All Chapters of THE CAMPUS ALPHA’S WOLFLESS MATE : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The espresso machine hissed and sputtered, and I didn’t even blink anymore. After working evening shifts at Grind House for two years, I could make a perfect latte half asleep. Good thing too, because I was running on maybe four hours of rest.I wiped down the counter and did the math again in my head. Aunt Clara’s next treatment was three thousand dollars. Insurance would cover half if we were lucky. My paycheck from here plus what I made at the library would get me close. But close wasn’t enough. I’d already maxed out my credit card last month when her prescriptions went up.Six more months. Maybe seven if I picked up extra shifts. Then I could start paying down my student loans. Then maybe, just maybe, I could breathe.“Elowen.” My manager Beck stuck his head out from the back. “Can you cover the register? Riley called in sick.”“Sure.” I grabbed a clean apron. Riley called in sick at least twice a week, which meant she was probably at some party. Must be nice to have that kind of

“Hold still.” Tessa’s hand was surprisingly steady as she lined my eyes with a pencil. “I promise I won’t stab you.”“That’s not as reassuring as you think it is.” But I held still anyway, sitting on her desk chair while she worked.Tessa had been my roommate since freshman year and somehow, miraculously, had become my actual friend. She was an art major with purple streaks in her black hair. She knew I was broke. She knew I worked constantly. She didn’t know about the wolf thing. Humans didn’t know about any of that.“Done.” She stepped back, admiring her work. “Okay, you look hot. Like, actually hot.”“I look the same.”“You look like you’re not about to fall asleep standing up for once.” She turned me toward the mirror. “See?”I barely recognized myself. Tessa had done something to my eyes that made them look bigger, brighter. She’d put color on my cheeks and lips. Nothing dramatic, but enough to make me look alive instead of exhausted.“It’s too much,” I said automatically.“It’s

I turned and fled toward the exit, pushing through the crowd that had gathered to watch my humiliation. My face burned with shame. Behind me, I could still hear Madison’s laughter cutting through the music.I grabbed my coat from the check without stopping. The woman there tried to say something but I kept moving, bursting through the doors into the night.The cold November air hit me like a slap. I gulped it down, trying to calm my racing heart.What just happened back there? That weird sensation when we touched. The way his eyes looked at me. Almost… hungry. No. That was ridiculous. People like Lycian Valor didn’t look at people like me that way.I could wait for the shuttle. But that meant standing still. Meant to be visible if anyone came out to check on me. Or worse, to laugh some more.So I walked.Two miles. In Tessa’s borrowed heels. In the cold.Each step sent sharp pain through my feet but I welcomed it. Physical pain was easier to deal with than the memory of everyone stari

Monday morning felt like walking to my own execution.I stood outside the Financial Aid office at exactly nine o’clock. My hands were sweating despite the cold. Through the glass door, I could see Director Calista at her desk. She looked up, saw me, and waved me in.The office smelled like old paper and bitter coffee. Director Calista was a small woman with gray hair pulled back tightly. She’d always been nice to me before. Professional but kind.Today her face was stone.“Sit down, Ms. Hale.”I sat in the chair across from her desk. My backpack felt heavy on my lap. Like I could use it as a shield if needed.“I’m sure you know why you’re here,” she said.“The gala.”“The incident at the gala, yes.” She pulled out a folder. Opened it. “We’ve received several complaints about your behavior Saturday night.”Several? I’d messed up with one person. How did that turn into several complaints?“It was an accident,” I said. “I was helping serve drinks because they were short-staffed. I didn’t

I didn’t sleep that night.Just lay in bed staring at the ceiling while Tessa snored softly across the room. My phone sat on my nightstand. Dark. Silent. Waiting for the decision I had to make by nine o’clock.Take Marcus Blackthorn’s money. Stay away from Lycian. Keep my scholarship and actually help Aunt Clara.Or refuse. Lose everything. For what? A guy I barely knew who thought we were mates?The choice should have been obvious.But every time I closed my eyes, I saw Lycian’s face in that lobby. The way he’d looked at me. Like I’d hurt him worse than any physical blow could.My phone buzzed at six in the morning.A text from Aunt Clara.How are you, sweetheart? You haven’t called in a few days.Guilt twisted in my stomach. I’d been so wrapped up in this mess that I’d barely talked to her.I called instead of texting.She answered on the second ring. “Elowen? Is everything okay?”“Yeah. Just wanted to hear your voice.”“It’s six in the morning. You’re usually asleep until seven.”“