Younger Daughter

by Brenna Lyons

  Darian caught up and pulled her to a halt with a grip on her upper arm. Aurora shook his hand off, adding a glare for good measure.

  He had the good grace to look embarrassed, then took a step back and stiffened his spine. "Who is he, Aurora?"

  She bit back the protest that it was none of Darian's business. That would likely convince him to dig deeper. "He's my botany tutor," she answered in half-truth.

  "He calls you Koukla. That's awfully familiar, don't you think?" One brow went up in challenge.

  "Everyone who knows me calls me Koukla," she dismissed him.

  "Not everyone."

  "Everyone I like." There. The snub was clearly stated. Darian doesn't call me Koukla, because I don't like him, and I've never invited him to do so.

  His eyes narrowed, and they shifted to wolf eyes for a few heartbeats. He visibly calmed himself.

  "Well, I suppose I should see what Tyler wants," she announced. Aurora turned on her heel and headed for the nearest door into the dorm building.

  "Oh, Tyler didn't ask to see you."

  The admission stopped her short, and Aurora swiveled her head to question him. His smirk made her blood burn and her fingertips itch.

  I'm mad enough to shift my first time. That realization forced her to calm a bit. "You lied? To me?"

  He didn't seem the least bit sorry for it. If anything, his smile widened. "Digging in the dirt with that...lowborn wolf? That beta? Someone had to save you from yourself."

  "You are overstepping your boundaries, Darian. Moreover, you interrupted my studies. I don't appreciate either and I will see you punished for it, if you try it again." Though she really didn't want her family looking into her relationship with Nolan yet, Darian didn't know that.

  His smiled faded, and his jaw notched down in apparent frustration.

  "I am pursuing a degree in botany, which means I will be digging in the dirt. Nolan is my tutor, which means I will be digging with him routinely. Beta wolf or not, he is the best at what he does, and an Alpha wolf gets the best. Always. Now none of this is your business, and this is the only warning I will give you not to attempt to save me from my schooling again."

  He didn't offer comment, though she would lay wagers he was within millimeters of a temper fit.

  "Good night, Darian. I trust I won't see you again."

  * * * *

  "And the work so far?" Maestro Ty asked.

  Nolan walked at his side, dressed for the office, trying to appear as professional as possible as he gave his report to the head of his department. "Going very well. I decided to focus on maintenance and fit in a bit of planting each evening. After all, problems left unchecked will only create more work in the long run."

  "Very true. A sound decision."

  He bit back a smile and offered the written report. When the Maestro took it, Nolan continued.

  "The rose beds are complete, and I'm moving on to weeding in the..." He paused, staring at the crowd milling around the rose beds. Nolan hoped they hadn't trampled the immature plants he and Koukla had planted the night before.

  Their conversations were too low for him to pick out, but the sounds of confusion and upset were impossible to miss. Nolan sprinted for the site, wondering what might be wrong.

  He slipped between two onlookers and stopped dead in his tracks. The blood drained from his face. The rose beds were destroyed, plants ripped up and torn apart, the new plants dug up and strewn about, wilting in the heat of the morning.

  The destruction reached further, into other planting beds. His heart sank at the sight of hollyhocks shredded, alstroemeria trampled and uprooted, and sunflowers ripped to shreds and scattered through the gardens.

  Sunflowers are Koukla's favorites. She's going to be crushed by this.

  The person to his right shifted away, and the Maestro joined him. His mentor's litany of curses made Nolan wince. He'd never seen the old wolf lose his composure before.

  "The onlookers have destroyed any scent we might use to identify the bastard who did this."

  Nolan nodded, his stomach in knots. "I'll get to work on this right away," he promised. All our hard work. It hurt to see it destroyed this way. "It's going to ruin my budget, but—"

  "In a real-world situation, damage of this kind would be considered an extenuating circumstance, meriting an expansion of budget. It might even be covered by insurance. I will approve anything you require to fix this." His hand closed on Nolan's shoulder. "Order what you need. Let me know how many assistants you require. In the meantime, I will consult with security and the Alpha Maestro. This cannot be allowed to happen again."

  "Right away." Nolan stared at the destruction, his heart aching. Who would do such a thing?

  * * * *

  "I'm telling you it was Darian." Aurora waited for her sister's reply, her nerves on edge. "He was angry at me, so he destroyed the garden."

  "Can you prove that?" Talia asked, seemingly more interested in her manicure than their discussion.

  "What? I'm telling you Darian is dangerous, and you're questioning me?"

  Her sister sighed dramatically. "The security team couldn't confirm the scent of the vandal. You didn't witness the crime. How do you intend to prove it was Darian?"

  "What if I'm right and he decides to attack me?" Or Nolan. The urge to gut Darian was growing stronger.

  "Look, Koukla. I know you don't like Darian, but you can't toss around unfounded accusations."

  "Stop calling me Koukla. I'm not a baby anymore." Though she loved the way the nickname sounded on Nolan's lips, she found Talia's use of it grating.

  "Then stop acting like one. You have security. If you don't feel safe, let Marietta know, and she can order guards for you on campus."

  And I will lose my chance with Nolan before it's more than a glimmer in our minds.

  "Right. I get locked up, because our brother chooses an unstable prick as a den brother." If I went to Tyler with this, he would be even less sympathetic.

  "Part and parcel of being the Alpha mates' child." That simply Aurora was dismissed. There was no question that Talia considered the matter closed.

  Bitch.

  Aurora made her way out of Talia's suite of rooms and down the staircase. At the Alpha male floor, Darian was leaning against the wall, that same smirk painted on his too-pretty visage. She ignored him, silently willing him to start something.

  He didn't, and she made her way to the dining room. Though she wasn't overly hungry, Aurora decided she should try to eat heartily.

  It will be a long night of work.

  * * * *

  Three days later

  Nolan paused, looking toward the amphitheater at the sound of applause. It took a moment for the explanation to resonate with him.

  Matriculation. Koukla is a first-year student; she'll be there.

  He changed direction and headed that way. If he was lucky, he might spot her and have a chance to talk to her for a few minutes on her way to change clothing.

  He couldn't deny he wanted to see Koukla. The hours between their evenings in the garden were long and empty. Nolan found his mind wandering to the woman when he should be working.

  If she invited me, I would be in her bed in an instant. Though it would slow down his progress toward his career goals, he would even mate with her and take a job with the university until she graduated.

  Maybe we could work together. He'd heard mates who worked together had the best lives.

  Even the current Alpha mates did so. Samara Trudale worked with wild animals and had a preserve in the northwestern United States. Her mates, James and Jason, were an architect and a businessman, respectively. Between the three of them, they had the skills necessary to plan, build, run, and oversee such a complex operation.

  Koukla suggested working for a similar operation. What if she worked for the Alphas? Would we be able to work together? Perhaps me working at the houses while she worked for their business ventures? It was an enticing idea.

  Not as en
ticing an idea as finding her at the ceremony, but nearly so.

  Nolan came to a halt at the foot of the large staircase to the left of the stage and started scanning the first-year students for her. He went back and rechecked the first three sections in confusion. She wasn't there. He was sure of it, but what would make a first-year student miss Matriculation?

  Polite clapping and movement indicated the end of the ceremony. Nolan didn't pay attention to it. He was still mired in the mystery of the missing student.

  A sea of crimson velvet interrupted his train of thought. In the closest group, he spied a familiar-looking flounce of dark gold hair and focused on it.

  Koukla peeled off her robes and handed them to a waiting servant, a rather grim-faced crone of a female. The woman beneath the trappings was nothing like he'd seen from Koukla before and more than he'd dreamed to see of her in some time.

  She wore a knee-length white gown, her shoulders and arms bare, save the single line of silk attached at the bodice, trailing over one shoulder and down past the curve of her ass. That wasn't the dress of a lowborn wolf, and lowborn wolves didn't have servants like the dowager serving Koukla.

  Neither was she seated in one of the lower sections. The section Koukla had risen from was the one reserved for Regina Hall students.

  She's an Alpha. She lied to me.

  Some rational corner of his mind opined that she hadn't lied to him. She'd simply never corrected his assumption that she didn't belong in the Regina gardens.

  She should have corrected me.

  Why?

  He couldn't answer that. Nolan suspected his reason was as flimsy as the belief that she'd stolen something precious from him, the belief that they might have a future together.

  She's interested in me.

  Was she? He couldn't say for sure. All the signs of attraction he'd thought were so clear suddenly weren't.

  Koukla turned, coming face-to-face with him. Her eyes went wide.

  "Good day," he offered crisply. "My name is Nolan Gibbs."

  Her cheeks went a vivid red. "Aurora," she answered his unasked question of what her real name was.

  "Aurora." Something resonated with him, and the pieces started falling into place. Her brother was on campus. She was familiar with the Alpha mates' business. She came and went from the Regina gardens with no questions asked. "Aurora Trudale, I presume."

  She nodded.

  Other students stopped to stare. Neither of them turned to look. The servant approached, and Nolan ignored her as well.

  He wanted to wish her a good day, but he couldn't find the words. Or couldn't force them out. Nolan wasn't sure which, at the moment.

  Instead, he tipped his head, turned on his heel, and marched away. Whatever game this was, he wasn't sure he wanted to play. Alphas ruin a man on a whim.

  They could also make a man, but the last thing Nolan wanted was to find his success that way. He worked for his advancement.

  "Always have. Always will."

  * * * *

  "Koukla?"

  Marietta's soothing tone made Aurora want to cry. Instead, she swallowed down the lump in her throat.

  "I am not a baby anymore."

  She left the hated pumps Marietta had insisted on behind and took off after Nolan barefoot. Aurora wasn't sure what he thought, but no matter what it was, it was likely wrong.

  "Nolan!"

  He ignored her and kept walking.

  Aurora laid on speed, ducking around other students. They started moving aside for her. Of course, they were also giving Nolan a wide berth as he stormed toward the Regina gardens.

  She didn't call out to him again, somehow certain that it would only make him move faster.

  As she expected, Nolan went directly to the area where his classmates were still working on repairing the damage Darian had done. He bustled about, checking their work, giving instructions.

  Aurora slowed down, walking the last ten meters or so instead of running them. Nolan didn't react to her approach. She wondered if he was actively ignoring her. Following him from person to person, she became more sure of it.

  "Can I have a moment of your time, Nolan?" Aurora asked.

  "A little busy." His voice was cool and dismissive.

  One of the other males peeked up at her; his gaze lingered. That was all it took to cause Nolan to wheel around and face her. He grasped her arm and led her away from the other students.

  "What is it, Aurora?"

  "This is not what you think." She motioned for calm.

  "You lied to me," he accused. His eyes flashed, a momentary shift that revealed how upset he was.

  How furious. "I didn't. I told you Koukla was a nickname. I told you everyone uses it for me, so I tend to use it." She winced. "Though I admit I'm getting sick of it. I'm not a baby anymore, and I'm tired of being called one."

  "I thought... You made me think you weren't..." Nolan motioned to Regina Hall, seemingly furious with her.

  "I didn't. Yes, I knew you assumed it, and I didn't correct you. Maybe that was wrong. I didn't think it mattered. Honestly."

  "You didn't think it mattered?" He went red in the face, then pushed a hand through his hair, gritting his teeth in what she could only assume was aggravation.

  Explaining it was more difficult than she'd hoped it would be. "You didn't know who I was. You treated me like any other wolf. Meeting me in that context... I liked it."

  "I would have treated you like any other wolf, even if I knew who you were," he countered.

  "Would you? If I was my sister, would you have treated me like you did?"

  "Do I look like I want to die?"

  Her head spun at the topic skipping that seemed to be going on. "What?"

  "I'm sure her mates would kill me on sight." There was a snide undertone to that remark.

  "Well, I'm not Talia, am I? I don't have preordained mates waiting to kill you." Against her better judgment, she let her frustration show.

  "That doesn't mean you're someone I can—" Nolan clamped his mouth shut, as if he'd admitted something vital.

  If he stopped himself from saying what I think he did, I want him to admit it. Aurora calmed herself, thinking through his comment. Continue as if he said it. Let him correct me if I'm wrong.

  "Who says? Who I choose is no one's concern. I'm the younger daughter, remember? I have an older brother and sister and a younger brother. The odds of me ever taking the throne are so remote as to be impossible." Even if I did—on some far-away day—my mate will be my mate.

  "So you're making a choice?" The question was more subdued than he'd been moments before.

  "Today? Not a permanent choice. Am I interested in you?"

  He looked at her, his expressions shifting.

  "Yes. I am," she admitted. Aurora swallowed the lump rising in her throat. She was putting herself on the line and hoping Nolan would be kind to her, despite his anger.

  He was still for a long moment. "I have plans, Aurora."

  "Then follow your plans. Did I ever ask you not to?" I've never demanded anything of him.

  "I've worked for everything I have. Worked hard. You know what my plans are."

  She nodded. "I do."

  "I don't want anyone saying I was handed those dreams. Can you—?"

  "I understand. Then go on with your plans. I'll even find someone else to teach me, if you want me to. Maybe someday, when you have your dreams, we can be more." I can do that. Talia has made it clear she won't be mating until after she graduates. That would give Nolan five or more years toward his goals.

  He seemed shocked by her answer. "You'd be content with that?"

  Aurora straightened. "I'll live with it."

  His eyes narrowed. "Live with it?"

  "If you're asking if it's what I want, no. It's not, but you have to follow your dreams, right?"

  There was a tense moment of silence between them. "What do you want?"

  Her heart hammering in a mixture of fear and anticipation, Aurora stepp
ed toward him and went up on her toes, sealing her mouth to his.

  For a heartbeat, Nolan didn't respond. Then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush to his body.

  The kiss took on a potent edge that made her dizzy in need.

  "Nolan!"

  The shout from one of the other students broke them apart...just in time for claws to cut deep into Aurora's cheek.

  She fell back into a patch of Stella de Oros, stunned and in pain.

  * * * *

  Nolan spun around to face their attacker, noting the flow of blood down Koukla's face in rising fury.

  He'd seen the male before. He was a Regina Hall snot of some sort, usually seen in the company of the young Alphas.

  Aurora's siblings.

  "Your brother wants to see you."

  Damn it, I didn't remember who he was back then. Aurora's dress and demeanor had put him at ease. He hadn't searched for the wolf's identity, because he felt safe with Aurora...thus, safe with anyone she associated with, by extension.

  The wolf facing him was anything but safe. He was half-shifted, showing his teeth and claws. The latter were stained in blood.

  Aurora's blood. How dare he!

  That simply, Nolan's vision went red-tinged. He pulled at his shirt with shifting paws, tearing the fabric and throwing it aside. Growls rose from his chest.

  "No." Aurora's protest was a strangled whisper of sound.

  Nolan didn't turn toward her. He wasn't about to give this beast his back.

  The other male's voice was guttural and stank of malice unleashed. "You were supposed to be mine."

  Aurora gasped at that. "I never invited your attentions. I made it clear I couldn't stand you long ago."

  "An alpha stakes his claim."

  "Only if the female accepts him. I don't. I will never accept you, Darian."

  "He moved and left you open to attack. You want a male like that?"

  Before Nolan could call him out as a liar, Aurora did. "You attacked his back from downwind, like a jackal. Neither of us knew who was attacking or from where. You are a coward, Darian."