Chapter 85 85- Never Let Him Hold Your Gaze Too Long
LEXI
After I send the text to Blake, I fully intend to curl up and cry myself to sleep. Or at least grab a book thick enough to disappear into and pretend to be somewhere else for a while. Somewhere quieter. Somewhere where no one is dissecting my life for entertainment. I don’t get the chance. My closet door flies open with a sharp crack against the wall. I blink at it.
“Really?” I mutter. I expect pyjamas, so I trudge over reluctantly, tugging at the damp collar of my bathrobe. Sleeping in this probably isn’t ideal anyway. But when I look inside, it’s not pyjamas waiting for me. It’s actual clothes. Leggings. A large, baggy t–shirt. Comfortable, but not sleepwear.
“I don’t want to get dressed right now.” I object weakly. The door swings wider with an impatient bang. The hangers rattle sharply, all of them angling toward me at once, and a strange sense of urgency prickles under my skin.
“Okay, okay. I’m doing it.” I grumble. The rattling stops. I change quickly, fingers clumsy from crying. I’ve only just pulled the shirt over my head when the knocking starts on my bedroom door. It isn’t gentle or patient. It’s loud and heavy, each knock landing hard enough that I’m half convinced the wood might splinter. I flinch. So that’s why the Academy wanted me dressed. I rub at my face, trying to reduce the puffiness around my eyes, and cross the room. The lights are dim enough that maybe it won’t be obvious I’ve been crying. I pull the door open.
“Hey, didn’t you get my-” The words die when I see Blake’s face. He looks furious. Not irritated. Not mildly upset. Furious.
“What’s wrong?” I ask automatically. He steps inside without answering and closes the door behind him with deliberate care, as though he’s actively stopping himself from slamming it.
“I should be asking you that. But I’m not sure you’d actually answer.” He says. His voice is low and tightly controlled. Oh. He knows. He takes a step toward me and I lean back instinctively. Blake freezes mid–step. I see the moment he realises what he’s doing. He inhales slowly, then deliberately takes a step back instead, planting himself in place and keeping distance between us. I appreciate that more than I can say. He remembered that I asked him not to do that last time he was really upset.
“You’re angry… At me?” I ask carefully.
“No.” He says immediately. Then he exhales through his nose.
“Well. Yes. No?” He answers. I can’t tell if he’s lying, probably because he doesn’t know himself. That doesn’t clarify much. I take a few cautious steps closer to him this time, closing the space on my own terms.
“Tell me what’s going on.” I ask.
“I’ve seen them. The posts. The messages. All of it.” He says flatly. My stomach drops.
“Ah. That.” I answer weakly.
“You had bruises, Lexi.” He continues, and the way he says it makes my chest tighten.
“Dozens of them. And they weren’t from me.” He says bluntly. My head snaps up.
“Of course they weren’t from you.” I rush to say.
“I know that.” He says quickly, and for the first time there’s something else in his voice beneath the anger. Pain.
“I need to know who they were from. Names. Now.” He demands. The intensity in that last word makes me flinch, not because I think he’d hurt me,
but
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Chapter 85 85- Never Let Him Hold Your Gaze Too Long
because I know exactly what he intends to do with that information.
“It’s not like there’s one single person.” I admit.
“It’s not everyone either. Some people just ignore me. Mostly it’s only the wolves who-” I cut myself off too late.
“The wolves…” He repeats, and the air in the room feels hotter.
“Aaron.” He concludes, voice dark.
640
“Well… I don’t think Aaron has actually done anything to me.” I say quickly.
“That fountain thing was more my clumsiness than anything else.” I ramble. Shit. I really need to stop talking. But it’s like now I’ve started, I just can’t
stop! Blake opens his mouth, probably to challenge that, but his phone chimes with the familiar SCRI notification sound. He pulls it out and I see the video
immediately, me slipping into the fountain. I glance up at the ceiling.
“Traitor.” I mutter to the Academy. Blake’s expression darkens as he watches.
“This was weeks ago .They’ve been bothering you since day one.” He says quietly.
“It wasn’t so bad at first.” I mumble, but even as I say it, my shoulders sag. I’m too tired to pretend it didn’t matter. He exhales sharply and crosses the space between us in two strides. This time when he pulls me into a hug, it isn’t possessive or overwhelming. It’s tight and protective and shaking slightly at
the edges, like he’s holding back far more than he’s showing.
“It won’t happen again.” He says firmly into my hair. I lean into him, exhausted, and let him hold me.
After a few minutes, Blake pulls back. He seems much calmer now, though the tension hasn’t left him. It’s just settled into something colder.
“Are you okay right now?” He asks, looking me straight in the eyes. I sigh.
“Well, you can probably see I just had a good cry. The most recent round of posts hit a nerve for sure. But I’m okay. I… Should have told you earlier. I already feel way better.” I say with a tiny smile. Blake nods once.
“Yes, you should have. And I would like to discuss why you didn’t. But not now.” He says bluntly. Then he steps back and turns toward the door. I blink,
feeling like I’ve just been emotionally spun around.
“Oh… Did you have somewhere you need to be?” I ask, a little confused.
“Yes.” He says evenly.
“I need to go deal with the wolves.” He answers. There’s no raised voice. No visible loss of control. If anything, he sounds completely steady. That terrifies
- me. He walks out.
“B–Blake? What does that mean? Deal with the wolves?” I call after him, but he’s already halfway down the hall. Not sure what else to do, I shove my shoes on and chase after him. It’s about dinner time, so he heads straight toward the cafeteria, moving so quickly I have to half run to keep up. He doesn’t speak He doesn’t look back. His shoulders are squared, his stride purposeful. It takes him only a few moments to find Aaron. As usual, he’s surrounded by other wolf shifters. They’re laughing about something when Blake reaches the table. Without saying a word, Ilake grabs Aaron and hauls him out of his seat for a moment, people scream and chairs scrape loudly against the floor. A tray clatters. Blake doesn’t react to the chans. He simply stands there, holding Aaron suspended, waiting. Gradually, the noise dies down. Conversations stop. The entire cafeteria goes quiet. He looks around slowly, deliberately making eye contact with as many people as possible. That’s when I understand. He isn’t just confronting Aaron. He’s making an example out of him. Blake reaches out with his free hand, claws extended, and digs them into Aaron’s shoulder. Aaron yells out in pain as blood drips down his arm
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Chapter 85 85. Never Let Him Hold Your Gaze Too Long
“Blake…” I say, but I don’t even know what I’m asking for. Last time Blake had Aaron like this, he’d been furious and impulsive. I’d been able to calm him down long enough to get him to let go. This is different. He isn’t out of control. He isn’t shaking. Every movement is measured and deliberate.
“I let you go last time.” Blake says, his voice colder than I’ve ever heard it.
“That was a mistake. Lexi is mine and you. Do. Not. Touch. Her.” He says firmly. He shifts his grip, claws still embedded, and then his hand moves higher
toward Aaron’s throat. My eyes widen. That would almost definitely kill him.
“Blake! What are you doing? You can’t just…” I trail off. He clearly knows exactly what he’s doing, and he’s intelligent enough to know the consequences. So
what am I even supposed to say?
“They all need to learn.” He replies calmly. The cafeteria is utterly silent. I take a shaky step forward.
“M–Maybe. But not like that. Please. I… I won’t be able to live with that.” I tell him honestly. Blake turns his head to look at me.
“If I killed him right now, you would leave.” It sounds more like a statement than a question. I nod quickly. There are some things that can’t be undone.
Aaron is awful, but dead isn’t sorry, and he’s not irredeemable. He’s an idiot, but he could get better. Probably. And I don’t think being an ass is a good
enough reason to kill someone. Blake studies my face for a moment, then nods once.
“Understood. I won’t kill him.” He decides. Relief starts to loosen my chest. Before I can even exhale, there is a sickening crack as Blake shifts his grip and
snaps Aaron’s wrist.
Comments
RVisitor
good…but I have a bad feeling this is gonna work against Blake not for him!
7 days ago
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
