Chapter 8: Chapter Seven

SAVANNAH

Being the talk of the campus was one thing, but being known as the weakest was a whole new level of humiliation. Especially during combat class. And who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to pair me with him? I knew it was a setup, and I didn’t appreciate it one bit.

Especially since every time he touched me, my body reacted like a dog in heat. I felt betrayed by my own body. I ~hated~ it. I smoothed down my ponytail and pretended not to notice him in the cafeteria.

But I could feel his gaze on the side of my head. Jaka knocked her knuckles against our table and caught my attention.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

I stabbed my food. “~No~, I want to go home.”

She sighed and twirled her fork around her plate. “You’re being ridiculous, Savannah.”

I gaped at her. “Seriously?”

She shrugged. “You have a mate and you’re ignoring him.”

I screwed my eyes shut and pulled out my vibrating phone. I wouldn’t even humor her with a response.

She didn’t understand what it felt like to know absolutely nothing about werewolves and be thrust into it.

Trent

I miss you. It’s only two weeks until the 15th. I can’t wait. Have things gotten better?

I cringed every time he asked about my day. I couldn’t tell him anything, and I couldn’t even tell him about Dax.

First of all, he would try to fight him, and I knew that was a disaster waiting to happen. Second, I wasn’t allowed to tell.

I bit my lower lip to keep from screaming.

Savannah

Things are better today. How are things at LSU?

~Where I would love to be right now.~

Jaka slid her plate back and glared at me. “I heard numerous girls talking about Dax today in one of my classes.

If a male goes unmated, he can sleep with who he wants to, if he wants to do it. I’m not saying those girls will have any luck with him, but they’ll definitely try, Savannah. Don’t make a mistake and let him go.”

I ignored the ping of jealousy in my chest.

Johnathon walked over, and distracted Jaka from her onslaught of judgment. “Hey,” he said, gesturing to slide in beside Jaka.

After Dax’s heated stare the last time he sat with us, I was sure he’d never want to sit next to me. “Have you two heard about the lycans?”

~Oh great. Here we go with this crap again.~

“What about them?” Jaka asked.

“Supposedly they are talking about breaking in and getting Dax back, by getting you.”

A cold shiver raced down my spine. Remembering that guy’s gaze from the football game made my spine stiffen. He’d been rude, grabby, and his eyes looked heartless.

I only knew what Jaka told me about lycans, but she didn’t paint a pretty picture. I took a bite of my food to keep myself distracted from their stares.

“Don’t worry,” Jaka said. “They have guards up every night. The lycans won’t get past them, and plus, we all know Dax will fight for you.

My cheeks heated at the comment. I knew he would, even if I asked him not to. I glanced over my shoulder and made eye contact with him. His heated stare raked me of any innocence I had left.

I rolled my eyes.

“Hey,” Jaka said, slapping the table. “I’m going to the auditorium in a bit to watch my friend audition for a play. Why don’t you come?”

I couldn’t stop my laugh.

Jaka lifted a light brow. “Why are you laughing?”

I shrugged. “Werewolves have plays?”

She smirked. “We’re just like people. We have hobbies, ~Savannah~. So come and see.”

I debated it. It’d been a long day and I really wanted a shower and some time to talk to Trent. We’d been planning on having our first sexting experience, and it made me excited.

“No,” I said. “Thank you, but I’m ready for a shower and some time to study. I need to practice this roll so I can kick Dax’s ass the next time we have combat.”

It was a half lie. I did need to practice it, but it was only lunchtime, and I had plenty of time left in the day.

But I really didn’t want to get too attached to Jaka. I liked her, but I didn’t want any guilt when I finally figured out how to make my run for it.

Jaka pouted. “Okay, Savannah. Be a hermit, I don’t care. Do you want to come, Johnathon?”

He cringed. “A play, Jaka? Seriously?”

She hopped in her seat. “~Please~.”

“Okay,” he mumbled. “Just for a bit. I have a foosball match with my RA later.”

“Yay!” Jaka said, but her attention lingered across the cafeteria.

I followed her gaze and my blood ran cold. I didn’t know who it was, but some blonde stood next to Dax’s table, bent over so he could see straight down her shirt.

Her bare legs showing in her shorts made me want to break them both.

My fingers tightened against my silverware, and my fork snapped into two pieces. I gasped at the two pieces of fork on my plate. I met Jaka’s gaze and she looked amused.

“Has that ever happened before?”

I shook my head. “Not that I remember,” I mumbled.

“Does the tramp flirting with your mate have anything to do with it? ~Hmm~?”

“No, it was an accident,” I insisted, hastily gathering my bag. “I’m going to head out. I’ll see you back in the room later. Maybe we can order some DoorDash. I’m seriously craving a steak.”

Jaka’s expression suggested she didn’t quite believe me, but she nodded and let me go. I found myself practically sprinting to escape the suffocating wave of anger. I had the sudden, violent urge to slam her forehead into the table until it bled.

~This isn’t me. This college is making me lose it.~

I bolted toward my dorm room and locked the door behind me. I collapsed onto my bed and closed my eyes, trying to calm down before I snapped at the next person who dared to speak to me.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I fished it out, kicking off my shoes and staring blankly at the ceiling.

Laughter echoed from down the hallway, and I turned to face the wall, seeking solace in the silence.

I giggled at the message on my screen. Trent was the only guy I’d ever been with, and even then, not that much. We didn’t get really intimate until my last semester of senior year. So the dirty talk and excitement were still fresh and thrilling.

I closed my eyes and smiled. Maybe a little shirtless picture would get me through the next two weeks without him.

My phone buzzed again, and he sent a picture of himself without a shirt, biting his lip in a corny way that made me laugh.

I laughed, imagining being there with him, tracing my fingertips over the ridges of his muscles, his strong hands tangled in my hair.

It almost felt like it could happen. Like I could close my eyes and everything could rewind to six months ago. When my life hadn’t been turned upside down.

I’d never sent him a risqué picture because I was smart enough to know if he ever got mad, who was to say he wouldn’t show his friends? Or someone could find it in his phone.

Instead, I slipped off my jeans and put on a long T-shirt. This would do. Some leg and my hair down. It was all he was going to get. That’s for sure.

I fluffed my hair and took a picture of myself in the wall mirror on the back of our door, and sent it.

I twirled my finger around my hair and debated on sending it. I didn’t want someone to come across a picture of my butt, underwear or not.

A scream echoed from down the hallway, and I stared at my door in silence, my phone forgotten on my thigh. Footsteps drew nearer, followed by more voices.

~What in the world…~

The footsteps stopped at my door, and I listened carefully. Hearing nothing else, I went back to my bed and sat down.

Suddenly, a loud thump hit my door. I shot up, wanting to investigate, but the door cracked, falling from its hinges and hitting the tiled floor.

I screamed and stepped back until the back of my thighs hit my bed. When my shock wore off, I saw him. Dax marched over the fallen door and toward me.

My breath hitched at the furious, sharp lines of his face. His angled brow, deep scowl, and stormy, dark eyes. His fingers were clenching and unclenching, and his chest was heaving.

“Who the hell is in here?”

I glanced around at my empty room and back at him. “Does it look like someone is in here?” I snapped, crossing my arms across my chest. “And you best know you’re going to fix that door!”

He continued to stare. “Who has you all worked up?”

My mouth dried. “What?”

He clamped his jaws and took a deep breath. “I could smell your arousal all the way in my room,” he whispered, taking another step closer. “I can smell you right now.”

His gaze lowered to my phone and he looked back at me. “Is it your little boyfriend?”

I hated how him being so close to me made my body heat up. “Actually, yes, it is, and that’s something that you’ll never get to experience, Dax Allaire.”

I took another step toward him, my chest brushing against his. “You’ll never turn me on like that.”

I watched his Adam’s apple bob in his thick throat. “Is that right?” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Because I can feel how hot your skin is getting just being close to me, Savannah. When you finally get off that pedestal you’re standing on, you’re going to realize just how bad you want me.

Just how stupid you’ve been wasting all our time together.” He reached for the back of my neck, his gaze traced my lips, and his hard body brushed against mine.

“Until then, text your little boyfriend and know he’ll never be your mate. And he’ll never make you feel like this.”

Before I could protest, even though my body didn’t want me to, he softly brushed his lips over mine, sending shock waves down to my core.

I fought to hold myself together. I wanted to lean forward and deepen our kiss, for my breasts to brush against his chest and give myself some friction other than the tornado twisting inside of me.

He paused there, for what felt like minutes but were only seconds, and gently traced my lower lip with his tongue, retreating all too swiftly. Something within me fractured.

My determination? My defiance? My capacity to draw breath?

It was irrelevant, because regardless, I was in deep trouble.