Chapter 6 Chapter 0006

•AVELINE•

In the morning when I woke up, there was a bag near the second closet, and I assumed my roommate had arrived while I was still asleep.

The realization jolted me awake. I got up and made the bed, tucking the corners until the mattress looked untouched.

If she came back and found me sprawled like a lazy wolf, I'd never live it down. And I didn't want her to think I was a slob.

First impressions mattered to me.

I hurried into the shower, letting the hot water pound against my shoulders, trying to wash away both sleep and nerves.

Steam curled around me, fogging the glass, and for a brief moment I almost felt calm.

Then my mind betrayed me.

Dominic slammed into my thoughts. The way he pinned me against Ember's bathroom wall, the way his breath had burned against my skin, and the way my body had shattered against him.

My heart raced, heat pooling low in my stomach. I cursed under my breath and turned the water colder.

‘You'll move on,’ Storm murmured inside me. ‘You're in a new school, with a new life, and people.’

I closed the faucet and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around me. But I froze when I heard the front door slam shut.

'She's probably rushing somewhere,' Storm muttered in my head. 'She will be nice, Ava. Don't worry.'

I believed her. Since she had just moved in earlier in the morning, she was probably still trying to find her way around the school.

So I left a sweet note on the counter for her to read if she returned before I did from orientation.

When I stepped outside my dorm room, I looked both ways before walking to the elevator, praying to the moon that I don't bump into Dominic, even though he'll be attending the orientation with me.

"Can you change my room?" A girl's voice echoed in the corridor. She was leaning against the admin desk. "My father is the Beta of Alpha Asher of Highvalley pack. I should have my own room on the ground floor. Or do you want me to call and inform him you've paired me with some useless loser whose chances of being here were slimmer than mine?"

"We can't swipe rooms, Miss Kingsley," the admin lady replied as I passed by, trying not to eavesdrop much, but my hearing was enhanced anyway. "You must wait until the end of the semester before applying for a new dorm from the housing department."

"Ugh," the girl groaned. "You're useless."

I shook my head and felt grateful that my roommate was probably nicer than she was.

When we arrived in the open area, a coordinator came with the school's chancellor to take us on a tour around the school and show us where we would all be attending our classes.

In that chaos, I bumped into Ember and felt happy to see a familiar face. She held my hand as we walked at the back, trying to catch up before joining the crowd.

"Are you alright?" She asked. "I didn't see you when you left my house. My goodness, Ava, you scared me."

My chest tightened, but I smiled and pretended as if nothing had happened before I left her house.

It seemed weird to admit to my best friend that I lost my virginity in her house.

She probably wouldn't forget that I had sex in her bathroom.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you when I left, but I wanted to get something to drink and clear my mind after my parents told me they were getting divorced on my birthday."

She gasped. "What the fuck? Your parents have been together since forever. What happened?"

"I don't know," I answered, my throat tightening. "They just grew tired of each other, I guess. Plus, they had been together for twenty-five years.”

"Oh, at least no one cheated."

I looked at her and thought it was best I didn't tell her my father cheated when I was conceived. I didn't want her to look at me differently.

So, I walked with her, my throat tightening with things I couldn't say out loud to her. Where would I even begin?

When we reached the end of our orientation, two girls informed us about a party in the main hall, and though I wanted to attend, I didn't want to make the same mistake I did when I went to Ember's house.

But Ember wouldn't let me.

"Come on," she insisted. "This would be fun. The semester starts tomorrow, so please don't waste this opportunity to let loose."

I rolled my eyes and groaned. "Fine. Thirty minutes and I'll return to my dorm."

"Okay, Grandma," she laughed as she grabbed my hand and led me to the hall.

The hall was a storm of music, lights, and bodies moving together. Ember disappeared within minutes, already laughing with some tall stranger.

Overwhelmed, I slipped into the bathroom, only to realize too late that the tiles were darker, the mirrors taller, and the scent overwhelmingly male.

Men’s bathroom.

On my way out, I bumped into someone. And it was Dominic, my stepbrother. How sweet.

"Looks like you're everywhere I go, Aveline," he muttered, pushing me back inside the bathroom. "Tell me, are you following me?" He leaned closer and closed the door behind him, and the lock snapped.

My heart raced.

How was I in the same position with him as before? And why was I hesitating to push him off me and leave?

"Following you?" I scoffed. "I hate you, Dominic."

"That's not what you said when I slid inside you," he murmured as he leaned even closer until my back was against the wall, and my breath hitched.

Heat built up in my core and I felt an unbearable ache between my legs. My mind wanted to walk out, but my body... my body yearned for him.

"Tell me to stop," he said against my ear as his hand slid inside my skirt and found my wet area.

Instead of pulling him away, I arched my back and released a soft moan, begging him not to stop.