Chapter 2

EDEN

He walked out, leaving me to clean up my mess.

The faculty corridor was long and quiet, my hands were tingling a faint white residue clinging to the damp wool of my sweater sleeves.

I took three steps down the hall before a shadow blocked my path.

Killian Cross was leaning against a row of lockers, his ankles crossed. He tilted his head, his hazel eyes locking onto mine with an erratic gleam.

The sharp scent of his aura hit me first with cinnamon and burnt sugar, unpredictable and very heavy.

"Going somewhere, charity case?" Killian purred, straightening up to close the gap between us.

I stopped, my skin turned hot under his gaze, but i forced my chin up.

Sarcasm was the only shield I had left. "Unless you're the new hall monitor. Cross, move. I have a date with the head of your triad."

Killian let out a short, sharp laugh stepping closer until he forced me against the cold slate tiles of the wall.

"A date with Jaxon? Tough luck. I watched you in class, default. I saw what you did to that vial, who are you? Jaxon isn’t just a strict professor. He collects weird things. And right now, you are one heavy box of weird things."

Panic flared up in my chest, he saw, fuck.

Let me kill him, Kia hissed, pacing inside my mind.

Shut up, Kia, i snapped back mentally. I looked Killian dead in the eyes. "It was a lucky fluke. I'm clumsy. Ask Tinsley, she'll tell you, I'm completely useless."

"Clumsy people or Omegas, don’t purify healing potions like that," Killian said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, low voice. But before he could press further, he glanced down the hall towards the tech wing. "Come on. I need to grab something first."

He grabbed my wrist, his grip wasn’t brutal, it was absolute. He dragged me past the heavy glass windows of the tech rooms.

Inside. Asher Sterling stepped out of a doorway, holding a sleek black pad, his uniform was pristine , and without a single wrinkle.

My feet froze, the closeness with him made my throat tight. I looked at the sharp line of his jaw, the memories of the orphanage home rushing back so fast, I could smell the blood and cold air on the sheets we slept on.

I couldn’t stop my mouth, the bitterness spilled out before I could stop myself. "Still keeping everything perfect, Asher? Or do you still burn the oatmeal when nobody's watching?"

It was a test, a simple one to the boy who had promised to save me.

Asher stopped, looking down at me, his grey eyes entirely blank. There was no recognition, no flicker of guilt, just a cold, neat freak hatred towards dirty things or in other words me.

"Kill, keep your strays away from my offices," Asher said, his voice flat and without feeling. He didn't even look at me, even the dirt on me was more important."Her clothes are shedding dried mud, she's contaminating my clean zone."

He turned on his heel and walked back into the room.

The rejection hit me like a physical punch to my ribs, he didn't remember or he had completely wiped me from his history, a raw and hollow ache started beneath my ribs, leaving me empty.

"Ouch," Killian chuckled, releasing my wrist. "Sterling doesn't do dirt. Jaxon's office is the third door on the left. Good luck, default."

I didn’t answer, I just walked solemnly to the heavy oak door, marked Jaxon Vance, the office was dimly lit, smelling heavily of cedar.

Professor Jaxon Vance stood behind a massive mahogany desk, he was slowly pulling off his black leather gloves, his dark eyes fixed on me. He didn't look like a professor right now, he looked like a hunter.

"Sit. Eden," Jaxon said.

"I prefer standing, professor," I said, backing up until my spine hit the locked door. "Saves time if you're going to expel me."

Jaxon doesn't blink, he drops the gloves onto the table. "An Omega’s touch would have caused the vial to explode. The elements were unstable. Yet, the entire lab is currently breathing with white healing vapor. Care to explain how a default charity case managed to master that type of skill?"

"I panicked," I lied, my voice steady despite the thudding in my chest. "I dropped a pack of stabilizing salt from my pocket when Tinsley shoved me, it was a mistake."

"Don't lie to me." Then Jaxon moved, he didn't use wolf speed but he crossed the room so fast I didn't even have time to exhale.

He closed the distance, pinning me against the dark wood of the door, his Heavy Alpha aura and scent slammed me into place, locking my joints.

He reached out, his long fingers gripping my chin, forcing my face up. The moment his bare skin touched mine, a violent jolt of electricity surged in my veins.

It was like an explosion, Kia went completely feral in my head, screaming and clawing at the walls of my mind. Mate! Mate!

Jaxon froze. His breath hitched sharply against my lips, the cold, calculating professor's mask shattered in an instant.

His dark eyes bled into solid, pitch black, his chest heaving as his Alpha wolf took over.

The fated mate bond was wide open between us, I felt his soul slamming against mine, heavy and possessive.

I gasped, my hands flying up to hold in to his shoulders, his heart slamming against his rib like a trapped bird.

He knew, I could see the realization torturing him, the pure, and toxic pride flaring in his eyes as he fought the bond, he didn't want a slave mate, he didn't want me.

But he couldn't let go.

His grip tightened on my chin, his fingers slowly pressing in and bruising my skin. He leaned down, his lips a few inches from mine, his gravelly voice vibrating straight through my body.

"You think you're clever, huh?" Jaxon whispered, his breath hot and dangerous. "You have no idea what you just woke up. You don't just belong to me, you belong to the three of us, and Killian and Asher aren't nearly as patient as I am."

He dropped his hand, and stepped back into the shadows of his office.

I stood frozen against the door, my lips tingling, my knees shaking so hard, the hiding game was over, sooner or later they would find out who I was.