LOGINThe old library wing felt like a forgotten place.Dust clung to the tall wooden shelves, and the weak yellow lights overhead flickered occasionally, casting long shadows that stretched across the marble floor. It smelled faintly of old books and cold stone, the kind of place students rarely visited anymore.But tonight it felt alive.Eliot stood frozen near the doorway, heart pounding violently in his chest. Every instinct screamed that he shouldn’t be here. Theo was probably still asleep, unaware that Eliot had slipped from his arms in the middle of the night.And yet…Here Eliot was.Standing only a few feet away from Damien.Damien studied him like a hunter watching something rare and delicate. His dark eyes moved slowly over Eliot’s face, lingering on the flushed cheeks, the nervous bite of Eliot’s lower lip.“You look terrified,” Damien said softly.Eliot swallowed. “I am.”Damien chuckled under his breath, pushing himself away from the doorway. His footsteps echoed quietly as he
Theo hadn’t let go of Eliot all morning.He carried the tension in his body like a second skin, a storm pressing beneath every casual gesture. His arm around Eliot’s waist during breakfast was too tight, his eyes tracking every flicker of Eliot’s expression with a precision that cut deeper than words.Eliot felt caged.Every movement was scrutinized, every breath measured. The more Theo tried to claim him with touch and presence, the louder Damien’s shadow echoed in his chest.The phone was hidden, shoved deep into the pocket of his jeans, switched to silent, but Eliot felt it like a heartbeat against his skin. He didn’t dare check, not with Theo’s sharp eyes fixed on him. Yet the thought gnawed at him—messages piling up, waiting, Damien’s voice whispering through every vibration.When Theo finally left the table to grab coffee, Eliot’s hands shook under the table. He slipped the phone out, shielding the screen.Three new messages.He’ll suffocate you, moonlight. I’ll show you freedom
Morning came too quickly.The pale light of dawn slipped through the blinds, painting Eliot’s skin in soft gold. Theo hadn’t moved all night, his arm still heavy across Eliot’s waist, his body curved protectively against his back. It should have been comforting. It should have made Eliot feel safe.But it didn’t.Eliot lay still, wide awake, heart racing as if he’d run miles. His lips were sore from Theo’s consuming kisses, his body marked with fresh evidence of possession. He had surrendered—again. And yet, when his thoughts drifted, it wasn’t only Theo he remembered.It was Damien’s words. Damien’s touch. Damien’s promise.Eliot squeezed his eyes shut. Shame crashed over him, hot and suffocating. Why can’t I stop thinking about him?The soft buzz of his phone shattered the fragile quiet.Theo stirred faintly, muttering in his sleep, tightening his arm around Eliot as though he sensed danger even in dreams. Eliot’s stomach dropped. He slid his hand carefully under the pillow, pulling
Theo didn’t sleep again.Not after the words he’d whispered against Eliot’s lips—I know every inch of you. Every scent. It wasn’t just a warning; it was a vow. He wasn’t going to let Damien’s phantom touch poison what belonged to him.And as he watched Eliot lying there, flushed and trembling under the faint silver glow of the moon, Theo’s chest burned with a mix of love, obsession, and something darker.“You’re mine,” Theo murmured again, almost to himself, but Eliot stirred at the sound, his lashes fluttering.“Theo…” Eliot whispered, voice rough, his body still humming from the storm Theo had unleashed on him earlier.Theo brushed his thumb along Eliot’s jaw, eyes burning into his. “Say it again,” he demanded softly, his tone velvet over steel. “Tell me whose you are.”Eliot’s breath caught. His body obeyed before his heart could rebel. “Yours. Only yours.”Theo leaned down, pressing a kiss to Eliot’s collarbone, slow and lingering, then to the hollow of his throat, where his lips
Theo wasn’t asleep.At least, not fully. His body had dozed in and out, but something in the way Eliot shifted against him—the sharpness of his breath, the tremor in his hands—kept Theo tethered to the surface. When Eliot pressed closer to him, trying too hard to bury himself in the safety of Theo’s chest, Theo’s instincts flared.Something was wrong.Theo’s eyes snapped open, sharp and predatory even in the dim glow of the moonlight streaming through the window. He didn’t move immediately. He only listened. Eliot’s breathing was uneven, shallow, nothing like the soft rhythm Theo had memorized.And beneath that, faint but undeniable, Theo heard it: the buzz of a phone under the pillow.His chest tightened, heat flashing through him in a rush that was equal parts fury and fear.Slowly, deliberately, Theo brushed his lips against Eliot’s temple, murmuring, “Why are you trembling, moonlight?” His voice was low, intimate, but there was an edge to it—an undercurrent of danger Eliot couldn’
The night was restless for Eliot.Even though Theo’s arms were heavy around him, his chest a steady wall of heat at his back, Eliot couldn’t sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he felt Damien’s touch again—the faint brush against his wrist, the deliberate tease that left his skin alive with memory.He hated it.He hated the way his body betrayed him, hated the way his heart fluttered, hated the way Theo’s possessive embrace wasn’t enough to drown out the shadow Damien had left behind.Theo shifted in his sleep, pulling Eliot closer, burying his face in Eliot’s neck. His breath was hot, steady, grounding. Eliot closed his eyes and tried to focus only on that—the safety, the intensity, the comfort that Theo provided.But just as his heartbeat began to steady, the sharp vibration of his phone on the nightstand sliced through the quiet.Eliot froze.Theo didn’t stir, too deeply asleep. Slowly, carefully, Eliot reached for the phone, shielding the glow of the screen from Theo’s eyes. He
Sleep never came.I lay awake in the dark, staring at the ceiling as the hours dragged by, every shadow in my dorm room crawling across the walls like it had claws. My chest felt heavy, like something invisible was pressing me down.Damien.Even with the distance, he was there. His voice lingered i
I wasn’t supposed to break.That’s what everyone believed about me—Theo Albright. The composed one. The steady one. The one who didn’t lose control, no matter how much the world tried to shake me.But tonight, sitting alone on my bed, staring at the cracks in the ceiling, I felt anything but steady
The glow of my phone screen felt like fire against my skin.Damien’s last message still lingered at the top: “You can’t hide from what you want.”I had thrown the phone onto my desk twenty minutes ago, but I still felt it burning through me. Like his words were etched into my veins.I hated him.I
It was one thing to watch Damien circle Eliot like a wolf.It was another to hear him speak that way—to see Eliot shrink into silence under the weight of it.I’d had enough.My body moved before thought could catch up, stepping squarely between them, cutting off Damien’s advance. His smirk didn’t f







