Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 502

Chapter 4:1 Did You a Favor

*Lena*

Xander was standing near the fountain, mingling with a group of students. He had a wide grin on his face as he chatted with the young woman standing next to him. She was beaming up at him as if she was chatting with a celebrity. I could see her eyes shining from where I stood. I, on the other hand, was trying not to burst into tears over the fact that I was, one, being punished for Slate's disgusting behavior, and two, I wasn' t going to be packing up my bags to head to Red Lakes anytime soon.

I cleared my throat and wiped the tears from my eyes as I started forward. I'd have to walk right by him to stay on the brick pathway that led through campus and into the small town of Morhan. My apartment was only three blocks away from campus, situated on top of a corner grocery store, and I was determined to get there and sob my heart out without any interference.

But Xander saw me and followed me with his gaze as I sped past his group. I knew that if I glanced over my shoulder, he would be watching me. I should probably have told him it wouldn't be necessary for him to walk me to class anymore though, eventually.

"Hey, what's the matter?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin as Xander fell in step with me.

"How'd you catch up to me so fast?" I huffed, sniffing indignantly. I did not want to talk about this at all. I would cry if I did, and I sure as hell wasn't going to start crying in front of Xander.

"I have longer legs than you," he shrugged, glancing over at me, but I refused to meet his eye. "Seriously though, have you been crying? Was it... was it Slate again? Did he touch you-"

"No!" I exclaimed, rounding on him.

We'd made it to the edge of campus and were standing under the rows of chestnut trees that lined the pathway into town. It was early evening, and most of the students were in the commons for dinner, so by some miracle, we were alone.

"Then what happened?"

Xander looked me up and down as if he didn't believe that Slate hadn't been messing with me again.

"I nearly got expelled!"

"Well... nearly is good, right? You're not actually expelled, are you?"

"No, but l.„." I swallowed back the immense grief that was tying my stomach into a knot. I glanced up at him, seeing his face lined with nothing but concern. Why the hell did he care? "Slate went to the administration and said I was the one pursuing him... that I had been going to his house every night, and waiting for him to get out of class-"

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, and I just lost my spot in the Red Lakes research camp because of it." My lower lip trembled, and I bit down on it, squeezing my eyes shut so they wouldn't spill over with tears.

"Where is he now?" Xander asked, his voice low and deathly serious.

"I have no idea!"

"I'll handle this, Lena, don't worry-"

A wave of fury washed over me, temporarily blinding me from what I was really mad at. I opened my eyes, narrowing them at Xander and looking right at him through my tears. "No, you won’t! Your handling of Slate got me into this mess in the first place. If you hadn't involved yourself-“

"Involved myself?" he growled, taking a step toward me. He glared down at me, his eyes dark slits as he continued to slowly close the distance between us, like a predator. "He had his hands on you, Lena!"

"I'm not some damsel in distress!" I cried. "I had the situation under control!"

"That's not what it looked like to me-"

"If you hadn't butted in and choked him, he wouldn't have gone to the Dean about it, Xander."

"And he would've continued to harass you!"

Xander and I were nearly nose to nose now, and despite the heaviness of our words, our voices were low. If anyone passed, it was likely they would only hear heated whispers, some lovers quarrel.

"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it? I lost my spot at Red Lakes. I'm being sent to some farm out west. I w-worked so hard for three and a half years for... for this... and now-" I sniffled, clearing my throat and trying to get a hold of myself. Xander's glare had abruptly changed to a look of marked concern as my tears began to flow again, and I quickly changed my countenance, giving him a death glare. "You won't need to walk me to class anymore, Xander.“

"I-“ he began, but I interrupted.

"And don't follow me anywhere, okay? You've done enough damage-“

"Follow you? What? You think I'd follow you home, like Slate? Goddess, Lena, who do youthink I am?"

"I don't know you at all!“ I hissed. "Three hours ago, we were strangers. And now, you' ve completely upended my life!"

"Blame this on me all you want, Lena. I wasn't the one who went to the dean. I wasn't the one who was stalking and harassing you. I did you a favor. I offered to protect you from him.“

"You also asked my friend Heather about me,“ I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

He narrowed his eyes at me, running his tongue along his lower lip. "I did,“ he replied. "I was curious about you."

"So you took it upon yourself to swoop in and save me when I didn't need saving? It was really heroic of you-"

"That’s enough,“ he growled, straightening up to his full height. He towered over me, and I had to tilt my chin to maintain eye contact. "You don't know me, Lena. If you're about to say I took what happened between you and that disgusting creep as an opportunity to make myself look some type of way to you, save your breath. I saw a man taking advantage of a student, and I stepped in. I’m sorry you lost your place at Red Lakes. And, Lena, if I see Slate again, I'll knock his teeth out, regardless of how you feel about it."