Chapter 19

Andrew

I felt her before I saw her.

Her scent hit first – that earthy and citric smell mixed with bathroom products of wild cherry, vanilla, heat. Like sin baked into sugar. It made my wolf rear up, clawing just beneath my skin, howling for a claim I hadn’t accepted, hadn’t chosen – but felt anyway. I hated that it thrilled me. Hated that it made me brace. And still, I looked.

And there she was. Walking in like a Porche I couldn’t afford.

Every male eye followed her. So did mine. I didn’t even try to stop it. Sexy top on. That skirt – Goddess help me – that skirt was war. No, she was war. And I was already bleeding from wounds she hadn’t even delivered yet.

Her gaze locked on mine. My lungs squeezed.

Then she started her performance. And that’s what it was – a calculated, dangerous, dazzling performance. Every move rehearsed to make me burn. The lollipop. The too-sweet voice. The saccharine seduction she poured over some poor bastard who just happened to sit too close.

Jealousy flared before I could choke it down. My wolf snapped awake, snarling. I coughed to cover the low growl rumbling out of me, but she caught it. Of course she did. And she smiled – like pain was her game, and I’d just handed her my heart to use as the ball.

She perched on my desk, all curves and challenge, and I tried to keep my eyes on her face. Failed. They dropped. Her voice coiled around me like smoke. Her fingers – Goddess, her fingers – touched my throat. I could barely breathe. Every nerve was on fire. Every instinct screamed mine, while my brain scrambled for control.

The worst part? I knew she was playing me. And still, I wanted more.

Her fingers traced lower, across my chest. Heat surged. My self-control slipped one notch too far. I almost leaned in. Almost pulled her in. I could feel the smirk she was biting back. She knew.

I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I just watched her walk away, her hips swinging like a dare. The sound she made with that da.mn lollipop nearly ended me. The boys around me were laughing, eating it up. Watching her.

Watching my –

No. Stop. She wasn’t mine. Not until she said so. Not until I chose her back.

But when she bent down – on purpose, I knew it was on purpose – and I caught a flash of lace?

My control snapped.

The growl tore from me, rough and ragged. Another fake cough. Pathetic.

She teased me. Again. Spiteful, hot, gorgeous and completely untouchable. She tossed her insults like confetti. Her hate was sweeter than most girls’ affection. And somehow, that made it worse. Because the more she pushed me away, the more I wanted to drag her close.

I could barely breathe during class – her scent rolled toward me in waves, thick and suffocating, drowning every last rational thought. I slammed my head against the desk in silent agony, hoping for mercy. Big mistake. Even the desk reeked of her. Even da.mn sweeter – was that the scent of her arousal?

Goddess, help me.

My grip on the edge of the desk turned white-knuckled. Her scent kept on swirling around me like some cruel perfume tailored just to ruin me. Sweet. Spicy. Intoxicating. It wrapped around my throat like a noose. My wolf howled inside me, pacing and snapping, a furious caged thing. She was too close. Too exposed. And not for me.

I forced my eyes to the front, pretending to take notes while she leaned forward – her ass brushing the air between us like it had a fuc.king agenda. Goddess, I couldn’t do this. Every nerve buzzed. I was going to lose it.

My wolf snarled again. She’s ours.

But she wasn't acting like it. She was flirting with someone else. Smiling at someone else.

One second, she was there – teasing, taunting, setting my nerves on fire – and the next, she vanished like smoke, leaving a hollow ache where her scent still clung to the air. I swallowed hard, my throat tight, as if trying to hold back a storm that had been brewing since the moment she walked in.

The room suddenly felt too quiet, too empty without her chaotic energy. My hands clenched into fists. Why did she have to run? Part of me wanted to chase after her, to pull her back and demand answers. But the smarter part – the part that had been beaten down by years of pride and defeat – held me back.

I cursed my own weakness. Every glance she threw my way, it tore open something raw and confusing inside me. Lust tangled with hate, desire mixed with frustration. I hated that she had this power over me. I hated that I wanted her to stay, even when I knew I had to push her away.

My wolf growled low, restless beneath the surface, echoing my torment. She belongs to us, it reminded me fiercely.

The bond between us was a ticking time bomb – either it would shatter or bind us tighter than I ever imagined. And I didn't want to be bind to a pathetic lone wolf. I was stuck, suspended in the painful uncertainty of what came next.

And then it was lunch. I came in late, hoping to get my head on straight. Wrong. Her scent was already in the air, thicker now. Twisting something deep in my gut. I scanned the cafeteria.

And there she was – again, center stage, every guy’s eyes on her, every damn pheromone in the room screaming at me to move. To take. To dominate.

And then she did it. She sat in his lap. I stopped breathing.

My wolf lunged so hard I had to clench my fists to keep from shifting right there. Her laugh? Her touch? For him? No.

My vision blurred at the edges. Everything funneled down to her body on his, her hair brushing his jaw, his stupid, smirking face soaking it all up.

Mine. She was mine. No, I don’t want her.

I told myself it was the bond. The instinct. The primal drive. That was all it was.

But maybe I was lying.

I growled. Loud. Didn’t care. She growled back – defiant, infuriating. My wolf practically rolled over at the sound. And I wanted to choke him for it.

She thought this was a game. She was wrong.

I forced every guy away. Had to. Couldn’t let them touch her. Couldn’t let her laugh in their arms when every cell in me was breaking apart trying to hold back.

She looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was. But the thought of another guy having her? Of her scent on someone else?

It felt like someone carving me open from the inside.

I leaned in. Close enough to feel her pulse flutter. Close enough to make sure she knew I wasn’t playing anymore. And I said the only thing that made sense in that moment – the only rule that mattered.

I walked away before I did something worse. Before I made a mistake I couldn’t take back.

But of course, she couldn’t let me have the last word.

Her parting jab hit me like a stone to the spine. I didn’t turn around. Just flipped her off and kept walking – because if I looked back, I’d drag her out of that place and claim her in front of everyone. And she wasn’t ready for that.

Neither was I.

Behind me, her voice echoed in my head, over and over, soft and venomous. I clenched my fists. My chest burned. My wolf paced like a caged beast.

Because I couldn’t decide if I wanted to kiss her, or rip her apart.

And the worst part? I think she already knew.