**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.**
The next day at school I was stuck in statistics class working on a problem the lecturer had just taken us on. I was biting the edge of my pen when I heard a buzz from my phone. I quickly picked it up feeling hopeful, but it was just a spam message. I had thought I'd gotten a response from Topper. Ever since I texted him yesterday about Raphael's threat, I had yet to get a response. The message hadn't even been delivered, and that made me worry. I also hadn't seen him or even Draken at school.
About Draken, I wondered how he was handling the stress of having the whole world in his family business all because of the revelation about his twin. I supposed that was the reason he wasn't in school. I just hoped he was doing okay, and I didn't even have his number to check up on him…*not like I was going to anyway.*
I stowed my phone back into my bag as I concentrated on the problem before me. I planned on going home in the next few minutes and since Karina didn't come to school today I'd be going home all alone and I hoped I wouldn't come across a douchebag named Raphael.
After solving the final problem, I closed my books and placed them in my bag. I was about to step out of my seat when I was suddenly confronted by Amanda Griffin. Great. Just *Great.*
"Stop right there, we need to talk," she declared, pushing me back into my seat with surprising force. Perched beside me, she fixed me with an intense gaze.
"Why did you push me?" I asked, puzzled by her sudden aggression.
She ignored my question and I braced myself for whatever she had to say. “Look, I just want to know if you're dating Draken,” she said.
“I'm not. Would never,” I replied almost immediately, feeling my stomach drop for some reason. I honestly wasn't sure about my feelings for Draken, but I couldn't deny that I felt something for him. One that didn't have to do with our mate bond alone. “Why do you want to know?”
Amanda stared at me skeptically before shaking her head. Then she smiled. “I'm relieved now,” her niceness was *weirding* me out. “If it's not obvious already, I love Draken Gallagher and I plan to make him mine one day.”
“Okay?” I didn't know how to drop it to her that I was his mate.
“I love him,” she repeated.
“Okay? Or am I meant to give you a standing ovation for that?”
“Look, I only asked because of the pictures of the both of you. Draken is never the type to offer someone a ride in his car, so seeing him offer you a ride made me feel bitter.”
“Oh, please. It's nothing special,” I replied. “I saw you in his car on the first day of sophomore year.”
Amanda scrunched her brows as she thought about what I'd said, as if trying to remember if it was indeed true or not. After a while, she smiled and shook her head. “He picked me up at the front of the school gate. That was the first time I'd be entering his car. I don't even know why he picked me up that morning.”
“But he did,” I said, relentlessly.
“Just that one time,” she said with a huff.
“Still did it,” I added.
She stood up. “Whatever,” she said as she prepared to leave. “Just stay away from Draken, *snorter.*”
With that she left, leaving me to wonder if I really just had what could be called a ‘civil conversation’ with Amanda Griffin— if we excluded the *snorter* bits.
I shook my head to clear all thoughts as I stood up and stepped out of the class. I wanted to head back to my hostel, but Raphael threat kept bugging me so I didn't. Instead, I headed to Toppers place.
I took a bus down to his place and when I got to the front of his building, I put a call through to him but his number remained unreachable. I entered the building and was met with two security men standing by the elevator, one I hadn't seen during my first visit.
“How can we help you, young lady?” One of them questioned. He was intimidating and armed with two guns, each inside a holster by his waist.
I took my gaze to the other security man. He seemed more cool-headed, and less intimidating. He looked friendly. I knew I shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but me being Eline, I couldn't help it. “Topper, I'm here to see him. Is he home right now?”
“Is he aware you'd be visiting?” The other man asked, his voice gentle and friendly. My eyes drifted down to the tag on his uniform and I read his name was Austin, while the intimidating one was named Olly — a rather friendly name in contrast to his aura.
I shook my head. “No. He isn't. It's kind of an impromptu thing.”
“Name?”
“Eline Kadesh.”
Austin nodded and pulled out a phone, putting a call through to whom I supposed was Topper given the context of the conversation. Seeing the call go through made me wonder why mine didn't. Then I assumed he had another number. After the call, Austin let me through.
I took the elevator up to Topper's apartment, knocked on the door, and it quickly fell open as Topper poked his head through. I was immediately hit with a heavy scent from him, one that smelled *somehow* erotic. I held my nose as I took him in. He had messy hair and bleary eyes; he looked like a mess.
He grinned like a boy. “Hey, Eline. To what do I owe this honor?” he asked as he led me into the apartment.
“You weren't in school today,” I said, still holding on to my nose.
“I didn't know you care enough about me to notice that and come pay me a visit.”
I shrugged, breathing in through my mouth. “Well, I did, and there's something I need to tell you,” I said, observing the living room. It was messy, with blankets rumpled and animal furs all over, like an animal boxing ring. It made me wonder if Topper was doing okay, so I decided to put my own worries aside and ask about him. “Are you okay, Topper? Also, you smell.”
He hesitated for a bit as he took a seat on a single sofa. “I am. Just in my time of the year as a shifter.”
“Oh,” I said as I found a seat for myself. “I want to believe it's the same with male werecats, are you in your rut?”
He nodded. “Unexpectedly came today. Would probably last the whole week,” he said. “I probably smell, right? Apologies.”
“It's fine.”
“So, why did you come see me?”
“Actually, I'm sort of in a dilemma,” I said, taking my hand off my nose. The scent emitting from him was beginning to wear off and I could tell he was doing his best to not make me feel uncomfortable. “Raphael Huffman from Cortland university approached me with a threat.”
“Why?” Topper asked, a serious look on his face as he awaited an answer.
“Well, he…he wants to sleep with me,” I blurted, feeling so embarrassed.
Topper shook his head and bowed it, as though deep in thought, when a laugh echoed through the room. However, it wasn’t coming from Topper. The sound came from behind, catching me off guard. It made me realize that Topper wasn’t alone in the house. I turned toward the direction of the laughter and saw Drake Gallagher.
What was the psycho doing in Topper's apartment? I wondered, but my question was answered when I noticed what he was wearing. A white shirt, with nothing underneath. And his exposed neck and opened chest were plastered in *hickeys.* I almost gasped as I put one and two together. All evidence was pointing towards *sex.*
“I thought I told you to stay inside the bedroom, Drake,” Topper said calmly, talking to the devil —Drake, who was now sitting on the armrest of his sofa. At least, he wasn't using his wheelchair this time.
Drake shrugged, ignoring Topper as he brought his gaze back to me. “Raphael Huffman, huh? Who's he? And why's he disturbing my brother's mate?”
“Wait, Eline is Draken's mate?” Topper asked, surprised.
“Yes,” Drake replied nonchalantly while Topper still looked confused. “Back to Raphael Huffman, who's he?”
I couldn't even process anything as I tried to wrap my head around what I'd just come across. Topper and Drake slept together. What bothered me the most was that Topper already had a girlfriend — he was cheating on her with Drake, and I wondered if she knew that her boyfriend was fucking a literal demon. I didn't even know Drake was into guys, well, not like I knew much about him. It had me questioning what the relationship between the both of them was. Maybe it was serious or just sexual.
“Eline,” Topper's voice snapped me out of my reverie.
I blinked. “Are the two of you dating?”