Alpha’s Hybrid Cinderella
Chapter 65

If there was one good thing to come out of the confrontation with Flicka in the greenhouse, it was wha I stopped by the Joseph family's new lodgings first, a two-bedroom suite in the Lambeth Apartments, welcome him at last to the new base.

Yesterday had been far too hectic for all of us, with my help being needed in the sick bay because of a appropriately. But now I could say hello and catch up after far too long without contact. His temporan friends didn't need anything fancier.

"Ken!" "Claudia!"

He embraced me, keeping all touches friendly and platonic. Evan would probably still give him a warn we spoke at length and swapped dozens of stories from exciting to terrifying to comforting without ar We were friends, even close friends. Without Raf and Leon here to complete our circle, I appreciate his I even confided in him about Flicka and my frustration with her, although I made sure to hastily add th "Is she crazy! Did you tell Evan yet? Wait, let me sort her out first. I can't believe she was that stupid. S Evan finds out she tried anything, he'll-"

"Which is exactly why neither of us are going to tell him," I interrupted. "But like I said, I took care of it "Dumbfounded?" he teased. "Big word when you could just say you're mad."

"But I'm not. Really. I was mad before when she kept trying things but... well. You know. Her social stat Ken raised his eyebrows. "Since when did our Claudia become so savage?"

"I'm not!" I sighed and rubbed my temple. "I'm just saying, why does she keep coming after me now of longer we're not going to be able to keep the casualties at bay. This is life and death! What does she t This time, he was the one who sighed. "She's not the only one, Claudia. Most of the main Scarlet pack

ened the next morning. But I would have no idea until a few hours after I woke up and returned to the greenhouse.

re upscale residence right next to the first-year dorms. It was soundly within the secure territory around campus, so I could go alone to greet Ken and

x of wounded werewolves coming in from skirmishes, and Ken because there was considerable difficulty relocating his family's sub-pack into their rooms was sparsely furnished with only a student's captain-sized bed, a desk and chair, and a small table in the corner with two stools, but a reunion between

re, but I sensed nothing improper in his thoughts except a wistful one here and there. I couldn't blame him for that, emotions were emotions. But otherwise, wardness between us.

any all the more.

d taken care of the problem myself. Ken's eyes widened.

t nice and I don't think she ever will be by any stretch of the definition, but she should at least have been smart enough to know to stay away from you. If

stdumbfounded."

probably her highest priority. She had nothing better to do than homework and starting fights."

es? We're in the middle of a whole city-wide fight with rogues burning down homes, and our supplies are starting to dwindle, and if this fight goes on any e's doing!"

s are like that. They only care about their money and their image and that's it."

I dropped my gaze to the table. Ken had mentioned it in passing before, the strain of keeping up with the constant materialistic racing and competing of the main families, but he had always only talked about it jokingly. This was the first time I had ever heard him sound so down, both in his voice and in his thoughts. "... I guess you probably didn't get that chance to talk to your dad about your business plan, the one you had to revamp Scarlet's pharmaceutical companies."

"The timing was off. No, that's a lie." Ken leaned back in his chair with a resigned stretch and stared at the ceiling. "He's usually all ears when I have ideas... but only as long as they line up with his gain only. He shut me down as soon as I started talking about including the others. He thinks we'll become 'like the rest', whatever that means. He doesn't get that that thinking is holding us back. Packs aren't aristocracies anymore. We have to be more inclusive, or we'll stagnate and die off."

"Your dad might come around soon. Talk to him about it again after all the fighting's over, when we're rebuilding. Maybe he'll be more open to change then since things are already, well, disastrous."

"We'll see about that. He's been like this since before I was born. I don't know if I'll ever get him to understand we're not born special, we're just born rich. He acts like the Moon Goddess has given us special dispensation to walk all over everyone." He shook his head. "Sorry. Didn't mean to rant. You're probably uncomfortable."

"Ken. My father was an Alpha who forced me into s*****y in his own house. I'm pretty sure I understand more than most what it's like to have a father who refuses to understand things just because they're inconvenient for him. Not that I'm saying your father is like that," I added hastily. "I'm just saying, if there's anyone you can talk to about not seeing eye-to-eye with your father, it's me."

Ken grinned. "You always know exactly what to say to make someone feel better. It's uncanny. Come on, let me change the subject. Let's check out that greenhouse, I want to visit the memorial of the spot where you gave Flicka the most traumatic smack of her life." "Ken! It wasn't that bad."

"Well, to her, I bet it was."

***

The greenhouse was almost across campus. It gave us plenty of time of time to catch up on other things, although some were sobering like the topic of Raf and Leon and how we hadn't heard from them in days. The first thing we would do when communications were restored was call them and make sure they were all right. They had to be. We had to trust that.

The hustle and bustle all around the greenhouse was a welcome change to clear our worries. I'd never seen the place so busy. The two research teams and the greenhouse staff who usually took alternating shifts were all there at once, many of them crowded around one of the bench plots near the entrance. In fact, it was the same one Flicka had confronted me at yesterday. But there couldn't be anything wrong - I'd made sure that each row was re-planted perfectly. Not even a single seedling was lost.

Or had I made a mistake? Nearly all the plots in that greenhouse were medicinal but also experimental, crossbred specimens arranged carefully to see if any bore promising fruit. I knew all about it; I had been the one to help arrange them. But maybe I had overlooked something, misplaced valuable seedlings or perhaps Flicka had sabotaged them one last time while I wasn't looking.

I rushed in, Ken following close behind. "What happened!" I exclaimed, shouldering my way through the small crowd. "Is there something wrong with the plot!"

A familiar face looked up. An older man, he was the head advisor of the Herbology major and the lead faculty in charge of maintaining the greenhouses. "Claudia! I was just about to ask someone to fetch you. Come closer!"

"Professor Ornby, what is it?"

"Something I think you should see. And I see! You've brought Ken Joseph with you, how are you both? What a day, what a day indeed!"

Ornby was excited, but why? The crowd parted so Ken and I could wriggle through to stand next to the aged professor. The man pulled his glasses back down from on top of his head and pointed at the soil - where a full row of leafy plants grew, vibrant and green with tiny red blossoms already beginning to bloom. What? Were these the same seedlings Flicka and I had replanted yesterday? This couldn't be right.

"I came to check on these just in case, Claudia, not because I expected such a surprise. You reported to the staff on duty yesterday about the accident, but you know better than all of them how to take care of things like that."

"Well, I-"

"No time for modesty right now, no matter how respectable. Look! Whatever happened yesterday, we have to try to recreate it. Five weeks' worth of growth overnight! And their growth is accelerated even now! This is unprecedented. A miracle! I've never seen such a sight in all my life!"

He swept his hand over the plants again so hard his glasses nearly fell off.

"Immediately! We're going to find out how this happened. Come with me, Claudia."