Seraphina POV
I went straight to Head Healer Thorne's office. My hands were still shaking from what Alaric had called me in the hallway. Omega. He'd said it out loud.
I knocked on her door harder than necessary.
"Enter."
Thorne sat behind her desk, reading through reports. She didn't look up when I came in.
"I need to be reassigned," I said without preamble.
"No."
"You don't understand. I can't work with Alaric Crowne. He's inappropriate. He's making accusations. He's…"
"The Rank One Alpha who specifically requested you." Thorne finally looked up, her eyes sharp. "And whose recovery is top priority for this academy. So no, Vale. You're not being reassigned."
"But…"
"Is he harassing you?" Her tone softened slightly. "Has he touched you without consent? Threatened you?"
I thought about his hand on the door above my head. The way he'd crowded my space. But he'd stepped back when I asked. He'd let me leave.
"No," I admitted.
"Then what's the problem?"
The problem was that he knew what I was. The problem was that my bond scar burned every time he was near. The problem was that his wolf had decided I was his, and mine was starting to respond.
"We don't work well together," I said instead.
"Learn to work well together." Thorne went back to her reports. "You're dismissed."
"Please. There has to be someone else…"
"Vale." She set down her pen and fixed me with a look that could freeze fire. "Alaric Crowne is being groomed for Alpha General. His father is on the Council. His recovery matters more than your comfort. Do I make myself clear?"
My stomach sank. "Yes, ma'am."
"Good. Now pack your supplies. You'll be moving into the room adjacent to his quarters."
My head snapped up. "What?"
"He needs round-the-clock monitoring. At least that's what he told me this morning." She picked up her pen again. "A bedroom has been prepared for you. You'll move in today."
"You can't be serious."
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Her eyes narrowed. "This is a direct order, Vale. Refuse and you'll be expelled for insubordination. Your choice."
I stood there, words trapped in my throat. She had me. They all had me.
"When do I move in?" I asked quietly.
"Now. Your things are already being transferred."
Of course they were. Alaric had planned this perfectly.
I left Thorne's office in a daze. My feet carried me toward the healer dormitories, but my mind was racing. How had this happened? How had I gone from invisible to trapped in less than forty-eight hours?
My room was already half-empty when I arrived. Two academy workers were packing my belongings into boxes.
"We'll have everything moved within the hour," one of them said cheerfully.
I nodded numbly and grabbed my personal bag. The one with my suppressants and emergency supplies. That, at least, I'd carry myself.
The walk to Alaric's quarters felt like a death march. Students stared as I passed. Whispers followed me down the hallways.
"That's the healer assigned to Crowne."
"She's moving in with him?"
"Lucky girl."
I wanted to scream that there was nothing lucky about this. Nothing.
The room adjacent to Alaric's was small but private. A bed, a desk, a small bathroom. And a connecting door to his quarters.
The door was open.
Alaric leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching me survey my new prison.
"Cozy," he said.
"Go to hell."
"Already there." But he didn't sound upset. "I take it Thorne denied your reassignment request?"
"You know she did."
"You trapped me. You manipulated the system. You used your rank and your family name to corner me."
"Yes." He didn't even try to deny it. "Because you wouldn't talk to me otherwise."
"Did it occur to you that maybe I don't want to talk to you?"
"It did." He moved closer, and I held my ground this time. "But what you want and what you need are two different things."
"And you think you know what I need?"
"You don't know anything about me."
"Then let me learn." He was close enough now that I had to tilt my head back to maintain eye contact. "That's all I'm asking for. A chance."
"By forcing me to live next to you?"
"By making it impossible for you to avoid me." His hand lifted like he might touch my face, then fell back to his side. "I know it's not fair. I know I'm using my position. But I'm desperate, Seraphina. My wolf is going insane, and you're the only thing that calms him."
"That's not my responsibility."
"I know." He stepped back, giving me space. "
Before I could respond, there was a knock on Alaric's door.
His expression changed instantly. The softness vanished, replaced by cold authority.
"Stay here," he ordered.
"Why?"
"Just stay here." He moved back through the connecting door into his quarters.
I followed anyway, stopping just inside the doorway.
Alaric opened his door to reveal another Alpha. Tall, blonde, with the kind of cocky smile that set my teeth on edge.
"Crowne," the Alpha said. "Heard you got yourself a live-in healer. Wanted to meet her."
"She's busy." Alaric's voice was flat.
"Come on, don't be selfish." The blonde Alpha tried to peer around him. "Just want to introduce myself. Make sure she knows she has options if you're too demanding."
I saw Alaric's shoulders tense. Saw his hands curl into fists.
"Leave. Now." The command was absolute.
"Why so territorial?" The blonde laughed. "She's just a healer. Unless there's something else going on?"
The growl that came from Alaric's chest wasn't human. It was pure wolf. Pure Alpha dominance. The sound rattled the windows and made the floor vibrate.
The blonde Alpha stumbled back, his face going pale. "Shit. Sorry. I didn't mean…"
"Get out of my sight before I make you." Alaric's voice was more growl than words. "And if you come near her again, I'll rip your throat out."
The blonde fled. Actually ran down the hallway like death was chasing her.
Alaric slammed the door so hard the frame cracked. Then he stood there, breathing hard, his whole body shaking with barely contained rage.
I should have been terrified. Should have run back to my room and locked the door.
Instead, I walked up behind him and touched his shoulder.
"Alaric."
He spun around, eyes blazing gold. For a second, I thought he might actually hurt me. Then he saw my face and something in him cracked.
"I'm sorry." He backed away from me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
"You didn't scare me." My hand was still extended. "But you need to calm down."
"I can't." He pressed his palms against his eyes. "My wolf. He wanted to kill him. Just for looking at you. For talking about you."
"Why?"
"I don't know!" The words came out anguished. "I don't know why you affect me like this. I don't know why my wolf thinks you're ours. I don't know anything except that the thought of another Alpha near you makes me want to commit murder."
I'd never seen an Alpha this out of control. This vulnerable.
"Sit down," I said gently. "Before you pass out."
He sat on his bed, head in his hands. His whole body was tense, coiled like a spring ready to snap.
I moved closer, cautious. "Can I check your vitals?"
"Why?"
"Because you just had an adrenaline spike that could damage your healing ribs." It was a lie. His ribs were fine. But he needed to focus on something other than violence.
He nodded without looking up.
I pulled out my stethoscope and pressed it to his chest. His heart was racing. Pounding so hard I could feel it through the instrument.
"Deep breaths," I instructed. "In through your nose, out through your mouth."
He tried to comply, but his breathing was ragged. Uneven.
Without thinking, I placed my hand over his heart. Healing energy flowed instinctively, not to heal but to soothe. To calm.
The effect was immediate. His breathing steadied. His heartbeat slowed. The gold faded from his eyes, replaced by brown.
"How do you do that?" he asked quietly.
"Do what?"
"Make everything stop hurting." He looked up at me.
I pulled my hand back. "I should go."
"Don't." He caught my wrist gently. "Please. Just stay for a minute. Let me calm down completely."
I should have refused.
But something in me couldn't walk away from him when he looked at me like that.
"Fine. One minute." I sat on the edge of his bed, careful to keep space between us.
We sat in silence. His hand was still around my wrist, his thumb absently tracing my pulse point. The touch should have made me uncomfortable.
Instead, it made my bond scar warm.
"Seraphina?" His voice was rough.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For not running just now."
"Where would I run? You've trapped me here."
"You could have locked yourself in your room." He finally released my wrist. "But you didn't. You came to help me instead."
"I'm a healer. It's what I do."
"No." He turned to face me fully. "It's more than that. You feel it too, don't you? This pull between us?"
Head Healer Thorne stood in the hallway, her expression grim.
"Vale. A word. Now."
I stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind me.
Thorne grabbed my arm and pulled me further away from Alaric's quarters. When she was satisfied we were out of earshot, she leaned in close.
"What the hell is going on between you and Crowne?" she hissed.
"Nothing. I'm just his healer."
"Bullshit." Her grip tightened. "Half the academy just heard him threaten to kill another Alpha over you. That's not nothing."
My stomach dropped. "I didn't ask him to do that."
"I don't care what you asked for." She glanced back toward Alaric's door. "Listen to me very carefully. Whatever is happening between you two, stop it. End it. Now."
"I'm not doing anything…"
"The Council has eyes everywhere, Vale." Her voice was urgent. Low. "They watch the elite Alphas closely. Especially Crowne. If they think something inappropriate is happening, they'll investigate. And if they investigate you..."
She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't have to.
If the Council investigated me, they'd discover what I was. And my life would be over.
"I understand," I whispered.
She walked away, leaving me shaking in the hallway.
I turned back to find Alaric standing in his doorway, watching me.
"What did she say?" he asked.
"Nothing important." I moved toward my room. "I need to rest."
"Seraphina.."
"Please." I looked at him, letting him see the fear I'd been hiding. "Just leave me alone. Just for tonight."
Something in my expression made him nod. "Okay. But tomorrow…"
"Tomorrow we'll figure it out." I stepped into my room and started to close the connecting door.
"Sera?"
I paused.
"I meant what I said earlier." His eyes were serious. Intense. "My wolf has decided. And he doesn't give up what's his."
I closed the door and leaned against it, my heart pounding.
Through the wood, I heard him move away. Heard his bed creak as he sat down.
And then, so quiet I almost missed it, I heard him say one more thing.
"Even if what's mine doesn't want to be claimed."