And I-
I couldn’t believe he really said it.
Was he out of his damn mind?
Summer wasn’t helping.
‘He’s hot, she panted inside my head. ‘Gods, he’s hot. Possessive. Claiming. Saying Mine.’
‘Wrong, Summer. So wrong.’
I was trying to focus, trying to hold my ground and not let him see what his words did to me. The way they hit somewhere low and molten. The way they twisted something that shouldn’t be touched.
–
Even if my body and my wolf – had a very different opinion.
It was wrong.
It was dangerous.
It was infuriating.
Because he didn’t get to claim me like that.
He didn’t get to walk in and decide I was his like some kind of prize off a damn shelf. I wasn’t
‘You could be his’, Summer whispered smugly. ‘At least until we meet our mate.’
‘No,’ I snapped back. ‘I’m mine and mine alone.’
‘Sure,’ she said, already licking her mental paw like she was enjoying the show.
‘Just-shut the hell up, Summer.’
Across from me, Reyes’ expression had shifted. Stunned. Disbelieving. Somewhere between amusement and absolute rage. He gripped the edge of the table, knuckles turning white.
“And, pray tell,” he said, voice laced with venom, “what exactly would be yours?”
He was baiting him.
Gods, he was baiting Derrick.
And Derrick-
Derrick fucking smirked.
Not a little smirk. Not a twitch of the lips. A full-blown, devil-went-down-to-Georgia smirk that made my heart skip a beat for all the wrong reasons.
“You know very well,” he said, eyes flicking to me.
Reyes didn’t look away. “Please, tell me.”
Derrick’s gaze dragged over me like a storm front. Slow. Heavy. Dangerous.
“My little mouse.” And he locked his gaze with mine.
The words hit me like a slap. And a kiss. And a damn lightning strike.
Everything in me coiled.
Heat. Shame. Lust. Fury.
And underneath it all… a wild pulse of mine.
Goddess, help me.
I slammed my hands on the table, standing so fast my chair screeched backward.
“So much for leaving me the hell alone?” I snapped, voice loud enough to turn a few heads around us. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
Derrick didn’t flinch. He didn’t even blink.
Instead, the bastard leaned in, both palms on the table like this was a negotiation and not a territorial d**k-measuring contest. His voice dropped, low and dangerous, with that same infuriating smile tugging at his lips.
“Oh, little mouse,” he said silk-smooth, like he was tasting the nickname, “I am leaving you alone. I was just explaining to Reyes here-he should be doing the same.”
Fuck. Him.
“Derrick,” I hissed, feeling the fury ignite in my chest like a goddamn bonfire, “the thing is… I actually appreciate Reyes’ company. He’s smart. Kind. Funny. He doesn’t have his head shoved so far up his own ass he thinks he can walk in here and mark territory like some unhinged alpha toddler.”
I took a step closer, fists clenched at my sides.
“And if you ever pull that stunt again, I’ll beat your ass like no one has ever dared.”
That did it.
The smirk dropped into something darker. His lips parted, his breath slow and controlled, like a storm rolling in.
“Is that supposed to be a threat?” he whispered, voice so low I felt it in my bones.
“Because I’d actually love to see you try and beat my ass.”
He leaned even closer, and suddenly his mouth was too damn near mine. His next words curled like smoke in my ear.
“Careful, mouse. Roles can be reversed in the blink of an eye.”
Then he straightened.
Calm. Unshaken.
And walked away.
Just-fucking strolled out of the cafeteria without a care in the goddamn world, like he hadn’t just set fire to the air around us.
Silence stretched at the table before Reyes cleared his throat.
“Well,” he muttered, blinking slowly, “that was… intense.”
“Understatement of the year,” I said, still watching Derrick’s retreating back. “I don’t even know what the hell he’s trying to pull.”
Reyes tilted his head at me, frowning like he was piecing together a puzzle he didn’t want to solve.
“He’s an asshole,” he said finally. “But I think he also wants your ass. Badly.”
I choked on my sip of water.
Reyes gave a half-smile, trying to make it a joke, but there was a sliver of concern behind his eyes.
“Look, maybe we should talk about switching sleeping arrangements? I’m sure someone else would trade rooms if it gets you out of that weird tension zone with him.”
“I haven’t asked,” I muttered, the words bitter on my tongue. “And if I did… he’d win. He’d think I’m running.”
Reyes blinked. “And?”
“And I’m not giving him that satisfaction.”
Because sure as hell, I wasn’t going to let Derrick win anything. Not this. Not me.
No matter what my body said.
No matter what my damn wolf whispered in the dark.
I barely remembered anything from the afternoon’s espionage techniques class.
Something about blind spots and extraction protocols. Hidden wires. Lip-reading. Whatever.
It had all blurred into white noise the second I sat down, my brain still sizzling with Derrick’s voice, his smirk, that goddamn heat that clung to me like smoke.
By the time I left the classroom, my hands were shaking. I needed out. Needed air. Movement. Pain-the kind that made you forget everything except the next step.
So I changed in the empty locker room-baggy sweats, oversized hoodie, no assholes, no alphas and I ran.
Now here I was.
The world narrowed.
To breath. To burn. To silence.
I bent forward, hands braced on trembling knees, my chest heaving like I’d just outrun death. Sweat dripped from my hairline. Down my spine. visit jo-b,n-i;b-co’m for daily updates Onto the black belt of the treadmill beneath my feet that was finally, finally, still.
For a moment, all I could hear was the thud of my heart. The rasp of air clawing its way into my lungs. The tinnitus-like buzz of fury still coiled behind my eyes.
I’d run it into the ground.
The rage. The ache. The twisted heat Derrick left in his wake like a damn wildfire.
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