Chapter 57: Helping The Instructor

"Zero..."

I tested the name silently on my lips, the single word feeling strangely heavy on my tongue. Zero. It was a cold, numerical designation—a name given to a tool, an asset, an assassin whose life meant nothing and who could be discarded without a second thought.

It sounded far too familiar to a past I was trying to leave behind.

I looked up through the dimness, my mind beginning to waver as I considered his desperate plea to mate with him. But before the thought could fully take root, Zero suddenly gasped, his body going rigid above me.

He violently shoved himself off my body, collapsing onto his side on the dusty gym mats and writhing in pain.

"Go!" he rasped, his fists digging into the floorboards as sweat poured off his shuddering shoulders. "Stay away from me... I can’t... I can’t hold myself back any longer!"

I scrambled to my feet instantly, smoothing down my rumpled clothes and tugging my top back into place. My breathing was still ragged, but my instincts snapped right back into focus.

He was clutching his chest, his skin scorching hot and his pulse skyrocketing. If this feverish rut kept up without an outlet or a chemical counter, he was going to suffer severe organ failure—he was going to die right here on the floor.

I pursed my lips, turning my gaze toward the shed door. It was locked firmly from the outside with a heavy wooden bolt.

No time for delicate lock-picking.

Focusing every ounce of kinetic force into my right leg, I drew back and lashed out with a brutal, pinpoint sidekick aimed directly at the latch.

BOOM!

The wooden door shattered into splinters, bursting outward into the quiet afternoon air.

"Wait here, Zero," I said, looking back over my shoulder at the groaning, shirtless wolf. "I’ll get help."

"No..." he groaned, his glowing emerald eyes flashing with raw terror as he reached out a trembling, blood-veined hand toward me. "No one... no one can know I’m... I’m an Alpha..."

I froze for a split second, staring at him in disbelief. What was he talking about now? Was he so terrified of breaking school regulations that he didn’t realize he was already dying on a gym mat?

"Don’t be stubborn," I snapped, my composure fully restored. "You need suppressants, and you need them now. Wait for me."

I turned and rushed out of the ruined shed, slipping into the shadow of the grand auditorium. Drawing my phone from my pocket, I tapped the screen and saw more than a dozen missed calls from Benjamin.

Benjamin. He was a high-ranking Alpha with chronic sensory issues and high wolf pressure—he was practically guaranteed to carry emergency Alpha suppressants in his coat or car. If I could just reach him, I could save Zero’s life without exposing his secret.

I rounded the corner of the building at a quick pace, my eyes glued to the screen as I dialed Benjamin’s number.

"Come on, answer..." I muttered under my breath.

I took three fast steps past the stone pillar leading to the main courtyard—and slammed directly into a wall of solid muscle.

My phone nearly slipped from my fingers. I stumbled back an inch, my eyes snapping up to see who had cut off my path.

Standing right in front of me was Damian Raven.

The Discipline Committee President stood tall and imposing, his sharp, red eyes narrowing instantly as he looked down at my disheveled hair, and my flush cheeks.

"Brianna Wells," Damian said, his voice dropping into a low, dangerously quiet register that made the air around us freeze. "Where exactly do you think you’re rushing off to? Don’t you know the rules? No running in the hallway."

The devil himself just had to be in my path.

"I..."

The words hadn’t even fully left my mouth when Damian’s brow drew tightly together. His posture went deadly still, and before I could draw back, he leaned down, his nose brushing the air inches from my collarbone.

He took a sharp, deep breath—and his eyes instantly flashed with a terrifying, pitch-black fury.

I wanted to yank myself away and put distance between us, but before I could even turn on my heel, his hand shot out like an iron vise, grabbing my arm so hard my bone throbbed under the pressure.

"What Alpha is in rut on school grounds?" Damian growled, his voice dropping an octave into a dark, suffocating frequency that vibrated straight through the stone floorboards beneath us.

I flinched.

He didn’t just smell another wolf on me. He smelled the thick, undeniable scent of an Alpha’s raw, unbridled fever clinging heavily to my hair, my collar, and my flush skin.

Damian’s grip tightened on my forearm, dragging me half an inch closer until his glare was locked directly onto mine. "And why are you completely drenched in his scent, Brianna?"

I didn’t know what else I could do at a time like this, so I instantly switched tactics. Damian was a high-ranking Alpha, too, which meant he undoubtedly had access to the emergency medical supplies on campus. Maybe... just maybe...

"Good thing I found you," I said, my voice dropping its defensive edge as I reached out and grabbed his hand with both of mine. "There’s a friend of mine who went into an unexpected rut, and he urgently needs suppressants."

Damian’s eyes narrowed, his gaze dropping to where my small hands were holding his. "Friend?" he echoed, his voice dripping with icy disdain. "Is it Benjamin? No... this isn’t his scent." He looked back up into my eyes, his grip on my arm not loosening a single fraction. "Who is this friend?"

I thought back to Zero’s desperate, agonized face, his trembling hand reaching out to me as he begged me not to let anyone know he was an Alpha.

"If I tell you, will you promise to keep it a secret?" I asked, my tone deadly serious.

Damian furrowed his dark brows, a cold smirk hovering on his lips. "I am the Discipline Committee President, Brianna. I am not obligated to keep secrets for students breaking campus protocol."

Instead of pulling back, I stepped even closer, stepping right into his personal space and looking up at him through my lashes.

"Please," I murmured, lacing my voice with every drop of desperation I could muster. "I’m pleading with you, President. Please... be benevolent."

Damian froze. The tactic was entirely foreign to him—especially coming from me, someone who had spent every prior interaction actively avoiding his gaze and trying to run in the opposite direction.

"Brianna Wells," Damian rasped, his eyes darkening as he stared down at me. "Do you even know what you’re doing right now? Clinging to me like this while another wolf’s scent is clinging to your skin?"