Thornhill Academy. Chapter 45

**Allison**

Evander Drayke. In the girls’ changeroom. If it had been anyone else, I’d have screamed bloody murder. But him? The way his cheeks burned red, the way his golden eyes darted anywhere but at me, it was… almost cute. Almost. I smirked despite myself, while he spun so fast you’d think I’d set him on fire. His broad back filled my vision, taut muscle under skin bronzed from hours in the sun, shifting with the tension in his shoulders. He had stripped his own shirt off in one sharp move, facing the wall like I was the danger here, and held the fabric back toward me.

“I just wanted to leave you a shirt…” His voice was low, apologetic, thick with something that made my blood hum in answer.

I should have grabbed it, thrown it on, and told him to get the hell out. That would’ve been the smart move. The safe move. Instead, my feet carried me closer, the cool tile beneath me muffling the sound. My gaze wandered greedily, tracing the lines of his spine, the slope of his shoulders, and the clean, unblemished expanse of his skin. Something in me wanted to mar it. Claim it. Keep it. Before I even thought better of it, my hand lifted. Fingers brushed his spine in a featherlight touch, sliding down slowly, testing the reality of his perfection. His skin was hot, too hot and the shiver that rippled through him nearly undid me.

“Ally…” My name broke from his throat, strained, almost pained.

I hummed in response, thoughtful, noncommittal, even as my pulse roared. He turned, just enough that his face angled back toward me, golden eyes catching mine before they flickered down to my breasts. The pure hunger there wasn’t subtle. It wasn’t polite. It was raw and consuming, like fire catching dry grass. And damn me, but the heat that shot through me, low and fast, made my knees weak.

Evander had been kind to me. Not just in the heroic, dragon-shifter way, pulling me out of the woods and shielding me from monsters, but in the quiet moments, too. He’d been steady where everyone else wanted to tear at me. Steady enough to make me wonder, for half a heartbeat, if maybe he liked me. If perhaps someone could. And for once, I wanted something. For me. Not because I’d earned it, not because I’d clawed it out of survival, but because I wanted it. I stepped forward before I could think better of it. My palm flattened against the hard plane of his bare chest, heat rolling off him like a furnace. His breath caught sharply. I closed the distance, pressing my cool skin to his hot, toned stomach. His muscles flexed under me, and for a dizzy second, his body melted into mine, his hands finding the bare skin at my waist. He leaned down, so close I could smell the smoke clinging to his breath, the faint metallic tang of magic. His scent flooded my senses, heavy and consuming. I closed my eyes, wanting this. Needing this. Just this one thing.

But it never came. The heat shifted. His hands trembled, then left my waist. I opened my eyes in time to see him pulling back, his golden gaze full of something complicated, all of it cutting deeper than a blade. The rejection hit like a physical blow. Ugly. Familiar. I felt it crawl up my throat before I could stop it. I yanked back, quick and hard, reaching for my own shirt, not his and pulled it over my head with shaking fingers.

“Ally...” he tried, voice hoarse.

“Don’t,” I cut in, sharp and small all at once. Because I already knew the truth. I stormed past him before he could see whatever cracked across my face. I’m not worthy. The words echoed with every step, no matter how hard I tried to smother them.

**Evander**

“Fuck.” The word tore out of me as I bolted after her.

I hadn’t wanted to pull away. Gods, every shred of me, human and dragon, had wanted the opposite. My beast had been roaring to kiss her, to claim her, to mate her right there on the tile floor. But I needed to tell her the truth first. She deserved that. And I couldn’t get the words out fast enough before she’d already stormed past me, fire blazing in her eyes.

“Ally, wait!” I called, catching up just as she hit the sparring field, every line of her body set to stone. Her face was pure fury, but I could see the hurt beneath it. And it gutted me.

The coach’s whistle cut through the air. “Save the drama for later. Pair up!”

Kael, the bastard, smirked like he’d just been handed a gift. He turned toward Allison, ready to claim her as his partner. I didn’t think; I shoved him out of the way, hard enough to make him stumble.

“Hey! What the fuck, man?” Kael snapped, glaring.

I ignored him. My focus was already locked on her. “Come on.” I caught her hand, firm but not unkind, and tugged her toward the far edge of the field. She resisted every step, glaring holes into my side. The coach barked for us to start. I didn’t want to spar. I wanted to talk. To explain... but there was a flash in her eyes. A dangerous, electric glint. The next second, my jaw exploded with pain as her fist cracked across it. I staggered back a step, shocked at the sheer force behind it.

“Ally—” I started, clutching my face. “Can we talk, please?”

Her only answer was a sharp, deadly, “No.”

And then her foot slammed into my ribs, sending me crashing onto my ass. The air left me in a grunt, half pain, half disbelief. Where in the hell was she pulling this strength from? Every strike was fast, brutal, almost inhuman. My dragon snarled in my chest, half-proud, half-furious at being on the receiving end. She came at me again, fists flying. I blocked one, dodged another, but she was relentless. Blow after blow, and I found myself actually working to keep up with her.

“Ally, stop!” I barked, ducking a swing that would’ve blackened my eye.

But she didn’t. Her rage was wildfire, consuming everything in its path, and I was the fool standing in the middle of it. I lunged forward, scooping her up mid-swing. She shrieked, thrashing, and I brought her down, not hard, but firm, onto the grass. My weight pinned her, one hand catching both wrists above her head, the other braced against her stomach to hold her still. She bucked and kicked beneath me, her body a coil of pure fury. It took everything in me not to lose focus, not to give in to the wild heat coursing through my veins at the feel of her pinned beneath me.

“Enough!” I growled, my voice raw with desperation. “I’m not fighting you. I just want to talk.”

Her chest heaved against my palm, her eyes blazing up at me like she wanted me dead. And gods help me, I’d never wanted her more.