her charms. I didn't even know her name.

Just then, I noticed the young future Alpha outside, shouting excitedly. He seemed upset. The woman, however, looked somewhat pleased. Reading her lips, I could tell she was urging Klein to leave.

"Want me to chase them off?" Lewis asked.

"No, let them in. Give them a small room," I said with a sudden grin. "Now that we know who they are, there's no need to worry."

As I turned towards the private room, my wolf Leo spoke meaningfully in my ear. "Cassius, you can't fool yourself. You want to see that woman."

I really wished this wolf would shut up.

Kristen's POV:

I thought this meal was finally over and was about to thank God when the waiter took a call and suddenly changed his tune. "Alpha Klein, I've just been informed that you can come in now. Our manager found some extra room available," the waiter said with a smile.

Klein raised an eyebrow. "That's more like it. Looks like your boss knows better than to defy an Alpha's orders. Otherwise, there might have been consequences!"

I lowered my head to hide the disgust on my face.

How did I not realize before that Klein always abuses his Alpha status to bully others?

With my hopes dashed, I had no choice but to follow Klein to the room. He kept holding my hand, occasionally touching me, but I didn't respond with any enthusiasm. Clearly, he noticed. When the waiter left, leaving just the two of us, his demeanor suddenly changed. He grabbed my shoulders and pinned me to the sofa. "Tell me, Kristen, are you still upset that I slept with Alice?"

I sneered in anger, "What else? You expect me to act like nothing happened?"

"But didn't you also sleep with another werewolf, Kristen?" Klein sneered, lifting my chin, his expression twisted. "You still don't understand lycans. If you sleep with another lycan, I can feel it!"

I raised my chin. "Yes, that's right, I slept with a werewolf who's taller and better looking than you! But you cheated first, so what if I have some fun with others?"

Klein stared at me for a few seconds, and I defiantly glared back. Then he burst into laughter. "Fine, Kristen, if you want to be a w***e for everyone, I'll make it happen!"

He started tearing at my clothes, and I panicked. "Stop, Klein! Didn't you say you'd wait until we were married to mark me? We're not even inside!"

But the more I resisted, the angrier Klein became. He roared, "Enough, Kristen! Stop testing my patience! You're my woman, and I'll mark you whenever I want!"

Fear gripped me as I tried to struggle, but my strength was nothing against a werewolf. He even grabbed my throat so tightly that I was on the verge of passing out.

"No!" I screamed helplessly, wondering if I was going to be r***d by Klein. Tears streamed down my face as Klein's hand reached inside my clothes, gripping my body harshly. Just as his hand was about to touch my lower body, he suddenly froze, his eyes turning deep, his pupils unfocused. I realized he had suddenly entered a Mind-link state, but why now?

"What's going on?" I thought. Though I didn't understand, I quickly recognized this was my chance to escape. I shoved him away, not caring that my clothes were torn apart, covering my chest as I bolted out of the room.

Would Klein come after me? Where could I possibly hide? I ran blindly, gasping for air, my mind a whirlwind of panic - until I slammed into what felt like a brick wall.

"Oof!" I stumbled back, realizing it wasn't a wall at all, but a man's chest.

Standing before me was the werewolf I'd seen earlier. Startled, I glared up at him. "Get out of my way!"

I figured he was here because some big shot had asked for a call boy for entertainment. Sure, we'd hooked up once, but I didn't have time for his games right now.

"Where are you off to?" The man fixed me with those ice-blue eyes, effortlessly grabbing my wrist. "Is someone trying to kill you?"

"Yeah, some goddamn scumbag is after me!" I tried to reason with him calmly. "Look, whatever you want, let's talk another time. If that bastard finds out you slept with me, he'll come for you too!"

He just gave a casual smile. "Tell me, what's your name?"

"What is he playing at? Couldn't he understand what I was saying?" I was getting frustrated.

"Just tell me your name, and I'll take care of that scumbag for you. How's that? Pretty good deal, right?" He c****d his head, looking at me. Damn it, he was even more irresistible now than he'd been that night.