Chapter 2: The Four Moonstone Brothers

The academy gates were taller than anything Roxanne had ever seen, carved stone stretching up until they disappeared into the morning mist.

She stood there for a moment, gripping the handle of her suitcase, watching students pour through in groups. Expensive cars lined the drive, families hugging their kids goodbye, pack names being called out like titles.

Nobody was waiting for her. Nobody needed to be.

She reminded herself why she was here. Not for Dorian. Not for Arabella. Not for some mate the universe thought she deserved.

Just for herself.

She squared her shoulders and walked through the gates alone.

Her dorm room was on the third floor, and when she pushed the door open, a girl was already sprawled across one of the beds, scrolling through her phone.

"Finally," the girl said, sitting up. "I thought I got stuck rooming with a ghost. I’m Isla."

"Roxanne."

Isla studied her for a second, the kind of look that noticed more than it said. Then she just smiled and kept talking, filling the silence without asking Roxanne to explain herself.

She talked about the dormitories, the training grounds, which professors to avoid, where the good food was. Roxanne mostly listened, grateful nobody was treating her like she might break.

Isla’s eyes landed on Roxanne’s empty side of the room. No snacks. No drinks. Nothing.

"Okay, we’re going shopping," Isla announced. "Non-negotiable."

"I’m fine."

"You have literally nothing. Get up."

Roxanne got up.

On the way out, Isla mentioned the academy’s power structure like it was gossip instead of a warning. A few families ran everything here. A few names you didn’t say too loudly.

"Just don’t pick a fight with the Moonstone brothers," she said, like it was obvious.

"Who?"

Isla stopped walking. "You’re joking."

"I’m really not."

Isla opened her mouth to explain, but the store was already in front of them, and the conversation got swallowed by the doors sliding open.

The place was packed with students, chatter bouncing off the shelves. Roxanne wandered the aisles beside Isla, feeling something close to normal for the first time in days.

Then she saw it. Her favorite drink, sitting on the shelf like a small miracle.

She reached for it.

Another hand closed around the bottle at the exact same second.

She looked up.

Tall. Unfairly good-looking. Dressed like his clothes cost more than her tuition. And staring at her like she’d personally offended him just by existing.

His fingers were on the bottle. So were hers.

Neither of them let go.

"Let go," he said, like it was a command he expected to work.

"You let go," she said back.

His eyebrow lifted, like nobody had ever said that to him before. Which, judging by the way the aisle had gone quiet, was probably true.

"I had it first," he said.

"We grabbed it at the same time."

"I saw it first."

"Congratulations," Roxanne said flatly. "Do you want a medal?"

Isla made a small strangled noise behind her.

The guy stared at her like he was recalculating something. "Do you know who you’re talking to?"

Roxanne looked him over, unimpressed. "Apparently someone who really wants this drink."

Isla grabbed her sleeve, whispering something about letting it go, but Roxanne just assumed she was worried about a scene and kept her grip firm.

Footsteps approached, and three more guys rounded the corner, practically identical to the one currently losing an argument over a drink.

They stopped when they saw the standoff.

One of them raised an eyebrow. "What’s going on?"

"She won’t let go," the first one said.

"Because he won’t let go," Roxanne shot back.

All three newcomers turned to look at her properly, and that was when she noticed it. Same jaw. Same eyes. Same insufferable air of superiority times four.

"Are you four brothers?" she asked.

"Quadruplets," one of them said.

Roxanne blinked, glancing between them. "That’s unfortunate."

Silence. Isla looked like she wanted to disappear into the floor.

One of the brothers laughed, clearly delighted by his sibling’s misfortune. "She’s got you there."

"Nobody asked you," the first one muttered.

Roxanne shook her head, more irritated by the second. "You’re all ridiculous. You especially." She nodded at the one still holding the bottle. "Acting like the entire store belongs to you."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

The other three immediately jumped in to defend him, talking over each other, and Roxanne’s patience thinned even further.

"Four arrogant dummies," she said, mostly to herself. "Unbelievable."

Isla grabbed her arm again, leaning in with wide eyes. "Roxanne. Those are the Moonstone brothers."

"Okay?"

"They’re the royal Lycans."

That got her attention. Roxanne glanced around properly for the first time and realized the entire aisle had gone silent, students frozen mid-shop, phones lowered, everyone watching like they were witnessing something historic.

She looked back at the brother in front of her.

"Well," she said. "You could’ve just said you were royalty."

"Would that have made you give it to me?"

She thought about it. "No."

Something flickered across his face, somewhere between disbelief and reluctant amusement.

A nervous store assistant finally worked up the courage to approach, apologizing repeatedly, promising there were more bottles in the back, offering to bring one out immediately.

The brother’s grip loosened.

Roxanne pulled the bottle free and held it against her chest like a trophy.

He waited, clearly expecting an apology.

She didn’t offer one. Instead, she smiled at the assistant. "Thank you."

Then she turned and walked away, Isla practically vibrating beside her.

"You’re not going to apologize?" one of them called after her.

Roxanne turned back, glancing at all four in turn.

"For wanting a drink?" she said, and kept walking.

Behind her, one brother let out a low laugh. "She’s insane."

"She’s fearless," another said.

"She’s hilarious," said the third, still grinning.

The first one, the one who’d actually lost the bottle, said nothing. He just watched the space where she’d disappeared, jaw tight, unable to figure out why he was still looking.

Isla waited until they were three aisles away before she completely lost it.

"I cannot believe you just insulted the Moonstone quadruplets. In public. Over a drink."

Roxanne twisted off the cap and took a sip like nothing had happened. "They’re four arrogant idiots with expensive clothes."

"Roxanne."

"What? It’s true."

Isla just stared at her like she’d grown a second head.

Roxanne shrugged and kept walking toward the register, already forgetting about the whole thing.

She didn’t know their names. Didn’t care about their titles. Didn’t care that half the academy would probably kill for the attention she’d just brushed off without a second thought.

She thought briefly of Dorian, of the mate bond, of how easily fate had chosen wrong once already.

No mates. No romance. No distractions.

She’d come here to build something of her own, and she intended to keep it that way, whether four royal brothers liked it or not.