Page 9 of My Defiant Mate
The silence stretches, thick and suffocating. I'm not breathing. My entire body is a single, rigid knot of fear.
"I'll be keeping an eye on you, Mr. Alarie," Henderson says finally. "Your disruptive influence has not gone unnoticed. One more violation, and you'll be facing disciplinary action. Is that clear?"
"Crystal," Jionni clips out.
"Good." The main door opens. "I expect to see improvement. Immediately."
The door clicks shut. I stay frozen, counting my own frantic heartbeats, until the bathroom door swings open. Jionni stands there, wearing a pair of low-slung sweatpants, his expression like a thundercloud.
"That asshole," he mutters, raking a hand through his hair. "He's had it out for me since day one."
I step out on legs that feel like jelly. "He knows," I whisper. "He has to suspect something."
"He doesn't know shit. He's just fishing. Looking for an excuse to get me kicked out of housing."
"But if he finds out—" The words die in my throat. I can't even say it.
"He won't," Jionni says, his voice softening as he sees the state I'm in. "Toby, breathe. We'll figure this out."
"How?" I demand, my voice cracking. "How is this okay? I spent the night with a resident. I have your bite mark on my neck."
"I won't let that happen."
I shake my head, trying to clear the fog of panic. "I need to go. I need to think."
I look down at my ruined shirt, and I feel another surge of panic. I can't walk through the dorms like this.
Jionni follows my gaze. He crosses to his closet and pulls out a soft black t-shirt and a dark gray hoodie. "Here. They're clean."
I take them, my fingers brushing against his. I pull the t-shirt over my head. It's too big, swallowing me whole, but it smells overwhelmingly ofhim. Not just detergent, but coffee and storms and the warm skin I was just pressed against. The relief when it covers the marks on my neck is immediate, but so is the strange sense of loss. I pull the hoodie on over it, zipping it up to my chin, hiding everything.
"Thank you," I murmur.
Jionni watches me, his face unreadable. "You don't have to go," he says quietly.
"I can't think straight in here," I admit. It's the truth. His scent, the rumpled bed, the memory of his mouth—it's all too much. "I need some space."
He doesn't look happy, but he nods. "Okay."
I shove my feet into my shoes, tucking my shredded shirt under the hoodie. I feel like a criminal sneaking away from a crime scene.
I pause at the door, my hand on the knob. This is it. The moment I step out into that hallway, the real world comes crashing back in.
"Toby," Jionni says. His voice makes me turn. "This isn't over."
"I know," I say, and I do. My body knows. My omega knows. This is just the beginning.
"No, you don't," he says, and the fierce, absolute certainty in his eyes sends a shiver straight down my spine. "This isn't temporary. You're mine now, and I'm not letting you go."
Jionni
Professor Albright is talking, something about contrapuntal motion, but her voice sounds distorted. The whole classroom feels like it's underwater. Colors are muted. Sounds are dull. Even the sunlight slanting through the big windows seems faded, like someone turned the brightness down on the world. Everything feels muted without him. I'm staring at my notebook, but the staff paper is blank. No notes. No melody. Nothing. Just this gnawing emptiness.
Six hours since Toby left my room. Six hours since he walked out wearing my hoodie, smelling like me. His clean, papery scent had mixed with mine, a combination that made my alpha purr with satisfaction. But now, that feeling is gone, and I'm just… hollow.
I touch my cheek absently, the spot where his scent was strongest when I buried my face between his thighs. My fingers come away with nothing but the faint smell of my own skin.
"Mr. Alarie?"
