Touch Me, but Don't Kiss Me

After estimating my exam score, I suddenly heard Raymond Knox's familiar voice coming from outside the classroom.

"Cora, the exam's over. Isn't it time for you to keep your end of our bet?"

I looked over and saw Raymond, noticing how his grayish blue eyes stood out among the other werewolves. One of his eyebrows was arched, and he looked as poised as ever, like the high-ranking Alpha heir he was.

Cora Knightley huffed. Apart from being our school's cheer captain, she was also Raymond's childhood sweetheart.

"The bet isn't over yet," she said. "You'll only win if Adeline agrees to go to Mangy Hollow College with you. Only then will I agree to date you."

A smirk tugged at Raymond's lips.

"With her current grades, there's nowhere she can apply to except Mangy Hollow," he replied, his voice dripping with the confidence and possessiveness of an Alpha heir. "And besides, she obeys my every word. One word from me is enough to make her go to any school I want."

A group of young Beta heirs and low-ranking Alpha heirs around him burst out laughing. These were the same werewolves who usually had respect for me, acting as if they saw me as Raymond's mate.

Yet now, the disdain in their tone said otherwise.

"Adeline sucks up to Raymond all the time," someone said. "She's fallen from first place to nearly the bottom just to be with him. If he tells her to apply to Mangy Hollow, she'd definitely agree right away!"

"Exactly," another werewolf chimed in. "Forget the university—even if Raymond told her to become a Rogue, she'd probably do it too!"

Another round of laughter erupted.

From the corner, I heard every single word they said.

Raymond's words kept echoing in my mind—I couldn't believe this was the same man who'd been clinging to my body last night.

He was so different from how he usually acted in bed. Whenever we were together, he was always luring me in with his strong, sculpted arms…

Before I could even feel sad, Cora's worried voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Raymond, what if Adeline finds out this was all just a bet between us? Do you think she'll get mad and try to get back at me?"

"You two come from completely different worlds. A lowly werewolf like her wouldn't dare to go against you," he said, comforting her. "Besides, with me around, there's nothing she can do to you."

The other werewolves also echoed the same words, swearing their loyalty to Cora.

In fact, I should probably thank her.

Because if not for her bet with Raymond, someone as ordinary as me would never have had the chance to be with a rich and handsome werewolf like him.

Since I was little, I'd known I was smarter than all the other werewolves around me. It took me only just one glance to understand what others struggled to learn.

But I also knew that for a werewolf like me—who had an ordinary background and mediocre looks—it was dangerous to stand out too much.

So I'd always made sure to stay in second place—just a tiny step behind Cora.

There'd only been one exception.

Right before that one exam, I saw Raymond and Cora kissing.

Thanks to his mesmerizing looks, everyone in our school had a crush on him. I was no exception.

The moment I saw them kiss, I was overwhelmed with jealousy. So out of spite, I answered every question on the test correctly.

That was when I snatched first place away from Cora and even scored far better than she did.

A few days later, a rugby ball slammed into me.

Raymond came jogging over. As soon as he took off his protective gear, he gave me an apologetic look and said, "I'm sorry for accidentally hitting you with my ball. Let me take you to the infirmary."

Silently, I watched him pull off his act in front of me. Of course, I knew that wasn't an accident.

And I was well aware that he'd only gotten close to me for Cora's sake. He probably wanted to get back at me, though I didn't yet know how he'd do it.

But no matter what, this was my only chance to get close to Raymond.

I nodded and took his hand.

From the very first moment I laid eyes on him, I wanted him all to myself. Even though I knew he had ulterior motives, I still believed that if I was sincere enough, I could win him over.

Someday, he might actually love me.