"Then explain the resemblance?" Christopher demanded. He was practically vibrating with paranoia, utterly convinced Maximus was using a shape-shifting phantom of Gemma to get psychological revenge for the isolation room incident weeks ago.
"If you ask me, there really isn’t that much of a resemblance..." Zayn finally murmured.
Both of them snapped their heads toward him in surprise. Zayn warfare-slept through most conversations, rarely bothering to speak to anyone, let alone chime in on campus gossip.
Zayn glanced down at the glowing screen, his tone entirely indifferent. "Yeah. She looks like the Temu version of Gemma."
Draven was still lost staring at the photo when a familiar pair of tits caught his attention through the glass balcony below.
Tits girl?
...
Lena, Khloe, and Julian stepped out of the elevator with their meals, the heavy glass doors sliding shut behind them.
Because Lena’s food had scanned as a Prime-tier breakfast, Khloe was practically vibrating with excitement, gesturing wildly with her tray. "I’m telling you, this is where you’re supposed to be! You must actually be a Prime, and the housing office just accidentally logged you as a Tethered."
Lena looked down at her premium plate. For a fleeting second, she refused to allow herself to believe it. There was no way an ordinary, talentless wolf like her could be stronger than the wolves on the ground floor.
She thought she was lucky to be ranked Tethered. And she still hadn’t believed she was stronger than Strays.
If only the academy knew she was wolfless.
The thought was a cold, grounding slap of reality. If anyone in this room smelled the truth, she wouldn’t just be demoted; she’d be torn apart.
Lena’s gaze swept across the plush booths in the Prime floor, instantly landing on Kaelen Cross sitting a few tables away. Relief formed in her chest, then she remembered she didn’t bring his jacket.
She was just about to raise her hand to wave when a beautiful she-wolf at Kaelen’s table turned fiercely toward her, her eyes narrowing into an icy, territorial glare.
Kaelen’s girlfriend.
Lena’s hand instantly dropped back to her side. Kaelen didn’t move to help her; he just shot her a tense, warning look from across the room that clearly said: What the hell are you doing up here?
She opened her mouth, about to mouth a defensive response, but her instinctual danger-radar flared.
Her gaze shifted upward, tracing the grand architecture to the highest level above them.
The academy’s dining hall was built in a way that allowed the Prime rank to see up toward the Quad’s exclusive tier, but the glass was heavily tinted. From down here, the figures of the three Alphas were nothing but dark, towering silhouettes looming over the railing.
Yet, even through the darkness, Lena could feel the piercing, suffocating weight of three separate pairs of eyes locking directly onto her.
"Lena, let’s sit. I’m starving," Julian said, his voice breaking her trance as he nudged her arm toward an empty booth.
Forcing her eyes away from the dark shadows above, Lena took a deep breath, praying her cheap Beta spray would hold out for just one more hour.
She began walking toward the open booth, but before she could even bridge the gap to the table, a sudden shift in the air pressure cut her off.
A figure stepped directly into her path, completely blocking her way to the seat.
Lena blinked, stumbling back a half-step. She hadn’t even seen him cross the room. He was effortlessly, strikingly handsome–possessing a sharp jawline, messy hair, and a reckless, completely untamed edge that radiated from his posture.
He carried a wild frequency that immediately screamed predator, yet Lena found herself genuinely admiring the wolf’s rare, magnetic beauty.
She couldn’t help but wonder what such an attractive male was doing staring directly at her.
Then, he opened his mouth.
"Say, you have a nice pair of fine breasts."
Lena froze right where she stood, the admiration instantly dying in her throat. She stared at him, entirely convinced she had heard him wrong. "What?"
"Your breasts are mesmerizing," he clarified, his unhinged eyes not even trying to look at her face as his gaze tracked strictly downward.
Lena’s fists clenched tightly by her sides. This absolute idiot.
"Just let it go," Khloe muttered frantically under her breath, aggressively nudging Lena’s arm from behind to get her moving around him. "That’s Alpha Draven. Trust me, it’s better to just say thank you..."
Lena had already decided not to give this wolf any more of her attention. She turned her shoulder, attempting to step around him to reach the table.
However, the wolf clearly didn’t appreciate being ignored. Noticing her sour expression, his grin only widened as he shifted his weight seamlessly to block her path again. "My, I didn’t know you would be so fiery about a damn compliment."
Compliment? That was it. Lena turned abruptly, her patience snapping. "Keep your degrading compliments to yourself. How would you feel if I talked about your dick, asshole?"
The entire surrounding radius of the Prime floor went dead silent. A few nearby wolves actually stopped mid-chew.
He, however, simply placed a pleased, theatrical hand over his chest, showing exactly how much he loved their conversation.
He blushed, his easygoing eyes sparkling with pure, playful amusement, "Well, I would say we’re a match made in heaven."
What the heck?
Lena’s reasoning was simple: since everyone in this room was legally stronger than her, it was better to act tough to intimidate them.
Besides, how could she act weak and submissive after shaking her ass in front of the entire hallway yesterday?
She could practically feel the burn in her skin from the number of eyes glued to her frontside. Including his. Even as he spoke, his gaze was strictly tracking Jessica and Elle.
Why was everyone in this academy acting like they hadn’t seen boobs before?
Her cheeks burned with a mix of embarrassment and fury, her frown deepening as she forced his attention back up to her face.
Lena glared like she wanted to punch him–putting on the toughest, most intimidating face she could muster–while secretly praying someone would drag her away before she pissed this monster off for real.
Luckily, Julian–the absolute savior of her life–grabbed her elbow.
"Stop it, Lena, you don’t want to annoy him," Julian muttered through a forced, panicking smile.
He turned to the wolf with a quick, apologetic bow. "I’m so sorry, Alpha Draven. My friend had a bit too much alcohol last night. She’s still–"
"Did I give you permission to touch her?"