Chapter 4

The hallway went so quiet I could hear my breathing.

“Asher,” Sienna breathed, her voice suddenly sugar-sweet.

He didn’t look at her. He didn't look at anyone but me. Then, without a word, he reached forward and wrapped his hand around mine. His grip was warm, firm, and very much not a request.

“Come,” he said simply.

The girls didn’t even protest, they just stared like they’d been slapped. I barely had time to react before he was pulling me down the hall, long strides eating up the distance.

“Asher……” I started, repeating the name I just heard, but he didn’t slow down.

We didn’t stop until he shoved open the door to an empty practice room, pulling me inside and shutting it behind us. The muffled noise of the hallway vanished, replaced by my heartbeat in my ears.

He turned to face me, his arms crossing over his chest. “You.”

I blinked. “Me?”

“Yes, you. What the hell was last night?” His tone was sharp, but there was something underneath it, something that wasn’t pure anger.

“I don’t know, you tell me,” I shot back, heat flooding my cheeks. “One second I’m looking for the bathroom, the next…”

“You were in my bed.” His eyes narrowed. “Naked.”

My mouth dropped open. “Oh, so you’re just going to pretend it was all me? You weren’t exactly throwing me out.”

His jaw tightened. “You climbed into my bed. I don’t do… accidents like that.”

“Well, congratulations,” I snapped. “You took my virginity, so I guess we’re both guilty of something.”

That got a flicker of something in his eyes, not guilt, but… surprise. His eyes searched mine, as if trying to confirm whether I was lying.

His next words were softer, but they carried a strange weight. “You shouldn’t have been there.”

“Trust me, if I could rewind time, I wouldn’t have been,” I muttered, crossing my arms.

Something shifted in his expression then, a faint crease between his brows. His nostrils flared slightly, and for a split second, I thought I heard a sound, almost like a growl rumble from his chest.

His gaze dropped to my lips before he looked away abruptly.

His wolf was reacting to me. I didn’t know how I knew, but I felt it like static in the air between us.

“Look,” I said, taking a step back, “we can just… forget it happened. You go back to your team, I go back to my life, and we never speak again.”

A slow smirk curved his lips. “You think that’s how this works?”

“Yes,” I said.

“No, sweetheart.” His voice dropped, smooth and dangerous. “You owe me. And I already know exactly how you’ll pay.”

My mouth went dry. “I don’t owe you anything.”

“Mm. That’s cute,” he murmured, stepping closer until his scent surrounded me. “You think last night was just a mistake. But nothing about you feels like a mistake.”

My heart stuttered in my chest, and I hated that my body reacted even as my mind screamed at me to push him away.

“What does that even mean?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

He leaned down, his lips near my ear. “It means I’m not letting you walk away.”

He leaned back against the edge of the desk, arms crossed, wearing that infuriating smirk still on his face like he owned the very air I breathed.

“Let me make this simple,” he said, his voice lazy yet filled with authority. “You’re going to be my girlfriend.”

I blinked. “…Excuse me?”

“It’s not real,” he clarified, like that somehow made it less insane. “A public arrangement. You’ll smile when the cameras are around, hold my hand when I tell you to, and sit next to me at events.”

My brows wrinkled. “Why would I do that?”

“Because,” he said, stepping forward, “it benefits both of us.”

I folded my arms, trying to mirror his confidence.

“I’m listening.”

“My ex, Lyra, is sniffing around again,” he explained, pacing slowly. “She’s… difficult and competitive. She won’t admit she wants me back unless she thinks she’s lost me.”

I raised a brow. “So I’m… bait.”

“You’re quick,” he said, almost like it was a compliment. “And you’re not from my usual circle.

That makes you unpredictable and interesting.

The kind of girl she’ll see as a threat.”

“Wow.” I let out a sharp laugh. “You want me to help you play mind games with your ex?”

He didn’t even flinch. “In return, I’ll make sure no one touches you. Those girls from earlier? The muttering in the halls? They’ll think twice before crossing you if you’re with me.”

I opened my mouth to refuse, then froze. Through the open door, just down the corridor, Gerald’s laugh drifted in.

My wolf stirred painfully, an ache I thought I’d shoved deep still raw under my skin. He was leaning against the vending machine, grinning down at a girl I vaguely recognized from class. She touched his arm lightly, laughing like he’d just told the funniest joke in the world.

I hated how my pulse reacted and how his rejection still clung to me. Asher noticed my gaze, following it to Gerald. A flicker of something unreadable passed over his expression before he returned to me.

“You want to say no,” Asher said quietly, “but you also want to make him regret every choice that led to this moment.”

My jaw tightened. “I’m not that petty.”

“Sure,” he said with a smirk, “but I am. And right now, our goals align.”

My fingers tightened at my sides. Gerald laughed again, leaning closer to the girl. That was all it took.

“Fine,” I said, my voice sharp. “I’ll do it.”

The smirk Asher gave me could’ve been weaponized. “Good girl.”

Before I could regret my decision, he was already pulling out his phone. “We’ll start now. First public appearance will be at the dining hall.”

I stared. “What? Now?”

“Yes, now. No point dragging our feet.” Asher said.

*******

The dining hall was loud. That hum dimmed the second Asher and I walked in together.

Conversations faltered. Heads turned. I could hear the whispers as we moved through the room, his hand casually but firmly resting on the small of my back.

“Is that….?”

“Coleman? With her?”

“She’s… nobody. How…”