Page 34 of Want It All
I blinked, startled, then turned to see Byron studying me with a frown.
‘You’re back,’ I said stupidly.
He nodded. ‘An hour or so ago.’
‘How was your sister?’
He didn’t answer for a long, uncomfortable moment. ‘The same as the last time I saw her,’ he said at last.
I wasn’t sure what to make of that. ‘Are you okay?’
His grey eyes darted around the library. ‘I … I just came to make sure you were all right.’ His gaze settled back on me; his fingers flexed, as though he wanted to reach out, but stopped himself. ‘I think … I need a walk.’
With that, he turned and strode from the library, leaving me gaping after him.
‘Rose.’ Pravin nudged me gently with his elbow. I turned blindly towards him, my eyes pricking, my stomach churning at the rollercoaster of emotions evoked by Byron’s sudden appearance and even more abrupt departure. I’dmissedhim. ‘Oh. Ah,’ Pravin said awkwardly, when a tear spilled down my cheek. ‘You know none of that was because of you, right?’
I wiped my face angrily. ‘No, I don’t know that. Sometimes it’s hard to know what he’s thinking.’
Pravin laughed softly. ‘No, it’s not. Not usually. Because most of the time, his mind is on one thing – you.’
Sebastian and Tristan reappeared at breakfast the next day. They both looked tired, and Sebastian’s expression was unusually hollow. Despite that, he sat down next to me and slung his arm over the back of my chair as if nothing had happened, sayingHi, Rosebud, with a wide grin. My instincts loved it; if we weren’t on blockers, his subtle beta scent would be all over me.
‘So, are we going?’ he said, taking up a lock of my hair.
‘Going where?’ His closeness muddled my thoughts; it was dangerous being near him.
‘To the party.’
I glanced at Byron, whose eyes stayed glued to his coffee cup. ‘I –’
‘Your alpha will come,’ Tristan said, with the hint of an eyeroll.
That got Byron’s attention. ‘Will he?’ he said, one eyebrow raised.
‘Have you got something better to do?’
Byron snorted. ‘I can think of a hundred things. I’m good, thanks.’
‘Rose clearly wants to go,’ Tristan said impatiently. ‘Stop being obtuse.’
Byron’s eyes fell on me. ‘Do you?’ he said, surprised.
I hesitated. It was another opportunity to see my friends, and Ididwant that. It was so nice, being able to chat to Pravin and James and Alessia, to have coffee with Marina. I felt more like a regular person, and less like an overly hormonal princess locked up in a scentless tower.
But I knew better than to be alone around alphas and alcohol.
‘If you three are going, then I want to go,’ I decided.
It was sneaky of me, and I knew it; I was essentially forcing Byron’s hand. Sebastian shot me a sideways grin, pointedly twirling my hair around his finger.
Byron’s expression was thoughtful. ‘I’ll have to talk to my liaison officer,’ he said at last.
Tristan’s phone buzzed. He picked it up, frowning, then his eyes widened. ‘The marks for the first assessment have been released.’
It took a moment for what he’d said to sink in; by the time my brain caught up, Sebastian had already let my hair go and had opened his laptop to scroll through the online classroom to the grades page. I hurried to do the same, my fingers trembling. I clicked into the grades, then froze when I saw the mark there.
‘The class average was eighty-two,’ Tristan read. ‘And the top mark was ninety-four.’
