Chapter Ten: Carol's POV
This implication sent chills through me.
This wasn't coincidence or good luck. Maurice had carefully orchestrated all of this.
He'd made himself my professor, designed a research project specifically to attract me. Now he'd given me an opportunity, one that would allow him regular, unsupervised access to me.
We left the academic building, heading toward the dorms. Emma kept chattering excitedly along the way, but another thought was forming in my mind.
Maybe when Maurice thought he was manipulating me into his orbit, I could use his game against him.
"I'm accepting," I said suddenly. Even I was surprised by my decision.
Emma screamed again, hugging me tight, nearly knocking me off balance. "I knew you would! You have to! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. When do you start?"
"I haven't formally accepted yet," I said, but my mind was already planning quickly.
If I was going to voluntarily walk into his territory, I needed to be smarter about it.
I needed to tell Simon—no, I couldn't tell Simon. He'd go crazy, might tear Maurice apart before I got any information.
I barely listened to the rest of my classes. My mind was full of this.
"Think about it?" Emma looked at me like I was crazy. "Carol, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! If you don't—" She suddenly stopped, her gaze shifting to something behind me. "Carol? There's a scary-looking guy heading this way."
I turned around, my heart sinking.
Marcus was striding down the hallway, purposeful, fast-paced. Simon had sent him.
"Miss Valodin," Marcus said when he reached me. His voice was rough and formal, as it always was when others were present. "Mr. Volkov requests your presence. The car is waiting outside."
My heart sank further.
Simon must know something. Otherwise he wouldn't send Marcus to school in broad daylight to pick me up, in front of my classmates.
Emma's eyes widened, looking between us. She could obviously sense something was wrong, though she didn't know why.
"I'll find you later," I told Emma, trying to keep my tone casual. But my palms were already sweating. "We can talk about the research tonight."
She nodded, still looking unsettled.
I followed Marcus out of the building, across campus, toward the parking lot. The black Lincoln was parked in a faculty spot, where it shouldn't be, but no one dared say anything.
Marcus opened the back door for me. I slid into the car to find Simon already waiting.
He sat in the corner of the back seat, one arm draped over the leather upholstery.
His face showed no expression. The car suddenly felt very cramped, the air stifling.
I could smell that distinctive scent on him, and something else, a dangerous aura.
We sat in silence for a long time. Simon just looked at me with those golden eyes, as if he could see through all the defenses I was trying to maintain.
I found myself wanting to apologize, though I didn't know what I'd done wrong.
"I want to tell you something," I said. Maybe if I spoke first, I could prevent him from suddenly erupting in this silence.
"Professor St. Claire offered me a research assistant position. It's a rare opportunity, usually only given to graduate students, and—"
"No." He said it flatly, absolutely, leaving no room for discussion. "You're going to decline."
My face flushed, anger and humiliation burning.
My hands clenched into fists on my knees.
"I said no, Carol." His voice dropped low, carrying Alpha command. I felt my chest compress, unable to breathe. "You must decline. Except for class, you're not to have any contact with Maurice St. Claire."
"Why?" My voice rose sharply. "Why do you have to control everything about me? I'm not a child anymore, Simon. I'm a college student, with my own interests and goals. I have the right to make my own decisions!"
Something flashed in his eyes—maybe pain, maybe regret.
But it was gone too quickly, before I could identify it.
"This isn't about control," he said.
But we both knew that was a lie.
"It's about protecting you. There are threats you don't understand yet."
"Then tell me!" I was almost shouting now. I didn't care if Marcus could hear from the driver's seat. "Stop treating me like I'm too fragile or too stupid to know the truth! If working with Professor St. Claire is dangerous, then say so!"
For a moment, I thought he really would speak.
Thought he would drop that controlled facade and tell me what he knew about Maurice, about vampires, about why my blood was so special it was worth keeping me alive.
He clenched his jaw. I could see him struggling with himself.
Then all expression left his face, and that look hurt me more than any harsh words he could have said.
"My decision won't change," he said, voice devoid of emotion. "You must decline."
"No." The word escaped before I even realized. I myself was surprised it came out.
All these years, he'd been telling me what to do, where to go, how to live, and I'd never been able to decide my own future.
"I'm going to accept. I want to do this research, I'm interested in this subject. You can't take it away from me just because you think it doesn't fit your plans for me."
The car fell silent. Simon stared at me, his eyes completely golden.
My vision started to darken. I realized I really couldn't breathe.
Then, just when I thought I'd really pass out, the oppressive feeling suddenly vanished.
Simon turned his face toward the car window, his jaw clenched tight, the tendons in his neck standing out.
I gasped for air, my chest aching.
"If you must go," he said. His voice was still controlled, but there was something wrong in it. "Then there are conditions. Non-negotiable."
I nodded. I couldn't speak.
"Leon will accompany you in the lab or whenever you see St. Claire. You cannot be alone in a room with any man, whether he's a professor, teaching assistant, or lab classmate. If anyone touches you or makes you uncomfortable, you tell me immediately." His fingers opened and closed. I could see him restraining himself from acting. "Do you understand?"
"This is ridiculous..." I started to protest, but he looked at me and I immediately shut up.
"Those are the conditions. You agree, I'll allow you to take the research assistant position. You don't agree, you can forget about the position." He wasn't joking. "You choose, Carol."
This unfairness made me want to cry, but I held it in. I didn't want to show Simon my vulnerability.
"Fine," I said stiffly. "Your conditions. Whatever you want."
"Marcus will take you back to the dorm," Simon said. His tone made it clear the conversation was over. "You have class tomorrow morning. Get some rest."
I reached for the door handle, wanting to quickly escape this suffocating feeling in the car.
But his voice stopped me again. "Carol." I turned back to look at him. In that moment, that cold expression on his face suddenly vanished, and I saw fear in him.
"Any man crosses the line, whoever they are, I'll handle it personally. You won't like my methods."
This should have felt like protection, like a guardian caring about my safety.
Instead, it felt like a cage, one I could never escape no matter how hard I struggled.
I didn't answer, just got out of the car. Marcus drove me back to the dorm without a word.
When I returned to my room, Emma was already asleep. Her breathing was deep and steady, coming from her side of the room.
I mechanically went through my bedtime routine—washing my face, brushing my teeth, changing into pajamas—my mind replaying everything that had happened today.
When I finally climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling, I thought about Simon's face in the car. He was angry, barely in control. But I saw fear in his eyes.
He knew something. About Maurice, about that night, maybe even about the bite marks I'd carefully hidden.
But worse than his fear was my own reaction to his commands.
Part of me wanted to obey him, wanted to bare my neck for his protection, wanted to let him make all my decisions.
That instinct lived in my blood, in the wolf nature I'd inherited from my father, even though I couldn't shift.
It told me Simon was Alpha, I should trust him, he would protect me.
But I was twenty years old, not a child.
Who I wanted to date, who I wanted to sleep with, making my own mistakes, living my own life—these were my rights.
I rolled over, punched my pillow, trying to get comfortable, to stop thinking so much and just fall asleep.
But Simon's last words kept circling in my mind.
He said whoever crossed the line, he'd handle it personally. He said it so calmly, so certainly. I knew he wasn't joking.
I hated him controlling me. I hated this.
But underneath that hatred was something else. Something I didn't want to examine too closely.
Because there was a corner of my heart that was secretly pleased.
The possessiveness in how he spoke, his willingness to use violence for me, that golden, crazed protectiveness in his eyes—these made my heart race.
This discovery scared me more than anything else that had happened today.