4
975 Words
Sasha POV
The bruises blooming beneath my skin throbbed with every step.
The corridors of the Academy were darker at night, colder too, lit by occasional sconces that cast trembling shadows against the ancient stone walls. I pulled my hoodie tighter, head down, doing everything I could to blend in. My ribs ached from where Cael’s elbow had landed during the fight, and the tight compression binder across my chest made it worse.
But pain wasn’t the problem.
Cael was.
The fury in his eyes when I disarmed him in front of the entire combat circle… it wasn’t the type to fade with time.
It was the kind that festered.
That hunted.
I turned down a quieter wing, heading toward the back courtyard for some air, when I heard a footstep.
Just one.
Too close behind.
Too heavy to be a mistake.
I spun, heart leaping, and there he was.
Cael Thorn.
Still in training gear, dark jacket unzipped, eyes blazing like coals under shadow. A livid bruise cut across his jawline, his lip still split from when I’d landed a kick.
He looked like rage in human form.
“You little bastard,” he snarled.
I froze.
Everything in me screamed to back away, but I forced myself to stay still, shoulders squared.
“You looking for another fight?” I said, voice low and hoarse, trying to keep it in Rowan’s deeper register.
“You humiliated me in front of everyone,” Cael growled, closing the distance. “You think you can show me up and walk away like nothing happened?”
“It was a match,” I said. "I played by the rules. You got beat. End of story.”
“No,” he seethed. “You embarrassed me. There’s no end to that.”
And then he lunged.
Fast.
I dodged, but not enough. His hand caught my shoulder and slammed me into the stone wall.
Pain exploded in my ribs.
I bit down a gasp, eyes wide, and stared up into his face, inches from mine. His breath was hot. Sour with fury. He gripped my hoodie and yanked the fabric back, exposing more of my jaw, my throat. My heart lurched in panic.
“Something’s off about you,” he growled, his voice low. Dangerous. “You don’t fight like a first-year. You don’t move like a guy either.”
My blood ran cold.
I kept my expression blank, forcing my voice to stay even. “Get your hands off me.”
Cael laughed, a low, bitter sound. “What’s under all that, huh?” His eyes dropped to my shirt. “You hiding something, Dean?”
Panic surged.
If he reached down and touched the compression binder, my entire life would go up in flames.
I moved fast, knee driving upward toward his gut, but he caught my leg and slammed it back down.
Too strong. Too close.
My wolf snarled in fear beneath my skin, but I couldn’t shift. Couldn’t blow my cover.
Then...
A shadow moved behind him.
A pressure wave dropped over the corridor like a storm cloud ready to split.
“Let go of him.”
The voice didn’t yell.
It didn’t need to.
Cael turned slowly, his grip loosening, and I sucked in a breath the moment he shifted his weight off me.
Alex Knight stood at the far end of the corridor, arms crossed, eyes burning silver even in the dim torchlight. His expression was unreadable, but the menace in his posture was undeniable.
He stepped forward.
“Now,” he said again.
Cael scowled. “What, you're his watchdog now?”
Alex didn’t answer. He just kept walking, steady and calm, like a predator. Every step echoed with tension. I saw it in Cael, the moment the bravado cracked. He stepped back from me, nostrils flaring.
“You should stay out of this,” Cael said sharply.
Alex’s eyes didn’t leave him. "I don't think so. All I see is someone who can’t accept a fair loss. That’s weakness.”
That hit Cael where it hurt. His jaw clenched. He threw one last glare my way, then spat at the ground near my feet and stormed off down the hall, muttering curses under his breath.
Silence followed him.
I was still pressed against the wall, breath shallow, heart racing.
Alex stopped two paces away.
He looked at me, not the way he looked at others. This stare was colder. Sharper. Like he was peeling me apart one layer at a time.
“Are you hurt?”
“No,” I rasped, my voice low.
He arched his brow. “You’re a bad liar.”
I straightened, forcing my spine stiff, biting back the tremble in my hands. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
Alex stepped even closer.
And the air shifted.
Power radiated off him in waves, raw, unfiltered alpha energy that scraped across my skin like static. His eyes dipped to my throat, where Cael’s grip had left a red mark.
Something flickered in his expression.
Something darker than anger.
“I don’t like such pathetic behavior,” he said quietly.
My breath caught.
“He started it,” I said. “He cornered me.”
He tilted his head slightly, studying me like a puzzle. “That’s the thing, Dean. Blaming others like a kid.”
I stepped sideways to pass him. “Thanks for the rescue. But I can handle myself.”
“Not from someone like him,” Alex said behind me. “Not if he catches you alone again.”
I didn’t turn back.
I couldn’t.
Because my chest was burning. My lungs were tight. Not from the fight, but from the fear.
He was watching too closely.
Looking too deeply.
And sooner or later… Alex Knight was going to see through me.
- Writer
