CHAPTER 208: SECRET DEALS

Chapter 208

Daphne

Self-control is a virtue.

Especially when you’re seated beside something so small, so twitchy, so delightfully soft-looking, and already half-convinced you’re going to devour her.

I won’t. Probably.

But I like the fear. I savor it. Just not too much—push her too far, and she’ll bolt forever. That wouldn’t be fun. This is a delicate scale I’m balancing, a fine line between obsession and... indulgence.

She’s doing exactly what the assignment requires. Me? I’m not doing a thing except watching her like I’m the professor and she’s my final thesis.

Thanks to this group project—thank you, gods of coincidence—I now have a blatant excuse to infiltrate her life.

It’s adorable how she tries to avoid me. Really. Like yesterday, when she spotted me in the corridor and bolted the other way—only to trap herself near the courtyard tree.

Did she think I wouldn’t follow?

I climbed that tree in heels, waited like a panther, and dropped right beside her like an omen.

She went so pale I thought I’d killed her.

Then she screamed—and bolted again.

So cute.

Her name in this life is Nima. It suits her. Whispery and meek and a little tragic.

She’s smaller than Estella, sure. But she’s got an amazing body for someone so tiny. Curves in the right places, subtle and soft.

I let my gaze drift—from her face, down to her chest.

Unashamed. Curious. Possessive.

She stiffens.

Good.

I make eye contact with Poppy, who’s standing nearby like she’s not listening to my every breath. I flash her a smile—sharp and amused, full of fang. Her ears twitch wildly.

Longeareds are so easy to read. And while they’re all cute in their own way... the cutest, the only one that matters, is mine.

***

Nima

I walk toward the door with Poppy beside me, Daphne’s gaze clinging to my back like a second skin until we cross the threshold.

Only then do I exhale.

"You seem to have caught her attention," Poppy says suddenly.

It throws me off. We’ve never talked before—certainly not like this. Usually, she just flits away after class, high-heeled and disinterested. But now she’s walking beside me, speaking, and looking at me.

"Unfortunately," I murmur, trying not to sound like I want to collapse in a pile of leaves and disappear forever.

Poppy hums. Noncommittal. Curious. Dangerous?

I keep quiet.

We’ve never really spoken. And I don’t know if this is just idle small talk or the opening act of a carefully rehearsed ambush.

She glances sideways. "Were you informed of the change in your labor schedule?"

My ears twitch. "I think I saw something on the board, but... I’ve been distracted."

"Mm. We’ve been moved to the library."

I freeze mid-step and turn to her, wide-eyed. "The library?"

It’s whispered about like a fabled utopia among us student workers. No mopping. No scrubbing. Just quiet shelves, dusting, and the chance to sit and pretend you’re being productive while reading novels behind strategically placed ledgers.

"I thought only fourth and fifth years got placed there," I say, suspicious.

Poppy shrugs, the motion elegant, casual. Her tone? Not so much.

"Well, somebody pulled some strings."

I know exactly who somebody is.

***

Poppy

I separate from the other Longear as she heads back to her dorm.

I don’t.

Instead, I slip away—quick glance over my shoulder, making sure no one sees—and make my way toward the forest. The further I walk, the more my ears twitch, alert with nerves. The shadows here are thicker, the sounds quieter. Still.

I stop.

"Poppy," a voice calls, smooth as silk and sharp as a blade.

I turn around—and there she is.

Daphne.

Leaning against a tree like she owns the forest, all casual menace. Even without trying, she’s intimidating. Taller than me by far, predator’s build, a presence that curls into your spine and stays there. Being this close? It’s like standing beside a storm pretending not to notice the thunder.

"I’m getting closer to her," I say quickly, because I need her to know I’m not slacking. "It would be suspicious if I moved too fast."

Her lips curl into a smile. One that says she already knows. One that says she doesn’t care what I think I’m doing—because she’s already twenty steps ahead.

It’s only been two days since I figured it out—why Daphne summoned me, why she picked me. She wants Nima.

She wants to get into Nima’s pants.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. Not really. Daphne’s never struck me as someone who’d be interested in men. She wears the male uniform like she was born in it. Pants, jacket, even the dark collar popped just enough to brush her jaw. Her hair is short, bluntly cut, and everything about her presence dares you to mistake her for a man—and then dares you to survive it.

Still... why Nima?

Of all the prettier, higher-status herbivore girls she could toy with, why that quiet little Longear with shadows under her eyes?

But that’s none of my business.

"You do your part," Daphne says, stepping close—close enough that my instincts whimper—and she taps my shoulder, "and I’ll do mine."

Then she disappears. Just like that. Melts into the forest like a ghost in boots.

I exhale, too sharply.

What she offered me... I want it. Need it.

And if helping her seduce that mousy little thing is the price?

So be it.

There’s a reason she came to me. And I intend to prove she wasn’t wrong.

I clench my fists.

I will make Nima trust me. I will get her to lower her guard.

Because what Daphne promised me? That kind of offer only comes once in a lifetime.

I clench my fists.

I’ve worked too hard, played too nice, hidden too much to stay invisible forever. Let Nima be sweet. Let her be clueless. I’ll smile beside her all the way to the finish line—until I have everything Daphne promised.

Even if I have to fake friendship to the bitter end.