Fated to Meet You

Chapter 7

Katryna feels her breath catch in her throat as her eyes lock with those stormy gray ones. He stares back at her, his laughter and smile dying down as he sees her. He stops walking and just stares for a bit before the redhead from before wraps her arm around his and starts pulling him along. His eyes linger on hers for a bit longer before drifting away as he walks with the other girl. Katryna can’t tell why, but a deep pang fills her heart. He just ignored her like that? Walked away?

Hector pulls Katryna a bit closer, tugging her attention from the other man. Her head turns to look at him to see something sparkling in his eyes, his free hand coming to stroke a piece of hair behind her ear. “That’s Corvus Dock, he’s a huge playboy. You’re here on scholarship, right? It’s better if you stick closer to people who will help you focus, not help distract you.”

Katryna feels something in her gut telling her to chase after the stormy eyed man, but she understands Hector’s point. If he was really a player, it would be best to first focus on figuring out the school, and to make friends with him later. She would need to make friends with him, afterall, if her visions were to come true.

“You’re right, I should focus on my studies,” she smiles. Whatever was in his eyes before seems to fade, they turn a bit lighter as a smile takes over his face.

“Good,” He leans forward to press a kiss to her forehead, causing a crimson blush to flood her cheeks. She feels her heart beat louder in her chest as her mind wanders, wondering what his soft lips would feel like against her own. She suddenly feels hyper aware of the way his arm is wrapped around her waist. She can’t help herself from leaning in closer, his lips just a few inches from her own.

“With the way you’re holding me, Hector, I would say you want to be the one distracting me. Maybe you’re just jealous,” A teasing little smile crosses her lips as she wonders where this confidence just came from. Was she flirting with him? She hasn’t flirted with any boys before.. Admired? Definitely, but never tried to advance on.

Hector’s eyes darken to almost black, a small rumbling noise escaping his throat before he leans forward further, lips brushing just against Katryna’s. “As long as only I am distracting you, little mate.” She feels her breath hitch, about to close the distance between their lips before Hector’s body is pulled away from her.

“Hey Hecky, I think we should have a little chat about my mate over here.” Katryna snaps her eyes to the intruding figure, suddenly feeling her body grow cold as Hector’s arm is pulled from her waist. But when she looks up, she is met with a pair of red eyes, looking more across the man’s face she notices that it’s Corvus. The playboy was interrupting her first kiss.

Hector immediately turns his head towards Corvus, rage filling him quite quickly. “What’s wrong with your mate that you would interrupt my nice evening, Corvus?” This causes those red eyes to narrow, hands gripping the front of Hector’s shirt and pulling him to his feet.

Corvus points a threatening finger at Hector’s face, growling out his next words, “Maybe the fact that you’re trying to kiss her?” This causes Katryna’s face to pale. Wait, were they fighting over her? She hadn’t even officially met Corvus. Why was he fighting Hector for her?

Hector gives a little laugh before pushing Corvus away roughly, “Hands off me, man. Katryna is my mate, now go back to your little table of groupies.” Corvus looked affronted at that, turning to give Katryna a glare.

“Is that true? Is he your mate?” She opens and closes her mouth in surprise, wondering how she could have f****d up her future friendship with this man so quickly. He was angry that she made a friend? Was she not allowed to have multiple friends here?

Hector immediately steps in front of Corvus, leaning forward to whisper something in his ear. She watches as the red in his eyes flares brighter before toning down to just a glint, the gray returning to them. “We’ll discuss this later.” he shoves past Hector, arm brushing against Katryna’s as he walks away.

She feels a jolt of fire hit her low in her core. She can’t help the way her head whips around to follow him leave, her body craving for further contact. Her mind is suddenly flooded with images of grabbing his arm and pulling him back to kiss him, letting him push her back into the table she sits at before ravishing her. She flushes in embarrassment, glancing around at how the food hall is still flooded with people, then turns her attention to Hector who watches her carefully, gaze now more calculating.

Did he know what was going through her head? Did he know how one second ago she so badly wanted to kiss him and now her mind was flooded with images of the boy he had just told her to stay away from? “I’m sorry,” she mumbles, suddenly feeling ashamed as she lifts her hands to hide her face. “I don’t know what just happened I-”

She then feels Hector’s hand land gently on her arm, causing her to fall short, “Hey, calm down Katryna. Everything is fine. Corvus and I, well we’re actually friends. We talk rough like that all the time, don’t worry about it.” When she looks up, he is giving her the softest smile. It makes her feel a little better, embarrassment starting to fade. Yet his gaze remains somewhat calculating, causing her to feel self conscious. “Did you want to finish eating? Or should we go scout out your classes before the halls are too flooded?”

Katryna looks at the food on her plate and scrunches her nose a bit. The idea of eating after all of that made her feel gross, but she knew food was important. She shoved in a few more bites before standing up with her tray, “We can go now. I want to sleep a bit earlier than curfew if possible. It’s better to be well rested for tomorrow, right?”

Hector nods and grabs her books, guiding her to the tray drop off station before passing her schedule to her. They exit the cafeteria, his hand finding her empty one as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Her heart drums for a moment in her chest as she begins to read out her schedule, him guiding her to every room and giving her information on each teacher she has.

It’s a few hours later when Hector is leading Katryna back to the dorms. “You’re pretty far up, aren’t you?” he questions, noticing they’re about halfway up the tower and she is already out of breath.

“Yeah,” she puffs out, “I’m going to get really fit if I have to come up and down here a couple times a day.” This causes a chuckle to escape Hector’s lips. He passes her the rest of her books, dropping her hand. She takes them from him, a bit sad at the loss of contact, but a squeak escapes her lips as he picks her up.

“Hector!” She squeals, almost dropping her books as she wraps an arm around his neck, “What are you doing?”

He gives a hearty laugh, grinning down at her, “Carrying your tired princess legs the rest of the way to your room. Tell me which door is yours.” she can’t help but smile back at him, noting for him to stop at the third door from the top.

Hector sits her down and she straightens her outfit before smiling warmly at him, “Thank you for showing me around the castle. I had a lovely time with you,” her lips become a bit teasing as she adds on, “and for the lift. Thanks for that.”

Hector nods, resting a hand on the back of her neck and leaning forward to brush his lips against hers, “The pleasure is all mine, Katryna,” and just before she can lean forward for their lips to touch, he moves to press a kiss to her cheek. “Sleep well, princess. I will see you at breakfast,” and then he leaves, her waiting for the kiss that never came. What a tease.