Chapter 24 Study Session
I couldn’t focus on biology.
The textbook blurred in front of me. All I could see was that text message. Watch your back.
“Hey.” Lycian’s hand covered mine. Warm. Grounding. “Stop thinking about it.”
“Easy for you to say. Nobody’s threatening you.”
“They wouldn’t dare.” He closed my textbook. “You’ve been staring at the same page for twenty minutes. Take a break.”
“I can’t. My makeup exam is on Friday. That’s two days.” I rubbed my eyes. They felt gritty. Tired. “I’m so behind.”
“Then let me help.”
“You can help with cellular respiration?”
“No. But I can make sure you eat and sleep and don’t stress yourself into a breakdown.” He stood. Pulled me up with him. “Come on. Kitchen. Food. Then we’ll study together.”
“You have your own work.”
“It can wait.” He led me to the kitchen. Started pulling out ingredients. “When’s the last time you ate?”
I tried to remember. “Breakfast?”
“Elowen. It’s eight PM.”
“I wasn’t hungry.”
“You’re never hungry when you’re stressed. I’ve noticed.” He cracked eggs into a pan. “But you need to eat anyway.”
I sat at the table. Watched him cook. He moved with easy confidence. Like he’d done this a thousand times. Probably had.
“Where’d you learn to cook?” I asked.
“My mom. She said it was important. That Alphas who couldn’t feed themselves were useless.” He smiled. Sad but fond. “We’d spend hours in the kitchen. She’d teach me recipes. Tell me stories. It was our time.”
“You miss her.”
“Every day.” He plated the omelet. Set it in front of me with toast. “Eat.”
The first bite was perfect. Fluffy. The cheese melted just right. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I tasted food.
“Good?” he asked.
“Really good.” I took another bite. “You should open that restaurant. Seriously.”
“Maybe someday. When I’m old and retired from Alpha duties.”
“That’s like fifty years from now.”
“Then I’ll have plenty of time to perfect the menu.” He sat across from me with his own plate. “Tell me about your exam. What are you struggling with?”
“Everything. Protein synthesis. Cell division. All of it’s just words that don’t mean anything.”
“Okay. Let’s break it down. Start simple. What’s a cell?”
“The basic unit of life.”
“Good. And what does it do?”
“Lots of things. Too many things.”
He smiled. “Pick one. What’s the most important thing?”
“I guess… staying alive? Maintaining itself?”
“Exactly. So everything you’re learning is just how it does that. Protein synthesis makes the building blocks. Cell division creates new cells. It’s all about survival.” He took a bite of toast. “Make it a story. Not just facts.”
“A story?”
“Yeah. Like… imagine you’re the cell. What do you need to survive? Food. Energy. A way to repair damage. A way to reproduce. Each process is just solving one of those problems.”
I stared at him. “That actually makes sense.”
“Biology is just problem-solving. Once you see the pattern, it’s easier.”
We spent the next hour going through my notes. He asked questions. Made me explain concepts in my own words. Turned everything into a story.
And somehow, it clicked.
“Oh my god,” I said. Looking at my notes with fresh eyes. “I actually understand this.”
“Told you. You just needed a different angle.”
“You’re a really good teacher.”
“I’m a really good boyfriend.” He grinned. Cocky. “There’s a difference.”
My heart did that stupid flutter thing. “Is that what you are? My boyfriend?”
“I thought we established that yesterday.”
“You said I was yours. That’s not the same as boyfriend.”
“What do you want me to be?”
The question felt too big. We’d known each other for two weeks, lived together less than that, but it felt longer.
“I don’t know,” I said. “This is all so fast. Sometimes I forget we barely know each other.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything. Normal stuff. Like… what’s your favorite color?”
“Blue. Dark blue. Like the ocean at night.”
“Favorite food?”
“Besides my mom’s lasagna? Probably sushi. The expensive kind with too much fish and not enough rice.”
I laughed. “Of course you like expensive sushi.”
“What about you? Favorite color?”
“Green. Forest green. Like trees in summer.”
“Favorite food?”
“Chocolate chip cookies. The kind that are still warm and gooey in the middle.”
“I can make those.”
“You can?”
“I can make lots of things. You just haven’t asked.” He stood. Started cleaning dishes. “What else? Keep going.”
“Biggest fear?”
He was quiet for a moment. “Losing people I love. Watching them die and not being able to stop it.”
The words hit hard. Real.
“I’m sorry. About your mom.”
“It was a long time ago. But you don’t really get over it. You just learn to live with it.” He dried his hands. Leaned against the counter. “Your turn. Biggest fear?”
“Ending up alone. Being forgotten.” I folded my napkin. “I’ve spent most of my life invisible.”
“You’re not invisible. Not to me.”
“What happens when the ninety days are up?”
“I choose you. Every time.”
“You say that now.”
“I’ll say it then too.” He stepped closer. “You’re mine. I want you here. Always.”
“Always is a long time.”
“Good.”
He kissed me, soft at first, then deeper when I pulled him closer. When we broke apart, we were both breathing hard.
“We should stop,” he said.
“Probably.”
Neither of us moved.
“If we don’t stop, I won’t be able to.”
“Maybe I don’t want you to.”
His eyes flashed gold. “Then we need to be sure. I want you to want me for the right reasons.”
“I do. You make me laugh. You cook for me. You make me feel like I matter.”
“You do.”
“I’m not ready for everything. But I’m ready for more.”
He smiled. “Yeah. We can see what happens.”
We went back to studying, but every touch felt electric.
Around eleven, my phone buzzed.
Tessa: How’s studying?
Me: Actually understanding it. Lycian’s helping.
Tessa: Of course he is. He’s perfect. Annoying.
Me: He has flaws.
Tessa: Name one.
I looked at Lycian, bent over his laptop, glasses on, completely focused.
“You wear glasses?” I asked.
“Only for computer work. My eyes get tired.” He pushed them up. “Why?”
“No reason. Just didn’t know.”
He looks adorable in glasses, I texted Tessa. That’s definitely a flaw.
That’s the OPPOSITE of a flaw! I’m disowning you.
I laughed. Set my phone down.
“What’s funny?” Lycian asked.
“Tessa thinks you’re too perfect. Wants me to find your flaws.”
“I have plenty of flaws.”
“Name three.”
“I’m possessive. I have anger issues. And I’m terrible at letting people help me.”
“Those are all control issues.”
“See? Flawed.” He closed his laptop. Took off his glasses. “It’s late. You should sleep. Big exam Friday.”
“I should study more.”
“You know the material. Now you just need rest.” He stood. Stretched. His shirt rode up. Showing a strip of skin. Muscle.
I looked away. Face hot.
“Come on.” He held out his hand. “I’ll walk you to your room.”
“It’s twenty feet away.”
“Humor me.”
We walked down the hall. Stopped at my door. The hallway suddenly felt too small. Too intimate.
“Thank you,” I said. “For tonight. For helping. For feeding me.”
“Anytime.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. The gesture was so gentle it made my chest ache. “Sleep well.”
“You too.”
I went inside. Closed the door. Leaned against it.
Through the woods, I heard him walk away. His door closed.
I got ready for bed. Climbed under the covers. Stared at the ceiling.
My phone buzzed one more time. Text from the same unknown number as before.
Enjoy him while you can. The pack will vote you out. And when they do, we’ll make sure you disappear for good.
My blood went cold.
This wasn’t just Sarah being petty.
This was a real threat.
And I had no idea who was behind it.