Mag-log inRhiannon slid into an empty seat at the very back of the hall, staring down at her own trembling fingers like they belonged to someone else.‘She had slapped him.’Not just a push or a harsh word—she had actually raised her hand and struck a man who looked like he could snap an oak tree in half with his bare hands. Her brother's friend, or boss, or whatever he actually was to Devon — the specifics didn't matter right now. What mattered was that her hand had moved before her brain gave permission, and she still didn't understand why.‘Why the fuck did I do that?’She cowered in her chair, pulling her dark cardigan tight around her shoulders. But even tucked away in the corner of the lecture hall, she couldn't escape the side-eye glances and snickers directed at her.“Look at her pretending to study…”“Did you see her face when she walked in… swear she's been crying…”“I heard Julian is furious…”Her ribs throbbed with a dull ache. She hated this. She hated the eyes, the rumors, and th
Theron gradually lifted his face.He was completely still. Even Acheron, who never stopped snarling, hadn't muttered a single growl.His jaw stung where her palm had connected, a foreign heat blooming across skin that hadn’t known pain in centuries.She slapped him.His mate slapped him.Because she was his mate, his soul had opened every layer of defense around her. She had slipped past his instincts, for he could never perceive her as a threat.For one second, something hot rose up his chest. His posture went rigid as his dark eyes met hers. But before the anger could even take root, he saw her face.Rhiannon was breathing in short hitches. Her small hand remained frozen in mid-air as her fingers trembled from the impact. Surprise flickered across her eyes. She couldn’t quite believe what her own body had just done. And the sight of his unreadable expression sent a wave of panic through her. Hot tears spilled over her lashes, tracing down her flushed cheeks before she could stop th
Theron guided her toward the parking lot, one hand steady at the small of her back, and had barely gotten a single word out of her before the vermin appeared. Julian planted himself directly in their path, blocking the way, with a tight jaw. His face was flushed red, his boyish charm was now replaced with anger. Acheron took immediate offense. Theron’s eyes darkened into pitch, and for the first time in centuries, he felt the urge to tear the boy's head from his shoulders with his bare hands. "Get your hands off my girlfriend," Julian demanded, his voice trembling slightly despite his effort to sound steady. He glared at Theron, stepping closer. "Who the hell do you think you are? What is your actual relationship with her?!" Theron didn't answer. He didn't owe explanations to mortals, least of all this one. He simply stared down at the boy with cold disinterest, his body shifting to shield Rhiannon behind his shoulder. The subtle movement only seemed to enrage Julian further. He
The moment Rhiannon stepped onto campus, it felt like walking on eggshells.Every head turned. Conversations dropped to murmurs the second she passed, then picked back up the instant her back was turned, like she'd become the punchline to a joke nobody would say to her face.‘Why is everyone staring at me?’ She tugged her cardigan tighter around herself, scanning the courtyard for a familiar face. ‘Do I have something on my shirt? Did I trip in front of someone and not notice?’She wasn't the kind to shrink away from judgy stares, but the volume of eyes on her was overwhelming. On top of that, she felt completely lonely, walking alone.She sighed, staring at her unread text messages.Talia wasn't answering and Devon was somewhere overseas and unreachable."Rhia!"Julian came jogging across the quad, backpack bouncing against one shoulder, and pulled her straight into a hug before she could brace for it. He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, one hand smoothing down her hair."Hey. Are
Rhiannon cursed under her breath, pressing her forehead against the cool wood of the door. She hated the way he made her feel at that moment.A dull ache spread under her ribs. She slid down the door and sat on the floor, one hand pressed flat against her chest.‘Why did he have to look so damn handsome while ruining my life?’ It wasn't fair. The man was an arrogant, overbearing bastard, who had practically hijacked her entire existence in less than forty-eight hours, yet every time he leaned into her space, her heartbeat quickened for all the wrong reasons.Her phone buzzed against the floorboard, shattering the silence.Rhiannon snatched the device up and stood up, checking the caller ID before pressing it to her ear. "Julian—""Rhia! Jesus, finally!" Julian’s frantic voice burst through the speaker before she could even finish his name. He sounded pissed and confused at the same time."Rhia, what the hell was that? Why is the new professor around you like some bodyguard? Why did
Dinner finished in silence. Rhiannon kept her eyes on her plate, pushing food around more than eating it, and painfully aware of the man watching her from across the table like nothing unusual had happened at all. She stood the moment her fork touched down for the last time, gripping the edge of the table as the room tilted under her. Theron was out of his chair before she'd even finished rising, his hand closing around her wrist to steady her. Rhiannon tried to snatch her hand back from his grip, but his fingers only tightened around hers. "I'm fine." "You swayed." "I stood up too fast. That's all." She yanked again, harder this time, and he released her so easily she almost stumbled from the momentum. "And in case you've forgotten, this is my life. You don't get a vote in how I live it." "I wasn't aware I needed one." "That's the problem, Vance. You never think you do." Something in his expression shifted, quick and unreadable, before he reached out and tucked a loose stran
Theron’s hot breath still lingered against her pulse point, sending an erratic, terrifying shiver straight down Rhiannon’s spine.She slammed both palms flat against his chest, pushing against his marble-hard frame with every ounce of strength she possessed. "Get out of my space."Theron didn't ev
Darkness.It was a heavy, pitch-black void, but the echoes of furious voices shattered the silence of her fading consciousness.“Get away from her, Theron! Step back!” “Hold him down! Inject the sedative now!” Bellamy’s voice barked over the sound of heavy iron chains rattling. “Talia, clear the p
“This is an official border-state broadcast from the Oakhaven Department of Civil Safety.”“Due to severe, unpredicted atmospheric drops and localized climate volatility along the eastern frontier, a total dawn-to-dusk curfew is now active for all sectors bordering the sovereign nation of Vrykania.







