"No!" The Commandant's tone cut through the air sharply, silencing her immediately.
Theodora was currently at the Commandant's office and had just requested for a room change with her reasons but he didn't allow her to finish her sentence before he declined.
Her stomach clenched hard, but she continued, "With all due respect sir...,"
"You will figure it out!" He thundered, cutting her off again, "Your quarters are your quarters. Your fight is your fight. You either find a way to survive with Hezekiah, or you spend all your nights outside the dormitory. You do not come here begging for leniency like a pup who hasn't cut its teeth,"
.
.
.
And there she was, walking back to the Eastern dorm once again. She was done with classes for today, and her muscles ached.
She needed a warm bath.
She rubbed her temple as she arrived in front of her room, before she inserted her key and stepped into the room.
It was empty. Hezekiah wasn't back from class.
A bubble of excitement crawled up her skin as she closed the door shut. The thought of using something to block the door so he wouldn't be able to come in when he returned crossed her mind - a bitter taste of his own medicine.
But she rolled her eyes. She wasn't about to hide from her problems. She would face him again head-on when he returns.
Right now, she was gonna take that bath.
In a few minutes, her clothes were neatly folded and she was standing in the shower, the water running down her body. It was refreshing and calming.
Her fingers reached in and touched her sides, the spot Roman had slammed the wooden staff into. It had already healed.
Then, her mind wandered back to what had happened after the assembly today. Who would have ever thought that Eric had an elder brother? And that elder brother was her horrible roommate who scared and...smelt nice at the same time?!
But they seem to hate each other. They really despised one another from what she saw. What could be the cause of their beef?!
She drew out an exhale, running her hands through her hair as the water ran down her body. This morning as she had finally stared at her reflection through the mirror, it had felt... awkward.
Very awkward.
She looked like a boy, but her organ down there was still that of a female. Seraphina had told her that if she tweaked that part too, she would definitely pass out in less than an hour.
And then, there was of course, the chaos that was going on back home. Cain might just declare war against her father if she wasn't found soon, but Theodora didn't care anymore, not after her father's betrayal.
Just then, Theo heard the lock of the door beginning to turn.
Shit!
She quickly turned off the shower and reached for a towel hanging by the door, wrapping it around herself just as the door was thrown open and Zeke stepped inside the room.
Damn...the towel smelled just like him. It must be his. She would have taken her towel but her things were still at Eric's.
Her mind raced as she stood there in a towel around her chest, wondering what her next move should be.
Clothes!
This time, she did gasp. She had left her things sitting on his bed. How could she be so stupid?!
She heard him growl softly from the room, and she inhaled sharply. There was no other choice but to go out there and face the consequences of her actions.
Zeke stood there like a storm, his hair damp with sweat from training and tattoos glistening under his shirt. He had her shirt in one hand, staring at it in angered disbelief, and when she walked out...he looked at her like she had just walked into the lion's Den.
Zeke's eyes moved from her face, down to the towel around her and to her feet. Then back to her face. Something unreadable flickered in his expression.
"You do have a death wish," It was definitely a threat.
Theo refused to flinch, "I'll kill you before you can lay those filthy hands on you,"
His jaw clenched, and he advanced like a predator about to strike its prey, "In my towel?" One of his eyes twitched.
"I wouldn't have touched your towel if you hadn't kicked me and my luggage out yesterday now, would I?" She growled back at him, "Get over it!"
That did it. His lips curled into a dangerous, humourless smile and his eyes burned with something else, right before his fist came flying at her face.
She had already anticipated something like this would happen. She stepped to the side, smacking his arm away with a sharp movement.
The towel nearly slipped, but she gripped it again and glared at him.
"Try that again, and you'll regret it," She warned him.
For a moment, he just stared at her with that bad boy energy rolling down his skin. He actually seemed surprised that she had easily dodged his attack, and his eyes narrowed slightly at her, as though he was studying her...again.
"Get out of my towel, and get the fuck out," He threatened again.
"Get out of my way, and get out of my sight," She fired back.
He lunged for the towel this time, a look of pure irritation on his face this time. Theodora gasped, twitching and clutching it hard against her chest as he kept pulling on the edges.
"Get the fuck out of my towel!"
"Get the fuck out of my room!" She yelled back.
He was much stronger than she thought he would be, and her knuckles quickly turned white as she struggled to keep up with his growing strength. If the towel were to come off and he stared at her down there, that would be the end of her.
It was something she couldn't afford. Not until she was sure the wedding talk had died down.
"Let go!" He growled again.
"Over my dead body!" She hissed back, matching his fury.
Their struggle sent them struggling against the bedpost. His heat scorched her skin, his scent rolling and trying to mess with her senses again.
No, she had to get away.
Before she knew it, he had gripped her shoulders hard and was yanking her toward the door, "No!" She struggled, "This is my room. Get your hands off me!"
"Shut the fuck up," He hissed back, already throwing the door open behind him, "And don't ever come back. I will not let this slide the third time,"
"I'm not going anywhere," She gripped his hand on her shoulders and tried to pull it off.
He was goddamn too strong. Even her wolf strength couldn't yank it away.
If this was an actual fight, he would have won already.
Just then, the pendant slipped from behind the towel and landed right against her chest.
Zeke's eyes fell on it, and his movement seized.
He...was frozen.
His breath hitched, so quietly she almost couldn't hear it, and she could hear his heart pounding very fast from their unintentional closeness. The orange embers in his eyes flared once again as he stared a little too intently and his grip around her shoulders... loosened.
Quickly, she shoved his hand away and threw the pendant behind her towel again.
Why did he stare at it like that? Her heart was also racing, and both of them remained unmoving for a while.
Then, "Where did you get that necklace from?" He asked, a kind of deeper edge to his voice this time.
"None of your business," She glared, her pulse thundering.
Then, he took a step forward, fully covering the space between them this time. His chest literally pressed against hers, the scorching heat from him that she always felt from a distance engulfing her fully this time.
He pressed a finger directly against the towel, where the pendant laid hidden behind it, "This...," he drawled, inhaling slowly like he was trying to control himself, "This belongs...to you?"
Why was he staring at her like that? It was as hot as it was creepy. Theodore swallowed tightly, trying to ignore the warmth that was spreading through her, "Yes, what? You wanna fight?"