RYAN’S POV
I slammed my fist into the wall so hard that the plaster cracked under the blow, the sharp sting shooting through my knuckles, warm blood already dripping down my hand. “Fuck!” I cursed, the word tearing out of me before I could stop it. Anna’s last words kept replaying in my head over and over again as if in some cruel loop I couldn’t break out of. A mistake. She’d called what we had a mistake. No matter how I turned it around in my head, it didn’t make sense, because it wasn’t a mistake, not to me, not to my wolf, not to any damn part of me. Something must have happened. Something had to be wrong.
I could feel my wolf clawing at me from the inside, tugging at my chest, urging me to go after her, to not let her walk away. But deep down I knew if I did that right now, it wouldn’t end well. So I grabbed my car keys and headed out, my body was running on autopilot as I drove to Chris’s bar.
The moment I walked in, I went straight to the counter and ordered the strongest drink they had. The burn of alcohol down my throat didn’t do a damn thing to ease the ache in my chest. I kept drinking, one glass after another, while couples filled the place, laughing, holding hands, kissing, making their hoppiness feel as if it was rubbing right in my face. Girls strutted in wearing clothes that barely qualified as clothes, showing off skin, flashing smiles, leaning toward me, pressing too close. They laughed at things I didn’t even hear, their perfume heavy in the air, their hands brushing against me on purpose. But I brushed them off me.
I kept drinking, pushing the limits, but with both my parents‘ alpha blood running through me, it was almost impossible to get drunk. The strongest drink in the bar barely made me tipsy. I was still painfully aware of every sound, every smell, every second making itself drag by. By the time I glanced at the clock, it was past nine. I’d been sitting here for almost two hours, and the noise in the bar was starting to crowl under my skin.
My phone rang, and for one stupid second, my heart jumped thinking it might be Anna. I snatched it up without even checking, but it was Chris. He asked if I was at the bar because he thought he saw me on the camera feed from his VIP room. I told him yeah, but I was about to leave, then hung up without another word.
I stepped outside and walked toward my car, but the moment I opened the door, I hesitated. I was tipsy, sure, it was enough to know driving wasn’t a great idea. So I pulled out my phone and called a cab instead.
but
When the driver pulled up, I didn’t even give him my home address. Instead, I told him to take me to Nivelle University. My brain didn’t argue. My body didn’t argue. I just… needed to see her. I couldn’t sit with this gnawing emptiness. Not after I’d already had her, claimed her, felt her in my arms. The ache in my head was making it hard to think straight, so I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes until we got there.
When we pu
pulled up, I told the driver to head to the female dorm building. I knew exactly where it was. The male dorms were in the next building over. I paid the driver and stepped out into the cool night air, watching the cab drive off.
I stood there, looking at the entrance to her dorm, my heart pounding in my chest. I pulled out my phone and called her. She cut the call. I called again, but this time it went straight to voicemail. My jow tightened.
I typed out a text: Come downstairs. I just want to see you. If you don’t, I’ll make a scene here.
Her reply was short: Fine.
I shoved my phone in my pocket and waited. A few minutes later, I saw her walking toward me, her hood up, hiding most of her face. She stopped a few feet away.
“Hey,” I said quietly.
1/2
+25 BONUS
“What are you doing here, Ryan?” she asked, her voice low but sharp. “You shouldn’t be here. Mom just left not too long ago after helping me set up my new room.”
“I can’t get you out of my head,” I admitted, stepping closer. “Just… let me see your new room.”
“No,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “You’re drunk. When you’re sober, maybe. But not now. It’s late, and it’s not appropriate to bring a man into the ladies‘ dorm.”
“Anna…” I started, my voice w
“Go home, Ryan.”
but she cut me off.
I reached for her hand, my fingers closing around it before she could pull away. My tone dropped, edged with frustration I couldn’t hide. “Take me to your room, Anna… or I’ll find it myself.”
