Page 40 of The Heart of Winter

During the entire lecture, I caught his gaze flickering over my face maybe two or three times. Each time, I felt a strange, subtle shiver. But aside from that, he remained completely focused on his words.

Before I even realized it, the lecture was over.

As soon as he finished speaking, I got up to slip past the row of students who were also beginning to file out of their seats, and headed toward him. He was packing up his tablet.

"Great lecture. Even though it’s not my specialty, I was really engaged the whole time. You presented it in a very compelling way, Director," I said, my tone maybe a little too flattering. But he deserved the praise. He was genuinely good at this.

If I had expected that flattery would get me anywhere with Winter, I was sorely mistaken. He shot me a brief look but didn’t say a single word, not even a simple ‘thank you’ or ‘glad you liked it’.

I cleared my throat. "I’d be happy to give you a ride home. I have to head back downtown anyway."

Winter gave me a short nod.

Nothing more. Well, fine. We both walked toward the exit of the lecture hall, pushing our way through the stream of students still filing out.

But just as we stepped outside the hall, I saw a beta standing near the door, clearly waiting for Winter.

"Winter!"

Director Nolan turned toward him, and I saw a brief flicker of surprise on his face, followed by… something else. A strange hint of displeasure, as if he hadn’t expected to run into this person here.

What happened next caught me off guard in a way I didn’t quite like.

The beta walked up to Winter and, for a brief moment, wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him close. He didn’t kiss him, just a short embrace, the kind longtime boyfriends might exchange.

So, there was someone who had tasted those sweet lips of Winter’s, after all.

The man was about the same height as Winter, maybe half an inch taller. He had black hair styled into a faded mohawk and was conventionally attractive, with a strong, rectangular jawline and well-defined features.

He was seriously built, if not for his height and the lack ofAllurescent, he could have easily been mistaken for an alpha. What was it with these betas who trained so intensely? There was a rumor that some of them, the so-called ‘alpha wannabes’, bulked up on purpose, to more closely resemble alphas.

I was good at reading the energy between people, and I could tell right away, these two were in an intimate relationship.

I slowed my pace, then took a step back to give them some space.

At first, the dark-haired beta didn’t notice me. Maybe he assumed I was just one of the students attending the lecture.

"Hey, I had no idea you’d be here today. I thought your lecture was next week."

"No." Winter cleared his throat, and I could hear a faint trace of embarrassment in his tone. "The dean moved it up."

"Wanna grab dinner?" the beta asked. By now, most of the students had dispersed, and since I was still standing about two yards away, he must’ve realized I wasn’t just some random attendee.

His gaze turned toward me, curious.

Winter noticed and muttered, "Uh, this is one of my employees. My car broke down, and he gave me a ride."

"You could’ve just told me—"

"No need, Finn. I’ve got a lot of work tonight. I need to get home and finish two reports."

A shadow of disappointment flickered across the beta’s face, like he’d been hoping their dinner plans would still happen. But I… felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

Why, though? Why did I even care?

"Want me to come over tomorrow?" he asked, his voice low, almost sensual, like he naively thought I wouldn’t hear it. But of course, what seemed quiet to a beta was crystal clear to me, as if he’d whispered it right into my ear.

Winter shook his head. "I need to catch up on reports this weekend. I’ll let you know when things ease up a bit."

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