Lavenia's POV
"Where have you been? Why did you go out alone without an escort? You didn't even turn your device on." Dad blocked my path, stepped closer and sniffed me. "You smell like hell, Lav! What were you doing that you didn't come home last night? Damien was looking for you. Don't you have class today?"
"Yes... I'm gonna get ready and leave now," I answered quickly. His face finally relaxed a little. "But I don't need that jerk to drive me. I'll take my own car."
"You're still going with Damien. That's an order. Do you hear me?" I didn't answer until Dad called me again. "Lavenia Howls!"
"Got it..." I muttered lazily, still heading up the stairs and hurry.
Damien was already waiting in his car with an innocent look on his face. He apparently forgotten he'd just betrayed me, slept with my best friend, and was now playing the part of devoted boyfriend and a perfect future husband.
He opened the door for me, fastened my seatbelt, and lifted my hand to his lips.
"Where are we going?" he asked with a smile that used to make me fall in love, but now made me want to throw up.
"To hell," I replied casually, which made him laugh.
"Alright, alright... looks like my little wolf is still mad. How about we grab your favorite ice cream first, hm? Or your favorite cake—cinnamon cheesecake? Or go shopping? Hit the amusement park? Just say the word. I'll make it happen."
"Stop, Damien! I'm not a little kid who you can seduce with favorite foods, gifts, fun—just stop!" I shook my head weakly. More out of laziness than effort. "Tell me what you really want. If you still want to have fun, why did you agree to my father's term? You can break this bond and have fun with any woman you like."
He shook his head. "No, no, Lav... you can't ask me to leave because you're my mate."
"Ugh! What the hell is this?"
"I'm serious."
"Let me out here," I said. He ignored me and press harder on the gas pedal. "Damien, stop or I'll jump!"
Tires screeched.
"Fine! Happy now?"
I stared at him for a moment. That annoying smile was gone, as if it only appeared when he wanted it to. The rest of the time, he would turn into someone I didn't know.
I started to wonder how I'd managed to stay in a relationship with him for two years.
I stomped away. My body had felt so tired since morning and there was a dull soreness in my core. I wondered if it was because...
"Hey!" someone called, making me turn my head. Oh... it was him—the one with unique eyes and milky white skin—rolling down the window of his sports car and stopping in front of me. "Get in."
"Uhm, no... I'm going that way. Ravencourt University. You must be going in a different direction, right?" I said.
"We're going the same way." He got out and motioned for me to get in through the door he had opened for me. Well, such a gentleman.
"Thanks."
"Pleasure." He drove at a moderate speed, seemingly trying to find something to talk about. Last night, he was the calmest and quietest of them all. "Are you a student there or... a teacher?"
"I'm a student."
"Ahem, we're here," he said, turning off the engine, glancing at me and... "About last night..."
"Uh, sorry, I think we'll talk about it later. I'm in a hurry because there's a new lecturer. They say he's a killer," I replied after glancing at my watch, which was already past nine. I got out of his car and hurried away after thanking him.
I deliberately took the seat at the back. I was late, but the lecturer was even later than me. The sound of footsteps on the marble floor caught my attention. Why did it feel familiar and... like something was drawing me closer? Even so, I stayed where I was.
The man was standing at the front. He had an athletic build, a symmetrical jawline sculpted by the Moon Goddess, uniquely small almond-shaped eyes with a sharp gaze, jet-black hair I could still feel againts my palm, his milky-white skin, and... his scent continued to swirl in my nostrils—he was there and tugging at my subconscious, so I straightened my back on instinct.
"Good morning, everyone. Let me introduce myself. I am Hero Satoshi. I am your new lecturer in journalism ethics. I look forward to working with you."
Crap!
***
The lecture ended and I immediately tidied up my notes and stuffed them into my bag when the handsome lecturer approached my desk.
My movements froze. I was afraid to lift my face because from where I was sitting, I already knew he was very close. Even with a bit of distance between us, the air felt strange. A soothing aroma of green tea mixed with warm cedarwood drifted from his body.
How could I forget this scent?
"Miss Howls, come to my office. Now." He commanded as if I were his subordinate. I almost slapped him with the fact that we were bound by a business agreement. However, I held myself back, because everything between me and him—and the other three—had to remain confidential.
All eyes were on me, some whispering with sour expression. I ignored them and marched toward our new lecturer's room.
He closed the door, locked it, then grabbed me and pinned me against his desk. He nudged my legs apart with his knee, grabbed my waist, and pull me closer to him. Felt him so close and... thight.
"Nice to see you again, Lavenia," he whispered in my ear. The warm breath on my neck sent a tingling sensation through me. It was almost overwhelming.
He lifted me off the desk and set me back down, putting some distance between us, while I was still trying to calm my racing heart and raging hormones.
After what he had just done, how could he look so calm?
"Please sit down," he said. I obeyed his command and he immediately went to the corner of the room and started fussing around there. "Coffee? Tea?"
"Just cold water—there's a fire I need to put out," I replied and he chuckled. He came back to me with a bottle of water from the refrigerator and handed it to me.
"Need help?" he asked.
"With what?"
He came closer—so close that I could smell the menthol in his breath.
"Putting out the fire," he said.
Damn...
"Uh... I think we should get straight to the point. Why did you call me here? Is there... a problem with last night's agreement?"
"Oh, that... no. It's not about the agreement. This is purely academic. Between a professor and a student." He handed me a folder—mine—containing a scholarship application proposal. "You're a smart student, but... why this? I mean, you' don't exactly look like a poor student. Your father is an alpha. What are you trying to do here, Lavenia?"
I stared at him and paused before answering, "Does being an alpha's daughter mean I can't want something that comes from my own effort? I want to finish my studies with my own hard work."
"Why not take a part-time job?"
"I'm terrible at that." I pouted. "I once worked at a bar. They fired me after just one night."
He frowned. "Why?"
"Because I climbed onto the bar table and danced a striptease in front of everyone."
He laughed loudly. "That was bad."
"It was. That's why I applied for the scholarship. Because I can only rely on my intelligence. Or... do you want me to striptease so you'll... approve my proposal?" I traced his chest with my finger and pulled his tie until he was closer to me.
"Ahem! That's very tempting," he said, clearing his throat. "But I think... maybe next time."
"Are you sure?" I teased.
He stared at me intently then said, "Please, Lav. I won't stop if you do this." He raised both hands as if surrendering. I nodded and put some distance between us. He took my proposal and checked it again. "So your grades are the only thing you can guarantee to get this scholarship?"
"I guess so. What else?" I asked. He went silent, as if thinking about something.
"Since I am your homeroom adviser now, I am giving you a condition."
"What is it? As long as it's not being a cafe or bar waitress."
He laughed. "No. This will be easy for you." He took a piece of paper—a brochure—from his desk drawer and handed it to me.
"A painting exhibition? What do you want me to do?"
"Interview the artist and get complete information about him—his painting style, the company running exhibition... anything. Then write a news article about the event. Make it as interesting as possible."
I stared at Hero in disbelief. "Seriously, that's it?"
"No. There's another condition." He leaned closer, stroked my hair, and tucked it behind my ear. I held my breath as his face was so close to mine. "I don'twant you getting too close to him. I'm a jealous man. Come back to me exactly just the way you are now."