The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 270

Then, suddenly, the sprinklers kicked to life. Cold, glorious water sprayed all over my arm and face, drenching me completely.

In that moment, the wolf knocked the ladder out from under me. I felt the world tilt around me as I fell. The wolf skidded across the wet tiles, slamming into the opposite wall with a crash that bent several lockers inward.

I braced myself for a painful impact on hard floor.

But it never came. Instead, I felt myself land in an embrace, buoyed by a pair of arms and a familiar scent that wrapped around me like a warm blanket.

I gasped, looking up to see Callum’s eyes staring down at me in shock and confusion. For a moment, nothing else existed. My world narrowed to those steely eyes, to the way his lips parted, his dark hair plastered to his face.

“Callum.”

My wolf surged. Kiss him.

I cupped his face and nearly did just that.

But then he set me down before I could and turned away. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Amy emerged from the combat room, soaked but smiling. The screaming had stopped. I turned to see that Jessica had shifted back, and was now laying on the floor, confused and dazed. Without thinking, I walked over to her and helped her to her feet.

“What happened?” she asked, pressing her hand to her head.

“What happened, indeed?”

The voice came before I could respond. I turned to see Mr. Alder standing there under an umbrella with two security guards, one of whom pressed a button on his handset. The fire alarms went quiet, and a moment later, the sprinklers turned off.

“Wolfsbane,” I said firmly. “These students were affected by wolfsbane.”

Alder narrowed his eyes, but Jessica nodded. “It’s true.” Her words were slightly slurred. “We were out in the woods, shifting and training for the exams, when we found this strange plant… Our wolves went crazy and ate it before we could stop them. Next thing we know…”

She gestured around us, to the students emerging from the room, all equally confused.

I blushed. “I just did what I could.”

The student clapped me on the shoulder as a few more came to thank me. Over their shoulders, I spotted Bianca and Callum standing together across the room. Bianca had her arms folded and was glaring at me hatefully. I ignored her and looked at Callum instead. He was watching me quietly, his expression betraying nothing.

I thought about how he’d been there last night to catch me at just the right moment. I thought about my sudden urge to kiss him, and how I would have done it if he hadn’t pulled away.

And most of all, I thought about how quickly he’d pushed me away, like I’d burned him.

I wanted to ask him what was going on, why he was suddenly being so distant despite how close we had gotten recently. We hadn’t spoken at all since the banquet, which was strange. I’d thought we could at least be friends after what we’d been through together.

But before I could walk up to him, Bianca grabbed his hand and pulled him away.

He followed her without hesitation and didn’t look at me again.

It hurt a lot more than I expected it to.