Why was Alaric sleeping in class, though? Did he just not care because he was the king of the school and could do whatever he wanted, or did he have a late night? Now that she looked closely, she swore she could see dark circles around his eyes. Was he not sleeping well?
In her quest to satisfy her curiosity, Violet didn’t realize how close she had gotten to him. She peered at him with deep fascination, like a child who had gotten a new toy and couldn’t wait to see how it worked.
They said Alaric was the quietest of all the Cardinal Alphas, and Violet could tell. There was just this innocence and tranquility about him that seemed to extend to her and soothe her nerves as well-if that even made sense.
A breeze from the window made a lock of his curly hair suddenly fall over his face, and Violet’s eyes zeroed in on it, her hand already twitching to move it. She must really have a fetish for hair.
Well, fuck it!
Violet reached out to tuck the hair away, but before her hand could brush across his forehead, a hand shot out with lightning speed and grabbed hers, a small gasp escaping her lips.
Alaric was awake, and he was staring at her with a bewildered expression as if she had lost her mind or something.
It was at that moment that Violet realized his hand holding hers was gloved, and as she watched him with a startled expression, she saw what looked like a vein of lightning pass through his head. Wait a minute, could it be…
At the same time, his eyes burned with cold anger. “I’ll suggest you keep your hands to yourself from now on.”
Violet’s face flushed with embarrassment, and she quickly muttered a “sorry” before looking ahead. For the rest of the lesson, whatever the teacher said didn’t register in her head. Her mind was far away, and all she could do was blame herself for being stupid.
It became apparent that Alaric Storm must have issues with his powers. That must be why he liked seclusion-so he wouldn’t hurt people-and yet she had eagerly tried to touch him. Yes, Violet had always known she had self-destructive tendencies, and it was becoming apparent.
But even then, Violet couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. These powers weren’t supposed to be a curse. Had their moon goddess considered that before giving it to him?
Violet’s attention was snagged when the teacher mentioned something about pairing with one’s seat partner to conduct an experiment synthesizing a comparison between human and werewolf coagulation times using carefully mixed plasma samples.
Great, she was on her own, then.
Soon enough, the samples were passed around, with pairs working on their experiments already, while Violet was all by herself with Alaric having turned the other way to continue his sleep. *Someone sure loved his sleep.
The key difference between werewolf and human coagulation was that werewolf blood tended to coagulate more rapidly, a trait evolved to handle high-energy activity and potential injuries in both their human and transformed states.
Ferrusene, the key ingredient in the experiment, was a rare mineral compound used in controlled settings to trigger and compare coagulation rates across species. When werewolf blood is exposed to it, it will clot nearly twice as fast as human blood due to this evolved coagulation mechanism.
Violet had to follow the procedure slowly from her textbook since she hadn’t been paying attention in class. She reached for the ferrusene vial and worked independently since her partner was fast asleep. She wondered how the teacher would grade this classwork considering her partner had not contributed anything to it.
Halfway through, just as Violet was about to add the ferrusene, Alaric grabbed her hand, startling her. Before she could say a word, Alaric had already grabbed the vial, tipped it until some poured away, and then added it to the sample.
“Why did you do-” Violet started, but the scathing look he gave her was enough to make her shut up and focus on the experiment.
They remained in silence for several minutes as they glanced at the coagulation indicator, the clotting reaction having reached its required result.
It was at that moment that the biology teacher, who had been observing the whole experiment, arrived at their desk. She glanced over their work with a proud look on her face.
“Great work as usual, Alaric Storm,” she praised.
Wait, what? Violet couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Did this guy just take all the credit when she had done the entire job? Sure, he had added the correct amount of ferrusene-which she couldn’t deny, considering her own measurement was wrong, and judging by the failed experiments around them, he had saved her-but still. This had been all her.
The teacher went on to say, “Precise measurements are critical as werewolf blood’s sensitivity to excess ferrusene can disrupt the coagulation cascade, slowing the process rather than speeding it up. Good work, Alaric. You seem to have been conscious of that rule and must have guided your lab partner throughout the whole process, didn’t you, Alaric?”
Alaric looked at her, and for the first time, Violet wondered what had possessed her to ever think this one was innocent. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing!
He said with a false smile, “Of course, I did. Violet must feel so grateful right now.”
Violet was far too furious at that moment to even dwell on the fact that he knew her name.
“Good. Good. Good.” The teacher clapped her hands, more than delighted to hear that. “It’s so relieving to know that you have a desk mate you can tolerate. I’m sure both of you would make great lab partners.”
At that statement, Alaric turned to her, scrutinizing her with an indescribable look as he drawled, “Well, color me excited.”
As soon as the teacher acknowledged Alaric’s hard work, he abruptly stood up, collected his belongings, and headed out. He didn’t so much as glance back or even explain his behavior – or better yet, offer an apology to her. Violet could only watch him leave with her teeth gritted, unable to follow him and draw attention to herself.
The class ended minutes later, but when Violet stepped out, Alaric Storm was nowhere to be seen. So much for thinking he was different from the others. She should have trusted the saying: Birds of a feather flock together.
Asher was a psychopath. Roman was an asshole, Griffin had violent tendencies, and the cute and innocent Alaric Storm was nothing but a good pretender.
And the fact she had been attracted to all four of them on different levels on her first day at Lunaris – and perhaps still was – worried Violet greatly. Not just one but four of them? Seriously. Although she knew better than to make any move on any of them.
All four of them were worshiped, and girls probably threw themselves at them whenever they appeared. Violet was not going to be just another girl on their body count. Whatever this strange feeling was, she would work on it and get rid of it.
Perhaps it was because she hadn’t had sex yet? Call her old-fashioned, but she had been holding onto her virginity to give it to someone special. A fact her bullies from her old school had learned about and teased her continuously.
Not that she had let the words get to her. It was her body, and she decided what to do with it. Not a few bullies who had slept their way through the entire school.
However, at this point, Violet wondered if it was a wise decision to hold onto it, especially with her sex drive seemingly going into overdrive – she believed that was the cause. Being around so many hot werewolves must have contributed to it, having not been used to them in her old school.
Perhaps she would find a nice, good-looking werewolf and give herself to him so that she could get over this crazy fascination with the four bastards.
If only Violet knew, she would need a lot of luck with that with a certain Alpha’s eyes on her.
Violet made her way through the crowd of students toward the female locker room, considering it was almost time for physical training.
As expected, the female locker room was nothing short of luxurious, as though it belonged in an exclusive health club rather than a school.
‘Space,’ a usual characteristic of Lunaris Academy’s rooms, was in abundance, while rows of glossy wooden lockers lined the walls, each bearing a nameplate that indicated the student it belonged to.
The floor was made of polished tiles, and a soft lavender permeated the air, keeping the room fresh. A long row of full-length mirrors bordered one side of the room, and on the opposite side were private shower cubicles separated by frosted glass, thankfully. Violet knew all too well the bullying and taunting that could happen in communal showers.
Violet walked into the locker room, which was a hubbub of activity. Girls were chatting near the mirrors, adjusting their ponytails and braids, and applying their makeup. Why did they even need makeup for a fitness session?
By some stroke of luck, as if to answer her question, she heard one of the girls say, “I can’t lose even one percent of my steez at all. I’m going to look perfect even while sweating.” The girl giggled while talking to her friend, who looked at her with a fake smile.
Tsk. Tsk. Violet shook her head, her attention snagged by the other girls who sat on the benches in the middle of the room, putting on their training gear.
A girl with blonde hair had her back turned to her and spoke to the girls seated on the bench, only for Violet to freeze when she recognized that voice. It was Lila. Oh, shit.
Violet turned away at once, rushing over to locate her locker while some of the students who saw her sudden brisk walk wondered what was up with her.
She found her locker-number 109-and quickly spun the combination lock. The door clicked open, revealing her training gear neatly folded inside. Violet intended to grab the uniform, go into one of the cubicles, and change, with the hope that Lila would have left by then.
But the instant Violet turned around, “Hello, Violet,” a certain blonde was right in front of her.
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