ASHER
I made it through exactly three days before everything started falling apart. Three days of avoiding Reed’s eyes in the hallways. Three days of sitting alone in the cafeteria because Julian had finally given up trying. Three days of the bond whimpering constantly for an Alpha who’d made it devastatingly clear I was nothing more than a convenient fuck.
Then Marcus made the mistake of being kind to . I was in the library, buried in organic chemistry, when he sat down across from .
"Graham," Marcus said quietly. "You look exhausted."
I didn’t look up. "I’m fine."
"No, you’re not." Marcus leaned forward. "Look, I know sothing’s going on between you and Reed. I don’t know what exactly, but—"
"There’s nothing going on."
"Asher." Marcus’s voice was gentle. Concerned in a way that made my chest ache. "I’ve known Reed since we were in first grade. I’ve never seen him act the way he acts around you and I’ve never seen you look this—" He stopped. "This broken."
The word hit harder than it should have.
"I’m handling it," I said.
"Are you? Because from where I’m sitting, Reed is—" Marcus reached across the table. His hand landed on mine just for a brief friendly touch. "If you need soone to talk to. Soone who’s not Reed. I’m here."
I opened my mouth to respond, to tell him that I was okay and could handle whatever Reed threw at when I suddenly felt it. The bond flaring hot with rage that wasn’t mine.
I looked up and saw Reed standing at the entrance to the library. His eyes locked on where Marcus’s hand was touching mine. His expression was carefully blank but I could feel the fury through the bond like a physical thing.
"Fuck," I whispered.
Marcus followed my gaze and imdiately pulled his hand back. "Shit. Asher, I didn’t an—"
But Reed was already moving. He crossed the library in long strides. He didn’t say a word, he just grabbed Marcus by the collar and hauled him to his feet.
"Outside," Reed said. His voice was quiet. Deadly. "Now."
"Reed, he was just—" I started.
Reed’s eyes cut to . "You. Stay here."
It wasn’t a suggestion.
Reed dragged Marcus out of the library and I sat there frozen, my heart pounding, the bond broadcasting Reed’s rage so clearly I could barely breathe through it.
Two minutes later, Marcus ca back alone. His lip was bleeding and his eye was already swelling.
"Marcus—"
"Don’t." Marcus grabbed his bag. "Just don’t, Asher. Whatever’s going on with you and Reed, I want no part of it. He’s fucking insane."
Then he left hurriedly without giving a glance. I sat there staring at my textbook, the words swimming, and my hands shaking. I jumped to a scare when my phone buzzed in my pocket.
Reed: Bathroom. Third floor. Now.
My stomach dropped.
: Reed, please. Marcus was just being nice—
Reed: You have two minutes. Don’t make co find you.
I grabbed my bag and left. The third-floor bathroom was empty when I got there.
Reed was leaning against the sinks, his knuckles bloody, and his chest heaving like he’d been running or fighting.
"Lock the door," Reed said and I locked it with shaking hands.
"Reed, Marcus didn’t do anything wrong—"
"He touched you." Reed’s voice was flat and cold. "He put his fucking hands on what’s mine."
"It was innocent—"
"I don’t care." Reed pushed off the sink. Stalked toward . "I don’t care if it was innocent or friendly or fucking accidental. No one touches you except . No one fucking dares."
"You can’t—"
"I can." Reed backed against the door. His hand went to my throat. Not choking. Just holding and possessive. "I own you, Asher. Your body, your ti and your attention. All of it belongs to and when another Alpha puts his hands on you, he’s disrespecting my claim."
"Your claim—"
"Yes. My claim." Reed’s other hand went to my jeans and started unbuckling them. "Which apparently I need to remind you of. Again."
"Reed, we’re in a bathroom. Soone could—"
"You locked the door. No one’s coming in." Reed yanked my jeans down. "Now turn around and put your hands on the door."
"Please—"
"Now, Asher."
The Alpha command in his voice made my body obey before my mind could object.
I turned around and pressed my hands against the door. My whole body was shaking.
Reed’s hand ca to the back of my neck and held in place.
"You need to understand sothing," Reed said against my ear. "Every ti another Alpha looks at you, touches you, talks to you—I’m going to do this. I’m going to fuck you until the only thing you can think about is . Until the only scent on your skin is mine. Until everyone in this fucking school knows you belong to ."
"That’s not—"
Reed pushed inside without warning and I gasped. The stretch was intense and painful and he hadn’t prepared at all.
"Reed—"
"Take it." Reed’s hand tightened on my neck. "You can take it. You’ve taken more tis than I can count and you have taken six tis during your heat. You can take now."
He started moving. Rough, punishing and each thrust drove forward against the door.
"You’re mine," Reed growled. "Say it."
I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t do anything except hold onto the door and try to breathe through it.
"Say it, Asher." Reed’s hand slid around to my throat. "Or I’ll stop right now and leave you like this."
"I’m yours," I gasped.
"Louder."
"I’m yours!" The words ca out broken and desperate. "I’m yours, Reed. Only yours."
"Good." Reed’s rhythm changed, he pushed deeper inside of and deliberately hit that sensitive bud inside of my hole. "That’s my good boy. Taking what I give you. Letting remind you who you belong to."
The praise shouldn’t have affected but it did and heat flooded through my system despite the pain, despite the humiliation of being fucked in a campus bathroom.
When Reed’s hand wrapped around my cock, when he started stroking in ti with his thrusts, I ca apart with a broken sound that I couldn’t hold back.
Reed followed seconds later, his release flooding into while he bit down on my shoulder hard enough to leave another mark.
We stayed like that for a mont. Both breathing hard. Reed still inside and then he pulled out and stepped back.
I turned around slowly, my legs shaking, and watched Reed clean himself up like nothing had happened.
"Get dressed," Reed said. "You have class in fifteen minutes."
I pulled up my jeans with trembling hands. "Reed—"
"If I catch Marcus talking to you again," Reed interrupted, his voice flat, "I’ll do worse than give him a black eye. Understand?"
"He’s your friend—"
"I don’t care." Reed’s eyes were cold. "He touches what’s mine, and he pays for it. Sa as anyone else."
He left without another word and I stood there in the bathroom, Reed’s release dripping down my thighs, new marks covering my skin, and tried to rember how to breathe and it got worse after that.
Reed was everywhere. In the cafeteria, his hand was always on my neck. Between classes, he walked close enough that our shoulders touched. During any group work, he made sure he was my partner and scent-marking constantly. His hand in my hair, his fingers on my throat and his body pressing against mine in hallways.
Everyone could sll it, they could see it, they could tell that Asher Graham belonged to Reed Jackson and every night, Reed would find so reason—so Alpha who’d looked at wrong, so student who’d asked a question, so innocent interaction—to drag sowhere private and "remind " who I belonged to.
The training room after hours, empty classrooms, his car in the parking lot. Anywhere he could get alone and each ti, I hated myself a little more for how my body responded.
For how the bond sang when Reed touched . For how my wolf purred when Reed scent-marked . For how so sick part of craved his jealousy and his possessiveness and his rough claiming.
A week later, I was partnered with another Alpha in Combat Theory.
His na was Derek. He was friendly, polite and completely professional as we ran through the defensive techniques Professor Williams had assigned but when his hand landed on my shoulder to adjust my stance, I felt it. The bond exploding with rage.
I looked up and saw Reed across the training mat. He was watching and his eyes were completely black.
"I have to go," I said to Derek.
"What? We’re not done—"
But I was already moving. Already walking toward Reed because if I didn’t, he’d co to and that would be worse.
"Outside," Reed said when I reached him. "Now."
We made it to the equipnt room before Reed snapped. He shoved against the wall hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs. His hand went to my throat and his body pinned mine.
"How many tis?" Reed’s voice was shaking with rage. "How many tis do I have to do this before you learn?"
"He was just—"
"I don’t care what he was just doing." Reed’s hand tightened. "You let him touch you. You didn’t pull away. You didn’t tell him to stop."
"It was an assignnt for fuck sake and I—"
"I don’t give a fuck if it was an assignnt." Reed’s free hand went to my jeans. "You’re mine, Asher and I’m going to keep fucking that into you until you stop forgetting."
And he did exactly as he claid, and that night, I lay in bed unable to sleep. My body was covered in Reed’s marks. His scent was embedded in my skin and I could still feel the echo of his hands on , his voice in my ear, and his possessiveness.
My hand slid down before I could stop it and as I touched myself, as pleasure built and my breathing got ragged, all I could think about was Reed.
The way his eyes went black when he was jealous, the way his hands felt claiming and the way his voice sounded when he said I was his.
I ca with Reed’s na caught in my throat, biting it back before it could escape.
Then I rolled over and pressed my face into my pillow, sha washing over in waves.
What was wrong with ?
I was getting off on Reed’s jealousy. On his possessiveness. On being treated like property. I had falling in love with soone who’d made it clear I ant nothing and I hated myself for it.
I hated that my body craved his touch, I hated that my wolf purred when he scent-marked . I hated that so pathetic part of felt wanted when Reed’s eyes went dark with jealousy.
I was so fucked completely and utterly fucked because I was falling and Reed was never going to catch .
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