CHAPTER 59: SO WHAT’S THE CATCH?

"What?" Angela’s voice rose, full of disbelief. He must be fucking insane to think she would wear something just because it pleased him. "I can’t wear that. I don’t wear short dresses. You can’t ask me to do that."

Renn didn’t flinch. He stood there, holding the dress like he owned the moment.

"Who said I was asking?" he replied, calm but firm. "It’s either you wear it, or this conversation ends. I’m completely fine with that."

He turned back to the wardrobe like he was going to put it away. That gesture alone made Angela’s chest tighten.

She let out a shaky sigh. Deep down, she had known this wasn’t going to be easy. She had come too far, sacrificed too much, and there was no way in hell she was going to let Renn’s twisted games ruin everything.

"Fine," she muttered under her breath and rose from the chair. She walked straight to him and snatched the dress from his hand. She hoped it would annoy him, that it would wipe that smug look off his face.

But instead, he smiled. That damn smile. It made her want to scream and slam her head against the wall.

"Where should I change?" she asked, her voice stiff with frustration.

"You can use the bathroom," he said, then added with a smirk, "or you could change right here so I can get a little entertainment."

Angela forced a dry laugh and frowned. "How funny that was."

Without waiting for a response, she pushed the bathroom door open and went in, slamming it behind her.

As soon as she locked the door, a cold shiver crept down her spine. Now it hit her. The real price she was paying. Renn was making her wear a dress. For what? To feed whatever desire had been burning inside him since that fucked-up dream she had.

She pulled off her shirt slowly, her eyes searching the corners of the bathroom. She wouldn’t put it past him to hide a camera. That wouldn’t surprise her at all.

There was barely a difference between Renn’s twisted mind and Hiro’s madness.

But Hiro? At least he made his insanity public. Everyone knew he was unhinged. Renn, on the other hand, hid it well. And if she ever tried to tell someone what he was making her do, they’d never believe her.

Who would believe that the cold, quiet, and always moody Alpha was forcing her to wear a damn red dress?

Angela unwrapped herself and stepped out of her trousers. She held the dress in her hands for a moment. It had been so long since she last wore anything like it.

She slipped into the dress.

When she looked at herself in the mirror, something stirred inside her. A small smile tugged at her lips. She had almost forgotten what it felt like to look like a girl again.

But the moment passed quickly.

The smile faded as she remembered she wasn’t wearing it because she wanted to. She was wearing it because it was Renn’s fantasy.

And that ruined everything.

Angela straightened the dress and stared at herself in the mirror. It barely covered her thighs. The damn thing was too short. Her hands curled into fists as she tried hard not to explode. Her blood was boiling, but she forced herself to breathe. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep the anger in.

She adjusted her hair, smoothed it back, and looked again. The dress did look good on her. That was the truth. She hated to admit it, but Renn had good taste.

"We should reward him with a kiss then," Mighty-storm suddenly spoke.

Angela flinched. She wasn’t expecting her wolf to show up now.

"What the hell? Did you just say that?" Angela muttered. She couldn’t believe what she just heard. "Seriously, you only come out when I’m surrounded by these alphas. Why is that?"

"Because you haven’t shifted yet. I only get pulled out when our mates are close. Their scent drives us crazy, remember?" Mighty-storm said calmly, almost teasing.

Angela rolled her eyes. She could never win an argument with her. Trying to ignore her was pointless.

"Besides," Mighty-storm continued, "you wouldn’t like my way of handling things."

"Why not?" Angela asked, already dreading the answer.

"I don’t know. Maybe because my plan would have us get Renn wrapped around our finger tips like it’s nothing," she replied smugly.

Angela almost laughed. Her wolf had a bigger mouth than she did. She wished Stales could meet Mighty-storm. He would finally see that Angela wasn’t even the difficult one.

"Alright then, Stormy, go on. Tell me how we’re supposed to get the grim reaper out there under our fingernails. And it’s just fingers, not finger tips," she corrected.

"You walk back in there, put on some music, push him to the couch, climb on top and make him beg for mercy."

Angela stopped her right there.

"Nope. Not happening. Hell no."

The idea itself was insane. She was not going to follow through with that madness. Mighty-storm clearly had no shame.

Angela shook her head and opened the bathroom door. She stepped out slowly and stood still.

Renn turned to look at her. His eyes moved all over her like he was drinking her in. Then he pushed his glasses down slightly and smiled.

But it wasn’t his usual cold smile. This one was wild. Naughty. Possessive. It sent a chill down her spine.

Then he bit his lower lip and winked.

A cold shiver ran down Angela’s spine. A part of her wanted to walk straight to him, wrap her arms around his neck, and kiss those sexy lips until he begged for something deeper. The thought alone made her thighs clench.

"Then do it, girl. What the fuck are we waiting for?" Mighty-storm screamed from within, wagging her tail like she was ready for a wild show.

Angela shook her head and walked to her seat instead. Both her wolf and Renn were completely out of their minds. She wasn’t going to let either of them mess with her head tonight.

"You look so gorgeous, even without makeup," Renn said as he took off his glasses. "I don’t know what it is, but seeing you in that dress did a lot of things to me within seconds."

He chuckled, but there was nothing funny to Angela. Her eyes narrowed. She only hoped it wasn’t the kind of things she was thinking.

"Girl, you’re bad. You’re thinking exactly what I’m thinking," Mighty-storm popped back in.

"Go away," Angela muttered out loud before she could stop herself.

Renn raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright?"

She quickly nodded and shifted to the edge of her seat. It was time to stop playing games and get to the reason she came here.

"I’ve been wondering why you came to the Academy," Renn said, watching her closely. "You look so much better like this. I’m serious. You as a girl? It just makes sense."

"I had my reasons. And they’re none of your business," Angela replied, shooting him a sharp look. But Renn didn’t flinch. He leaned back in his seat, still calm, still unbothered.

"You had everyone fooled, miss. What’s your real name anyway?"

"Angela."

He smiled a little. "So you only dropped the last letter. Not bad. You’re better at this than I thought."

"Does Kaito know?" he asked after a moment.

"No. He doesn’t," Angela said quietly. A wave of guilt hit her. Kaito was going to be disappointed when he found out. She didn’t want to think about how he would look at her after this.

"I don’t believe you. Kaito can’t be that stupid. He should’ve picked up on something by now," Renn said, his voice low but firm. "Maybe he hasn’t said anything, but I’m sure he knows something’s off."

Angela’s heart skipped. She came here hoping things would get easier, but he was only making it worse. His words sank deep, dragging guilt and fear back to the surface.

"So no one else knows?" Renn asked, then continued without waiting for her answer. "Those two friends of yours... they know. I saw the way they looked at you when we were together. They looked nervous. Like they were scared of what I might do. Like they wanted to protect you from me."

Angela felt her chest tighten. "Don’t do anything to them, please," she said quickly. Her voice shook, but she meant every word. "If you want to do anything, do it to me. Leave them out of this."

He didn’t respond right away.

"So what now? Are you going to tell the others?" she asked, trying not to let her fear show. "Or report me to the Academy first?"

"No. Why would I do that?" Renn shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. "You came here for a reason. I get that."

Angela stared at him, stunned. That was it? He wasn’t going to say anything? He was just going to let it go?

She almost said thank you, but something stopped her. This was Renn. He wouldn’t let it slide just because he suddenly grew a conscience.

There had to be a price.

And just like that, she rememberedq—everything had a catch.

"So... what’s the catch?" she asked, already dreading his answer.

Renn smiled. That same wicked smile that made her want to smack him across the face and scream all at once. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, his eyes locked on hers.

"Exactly. What’s the catch?" he said with a smirk.

"Be my girlfriend," he said softly. "And I’ll keep your little secret safe."