That shocked him when so many had treated him like dirt.
I stopped when I saw it was actually bothering him. There wasn’t really anyone left, but the point was more than made. I wasn’t even pushing this for the point or to be a shit. He deserved to know his value.
Not that other people made our value… It was complicated. It made sense in my head. He didn’t see himself accurately—none of us did—and knowing more people valued him than he thought should help.
After he got over the shock.
“I ordered those IPAs you like,” I mumbled as I snuggled up to him. “Irma said she made your favorite stew you just have to put in the slow cooker to reheat. Why don’t you just start on those research books and have a night?”
“Sounds like heaven if you were there as well, but I will take almost heaven and have a quiet night,” he agreed after a few moments. “You’ll be safe, yeah?”
“Always.”
And that wasn’t a lie. I always did the absolute best I could to be safe. Yes, I went into dangerous situations and I always had—I always would—but I bailed when I needed to, didn’t fuck around, and was ready with the nuclear route, so I stayed alive. That was a lot better than most.
So yeah, I stood by “always,” even if I jumped into the fire a lot.
I’d rather do that, and rescue thousands of hobgoblins from dozens of estates instead of going to a dinner with three councilmen and their posses. Funny how that might never change, no matter how high up on the supe food chain I was being pushed.
My last class of the day was Shifter Culture I with Professor Puth, who I didn’t know well. Zack and Ray liked him, and he appreciated the wolf Alphas as he was a Beta and had been getting hassled by the boss of the guards, who was a wolf Alpha—and an asshole—Glen. Zack and Ray had put a stop to that, so they got along, and Professor Puth credited me for it as well as I’d brought them here.
Or his thoughts did. He didn’t really act towards me any differently than any other student, but it was nice that someone gave me the benefit of the doubt for once.
And that paid off because before class started he approached me, clearly having heard about the meeting too.
He cleared his throat and moved his hands behind his back, rocking on his heels. “It might not be my place, but as the one in charge of your education in shifter culture, I would feel remiss that you are about to have real world experience, and I didn’t prepare you. There is something we are all very used to that you would not be and—”
“I always welcome any advice, Professor,” I cut in when I realized he might ramble well past the bell he was so nervous.
He relaxed somewhat. I knew my reputation, and even if unfair at times, I was hard to approach. That part was intentional.
“It’s customary for shifter guards to sniff someone new around their leader. My understanding is you’ve been around Alpha Geoff and were vetted by your attorneys to use their services, so that was not the normal setting. You were the client, not the one to be wary of. Your ties to anyone won’t matter to council guards in this setting. They will check your scent and to someone unused to it, it’s unnerving.”
“And I would be insulted, defensive of someone coming in my personal space when I was unarmed and immediately react,” I muttered, nodding when his eyes flashed shock. “I was trained to think like a single woman, Professor. A human woman. There is no reason ever for a man to step into my personal space, without my invitation, that is not considered an act of aggression. That’s standard.”
He studied me a moment. “That’s honestly the best way I’ve heard it explained, and I will pass it along. That makes most of us overreacting to how you’ve acted instead of you being overly aggressive. It’s also incredibly helpful in acclimating other unknowns, as you were not the only one found last year, nor this year.”
I might have asked more, but the bell rang. I did catch his thoughts that he wanted me to know that. People acted like I was such a rare mistake, and supe society was so cultured and had their act together, that unknowns were unheard of.
And it was a