When Areum swung open the door the next morning, she had the most unimpressed, blank expression when she saw what was on the other side.

"I'm not even surprised anymore. Maybe I should start leaving food out for you." She grumbled when she found Jackson perched on the railing , swinging his feet as he waited for her to lock her door.

She walked straight past him and down her porch stairs as she headed towards her school, trying not to be distracted by Jackson. Admittedly, she was too busy to fuss around with him because she was trying to find a way to get out of the MT tomorrow.

"That'd be much appreciated. You take way too long getting dressed."Jackson grinned and hopped off the railing, his hands in his pockets as he easily kept up with her stride.

He watched her face, frowning when it looked like her mind was elsewhere. She barely heard what he said because he was pretty sure that if she did, she would've snapped back at him with something just as snarky. 

God damn it, am I supposed to light myself on fire just to get her to look at me? For 's sake, what's so important for her stupid human brain to be thinking?

"It was one kiss, Areum. Try not to be so distracted by it, it doesn't suit you." Jackson quipped sardonically.

Areum glared at him, pulled her fist back and punched him in the arm. She heard that one. She hissed and pulled her hand back and shook it to get rid of the pain that jolted up her arm.

"What the hell is your am made of?!" She groaned, stretching her fingers out. Jackson snickered and pushed her head back before flexing his arm in front of her.

"All muscle, baby." Areum's eyes dropped to his arm and gulped at the evident hardened curves outlined by the sleeve of his shirt.

She'd seen a bunch of guys try to flex to show off but she was never as thrown off as she was just then. She quickly averted her eyes and cleared before walking away, acting unaffected.

But Jackson smelled the attraction oozing off of her and it made something in his chest skip a beat as his skin prickled. He his lips when she brushed her hair out of her face and turned away.

"I'm guessing you're thrilled about the trip tomorrow." He said casually, trying to calm himself down, as he ran up behind her.

Areum jutted her lip out and grunted as she tried plotting out elaborate escape plans and fake illnesses to try to wiggle her way out of it. Jackson's eyes flash purple when he saw her pout and the angry look in her eyes.

, she was like nothing he had seen before and she was only human.

"Camping was always on my bucket list. I'm glad that I'm going to have a chance  to cross it off now." Jackson said teasingly, his fingers laced behind his head as they walked into the a campus building.

Areum stopped walking and gaped at Jackson, completely ignorant as people shot the two of them intrusive gazes. She was far too distracted to notice them, not when Jackson was in the same MT group as her. 

"You are not."

Jackson raised his eyebrows and smirked at her as he walked into her classroom. "I am and I'm guessing you are too. Looks like you'll be spending your weekend with me, Booster Seat."

Areum's face fell as she heaved her bag over her shoulder and stalked into the room after him with a scowl on her face and a grumble on her lips.

"This day just keeps getting better and better."

-----

Areum managed to escape Jackson's constant obnoxious comments and stupid, dumb smirks when the teacher asked him for a favour when class was over, giving her the chance to opt out of lunch and instead go to the library to get work done.

It was perfect because there would be no way Jackson would think of looking for her to annoy here.

The campus was way too big.

A part of her, although she'd never admit it, was kind of glad Jackson was in her group. Sure he was annoying, rude, obnoxious, cocky, snarky and sarcastic, but at least she'd have a 'friend' with her on the trip.

Even if people gave her a hard time on it, at least she wouldn't be alone. 

She hid into the corner of the work space and powered on her laptop as she took a seat. She looked around while her computer booted up. The library was surprisingly empty since usually the agricultural planning  department would be teeming with students.

But she figured most of the midterm assignments were finished and kids were taking a break.The only other peole there were a small group of boys huddled together looking at something. One of them looked up, as if he felt her gaze and met her eyes. He didn't make a face or say anything at all but he stared at her for a full minute before she turned away first.

She didn't need more attention.

But she got it anyways.

It what felt like only a few moments, the group of boys walked up to her corner and stared her down. She ignored them, pretending that she was so focused on her work that she couldn’t see the boys that were so obviously trying to get attention.

"Are you blind?" One of them snapped.

Areum's fingers stilled over her keyboard and she slowly lifted her head up in anger, meeting the 5 boys' stares. Five of them were either grinning or smirking, but there was one, the one she made eye contact with earlier, at the back that just watched impassively.

"What the hell?" She balked, leaning back on her seat with her arms crossed over her chest with an incredulous laugh.

"Are you deaf too? Didn't know a princess could be so ing useless." He snapped in a husky voice.

The others behind him snickered but that one, the one with the sharp gaze and tan skin stood unmoving with a blank, emotionless face.

"What are you talking about? What princess?" She snapped, in irratation. 

The tall one just grinned, "Aww, baby doesn't know, does she?" 

"Where are your parents? I didn't know little boys were allowed at a library without supervision." Areum snorted, trying to seem amused when in reality she was a mix of anger and fear.

The boys crowded in on her and suddenly she found it hard to breath. She hated this the most. This was what scared her more than Yoomi or Yang.

She hated being outnumbered.

That was why she was terrified the night those young kids came up to her, because they had the upper hand. Her rude words stood no chance, when she was cornered and outnumbered, she was scared.

"I didn't know royalty was allowed to wander around alone without their bodyguard." The one with a middle part coutnered. 

"Leave me alone." She mumbled, looking away, not wanting to decipher the weird royalty barbs they kept using. It was surely some messed up insult that she didn't understand.

The one that looked far too pretty, raised his brow, "Why would we leave you alone after coming all this way to see you, princess. You should be flattered."

She gave them a blank look, trying to hide her trembling heart. "I didn't ask you too and I'd be more flattered if you said I looked like trash."

The youngest one raised his smirked, "From what we heard about you, it looks like you already know that, princess. You really are nothing like we expected."

Right before she could snap at them, a desk came sliding across the floor at top speed, ramming into leader of the little entourage, making him hiss as he stumbled back.

Areum's eyes widened when she saw the evident crack down the side of the desktop but she just gaped at the way he bounced back. Judging by the sound it made against his hip and the speed it was coming at, there was no way that someone could be unhurt.

But he barely flinched and just glared at the direction it came from.

"This is a library, if you children want to make noise I suggest you do it elsewhere and leave people who are actually trying to do work, alone." Jackson growled as he strode up to the table.

Areum gaped, with her eyes wide, at Jackson who walked up to the group with his jaw locked in a tense bite and his eyes blazing fury. Even over his clothes she could see how his body tensed with his hands tucked casually in his pockets.

The boy with longer hair pushed his sleeve up, revealing a small tattoo and cracked his knuckles, "We're having a conversation here, how about your step back and mind your own business?"

The thin boy intervened, his eyes narrowed into angry slits, "This doesn't concern you."

Jackson could feel his body twitch. "If it involves her then it does ing concern me."

The leader smirked and let his pinned his gaze on Jackson, "Why is a teacher so protective over one student?"

The pretty boy chuckled from the back, "Seems like the rumours about the princess and her thing for teachers are true after all."

Areum gulped and started to feel nervous at the tension that was rising. She didn't want to start a fight and she really didn't want to have yet another rumour spread about her.

Jackson stepped up closer, unafraid of the odds that didn't look in his favour. But what Areum didn't know that these boys weren't just dealing with a normal human or a normal wolf.

They were dealing with a prince.

"You don't know who you're trying to pick a fight with. I suggest you not risk the bone crushing defeat and just walk away while you still can because I can't guarantee that you'll be alive if you don’t. Teacher or not, I won't let you talk to her like that."He roared. 

The boys stared each other down except for the one that was gauging Areum's reaction to the scene in front of her. He watched her eyes flicker between the group and Jackson. He could sense the concern she felt but it looked like it was directed to the teacher.

Jackson.

He turned his gaze back on the stand off and saw Jackson's jaw lock. Jackson wasn't going to bacck down. "Let's drop it."

His deep voice surprised Areum and the calmness in his eyes and demeanour shocked her. She almost forgot that he was there because he hadn't said a word the whole time.

The boys and Jackson were locked in a staring contest, neither backing down. Jackson didn't let his gaze wavered and finally the leader look away first. He huffed and looked over at Areum who was still seated in her corner, looking stricken.

"See you around, princess." He called as his group started to move away.

"We'll be back. So don't let your guard down, prince." One of them mumbled.

Jackson's eyes widened as he snapped his head to the group of boys that weren't looking at him. He took a deep breath but frowned when he couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary.

"What did you say?" He breathed out in shock, but none of them replied.

Why did they call him prince?

Who were there?

What did they know?

He looked away and noticed one of the boys were still standing there, staring at Areum. "Don't make me repeat myself. Get lost."

Jackson seethed, his fist curled into balls in his pockets. He was doing everything in his power to restrain himself from ripping his throat out by the way he looked at his mate.

The boy slowly looked up with a blank, empty look. He stared at Jackson impassively, as if he was inspecting him before his group called out to him.

"Come on, let's go, Mino."

Jackson froze when Mino walk