Chapter Two

Rhett’s

“Hi,” I manage to say calmly, but my voice comes out extremely hoarse. Cassian smirks and walks back to his bed where he is unpacking his stuff; my eyes trail over the magazines on the bed—nude men on display—and then to the pack of condoms he just pulled out.

He picks up one of the magazines, the smirk still on his face. “He’s pretty hot, innit?”

I swallow hard and look away, taking off the rest of my gear. Cassian’s eyes are on me as I pull off my jersey leaving me bare-chested, and suddenly I feel too exposed. I pull the shirt back on immediately which only makes his smile widen, and then stalk into the bathroom.

The warmth of the water does nothing to help.

I just stand there under the shower for what could have been hours hoping that when I finally step out, Cassian is asleep.

“Your girlfriend is at the door,” his voice suddenly calls out, and the bathroom door opens. “Thought I should let you know. Should I let her in?”

“Get out!” I hiss sharply, hands covering my groin. My heart is hammering against my chest painfully.

“Nice body,” he winks and then shuts the door.

My cheeks are a flaming red color by the time I step out with a towel around my waist, and another one covering my chest because… well… Cassian.

I walk to the door and poke my head out, instantly annoyed. “Savvy, now’s not the time.”

“Your dad looked pretty mad… just saw him leave here… I, um… thought I’d check on you in case he chewed you out.”

“Yeah, well, I deserve it. Now, can you leave?”

A flicker of sadness flashes through her eyes and then she leaves. I want to feel guilty, but I just can’t.

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My eyes are burning when I wake up. I wince as I roll over on the bed and squint so I can barely see, only to find a discarded bottle of pepper spray on the floor beside me. Cassian is nowhere in sight from what I can deduce, but I know the bastard is responsible.

I stumble into the bathroom, hitting almost everything in my way and then let water run over my face. When the pain subsides to something bearable, I take a shower and get dressed.

Class has to wait.

I make my way towards the admin block and to a section for dormitory registration. There’s a woman sitting behind a glass on her computer.

“Hi. You’re the one in charge of dorm assignments?”

She looks up at me through her glasses. “Rhett Reed. Pleasure seeing you—should you not be in class?”

“Listen, there’s been a mistake with assignments, so if you could just change my roommate… assign him elsewhere.”

“Let me see…” The clacking of her keyboard fills the air and then her brows furrow. “Yeah, not possible.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, confusion furrowing my brows.

“Well, there’s a window of three months to request a change of roommates and that has elapsed. It’s locked into the system.”

“What?” I splutter. “No, that’s not… he just came yesterday.”

“This shows he’s been actively staying in the dorm for close to a year.”

I blink rapidly, my mind swirling in confusion.

How the fuck is that possible?

I’d been in my room alone since last semester and he likely only just transferred. How the hell did he rewrite the system?

“Thanks.” I storm away in annoyance, heading to the garage where I park my car. I need to go to the packhouse to speak to my father so he could do something about it.

The drive to the packhouse is a blur.

When I get there, I walk into the house and head straight to my father’s study.

“Why aren’t you in class?” he asks without looking up from his laptop. The tone of disappointment is evident.

“I need a room change, Father. The guy they put in my dorm—he’s, um… a distraction. He’s disrespectful and he’s—”

“You’re skipping your education to complain about a roommate?” My father scoffs, looking up from his laptop. “After that pathetic display on the ice last night, I expected you to be working twice as hard to prove your discipline.”

“He’s not letting me…” I pause; I can’t tell my father that a man is distracting me. What if he gets the wrong message? “Father! He’s disrespectful and insolent and—”

“He is a student,” my father interrupts, standing up to his full, intimidating height. “If you can’t handle one boy in your living quarters, how do you expect to handle a pack of wolves looking for a reason to challenge you? You stay where you are with whoever the roommate is. You’re the Alpha’s son, so put him in his place! Consider it an exercise in stoicism. Now get out.”

I swallow the bile rising in my throat. “Understood, Alpha.”

I drive back to the university in a daze, my hands gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white. When I finally push open my dorm room door, his scent floods my nostrils.

Fuck, why does he smell so good?

“Hello, roomie,” Cassian greets just as soon as I walk into the room. He walks towards me and grabs the scruff of my neck, pulling me closer until our noses are only inches apart. “I heard you were in the office today. Trying to get rid of me… Only after a day?”

“N-no.” I have no idea why I am stammering.

Put him in his place my father had said… if only he knew how difficult that is.

“Try that again,” he threatens, “and I’ll make sure your father finds out exactly why you’re so obsessed with keeping me out of this room.”