Chapter 14 Two Alphas

SERAPHINA

The academy gates loomed ahead, their iron bbars /bsilhouetted bagainst /bthe soft bhues /bof approaching dawn. Every step I took felt heavier than thest. Not sure of exhaustion, but from the weight of bRonan’s /bunwavering gaze burning into my back.

I had honestly thought that if I told him to stop staring, he’d be ashamed, maybe even offended. Instead, it seemed to have the opposite effect. Ever since bthen/bb, /bbhis /bgaze bhad /bbe bolder, more deliberate.

I clenched my fists at my sides. If he kept bthis /bup, I was going to get exposed. Worse, his sudden silence bwas /bunsettling. It wasn’t the absence of sound; it was the presence of scrutiny. Quiet, calcted observation.

My mind kept reying the night’s events. The rogue’s attack. The ruins. That goddamn moment in the tree, the way his body had brushed against mine, his manhood pressing against my bbutt/b, the heat that had lingered long after. My face still burned at the memory, my heart pounding erratically in my chest.

bThe /badrenaline had faded, but an unease clung to me like a second skin. Ronan’s growing suspicion made it impossible to

settle.

And why the hell was he still following me? Shouldn’t he have peeled off already, gone his own way?

As we slipped through the dormitory gates, Reed was there with three Alphas chatting until his gazended on me,

“Well, well Reed sneered, “Look what crawled out of the cursed woods.”

His friends snickered.

“Too bad. We had a bet you wouldn’t make it bout/b, Tiny, one of them bgrinned/b.

“Did I make you lose your money?” I smiled, causing their smiles to disappear, “Next time, put your money on someone else.”

Reed’s sneer faltered for half a second before heughed. “Oh, we will” hisughter suddenly died down when he looked

behind me at Ronan.

All of their smiles and sheers were wiped off their faces. I did not stay there and walked past them with Ronan was still behind me! Why was this Alpha

bThat’s /bwhen I spotted Finn emerging from the shower building, hair damp and a towel slung over his shoulder. Relief bloomed in my chest. This bwas /bmy chance.

I stered on a bright smile and strode over.

“Finn, you bcrossed /bthe lineb,/b” I smiled, keeping my tone light and casual.

He blinked in surprise, then grinnedb. /b“Yeah, band /byou made it too! I was blooking /bfor you in the showers earlier.”

I shrugged, feigning nonchnce. “Oh, I was a little slow. But looks like I wasn’t thest one after all.”

Out of the corner bof /bmy eye, I saw bRonan /bpause. His gaze blingered /bbon /bme for a beat too long before he turned and headed toward the showers. Relief flooded my veins.

“You’re lucky you weren’t the bst/b,” Finn pointed out. “If you’d been deadst, the academy gates would’ve stayed shut for

you

I blinked. I honestly had no bidea /bit worked like that.

Finn bgave /bmy mud–streaked appearance a–olice–over. “You should probably shower too. It’s already bpast /btwo in the bmorning/b. There won’t be much time for sleep before the morning bells.”

I offered a small, grateful smile. “Yeah thanks.”

As Finn disappeared down the path, I bstared /bat the bshower /bbuilding and deliberately turned baway/b. I couldn’t risk going in until bthe /bce was empty.

The hallway was dir, lit only by bflickering /bsconces along the cold stone walls. Two Alphas bin /btowels brushed bpast /bme

Chapter 14 Two Alphas

+8 Pearls

That idiot Shin was thest one bacross /bthe line,” one snorted. “Should be grateful he made it back in one piece, unlike those poor bastards who didn’t make it out of that cursed forest.”

Their words bmade /bmy steps bslow/b. Images of death and madness wed at my memory. The Alphas might’ve looked polished on the boutside/b, but inside they were monsters. Predators. Killers.

And then there bwas /bDante–feeding on his own friend,

The most horrifying thing I’d ever seen

I barely had time to brace myself when a bhand /bshot out bof /bthe bshadows /bband /bbmmed /bme hard against the cold stone bwall/b.

I hissed in pain, the impact rattling my bones. bMy /bgaze snapped up to furious blue eyes.

Dante.

“Where the hell were you?” he snarled, his fingers twisting in the fabric of my shirt, dangerously close to my chest.

I shoved at him, growling. “I don’t answer to you.”

But he mmed bme /bback against the wall again, teeth bared. b“/bbYou /bsaw something you shouldn’t have, and then you. disappeared like a damn ghost.” His face was close now, blue eyes gleaming with fury beneath thickshes. His grip tightened, his voice a low, guttural rasp meant for my ears alone, “Where the hell were you, Seth Darven?”

The rough scrape of his words made my skin crawl, but I refused to bflinch /b

I scowled, shoving him hard benough /bto force a step between us before his hand could stray any closer. “I don’t owe you anything.”

The tension crackled like static between us. bHis /bjaw clenched so tightly a muscle twitched in his cheek. He crowded me against the wall again, his face so close I could feel the heat rolling off bhim/b.

“You do,” he ground out. “The moment you set foot in this academy. The moment you bumped into me. The moment you crossed line. His gaze sharpened. “Where did you go during the challenge?

bmy /b

I narrowed my beyes/bb. /b“Why the hell do you care?”

His eyes narrowed further, bhis /bvoice dropping to a bdark/b, dangerous whisper. “You were with Ronan, weren’t you?”

My heart stuttered in my chest. I stiffened…a fraction of a second, but it was enough.

Dante’s expression turned coldly triumphant. His hand mped down on my arm like a vice. “Stay away from him.”

I tried to wrench my arm free, ring. “Who the hell do you think you are…”

Before I could finish, a new presence rolled in behind us like a brewing storm

Heavy. Lethal.

The hairs on the bback /bof my bneck /bstood on end before I even turned.

It bwas /bRonan

His steps

s were slow, deliberate, the kind of careful, coiled threat that didn’t need to bshout /bto be heard. His dark gaze bnded /bon where Dante’s hand bhad /bbeen on me, and bhis /bexpression darkened into something lethal. His irises glinted like molten obsidian, gleaming with a cold warning.

“If you’ve got something to bsay/bb, /bbckwood/b,” Ronan said, his voice a low, blethal /bbpromise/b, “say it.”

Dante didn’t back down. His hand still hovered by his side, itching for a bfight/bb. /b“This doesn’t concern you.”

“And who the fuck decided that?” Ronan stepped in, close enough that their shoulders brushed. The hallway thickened with pure, suffocating dominance.

Chapter 14 Two Alphas

+8 Pearls

Dante smirked darkly, his shoulder brushing mine possessively. “Of course I’m the who decides when ites to this wolf”

Then it happened.

Ronan shoved Dante’s hand off bme /bwith ba /bsharp flick of bhis /bwrist. “bTouch /bbhim /bbagain/bb, /bband /byou’ll regret it.”

A bfurious /bbsmile /byed on Dante’s lips instantly. “If that is the case, I fucking want to regret it right now.”

Both of them raised their fists but before either of them could connect. I yelled.

“Enough!”

They froze. Not out of fear, but because they both knew if a fight broke out here, it would draw attention. And both had too much to lose.

Their eyes locked over my head the promise of violence postponed, not forgotten.

I swallowed hard

Two Alphas. Both dangerous. Both crazy in their own way. Both determined to keep me in their orbit.

Two

Neither knew the truth about me.

It wasn’t just my secret bat /brisk anymore.

If I wasn’t careful…if I didn’t find a way to control this. something far bworse /bthan exposure was going toe crashing down around me.

And I bhad no /bidea which one of them would be the first to light the match.

Send Gifts