Chapter 90
Dominic POV
Light floods the room.
“Ellie?” Lucas’s voice cuts through the moment like a blade. His eyes flash between Ellie and I, eyes narrowing.
I nearly threw my book at him.
“What…are you doing?” He asked.
We’ve frozen, Ellie stiff to my chest, my arm over her, nose close.
Ellie yanks off of me like I burn, brushing her skirt. “Nothing!” She says, face and ears a red mess. “His stupid friends locked us in and-”
Lucas scoffed, nodding to me, “Right. Why didn’t you just break the door?”
I leaned back, a curl in my lip. “Charm locked. Besides why do I always have to brak the door.”
Ellie snapped my way. “Because your the only one who can?”
“Well, I couldn’t.” I shrugged. “We were keeping warm.”
Lucas stepped aside, motioning for Ellie to exit. “Keeping warm doesn’t involve face smacking.”
Ellie froze passing him, putting a finger to his face. “Ew! We did face smack! Don’t just say that!”
She glanced back at me one last time, her expression shifting of that to a kicked puppy, leaving.
Great.
The next day, I don’t bother being subtle. I walk right up to my group, slamming a hand over them, the lockers rattling.
Jake opens his mouth. Marcus flinches. Tyler goes quiet.
“Oh, ah, hey dude,” Jake give a wave. “How was
“What you pulled last night,” I said, voice low and sharp, “was not okay.”
Silence fell fast.
“Ellie could’ve frozen,” I continued. “And you knew better.”
Marcus scoffed. “Alrigth dude, chill. Quit the tough guy act, we all know if you meant it, If you really wanted us to stop, wel would’ve broken our arms like you said. Come on, you liked it — ”
I shoved his shoulder hard enough to knock him back a step.
“Do you ever shut up and think,” I snapped. “Don’t confuse restraint with permission.”
Their expressions shifted, surprise first, then something closer to humiliation
“I shouldn’t have to threaten you to be heard.” I said coldly “If you were decent fietuds, you wait’ve got thin own and listened. Instead I got three dumbass’s asking for me to beat there ass instead groaning
No one spoke
I turned and walked away bestore a single apology could hit the
Crivate
+25 Bonus
Ellie POV
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still thinking about it.
I sit at my station in healer practical class, fingers neatly folded, posture perfect, eyes forward–but internally, it’s just heat.
The memory slips in where it doesn’t belong. His arm. His heat.
I almost kissed him.
The thought still makes my stomach twist, warm and mortifying all at once.
Thank the gods Lucas showed up.
If the door had stayed shut another second wold I have-No. I don’t finish that thought.
Gods, I hope he told off his stupid friends…although what he said was kinda….well, like an Alpha.
I remember how he used to be in my old life, demanding order, ruling with an iron fist. This Dominic seemed… more mature.
In some ways.
Whatever.
Whatever Dominic felt, whatever real thing flickered in that moment, it was tangled in too much chaos to be safe. His world is power, pressure, expectation. Maybe it was all another trick.
How would I know. I can’t just test it just end up dead again.
But…I shifted my my seat, restless. Something about his hands on mine, how I wanted to let it move to my thigh
“Settle down,” Professor Moar calls, voice sharp enough to snap me back into the room.
The murmur dies instantly.
She stands at the front of the hall, hands clasped behind her back, eyes bright with that dangerous excitement she only gets when something big is coming.
“Today marks the start of a school-wide assessment,” she announces. “This will be a two-part assignment beginning now and continuing into multiple trials over the coming weeks.”
A ripple of interest moves through the room.
“These trials will test resilience, teamwork, adaptability, and decision-making under pressure,” she continues. “For healden, today’s focus will be physical diagnostics. Then, you’ll face a controlled real-world scenario in teams.”
My spine straightens despite myself.
Real world.
She gestures toward the doors. “As before, students from the Management Academy will be joining is
Right of course they will
They file in moments later calm, observant, already assessing the room ke it’s a battle pad chug fix m
Dominic
My head hits the desk
I can’t do this Not today but my face does heat despite toy bgte
No Professional distance That’s the rule
Chops
+25 Bonus
Karina, who’s sitting stiffly beside me, has her arms crossed, jaw tight. She sends me a slight glare.
“What’s with al the blush,” She mocks. “He doesn’t even like you.”
“What’s all the attitude?” I murmur under my breath.
She shoots me a look. “Excuse me?”
“You’ve been radiating hate it since I walked in this morning.” I sighed. “I get it, I outted your plan to end me or whatever, but your still here because of me. Maybe loosen up.”
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