Chapter 94
“You know,” Lucas finally grinned. “Defending him is step one. I didn’t know you two were so close.”
“We aren’t.”
Lucas plucked a grape from his plate, giving me a coy grin. “Nose to nose in a gym closet says otherwise.”
I shift uncomfortably, and he notes it.
“I honestly didn’t think you’d agree,” he admits, tapping his fingers lightly against the table, shifting the topic. “To this, I mean. Figured you’d tell me you were busy saving a student or something.”
I lift a brow. “Then why ask me?”
“Because that’s how you do it, not locking us in a closet.” He grinned. “Plus, I was prepared to be rejected with grace and dignity.”
I snort. “You don’t strike me as the type.”
“Wounded,” he says, pressing a hand to his chest. “Deeply.”
I glance up at him. “To be honest, I… didn’t think I’d say yes either.”
His smile softens, just a little. “Glad you did.”
We eat. Talk. He asks about healer rotations, about which professors I secretly dread, about what I do when I’m not studying or patching people back together.
At one point, I thank him again, for the study materials, the notes he shared before midterms.
He waves it off immediately. “I’d do it again. No hesitation.”
I nod, “They were a huge help. But next time I would prefer not to cheat”
He shrugs. “It’s not cheating. It’s a study guide for an unfair test.”
I point my fork at him. “One you could get in trouble for.”
“Helping you helps the world.” He waved dramatically. “Or something poetic like that.”
I laugh, shaking my head.
Then, his hand finds mine.
I stiffen. Eyes locking to it on the table.
His fingers rest lightly over the back of my hand, like he’s giving me the choice without making a show of it.
I… don’t pull away.
I don’t lean in either.
Something feels odd about it. It doesn’t feel the same.
Not wrong. Not uncomfortable
Just different.
Like nothing
There’s no spark racing up my spine. Sure there’s this warmth but so shape my thoughts biur
And for reasons I don’t want to examine too closely, that bothers me.
“If you need anything,” he says with a smile. “Remember, I’m here. I’m a future Alpha too, don’t forget that.”
+25 Bonus
Later, Sarah finds me by the apothecary shelves, her expression careful in that way that tells me she’s choosing her words.
“I see you’re hiding.”
Sliding a book into a shelf, I pull my lips between my teeth.
“I’m not hiding. Working.”
She followed my steps, loafer patting the carpet soft. “You only organize the books when you deep in thought. Something happen?”
My finger thrumbed the hard cover. “No, just… a lot on my mind. I don’t know.”
“I saw you at lunch,” she says gently.
I brace instinctively, but her tones wasn’t teasing.
She just asks, “How did it feel?”
The question lingers longer than I want it to.
“What do you-”
“I saw you with Lucas, your hands. Was it…a spark? You two are cute!”
I had no clue what to make of that line of questioning. I wanted to snap, tell her off, but my anger was just cold now.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I thought Lucas was always…good looking. But I’m busy. And when he had asked me to lunch. Honestly, I didn’t care to go but I saw…it bothered Dominic. So I went.”
Her toe tapped the ground behind her thoughtfully. “I didn’t ask about Dom.”
I stiffened.
“I thought you didn’t care was Dominic thinks?”
“I don’t.” I say quick. “Maybe I just wanted… some pay back. I don’t know.”
She nods, carefully. “Just… be careful not to confuse momentary vindication with healing or validation to your pain. ”
I glance at her, taken aback by her sudden wisdom.
“Even if Dominic deserved to be uncomfortable,” she continues softly, “reacting just to hurt him still keeps him in the C your choices. And that’s not what what you want, or what a healer does. ”
I carry that with me long after she leaves.
I guess the power had been tempting Seeing Donunic unsettled Choosing something that distancestor castres Press walk away
But I should of I used to What changed? Was i fed ups?
I should have walked. Let him leave without pushung it
Not because he deserves restraint
But because I’m better then it
+25 Bonus
