SERAPHINA

    When my eyes fluttered open, the first thing I noticed was sunlight spilling, through the curtains in golden ribbons.

    Wait, sunlight? The sun was up?!

    My gaze jerked to the clock without so much as moving a muscle, and the sight made my stomach lurch. Seven a.m.

    “Oh no…” I groaned, burying my burning face into the softness beneath me. I’d overslept. Now the showers would be swarming with Alphas. Perfect. Just perfect. Cursing myself for sleeping like azy pig, I resigned myself to wiping down with a damp cloth when my thoughts froze.

    The surface beneath me wasn’t hard. It was.soft. Too soft.

    Blinking, I realized with a start that I wasn’t curled on the cold floor at all. My cheek rested against a familiar pillow, my body wrapped snugly in a nket, cocooned in warmth.

    “Wasn’t I on the groundst night?” The whisper left my lips as my drowsy mind struggled to catch up. For a long, hazy second I justy there, blinking, reluctant to move. My body was heavy with sleep, but confusion pushed me upright slowly.

    My eyes darted to the door. The bolt gleamed in ce locked, just as I’d left it. My heart gave a startled stutter. I hadn’t moved. I hadn’t crawled into bed. At least, I didn’t remember doing so, so

    Had …sleepwalked?

    The thought was absurd. I had never once done such a thing. Yet here I was, swaddled and safe, as though someone had lifted me from the cold floor and tucked me in.

    That’s when Phina stirred/

    A faint trace clung to the air around me manly, familiar, and impossibly distinct. My pulse spiked. My mind could summon only one name.

    Ronan.

    My eyes snapped to the door again. Still locked. It was impossible that he had entered. Unless…

    Chapter 146 The Beginning Of The Mess

    A whisper of air brushed my cheek. I turned sharply toward the window. The curtains swayed gently, stirred by the breeze.

    My stomach dropped. My dorm wasn’t on the ground floor.

    No one in their right mind would climb this high. Not with the Academy guards prowling outside like wolves on a hunt. No sane person would dare.

    “He would.”

    Phina’s voice rose inside me, low and certain, threading through my veins like smoke. “He’s more than crazy…and you know it. He was here.”

    I pressed a trembling hand to my chest, my heart thudding erratically against my palm. Images flickered unbidden him slipping through the window, his arms sliding beneath me, and lifting me as though I weighed nothing. Himying me gently on the mattress, pulling the nket up, perhaps even staying…right beside me. Watching over me through the night.

    The thought made my breath falter, my skin prickle with something dangerous. Dread tangled with a warmth I shouldn’t feel, an ache that betrayed me.

    “How am I ever going to handle this mess?” I whispered into the empty room.

    Deep in my heart, I already knew. Whateverst night had ignited between us, it wasn’t going to fade. Things were going to get messy–messy beyond repair.

    After collecting my thoughts and stabilizing my emotions, I wiped myself down and dressed quickly for morning training. I was alreadyte.

    As expected, the Alpha instructor in charge was livid. His sharp re pinned me the second I stepped onto the grounds. I didn’t want trouble or punishment, so I blurted out the first excuse I could think of that I was in a rut.

    Thankfully, Ronan wasn’t around. He was probably training elsewhere with the others. The lie rolled off my tongue more smoothly because of it. I wasn’t ready to face him, not so soon. No, if I was being honest, I wasn’t ready at all.

    The excuse worked, but the instructor was ruthless.

    “A hundred push–ups, no stopping. Then fiveps around the Academy training ground!” he barked.

    2

    Chapter 146 The Beginning Of The Mess

    I dropped into the dirt without hesitation. Better this than something harsher.

    My arms burned by the fiftieth push–up, but worse was the anxiety prickling beneath my skin. I prayed Asher and Finn wouldn’t show up. Especially Ryker. His touch when he arm–wrestled me was still imprinted on my skin, like a brand. Then there was his…love token. Just the memory made my pulse trip over itself.

    The training bell rang for breakfast, and the others instantly scattered, leaving me behind. By the time I finished the push–ups and my run, I was starving and ten minuteste. Which meant slim pickings, maybe nothing more than scraps of eggs or juice.

    “Shit,” I muttered, breaking into a jog toward the cafeteria.

    When I reached the counter, I froze. My portion was untouched, still neatly served and warm, waiting.

    “How the hell?” I whispered, staring. “Since when do these assholes leave me anything?”

    “Who would dare touch the food of the wolf who put a dog in his ce and had him expelled for good?”

    I turned sharply. Grace stood nearby, one brow arched yfully.

    “Grace!” I smiled in surprise. “I thought you left.”

    “How could I leave without seeing you onest time?” She grinned, stepping closer. “I had such a great time here and met someone wonderful like you. I don’t know who’ll win this Supreme Alpha race, but in my mind you’re already a hero.”

    Her voice softened as she leaned in, wrapping me in a hug. This one wasn’t bone–crushing like before, but gentle, genuine. “Thank you for everything. If fate lets us meet again, I’ll call you my best friend.”

    A warmth spread through my chest. Maybe she wouldn’t recognize me once my disguise carne off. Maybe something else would change. Still the fact remained that in this all–male Academy, I’d found a friend I hadn’t expected. “Sure,” I murmured.

    She pulled away, distracted briefly as her eyes zed with the faint sheen of a mind–link. “My car’s here,” she said with a bright smile.

    Chapter 146 The Beginning Of The Mess

    “You mean Alpha Jude?” I teased, raising a brow. She blushed furiously and nodded.

    “He insisted on driving me back himself. Said he won’t rest otherwise.”

    I chuckled at her bashful admission. “Come on then. I’ll see iyou /ioff.”

    “Thanks.” Her smile lit up her whole face as we walked out together, chatting about everything and nothing.

    Alpha Jude waited beside a gleaming ck car. Dressed casually, he looked nothing like a middle–aged Alpha, but a man carved from quiet authority.

    “Take care,” I told Grace, stopping a little distance away.

    “You too.” She beamed, then paused suddenly. “Oh, I almost forgot.” She turned back to me with a sly grin and held something out. A scroll. “Your prize. You earned it.”

    I stared at it, my breath catching. I’d wanted it from the moment it was announced. Only now that it was in front of me, it felt less like parchment and ink and more like burning coal in my hands.

    The problem wasn’t just a scroll. It wasn’t just Alpha Gideon’s signature on a nk check. It was a token of love from Ryker.

    Refusing would be foolish. But epting it…was like opening my arms to a

    storm.

    “My hand’s going to fall off. Take it already!” Grace chirped impatiently.

    I hesitated, then finally epted it. The weight of it felt far heavier than it should have. I started ito /ituck it beneath my shirt, but before I could, Grace’s voice rang out.

    “Alpha Ronan! You’re finally here.”

    I froze. My breath hitched painfully. The scent of him crashed into me, masculine and overwhelming, dragging me back to the memory of our kiss. My body locked tight, heart battering against my ribs.

    Grace grinned. “You’re here to see me off too?”

    Ronan’s voice cut through the air, deep and unyielding. “No, I came to chase after him.”