Chapter 4 - The bra straps

Nova

Oh My Goddess!

What was he trying to do?

Aiden’s shadow loomed over me, and my heart slammed against my ribs like it was trying to escape my body and leave me behind to die. His hand lifted slowly.

My mind filled in the blanks before reality even arrived. Was he trying to choke me? Hit me? Strangle me? Was this finally how I died? On my first day of school?

Absolutely not.

Instinct hijacked my brain. Before thought could catch up, I launched forward and smashed my forehead against his with a sickening crack.

“Ow—!” Aiden grunted, stumbling backward.

He hit the floor hard, palms flying to his face. A thick line of red slid from his nose, bright and terrifying, pooling over his upper lip. My breath vanished.

What the heck have I done?

No joke, my soul left my body, waved goodbye, and got on the next train.

“This is bad,” I whispered, unable to blink. “This is really, really bad.”

Aiden groaned, sitting up slowly, hand still over his nose. When his eyes snapped toward me, heat burned through them like wildfire.

“How dare you!” he snarled, voice sharp enough to slice bone.

Nope. I didn’t wait for part two of that sentence.

My legs took off on their own, flinging me out of the room like I was being chased by demons. I didn’t dare look back. If I did, my wig might fall.

I sprinted down the hallway in a blur, shoving my shaking hands into my pockets, patting my wig like it was a newborn child.

How was I going to survive here? I was doomed. My grave was already labeled.

He wasn’t going to let this slide. And now I had officially upgraded from “low-key terrified” to “in deeper trouble than the ocean.”

My fingers trembled as I yanked out my phone and typed a message to Nolan with the speed of a dying squirrel.

Nova: HELP.

Before I could blink, he appeared at the end of the corridor, nearly tripping over his own feet as he ran.

“Hey—hey! What happened? What’s going on?” he panted, grabbing my shoulders.

I couldn’t breathe. Air refused to cooperate with my lungs. I stared at him, chest heaving like I’d run a marathon underwater.

“Calm down,” he murmured gently, his warm hand slipping to my shoulder.

And just like that, my heart betrayed me again, racing hard upon seeing his face. My knees wobbled. His thumb brushed over my shirt in a comforting circle, and I felt goosebumps.

“It’s my roommate,” I gasped out. “I thought he’d kill me—”

Instantly, Nolan straightened like someone plugged him into power. His eyes widened, his jaw clenched. He looked ready to fight an entire war.

“No!” I squeaked, dragging him back down to sit before he could go charging into death. “He didn’t succeed, I hit him… kinda….hard…..with my forehead on his nose.”

Nolan blinked slowly, absorbing that.

“You… head-butted him?” he repeated, struggling not to laugh.

Before I could defend myself, a loud commotion echoed down the hallway. We both turned.

Students crowded around something, murmuring. Two teachers rushed past us, and…

My stomach dropped to the basement of Earth.

A stretcher rolled by.

My blood froze.

Aiden lay on it, eyes closed, nose covered in blood, a tissue stuffed inside it like a medical napkin. He groaned as they carried him.

My mouth fell open so wide I’m sure dust flew in.

Oh no no no no—

“What do I do?” I whispered, trembling violently. “What if he dies? Then I’ll die! And then my dad will kill my corpse!”

“Calm down,” Nolan repeated, voice softening again. He pulled me into a hug, arms wrapping around me, warm and secure. My throat tightened. Heat rushed to my face, and I reluctantly melted into him. For one second, I forgot the world.

He smells so nice…wow! I literally felt like I was in paradise.

“Hey! The dorm master wants to see you,” someone shouted across the hall.

My eyes snapped open.

Of course they did.

Nolan gave me one last squeeze, whispered, “You’ll be fine,” then gently guided me toward the office.

My legs felt like wet noodles as I walked into the Dorm Master’s office.

“You assaulted your roommate,” he said, voice low and disappointed as soon as I walked in.“And there are consequences for every action. Therefore, you are hereby—”

A knock cut him off sharply.

The door opened.

And Aiden limped in, alive, his nose covered in tissue.

He stopped beside me and spoke before my lungs could completely collapse.

“He didn’t assault me,” Aiden said flatly, wiping blood from his lip. “I tripped.”

I just stared.

Tripped?

T R I P P E D?

He was lying, actually lying. For me. Why?! If I got kicked out, he would win. I’d lose. It would benefit him.

So why help?

The dorm master blinked rapidly, clearly doubting. “Really? You… tripped?”

Aiden’s jaw ticked. He leaned forward slightly, voice dropping into something dangerous. “Yes.”

The dorm master swallowed his fear like a pill.

“O-of course,” he stammered. “Very well, case dismissed.”

Everyone feared Aiden, even the dorm master, except me. I was just… confused.

“We’ll take our leave now,” Aiden said, placing a firm hand on my shoulder.

My entire body stiffened like a panic-inflated balloon. He guided me out into the hallway, students whispering instantly.

“Are they… friends now?”

“Why’s he holding him like that?”

“Isn’t that the angry alpha guy?”

Their whispers stung like mosquitoes.

“Let go of me,” I snapped, shaking his hand off.

“No,” he replied simply, voice low and terrifyingly calm. “When I set my eyes on something… I don’t leave it.”

My breath lodged in my throat.

“I have my eyes on you now… and I won’t let go. You’re mine.”

My brain short-circuited. Smoke might’ve puffed from my ears.

“You saved me, okay?!” I hissed. “But that doesn’t make me your property!”

Aiden stopped walking. His eyes darkened.

“I saved you,” he said quietly, leaning close, “so now you owe me. With your life. You’ll serve me while I use you and make you pay. That’s your duty.”

My eyebrows shot halfway off my face. “You must be joking! Do you want another head-butt?”

The memory of it flickered across his expression, and he took a small step back unconsciously. A spark of pride flared in my chest.

I spun on my heel and started to walk away, smiling smugly at my tiny victory.

But then—

A sudden tug behind me froze the universe.

Something pulled my shirt back… no… not my shirt.

My bra strap.

My spine snapped straight like a lightning bolt traveled through it.

“…What the heck?” I breathed, turning painfully slow.

Aiden stood behind me, two fingers hooked under the strap of my bra through my shirt, eyebrow raised in pure mischief.

My soul combusted.

Oh no! My secrets are out now! I'm doomed.