WILLA
"House Alpha?!" I exclaid, not even bothering to hide my shock.
My jerk-faced ex-boyfriend was the Alpha of my House. Fantastic.
A soft groan escaped as I pressed both hands against my face.
How exactly was I supposed to stay away from him when we literally lived in the sa House?
"Yes, he’s our House Alpha," Verah grimaced. "Which is exactly why you need to be careful so what happened last ti doesn’t happen again."
My hands slowly dropped from my face. "What happened?" I asked before I could stop myself.
Verah’s expression shifted imdiately.
Her brows pulled together as her gaze darted around cautiously like she expected soone to be listening. Then she leaned closer.
"Not here," she muttered. "Too many people who survive off gossip."
I nodded slowly, hoping she’d explain later. Her phone suddenly beeped.
Verah pulled it from her blazer pocket, glanced at the screen briefly, then shoved it back inside again.
"We have history with Professor Nora later today," she said quickly. "You should probably return to the dormitory and rest before class starts."
She paused, smiling. "I’ll see you later."
And before I could respond, she bolted. Literally bolted.
"Wait!" I called after her. She didn’t even look back.
Within seconds, she disappeared around the corner, leaving standing there alone and completely confused.
I sighed softly.
Then started wandering back toward the dormitory, my thoughts spiraling ssily the entire way.
—
I stepped into the common room, and silence greeted first. Not complete silence. The kind that happened when people noticed your arrival.
I paused by the large mahogany doors, taking in the room.
The common room was easily the largest space in the dormitory, wide enough to fit dozens of students without feeling cramped.
Warm golden lights spilled from chandeliers overhead, reflecting against polished dark floors. Tall bookshelves lined the walls between marble pillars, every shelf arranged with irritating perfection.
Even the furniture looked expensive.
Pale silver couches curved around low glass tables while students sat scattered across the room with books, tablets, and papers neatly spread before them.
A boy near the unlit fireplace moved a chess piece calmly across the board while the girl opposite him studied the move like national security depended on it.
Another group sat near the windows basking in the sun that stread through the opened curtains, discussing sothing in low asured voices.
"Co with ." A cool voice cut through my thoughts.
I flinched as soone grabbed my hand and started pulling forward.
"What the—" The rest died instantly when I looked up.
Elliot. Family feud. ssy breakup. Jerk face. Stay away from him.
I dug my heels against the floor, yanking against his grip. "Let go!"
That ca out much louder than I intended. Not that it mattered. Everyone had already been staring from the mont I walked in.
Elliot’s jaw tightened, but he ignored my protest completely.
He pulled harder. Too hard. I stumbled forward straight into him. His arms locked around almost instinctively.
A sharp breath escaped .
Warmth spread instantly beneath my skin the mont he touched , sudden enough to make my fingers tighten against his shirt.
My pulse quickened violently.
For one humiliating second, I forgot I was supposed to push him away. Instead, I leaned closer.
Nyra stirred faintly inside my head, restless and warm. What the hell was wrong with ?
I stayed in Elliot’s arms longer than I should have. Worse, he didn’t let go either.
"Just co with quietly," he snapped near my ear, his voice tight with irritation. "And stop making an already bad situation worse."
I swallowed hard. "I don’t want to go anywhere with you."
"Well, you don’t have a choice." He released abruptly.
My legs felt annoyingly unsteady afterward.
Before I could recover properly, he grabbed my hand again and dragged out of the common room, ignoring both my protests and the attention we were gathering.
Students openly stared as we passed. None of them tried stopping him. Elliot shoved open a nearby door and pulled inside.
The room was dark except for a single overhead light casting a dim glow across the space. It was better if there was no light because it didn’t help.
I could barely make out his features. But his scent—
that was enough to tell exactly where he stood. The door clicked shut behind us.
I jumped slightly. Taking a cautious step backward, I folded my arms tightly across my chest.
"Why did you bring here?" I demanded.
My ears strained for his footsteps.
Being trapped in a dark room with soone like Elliot suddenly didn’t feel like a good idea.
"Are you scared of now?" Elliot asked dryly from sowhere across the room.
I spun toward the sound of his voice, my eyes struggling against the darkness until I finally made out his figure.
"Do you think I’m going to take advantage of you?" he continued, irritation sharpening his tone. "Is that why you’re acting like this?"
Heat crept into my face imdiately. I dropped my arms from across my chest and forced myself to breathe normally.
"I’m not scared of you," I bit out. "But dragging in here against my will is rude."
A quiet scoff left him.
"So you’re allowed to corner with questions, chattering happily with , but I’m not allowed to do the sa?"
I stared at him in disbelief. After the way he’d treated all day? Besides, weren’t we supposed to stay away from each other completely?
Did he suddenly forget that part?
"I hate asking questions and getting silence in return," he said.
I ignored him, glancing back toward the dim overhead light, now flickering. The darkness was frustrating.
He had definitely planned this.
"Why does the lighting bother you so much?" Elliot asked suddenly.
I stiffened.
"You have your wolf and you have shifted. You should be able to see perfectly fine in here."
I looked away from the light too quickly. Too obvious again.
"I don’t want to be in here with you," I muttered, turning toward where I thought the door was.
I took two steps. On the third, Elliot’s hand locked around my wrist. A startled breath escaped as he yanked backward.
My back brushed against the wall an instant later. Then Elliot was suddenly everywhere.
One hand pinned my wrist above my head while the other braced beside against the wall.
His face buried into my hair first. Then lower. My neck. My heart thumped as he inhaled sharply against my skin.
"What the hell are you doing?" I whispered.
Warmth spread traitorously through my body at his closeness.
God. This had to be hormones. Teenage hormones.
There was no other explanation for why my body reacted so strongly whenever these boys got too close.
Eric. Kol. Lance. Now Elliot. It made no sense.
"Your scent..." Elliot rasped against my neck.
The low roughness of his voice sent another shiver through . "This is wrong."
He pulled back slightly, finally giving enough space to breathe again.
But his hand slid against the back of my neck, and my breath caught all over again.
"I tried, Elyse," he muttered harshly. "I really fucking tried."
Sothing in his voice twisted painfully inside my chest.
"I can’t stay away from you anymore."
"What do you an?" I stuttered.
Don’t be dumb, Willa.
His words were simple enough. Yet sohow, my brain still struggled to process them.
"It ans whatever is happening between our families should stay with them." His voice dropped lower, almost pleading now. "I can’t force myself to stay away from you anymore."
Like he wanted to understand. To agree. To continue whatever relationship they once had. But—
"I can’t." I pushed lightly against his chest.
"What?" he asked imdiately.
"It’s not right."
Elliot let out a short humorless laugh. "And what exactly is right anymore?" he asked sarcastically.
He didn’t even let answer.
"We were doing fine until they decided to interfere. We had plans, Elyse. Our fucking future." His voice rose. "Graduation. The pack house we talked about building together. Did you suddenly forget all of that?"
"No, but—"
"No buts!" he barked.
I flinched. The silence afterward felt heavy. Then he exhaled noisily.
"Sorry," he muttered.
I swallowed and nodded slowly.
"You wanted us together," he continued, quieter this ti. "Don’t you rember our last night together? You begged to take you back." His hand settled against my shoulder. "You said we should run away after graduation. Start over sowhere else."
My eyes strained to make out his features. However, it was futile.
His voice roughened. "We can still do that."
For one terrifying second, I wanted to say yes. Even knowing none of those mories belonged to .
The life he described sounded warm. Safe. Wanted. But I couldn’t ruin this. Couldn’t ruin Elyse’s life more than I probably already had.
"Elliot..." I murmured softly.
He went still.
"Elliot?" he repeated. Disbelief bled into his voice.
"Not babe anymore?" he asked. "Or sweetheart? Just Elliot now?"
I stayed silent. Slowly, his hand dropped from my shoulder. I heard him move away from .
Then a quiet laugh escaped him. Not amused. Broken.
"Elliot," he repeated again like the na itself offended him. "I thought you loved ." His voice sharpened suddenly. "I thought you wanted to spend the rest of your life with ."
Guilt twisted violently inside my chest. This conversation was going nowhere. I needed to leave.
I strained my ears, trying to pick up the sounds outside so I could figure out where the door was.
"I’m sorry," I whispered, pushing away from the wall. "I shouldn’t be here with you."
I hurried toward the direction where the voices sounded loudest.
"Is it because of them?" Elliot’s voice stopped instantly.
My stomach tightened. The desperation from earlier had vanished completely.
"Those bastards you’re bonded to..." Anger oozed into every word now. "Is that why you’re rejecting ?"
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