Chapter 244: Girlfriend

As the final lecture neared its end, a sticky knot of panic tightened beneath my ribs.

The oppressive scent of an impending storm hung heavy in the stifling air of the auditorium, settling onto my shoulders like lead. Goosebumps rippled across my skin, raising the fine hairs on my arms. An invisible, suffocating pressure pressed in on me, invading my lungs with every ragged breath.

Yet, the other students remained oblivious. In the row beside me, one girl had even succumbed to sleep, her head resting peacefully against her folded arms.

The throbbing uncertainty was tearing me apart. Driven by a wave of nervous energy, I crossed my legs and bounced the tip of my sneaker in a relentless rhythm.

The professor droned on in a dull, mechanical monotone. I tried with all my might to take notes, scrawling crooked letters across the page, but half the words slipped past my clouded mind. Damn Damian. His ruthless antics were going to get me expelled before the semester even ended—snapped right out of the university like a champagne cork.

Shaking off the haunting memory of his dark, predatory gaze, I forced my eyes back to my notebook, cursing my tormentor in my head.

The homework load was brutal, and to make matters worse, I still had to clean his massive apartment. The rooms, thick with construction dust and drywall debris, demanded immediate attention; otherwise, the grime would spread everywhere, and scrubbing away the tracks would end up killing me.

When the bell finally rang, I stubbornly kept writing. I bade farewell to my departing classmates, asked the professor for a study guide to double-check my notes, and sat back down at my desk. My studies had to come first; if I didn’t hold onto them, my debt repayment to him would leave nothing of my life but ruins.

In truth, I was simply delaying the inevitable encounter with Damian. Inside, my whole body was trembling. The Alpha’s behavior terrified me with its raw unpredictability. He was playing sadistic mind games with me, despite being four years older and constantly boasting about founding his own pack—you’d think he would carry himself with some sense of maturity. Instead of a normal conversation, he backed me into corners and tormented me with cruel delight. Damn bastard.

A sharp metallic click shattered my stupor. Snapping my head up, I opened my mouth to yell at the professor not to lock the door, but the words froze on my lips.

Damian slid the key out of the lock and casually tossed it into the pocket of his black jeans.

Turning slowly, he looked at me with a gaze that instantly turned the blood in my veins to solid ice, shattering them from the inside with frozen needles. The shadows swirling within his irises slashed right through me, searing my insides with a merciless heat.

The air lodged in my throat like a heavy stone, and my hands trembled violently. I balled my fists so tightly that my short fingernails bit painfully into my palms. We’re at the university. He won’t do anything here. I’ll scream at the top of my lungs.

"Tell me, Hart, who was that fuckhead with you in the cafeteria today?" His deep, resonant voice reverberated against my eardrums as he leisurely crossed the room toward my desk.

"Who are you talking about?" I whispered softly, realization washing over me with sheer terror as the paralyzing crush of his wolfish aura rooted me to the spot.

"Don’t play dumb with me. What’s the name of the trash who carried your bag today and ate you up with his eyes?" Pulling up a nearby chair, Damian turned it backward, straddling it opposite me and resting his massive arms across the backrest. "Give me his name."

"Why? He was just helping me out, that’s all." Panicking slightly, I snapped my notebook shut and shoved it into my bag, trying with all my strength to avoid his gaze.

Just looking at his face made me feel physically sick. The menace radiating off Damian’s wolf was so overpowering that every instinct inside me screamed to run, to flee, to hide as far away as possible.

"His name." A low, guttural growl sliced through the quiet auditorium, sending a faint vibration through the windowpanes that hummed in response.

"No. He just helped carry my bag because my leg hurts." Zipping my bag shut, I stood up slowly, wincing as a sharp pain shot up my side.

My leg was throbbing horribly. I usually took my sneaker off during lectures to give it a rest, but I had forgotten this time, and now I could barely bear any weight on my foot. Limping carefully, I tried to edge past him, but the second I took a step, his arm whipped around my waist, dragging me forcibly onto his lap.

"Decided to get yourself a boyfriend, Hart?" His silky, insidious whisper brushed against the top of my head, sending a fresh wave of shivers cascading down my spine.

His aura crushed down upon me with a destructive, demonic power.

"If he touches you, I’ll break every single bone in his body. And you’re going to watch," Damian rumbled with a chilling, deadly tenderness. His long fingers hooked under my chin with unimaginable gentleness, tilting my face upward. "Understand me, little bird?"

"Don’t touch him..." I whispered, the sheer gravity of this lunatic’s intent settling over me. He truly was ready to maim Kyle just for offering me a helping hand. "He didn’t mean anything by it. He has a girlfriend."

"Bullshit excuse, Hart. He was devouring your ass with his eyes like a starving hound staring at a prime cut of meat through a butcher shop window." Despite the velvet timbre of his voice, the words sliced deeper than a cold blade pressed against my carotid artery.

His long fingers slid slowly down my neck toward my collarbones. Yet, even beneath the softness of his touch lay a deadly promise—a latent bloodlust hidden in every featherlight stroke.

"Why can’t you just leave me alone?!" Turning my face away from his piercing black eyes, I tried to twist away and break free from his lap, but the attempt failed completely. His arms locked firmly around my waist. "Go find yourself a girlfriend and stay out of my life! I’ll pay off my debt, just leave me in peace!"

"Your life belongs to me, Hart. You’re just an amusing little creature who cleans my home, and whether I have a girlfriend or not is none of your damn business." A distorted, predatory sneer curved his cruel lips, and I froze in sheer shock at his words.

"You... have a girlfriend?" The question slipped past my lips before I could stop it.