Chapter 22 Meet My Best Friend
I woke up to seventeen texts from Tessa.
Most of them were variations of “don’t you dare cancel” and “I’m bringing my pepper spray just in case.”
The last one made me laugh.
If he’s a serial killer, I’m prepared. Also, I’m wearing my running shoes.
I texted back.
He’s not a serial killer. Probably.
Her response was immediate.
NOT REASSURING.
Lycian was already awake. I found him in the kitchen making breakfast. He looked good in the morning. Hair messy. T-shirt and sweatpants. Relaxed in a way he never was around the pack.
“Morning,” he said. “Coffee?”
“Please.” I sat at the island. “So. My best friend wants to meet you today.”
He paused mid-pour. “Today?”
“At two. At the coffee shop near campus.” I took the mug he offered. “She’s slightly terrifying. Just warning you.”
“How terrifying?”
“She once made a guy cry because he was rude to a barista. She’s very protective.”
“Of you?”
“Of everyone. But especially me.” I took a sip. Perfect as always. “She thinks you might be a serial killer.”
He laughed. Actually laughed. “Should I be worried?”
“Maybe. She’s bringing pepper spray.”
“Good. I like her already.”
We spent the morning going through my class schedule. It was worse than I thought. Three weeks of missed lectures. Assignments I hadn’t turned in. A midterm I’d completely forgotten about.
“Okay,” Lycian said. Staring at my laptop. “This is fixable.”
“How? I’m failing everything.”
“Email your professors. Explain that you had a family emergency. Ask for extensions.” He pulled out his phone. “I know someone who can help. Tutor. Really good. She helped Damien pass calculus.”
“I can’t afford a tutor.”
“I can.”
“Lycian…”
“Before you argue, think about it practically. You need help. I can provide help. This isn’t charity. This is me supporting my girlfriend’s education.” He said his girlfriend liked it. Like we’d already had that conversation.
My stomach flipped. “Is that what I am? Your girlfriend?”
“What else would you be?”
“I don’t know. Your mate? Your trial girlfriend? Your ninety-day project?”
“How about just mine?” He closed my laptop. Gave me his full attention. “I’m not good at this. The relationship thing. But I know I want you here. Want you in my life. Want you to succeed at the things that matter to you.”
“Even if it means less time for pack stuff?”
“Even then.”
I believed him. God help me, I believed him.
“Okay. Email the professors. Hire the tutor. But I’m paying you back. Eventually.”
“Deal.” He opened my laptop again. Started typing. “Now. This biology professor. What’s her name?”
We got to the coffee shop at 1:55. Tessa was already there. Purple hair freshly dyed. Black leather jacket. Arms crossed. Looking like she was ready for a fight.
She saw me and her whole face changed. Relief. Anger. Worry. All at once.
“You’re alive,” she said.
“I’m alive.”
“I was starting to think you’d been kidnapped.” She looked at Lycian. Up and down. Assessing. “So you’re the reason my best friend went MIA for a week.”
“I’m Lycian.” He held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
She didn’t take it. “Tessa. And I’m not shaking your hand until I know you’re not a creep.”
“Fair enough.”
We sat. Ordered drinks. Tessa spent the entire time staring at Lycian like she was trying to read his mind.
“So,” she said finally. “What are your intentions with my best friend?”
I choked on my latte. “Oh my god. Tessa.”
“What? It’s a valid question.” She turned back to Lycian. “Well?”
“I intend to be with her. Support her. Help her succeed in school while also navigating some complicated family stuff on my end.” He didn’t look nervous. Didn’t look bothered. Just honest. “I care about her. A lot. And I’m not going anywhere.”
Tessa studied him for a long moment. Then she turned to me. “He’s pretty. I’ll give him that.”
“Tessa!”
“What? He is. And he seems genuine. But I’m still watching you.” She pointed at Lycian. “Hurt her and I will destroy you. I don’t care how rich or connected you are.”
“Noted.” He smiled. Small. Genuine. “For what it’s worth, I think she’s lucky to have you as a friend.”
Something in Tessa’s expression softened. “Okay. You can stay. For now.”
The conversation got easier after that. Tessa told embarrassing stories about me. About the time I got lost in the library for three hours freshman year. About my terrible cooking that nearly burned down our dorm kitchen.
Lycian listened. Actually listened. Asked questions. Laughed at the right moments.
“So what do you do?” Tessa asked him. “Besides stealing my roommate.”
“I’m in business school. MBA program. And I help run my family’s company.”
“What kind of company?”
“Investment and property management. Real estate. Some tech ventures.” He shrugged. “It’s boring.”
“Sounds expensive.”
“It pays the bills.”
Tessa kicked me under the table. Mouthed “holy shit he’s loaded.”
I kicked her back.
“Elowen says you’re an art major,” Lycian said. Smoothly changing the subject.
“Graphic design. I want to do album covers. Or movie posters. Something creative that doesn’t make me want to die.” She stirred her drink. “What about you? Do you actually like business stuff?”
“Sometimes. It’s what’s expected. Family tradition and all that.”
“But what would you do if you could do anything?”
He was quiet for a moment. “Cook. Open a restaurant. Something small. Intimate. Where people come for the food and stay for the atmosphere.”
“Then why don’t you?”
“Because life doesn’t work that way. Sometimes you do what you have to do. Not what you want to do.”
Tessa nodded. Like she understood. “Yeah. I get that.”
They talked about food. About their favorite restaurants. About cooking disasters and recipes they wanted to try.
I watched them. My best friend and my… boyfriend? Mate? Whatever he was.
They got along. Actually got along.
It made something warm spread through my chest.
After an hour, Tessa stood. “I have class. But this was good.” She looked at Lycian. “You’re not terrible. Don’t make me regret saying that.”
“I’ll do my best.”
She hugged me. Whispered in my ear. “He’s good for you. I can see it. Just don’t lose yourself, okay?”
“I won’t.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
She left. The coffee shop felt quieter without her.
“She’s great,” Lycian said.
“She’s terrifying.”
“That too. But she loves you. That’s obvious.”
“She’s the only family I had for a long time. Besides Aunt Clara.” I finished my latte. “Thank you for doing this. For meeting her. For being patient with the interrogation.”
“She has every right to be protective. If I had a friend like you, I’d do the same.”
We walked back to the car. The afternoon sun was warm. The campus was crowded with students between classes.
It felt normal. Like my old life and my new life were finally overlapping instead of existing in separate worlds.
“Hey,” I said as we got in the car. “Can we stop by my dorm? I need to grab some more clothes. And my textbooks.”
“Sure. Which building?”
“Morrison. Third floor.”
We drove across campus. I hadn’t been back since I moved out. It felt like years ago instead of days.
My room was exactly how I’d left it. Bed unmade. Desk covered in papers. Tessa’s side is messy but organized chaos.
“This is where you lived?” Lycian asked. Looking around the tiny space.
“Yep. Home sweet home.” I started grabbing clothes. Shoving them into a bag. “It’s not much but it was mine.”
“It’s perfect.”
“It’s a shoebox.”
“It’s yours. That makes it perfect.”
I stopped packing. Looked at him. Really looked at him.
He meant it. He wasn’t judging. Wasn’t comparing it to his penthouse. Just accepting it as part of who I was.
“Thank you,” I said.
“For what?”
“For not being a snob about my tiny dorm room.”
He crossed to me. Took my face in his hands. “I don’t care where you live. I care about you.”
Then he kissed me.
Soft at first. Testing. Then deeper when I leaned into him. My hands gripped his shirt. His fingers tangled in my hair.
When we pulled apart, we were both breathing hard.
“Wow,” I whispered.
“Yeah. Wow.”
Someone cleared their throat. We jumped apart.
Tessa stood in the doorway. Grinning like the cat who caught the canary.
“Don’t mind me. Just forgot my sketchbook.” She grabbed it from her desk. “Carry on with the making out.”
“We weren’t…”
“Yes, you were. It’s cool. Just lock the door next time.” She winked and left.
My face was on fire. Lycian looked amused.
“I like her more and more,” he said.
“She’s the worst.”
“She’s the best.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
We finished packing. Drove back to the penthouse. Spent the evening doing homework while Lycian worked on his laptop.
It was domestic. Normal. Easy.
Like maybe we could actually make this work.
My phone buzzed. Email from my biology professor.
Ms. Hale, given your excellent record before these absences, I’m willing to grant an extension on your midterm. Please see me during office hours to discuss making up missed work.
I showed Lycian.
“See? Fixable.”
“You were right.”
“I usually am.”
I threw a pillow at him. He caught it. Laughing.
Yeah. Maybe we could make this work after all.