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Chapter Two

Unexpected Roommates

Aria’s POV

I spent the afternoon trying very hard not to think about Luca Silver.

It wasn't working.

Every time I closed my eyes, I felt the strange heat that had shot through me when his fingers touched mine. Worse, my wolf had been restless ever since, pacing beneath my skin like she was searching for something.

Something.

Or someone.

I didn't know what was happening to me, and I wasn't about to let one arrogant hockey player ruin my first day at North Ridge.

So I did what I always did when something scared me.

I focused on the things I could control.

I grabbed my map and spent the afternoon familiarizing myself with the academy…The wrestling arena smelled like leather and disinfectant, with mats rolled out in perfect rows. The hockey stadium was massive, ice gleaming under fluorescent lights, boards scuffed with years of collisions. The swimming complex had Olympic-sized pools with lanes marked in racing colors. The basketball court had a scoreboard that probably cost as much as the bus I'd arrived on.

Everything about North Ridge screamed wealth, and I was certain I wouldn't have been able to afford the bus fare here, let alone the tuition, without my scholarship.

Well, not until everything I'd left behind came crashing down and my pack fell apart.

I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to think of all that right now. I’m here to make a name for myself. I should focus on doing that first.

I stood in the center of the empty court, sneakers squeaking against the polished floor, and let myself believe it. Maybe this place really can change my life.

The dormitory hallway was quiet when I returned; most students were still at the welcome dinner while others were lingering in the courtyard. I should probably get some rest before familiarizing myself with the wrestling coach.

My key turned smoothly in the lock, but when I pushed the door, it didn't budge.

I frowned and tried again.

Something heavy was blocking it from the other side.

When it finally swung inward, warm steam drifted from the bathroom, carrying the scent of soap and something sharper. Mint, maybe. Or cologne.

Definitely not mine.

I hadn't even unpacked yet.

"Hello?" I called out.

There was no response.

I looked around to be sure if I was not in the wrong room. Maybe the keys are identical. But on the other bed was my luggage, removed from the bed I dropped it on earlier. The room looked different from the first time I had stepped into it. The lights were on, and a duffel bag was thrown across the bed.

My suitcase was no longer on the bed I'd claimed earlier. It had been shoved onto the other bed, while a black duffel bag sat in its place. A pair of expensive-looking sneakers had been kicked beneath the desk.

Someone had already moved in.

Or, judging by the steam coming from the bathroom, someone was still here.

Just then, the bathroom door clicked open and a young man stepped out. I didn’t see his face, but as the light from the window, I realized it was Luca. The guy I had bumped into at the hallway.

His hair was wet and dark, curling slightly at the ends. A towel hung low around his waist, revealing a broad chest, defined abs, and the kind of physique that made it very difficult to remember how to speak.

Unfortunately, I noticed every inch of it.

He looked up and froze seeing me.

I froze too.

For exactly two seconds, two full, humiliating seconds, my eyes stayed exactly where they shouldn't have.

Then my wolf stirred.

Again.

A strange pulse of warmth rolled through my chest, stronger than it had been in the hallway.

I swallowed.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I didn't even know this guy.

He caught me staring.

A slow grin spread across his face, the same arrogant smirk from the hallway, but softer now, edged with something else. "Enjoying the view?"

I immediately looked away, heat flooding my cheeks.

"Trust me. I've seen anatomy charts that were more impressive."

He laughed, a genuine sound that surprised me. Then his gaze dropped to my suitcase lying on the other bed and that was when he understood what was going on. His expression shifted.

"Why are you in my room?"

I raised my key between us, metal catching the light.

“Funny. I was about to ask you the same thing. And while we're asking questions, why did you move my suitcase from the bed I'd already claimed and replace it with your bag?”

"What?!" He chuckled in disbelief as if I had lost my senses.

"You heard me right, didn’t you, or do you want me to repeat the questions again?” I asked, raising my eyebrows already irritated.

"This is my room!" He said in a firm tone.

"I checked in four hours ago—"

"That bed was empty when I got here."

"Well, that was because I hadn't unpacked yet. You could obviously see my bag was here, and then you decided to throw my bag to the other bed.”

Luca rubbed at his temples. "Look, no one cares about your damn bag or why it is at the other bed right now. All I want to know is what you are doing in my room and why you are pretending like this is your room.”

"Then explain why I have the keys!” I said, crossing my hands over my chest.

"Maybe you stole the spare keys.”

"What?! Did you just call me a thief?”

“You really don't know who I am, do you?”

I stared at him.

“Should I?”

For the first time, the arrogance slipped from his face.

He looked genuinely stunned.

“Interesting.”

“What?”

“You're either incredibly brave or incredibly clueless.”

“Maybe I just don't care who you are.”

Our voices rose, overlapping, neither of us backing down. I pointed to my name on the key envelope. He produced a housing assignment with his name typed in bold. Both said Room 412. Both said Building C. Both were dated today.

The shouting brought the dorm supervisor, an old man with thinning hair and a suit that looked like it had seen better decades. He checked my paperwork and then Luca's and then mine again. His face went pale, then red, then settled into an expression of pure horror.

The supervisor checked my paperwork, then Luca's, then the room number again. His expression slowly changed from confusion to horror.

“There seems to have been a... housing assignment error.”

“An error?” Luca repeated.

“The system assigned both of you to Room 412.”

I blinked. “So fix it.”

“We're completely full.”

“Then give me another room.”

He grimaced. “There aren't any available rooms tonight….until it's fixed, u are both roommates.”

There was silence in the room as we both tried processing what the man just said.

Luca's jaw tightened. "Absolutely not."

"I'd rather sleep in the wrestling gym," I said at the same time.

The supervisor looked between us, from Luca's barely-contained fury to my crossed arms, and something like relief flickered across his face.

"Well, there’s nothing the academy can do at the moment. I'm sure you'll cooperate until this is fixed."

He turned and walked out. The door clicked shut behind him.

Leaving Luca and me standing three feet apart, me with my scuffed suitcase and him in nothing but a towel, staring at each other.

My wolf stirred restlessly….That couldn't be what I was thinking.

I didn't know Luca Silver.

I'd met him less than a day ago.

So why the hell was my wolf acting like she'd known him her entire life?