Tiffany smiled brightly.
She was one of the most recognizable girls in their Mass Communication class—and a heavily popular influencer on social media.
“Sorry to bother you,” Tiffany said, playing nervously with a strand of her hair as she stepped into Vanessa’s path.
“But do you have some time this evening to talk?
It’s really important.” Vanessa frowned slightly, her eyes darting back toward the classroom where Lucas was.
“Talk?” “Yeah.” Vanessa would probably have agreed under normal circumstances, but she had to return to the pack territory before evening because of the ongoing rogue perimeter situation.
“I don’t have time today.” She turned to walk past her.
Tiffany quickly stepped in front of her again.
“What about tomorrow?
Please?” Vanessa paused, thinking about her schedule for a quick second.
“Yeah.
Tomorrow works.” Tiffany smiled in relief.
“Great!” Vanessa gave a brief nod before turning right back toward the classroom, walking inside with purpose.
“Lucas,” she called out.
He looked up immediately, his eyes brightening.
Vanessa walked straight toward him, and Lucas met her halfway, leaning down to press a quick kiss against her lips.
Vanessa’s eyes immediately shifted past his shoulder, landing directly on the human girl sitting at the desk behind him.
She didn’t recognize her at all.
“Who’s she?” Vanessa asked, her voice sweet but her gaze sharp.
“She’s Valerie,” Lucas explained easily.
“A friend of mine and my project partner for our upcoming finals.” Vanessa smiled politely, the expression entirely fake as she opened their private mindlink.
*Since when did you start having human female friends, Lucas?* Lucas shot her a warning look through the link.
*Vanessa, you’re my mate.
Don’t act this way.
There’s nothing going on.* She rolled her eyes mentally before looking back at the girl.
“Valerie, I’m Vanessa.
Lucas’ mate.” Lucas immediately cleared his throat, a light flush hitting his neck.
“She means girlfriend.” Vanessa slowly turned her head toward him, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
“Right.
Girlfriend.” Valerie’s expression changed instantly.
The friendly smile vanished, replaced by a look of sudden realization.
“Oh…” She looked up at Lucas, her voice carrying a clear note of disappointment.
“You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend, Lucas.” Lucas scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
“Erm…
sorry about that?” “No, it’s fine.” Valerie stood up quickly, grabbing her notebook.
“Bye, Lucas.” She walked right past Vanessa, intentionally avoiding eye contact as she hurried out of the room.
Vanessa watched her bedroom exit before crossing her arms.
“Bitch.” Lucas shook his head with a fond sigh.
“Let’s just go, babe.
You scared her off.” “Carry me,” Vanessa demanded, pouting her lips.
Lucas laughed.
“Seriously?
In the middle of the hallway?” “Yes.” With a wide smile, he took her heavy bag from her shoulder, looped it over his arm, and lifted her off her feet.
Vanessa laughed happily as he carried her bridal-style down the university hallway, ignoring the stares of the human students around them.
*** “I’m so tired,” Raquelle groaned, tossing her towel onto her desk after wiping the sweat from her face.
She opened the small refrigerator in the corner of her office and grabbed a cold bottle of water, twisting the cap off.
Jake sat across from her on the leather couch, completely in a thick book, his long legs stretched out.
The heavy office door suddenly opened, and Dominic walked in carrying three steaming takeout packages.
He gently closed the door behind him with his foot before walking over to the desk.
“I got us food from the pack’s restaurant.” Raquelle’s face immediately brightened, the exhaustion lifting.
“You’re the absolute best, Dominic.” She eagerly took her package and set down her water bottle.
Jake finally looked up from his book, his eyes locking onto the food.
“Marry me, Dominic.” Dominic chuckled, handing Jake his meal.
“Gladly, Gamma.” Raquelle laughed, sitting back in her chair.
“Excuse me?
Am I interrupting a romance here?” Jake grinned, opening his container.
“Don’t be jealous, Alpha.
There’s enough of him to go around.” They opened their meals and began eating, the easy familiarity of the trio returning after weeks of heavy silence.
Within minutes, the tension completely melted, and the office was filled with genuine, loud laughter as they traded stories from the training field.
“Then he farted right on me,” Raquelle said, gesturing with her fork.
The guys burst out laughing.
Jake nearly choked on his rice, clutching his stomach as he fell back against the couch cushions.
“What did—” He burst into another fit of laughter.
“What did you do?” “I acted like absolutely nothing happened,” Raquelle said, trying and failing to keep a straight face.
“Though I pinched him so hard when no one was watching.” That sent all three of them into another roaring fit of laughter.
Dominic wiped a tear from his eye, leaning against the desk.
“Did you see when Sylvester tried to give Rory a massive smackdown during the drills?” “Yeah, yeah!” Raquelle laughed, her eyes crinkling.
“He wanted to give him a total smackdown but completely tripped over his own boots and fell down instead!” They erupted into loud laughter again, the sound echoing off the walls.
Then— *Knock.
Knock.* The laughter died instantly.
The shift in the room was violent.
All three of them stopped moving, their eyes turning toward the heavy oak door in perfect synchronization.
The warmth completely disappeared from Raquelle’s face, replaced in a split second by the calm, terrifyingly unreadable expression of a dominant Alpha.
“Who is it?” she called out, her voice dropping into a professional register.
“It’s me, Delta Adams.” Raquelle straightened her posture in her chair.
“Come in.” The door opened with a click.
Delta Adams stepped inside, his expression incredibly grim, and immediately closed the door behind him to secure the room.
“Alpha.
Beta.
Gamma,” Adams said, acknowledging each of them respectfully with a firm bow.
Raquelle set her food aside, her focus entirely locked on him.
“Yes, Delta.
What is it?” Adams walked toward the desk with measured steps.
He reached into his uniform jacket and held out a heavy, cream-colored envelope.
Raquelle’s golden eyes immediately dropped to the symbol stamped into the seal.
Her breath hitched.
“This is an official message from the Evergreen Pack, Alpha,” Adams announced.
**** Do you guys remember that rogue was from Evergreen pack????