“Look at us, the gang is back together again.” I chuckled, but upon seeing the unamused faces of everyone else in the room, I shrank into my seat. “Geeze, just trying to lighten the mood,” I muttered. Freyja lightly smacked my shoulder as Dean Richardson and Hilda grumbled at my poorly timed comedy. “I’m just saying, it feels like I was getting scolded in this office just yesterday. Time sure does fly.”  

“This is not a laughing matter. Someone is after you, after us. We must act with haste to protect you from this hidden threat.” Freyja spoke firmly, to which the others nodded their approval. “Not only that, but it is apparent even those around you are in danger. Take this seriously, my dear.” She lightly touched my face with her hand and brushed my cheek with her thumb. I frowned. 

“Look, I get it. I’m just trying to stay positive; I’ve been through plenty of shit the past few weeks and moping around is getting old.” I moved Freyja’s hand away, “And second, stop treating me like I’m this dainty little piece of glass.” She cocked her head in frustration. 

“I care about you, Dean, do not mistake my worry for coddling!” Freyja raised her voice, shaking the glass items in the room.

“Alright, that’s enough. Your two have been a headache for me, Hilda, and for this college since the day you made contact.” Richardson sighed. “Putting your personal matters aside, in light of these events we will beef up security around your apartment and dorm respectively and equip Dean with some Bevusian weaponry.”  

I lit up like they told me I won the lottery 

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” I clapped my hands together and grinned. 

“I must protest! His life is under threat and your solution is to give him a weapon?” Freyja leaned over Richardson’s desk and hissed, prompting Hilda to step in. 

“Will you sit down, child. Erik will be the one training him in the use of his armaments and will personally guard him from now on.”  

“B-But what about me? I am his mate, am I not? The duty to protect him belongs to me.” Freyja sat back in her chair, confused and hurt. She looked to me for support but all I could do was shrug, even if I rejected their idea, I didn’t have a choice in the matter it seemed. She crossed her arms and gave a loud ‘harumph’ befitting someone of her status. 

“Freyja, this is my decision. You are strong, yes, but untrained. Moreover, it would be foolish to always have the two of you together. It would make it easier for whoever is after you to take you both out.” Hilda explained her logic, Freyja could say nothing to argue against it, she knew she was right. 

“Dean,” Richardson started, “Erik and his team investigated both of your residences and did indeed discover listening devices and cameras of Bevusian origin, military-grade.” He let that comment sink in for a second before continuing, “It is obvious that this anti-Bevusian group is behind it and has the resources to back up their threats. Therefore, we think it best to separate the two of you for the time being until we can get a hold of things.”  

Freyja’s mouth fell open dumbly, I didn’t like it as much as she did, but it was the best course of action here.  

“As for you, young princess, I will take charge of protecting you and you will stay with me to ensure your safety,” Hilda said plainly. “Think of it as a time to reflect on your relationship with your human lover.” Freyja’s face turned blue instantly. Richardson eyed me after hearing that comment, but I pretended not to notice. 

“No offense, Ma’am, but why you?” I asked as carefully as I could so as not to incur her wrath. She simply gave me a cold smile and stated that I had already felt a fraction of what she was capable of. 

“Would you like to experience more?” She said as the air grew heavy. I quickly told her that it wasn’t necessary and that I was cool with the plan. “Splendid.” The pressure abated. Hilda being only a tutor or mentor to Freyja my ass. Lady was cold-blooded. 

“I thought I told you to stop doing that around me.” An irritated Richardson said, nervously fidgeting with his tie. Hilda leaned down from behind his chair and wrapped him in a brief yet intimate hug. 

“I apologize, dear.” Her eyes flashed blue for the fastest of seconds. I stood up as soon as I caught it. 

“Ohhhhh! No way,” I wagged a finger between the two of them, “Seriously, you two?”  

“Mind your tongue.” They said at the same time. Yep, they were suited for each other one hundred percent.  

“Alright, I’ll shut up. In all seriousness though, I guess we should get back to our respective places, Freyja?” I asked the still-fuming lady to my left. She murmured an ‘okay’ and left it at that.  

Joy. 

“We shall let you know when the crisis has been averted. Dean, you will leave here with Erik to begin your training immediately.” Hilda gestured at the door and so Freyja, and I left, but not before I caught her arms creeping around Richardson once more as the door closed behind us. 

Frankly, I’m happy for them. 

When we were almost outside of the administrative building, I was suddenly and forcibly pulled into a nearby storage closet by Freyja. She closed the door in a rush while making sure it didn’t slam. The tiny room was hardly big enough for the two of us and so I found myself tightly pressed against her body, forced to look up at her from between her breasts. One of her thighs forced its way between mine and rested gingerly below my groin. Distracting me from that fact was how she roughly grabbed my face and looked down at me with an array of shifting emotions, unable to settle on one. 

“Do you not trust me?” Her voice finally came to her, raspy, mixed with fury and rejection. I looked up at her quizzically. 

“Frey, you know this isn’t about me trusting you. I’m sure Hilda and Richardson know what they’re doing. Besides, we've only known each other for...not that long, I think we should leave it to the authorities on this.” She grimaced and exhaled sharply through her nose. 

“Do you not think I possess the capability to protect you? And do not give me that ‘not that long' nonsense! The connection you feel towards me is plain as day as you humans say.” She was right, it was crazy how quickly I was developing deeper feelings for her. Still, I didn’t want to commit fully to a whole new relationship so soon, especially one so foreign to me.  

“That’s not it either, Freyja. If I can be honest with you, you’re asking me for a whole lot more than...than I can give you right now.” Her face contorted with anger as she struggled not to embrace her more monstrous side. “H-Hey, tight space!” She closed her eyes, took some slow breaths and gained control over herself once more. 

“I know that a Bond may feel...intense for you humans, but it is everything to us. You are well aware that many go without experiencing such a thing for their entire lives. Now that I have it, it is as though a switch has been flipped in the very fabric of my being. And I...I” She bit her lip, her shining blue eyes analyzing my face for a reaction.  

Oh no, not now, not yet.  

“I love you.” Her words bounced around my brain, and suddenly I felt as though I was being suffocated. It was hard to describe, but it was like her very essence was forcing its way into my soul and trying to bend me to her will. Even so, a part of me felt safe and secure. 

And very warm. 

However, it was a warmth that I wasn’t quite ready for, and with great effort, I severed that connection, causing Freyja to gasp and look down at me in utter bewilderment. 

“You are rejecting me?” There was no heat to her words, just a deep melancholy.

“No, no, no! Absolutely not! I’m just not ready. Freyja, people don’t get together this fast. I’m enjoying what we have and want to take it slow. We’ve made progress, sure. And yeah, we’ve been physical, but we gotta bond with more than just that. Things like this take time. I'm fully in when it comes to developing...us, but there are steps to this!” I rambled as quickly as I could to try to get her to see my side of things, but she simply shook her head and carefully eased us out of the closet.  

She walked away towards the exit and stopped with a hand on the door handle. Without turning around, she spoke with a harsh tone, “Do not contact me first.” God, those words stabbed right through my heart and made me want to slam my head into a wall. Without waiting for a reply from me, she left, leaving me alone in the empty foyer. 

Seconds later, Erik walked in and upon seeing me wrapped me in a hug. 

“Dean, I just saw Freyja, is she alright? And by the Three Deities are you alright as well? I’ve come to take you to your first day of training and to get myself moved into your apartment. But if you need some time, we can wait to let you process this further?” Man, this guy was nice.  

“No... no. I don’t wanna talk about it now or think about it. Training sounds good. Thanks, man.” He released me and patted me on the back as we made our way outside. “Hang on, you’re moving in with me?” I asked, finally realizing what he had just said. “I mean, Hilda said you were going to train me and be my bodyguard but to live with me? You’re okay with that?” He smiled, showing me those sparkling white fangs of his. 

“Indeed, I am! I can promise you that you will be perfectly safe with me, and I don’t mean to brag but I am an excellent cook as well. We shall get you in tip-top shape for anything while being healthy!” I appreciated the enthusiasm, but he seemed way too excited about this. “Not to worry, you’ll have all the privacy you need, which will be plenty since according to my briefing you are suspended from classes indefinitely until the situation has been resolved.” I stopped in my tracks. 

“What!? Am I ever going to be able to set foot in class again? What’s the point of me attending if I can’t even be in class!” 

“You’re understandably upset, but it is for your safety. Also, may I see your cellphone?” Already exhausted from today, I just scoffed and handed him my phone. He then pulled out a little black cube from a hidden compartment in his armor and placed it on my phone. The cube, as I can best describe it, melted into my phone with a golden glow. 

“Huh, mind telling me what that was about?” I asked, momentarily stunned by what had just happened. 

“Think of it as a, uh, what’s the human way to say it...ah! A virtual private network, or VPN, and a cloak for your phone. Now, nobody should be able to hack it or track it. Your dorm room has already been equipped with them, so you can continue using the Internet without worry.” He said proudly while returning my phone. 

“Thanks. Look, Erik. I need to let off some steam, so can we start with the training already? I just wanna turn my brain off and mess around with cool alien tech.”  

“That’s fine with me. And something tells me you’ll like what we’ve got prepared for you.”