The freezing rain slammed against the high arched windows of the humanities pavilion, but Avery barely heard it. Her entire universe had narrowed to the precise, lingering heat of Jake’s breath against the shell of her ear, his gravelly promise vibrating through her bones long after his massive frame had vanished into the campus fog.
“Because tonight... I'm opening the ledger back up.”
She walked back to her dorm room in a blind, icy panic. Her tactical boots clicked sharply against the wet flagstones, each strike sounding like the tick of an executioner’s clock. She slammed her heavy oak door shut, zipping her jacket down to her chest before her hands began to shake violently.
She caught her reflection in the small vanity mirror. The dark, swollen alpha markings along the column of
