SERAPHINA
CLANG!
I jolted awake, my heart leaping. “Breakfast bell?!” My eyes flew open, sunlight flooding the room, and snapped to the clock, training had already passed.
“Goddess, I’m screwed!” I threw the blanket off and jumped out of bed, scrambling into my uniform. The Alpha instructor was going to eat me alive for missing training.
How was this possible? I didn’t even hear the morning bell! I groaned, tugging my pants on.
Phina purred inside my head. “That’s because we slept like never before. You know it too, it was the best sleep we’ve had in years.”
I froze, her words striking a chord. My gaze slid to my bed where Ronan was last night. Empty. The memories crashed back, his warmth wrapped around me, his arms caging me in like I belonged there. I had melted in his hold, sleeping as if the weight of the world had been lifted from my chest. I wasn’t just rested in body…my mind felt lighter too.
My lips pressed together, a ticklish warmth bubbling in my chest. He actually kept his promise, I thought. He held me all night without pushing for more.
Until the memory of his mind–linking for condoms flashed through my mind. My cheeks burned. I could still feel how hard he’d been under the same blanket, his lips brushing my neck, every second poised on the razor’s edge of something reckless. If those condoms had been with him…
Phina smirked knowingly.
“Goddess!” I slapped my cheeks, trying to erase the heat from them. “There’s no way he actually has condoms at the Academy. He was just messing with me!”
Yes, that had to be it. The Academy banned drugs, electronics, weapons and many more things including sex. There was no chance he had them. He was only teasing…right?
I shook the thoughts away, finished dressing, and grabbed my things. Before leaving, my eyes lingered again on his bed. His scent was faint, too faint. He hadn’t been here for hours. That was always the case. From the day I set foot in the Academy, he was never truly here. I never caught him sleeping, never woke to find him in bed. Always gone.
A strange ache tugged at me as I tore myself away and headed to the cafeteria. Thankfully, I had taken a moment earlier to rinse my mouth and wash my face. At least I didn’t look like a complete disaster.
The moment I stepped inside, the sweet aroma of fresh food filled my nose. Now that no one dared steal my share anymore, I didn’t rush. My gaze, however, caught on a familiar figure sitting alone at a far table, plate untouched, eyes lost in the window.
“Asher…” I murmured.
Phina’s voice softened. “Something is wrong with him.”
My lips pressed tight. Plate in hand, I made my way over and cleared my throat. “Can I sit here?”
Asher blinked, surprise flashing across his face. For a second, it looked almost like disbelief. Then he smiled faintly. “Of course, you don’t need to ask.”
I slid into the seat opposite him, studying his guarded expression. “I had to ask. Someone’s been distant… angry, even.”
He gave a short laugh. “I’m not angry.”
Chapter 161 Two Fingers. Two Choices
“Then what’s wrong?” I pressed. “You’ve been quiet, isolating yourself. It feels like you’re carrying something and it’s eating at you.”
His silence was telling. The way his eyes lingered on me, steady, heavy, made my pulse quicken. That wasn’t the way one man looked at another.
My heart stuttered, and just as I shifted to glance away, his voice dropped, rougher than usual. “What if I am angry?” He leaned forward, elbow braced on the table, his gaze locking me in place. “How will you make this Alpha happy again?”
One brow arched, daring.
My lips curled despite myself at the sudden shift. “Then I’ll…” I plucked the dessert from my plate and slid it onto his. “Feed you something sweet so your anger melts away.”
He stared blankly at the dessert, then back at me.
A beat of silence, then his laughter burst out, warm and unrestrained. Heads turned across the cafeteria, startled by the rare sound. I only grinned wider.
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