ログインRAVENTeagan’s friend, Phoebe, looked at her as if she had lost her mind. “What?” Her voice came out quieter this time, but Teagan didn’t back down.“Raven fucked Lyall.”“No, she did not!” Phoebe’s eyes cut to me, sharp and full of that familiar contempt, the look that always said I was lying just by existing. “There’s no way.”“You’re right,” I said. “I didn’t.”“Stop denying it.” Teagan turned to me, then turned back to Phoebe and started spilling everything I’d told her—how I’d almost been hit by Lyall’s car, how he’d taken me to his hotel, the pizza, the signed jersey, and the football.The more she talked, the wider Phoebe’s eyes got before she burst out laughing. The sound was ugly and loud as she looked at Teagan like her friend had suddenly grown horns.“There is no way that happened. Lyall Kingsley would never.” She pointed at the desk where the jersey and football still sat. “I suppose she claims she got those from him too.”“She did,” Teagan insisted. “They have his signat
RAVEN“Good morning," I replied shyly, not expecting Lyall to have company, and the man smiled politely."I'm Louis, Lyall's friend. Lyall had to leave early this morning due to a family emergency, and he wanted me to notify you and ensure you returned to campus safely."An empty void opened in my chest so fast it almost stole my breath. I had woken up looking forward to seeing him—nervous, yes, but eager in a way I couldn’t even explain. Now he was gone without even saying goodbye.I forced myself to maintain a neutral facial expression.“Oh. Okay. I hope everything… works out.”I didn’t even know what to say, and Louis motioned toward the coffee table where the signed football sat, the black marker still fresh across the white leather.“He signed that for you before he left.”I stepped closer and carefully picked it up.“Thank him for me,” I said quietly. “Please.”“I will. He also asked me to get you an Uber. What’s the address?”I gave it to him and in the next breath tried to mak
LYALLI scrambled for an explanation.“I was… tucking you in,” I said, the words sounding every bit as thin and ridiculous as they felt. I knew how it looked. How wrong it was. My hand still hovered near her face, fingers tingling from the brief contact with her hair.Every instinct I possessed, human and wolf, screamed to close the remaining distance. I wanted her with a force that made my chest ache. I wanted to forget every careful boundary I had built, every vow and every consequence.However, I also knew I couldn’t without tearing apart the life I had sworn to protect.But then Raven leaned up and kissed my cheek.The touch was light, almost shy, yet it shut every coherent thought down at once. My head turned toward hers before I could stop myself.We were only inches apart in the dim room, and the city light filtered through the sheer curtains, illuminating her eyes. I could feel the warm brush of her breath against my mouth.Her scent flooded every nerve in my body, still that
RAVENI looked away at Lyall’s question, taken aback since I had already told him nothing happened. The silence stretched between us, heavy and awkward, but he didn’t let it go.“It’s your friends, isn’t it?” he said quietly, and my eyes snapped back to his.“Why would you think that?”“Because I saw them at the club earlier,” he answered. “And when I asked for your name, they said it was Margaret.”I should have known they told him I was Margaret. I bet it was Teagan’s friend. But I couldn’t dwell on that because my heart skipped a hard beat—not because of the lie, but because Lyall had asked about me at all.The words slipped out before I could stop them.“You remembered me?”“Yes. Of course, I remember.” A small, wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “We even made the headlines, remember?”The soft joke broke the tension, and we both laughed quietly, but my heart didn’t slow down once.Lyall sat down on the couch and gestured to the open space beside him.“Come on. Talk to m
LYALL I stared at her with the marker still hovering over the jersey. “You’re not Margaret.” It sounded more like a statement than a question, and she chuckled shyly. “No. My name is Raven. Raven Chesterfield.” Raven. The name sank into my chest as if it belonged there, beautiful as I repeated it under my breath, as if I were practicing something I might say for the rest of my life. “It’s a beautiful name. Nice to meet you, Raven.” She smiled and did that soft rocking motion on her good foot, the same one I’d noticed whenever her cheeks turned pink. I couldn’t look away. Standing there in wrinkled pajamas, barefoot, her hair a little messy from the night, she was still the most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on. My heart hadn’t stopped racing since the moment the headlights caught her in the middle of the street. And my heart wasn’t the only thing throbbing. I wanted her. Her scent made me salivate. It was warm and sweet, with the unmistakable edge of arousal
RAVENThe car screeched to a stop with only a light tap against my foot. My head spun from how close I’d come to being hit as I heard the door open, followed by rushing footsteps across the asphalt.“I’m so sorry—”The words faded the second I looked up, and my heart slammed into my throat. It was him. It was Lyall, and he looked just as shocked as I felt to see that it was me—or perhaps from almost hitting someone, given that he probably didn’t remember me.A beat passed where we just stared at each other before he seemed to snap out of it and closed the remaining distance. He crouched beside me, strong hands carefully checking my arms, my legs, and my foot, seeing how close his tire had come.But I quickly spoke, or tried to, as my words broke. “I’m okay.”Tears came harder now, humiliation multiplying by the second. How could I have run straight into the middle of the street without looking, like some complete imbecile?“Are you sure? I could take you to the hospital,” he asked, hi







