CHAPTER 3.

Ravenna’s POV.

I woke up in a bed that wasn’t mine, my heart pounding as I pushed myself upright too quickly. The sheets were soft beneath me, unfamiliar, and the pillow still held the warmth of where my head had been resting, carrying a faint scent that lingered in the air around me—clean, like rain, edged with something deeper that I recognized before I could stop myself.

Beside me lay a man, still asleep, his face calm and completely unaware that I was staring at him while panic slowly built inside my chest.

I pulled away at once, clutching the sheet tightly against myself as the memories from the night before came rushing back all at once. The room. The ropes. The rogues. The drug.

Him.

I remembered the way he had come for me, the way he had cut me down, the way I had clung to him, shaking, burning, desperate for something I couldn’t even name.

And then—I remembered what I had done.

I was the one who reached for him. I was the one who kissed him. I had begged him to help me because my body felt like it was on fire and I didn’t know how to stop it. I had pressed myself against him, searching for relief, for comfort, for anything that would make it end.

And he had held me.

He had been gentle.

I covered my face with both hands, the shame settling heavily over me, thick and suffocating. Beneath it, something else lingered—confusion, disbelief, a quiet, persistent question that refused to go away.

How had I crossed that line?

How had I let it happen?

My chest tightened painfully, and for a moment, all I wanted was to disappear completely.

He saved me.

And I—

Carefully, I slipped out of the bed, moving as quietly as I could. My dress lay crumpled on the floor, wrinkled and carrying that same faint trace of him that clung stubbornly to the fabric, but I put it on anyway, smoothing it down with unsteady hands. My shoes were by the door. I picked them up, holding them against my chest as I turned back one last time.

He was still asleep.

Unbothered. Unaware.

Like none of it had touched him.

I didn’t let myself linger on that thought. I slipped out of the room, and once I stepped outside, I ran.

I didn’t stop until I reached my house. I paused just outside the door, trying to steady my breathing, my palms damp, my heartbeat still too fast, not just from the run but from the weight of everything waiting on the other side.

I pushed the door open.

My mom was standing there, arms crossed, her expression tight with worry.

“Where have you been, Ravenna?” she asked. “You didn’t call. You didn’t come home. You don’t have any friends you sleep over with. So where did you go?”

I forced a smile, stepping past her before she could read too much into my face. “I stayed behind to help clean up the mating hall,” I said quickly. “After the ceremony. It got messy, and I thought I’d stay and help.”

She followed me into the kitchen, her eyes narrowing slightly. “With whom? Lucas?”

I nodded too quickly. “Yes. We were there. We stayed late. Then we… spent some time together. He left early.”

The lie sat heavy in my mouth, but I didn’t have another option. I couldn’t tell her the truth. I couldn’t tell her that Lucas had humiliated me in front of everyone, or that he had betrayed me in a way I didn’t even fully understand yet.

She already carried enough.

She sighed, glancing at her watch. “You’re going to be late. It’s your first day at college, and I won’t have you missing it after everything we’ve done to get you there. Go clean up. I’ll drop you off on my way to the hospital.”

I nodded and made my way to my room.

The moment the door closed behind me, I collapsed onto the bed.

Everything from last night came back in pieces I couldn’t control. The way his arms had felt around me. The way his voice had sounded. The way I hadn’t been afraid of him, even when I had every reason to be afraid of everything.

He had looked at me like I wasn’t broken.

Like I was still—

I pressed my face into the pillow, forcing the thought away before it could settle. I didn’t want to want that again. I didn’t even know who he was. But the feeling lingered anyway, quiet and persistent, threading through everything no matter how hard I tried to push it aside.

Then Lucas’s voice cut through it, sharp and cold, dragging me back.

The smirk. The betrayal. The way he had stood there like I meant nothing.

And worse—what came after.

The anger rose quickly, hot and overwhelming, but it didn’t stay. It never did. It faded just as fast, leaving something heavier in its place.

Fear.

I had nothing now.

No protection. No standing. No one.

My wolf remained silent, as she always had, like she didn’t exist at all. I had never felt her, never shifted, and everyone knew why. My father’s betrayal had marked me before I was even old enough to understand it. My mother once told me that the pack priestess had said at my birth that only a Lycan mate could awaken that part of me, that only a bond like that could give me a wolf.

But Lycans were our enemies.

They didn’t come here.

And we didn’t go there.

Which meant I had to accept what I was.

Wolfless.

So college, like everything else, was going to be something I endured, not something I lived.

But I couldn’t stay home.

My mom needed this.

She had worked too hard for me to throw it away.

I pushed myself up and headed to the shower.

By the time I stepped out, dressed and ready, she was already waiting by the car. She smiled at me, holding the passenger door open.

“Be a good girl,” she said. “Don’t let anyone push you around.”

I nodded, forcing a smile. “I’ll be fine, Mom.”

She kissed my forehead, and we left.

During the drive, I stared out the window, my fingers fidgeting in my lap as my stomach twisted tighter the closer we got. I swallowed everything down, refusing to let it show.

The moment I stepped out of the car at the college, she drove off after making me promise again.

I turned toward the entrance.

Then I heard it.

Laughter. Loud. Familiar.

Something struck the side of my head, and I flinched, looking down to see a small bag at my feet.

I turned.

Sandy stood there with three other girls, all of them laughing.

“Did that hurt?” she called out. “Good.”

I didn’t respond. I turned away, deciding to leave it alone.

But I didn’t get far.

She grabbed me by the collar, jerking me back. My heart slammed against my ribs, my hands trembling as I tried to steady myself.

“Don’t ignore me,” she snapped, slapping me across the face.

The sting spread instantly, sharp and hot, pulling a sound from me before I could stop it. I turned, ready to push her away—

“Let go of her.”

The voice cut through everything.

Sandy froze.

I turned slowly.

He stood a few feet behind us.

The man from last night.

He wasn’t smiling. His expression was unreadable, his presence just as steady, just as controlled as I remembered.

What was he doing here?

The thought hit hard, pulling everything from the night before back to the surface.

I opened my mouth, unsure what I was about to say, unsure what he wanted, unsure of anything.

Sandy blinked, then straightened quickly, smoothing her clothes as her expression shifted.

“Good morning, Professor Green.”

Everything inside me stilled.

Professor Green.

The name echoed in my head, heavy with everything it carried.

The man everyone feared.

The one no one crossed.

My knees nearly gave out, a cold chill sliding down my spine as the realization settled in.

And I had spent the night with him.

My professor.