Slowly, he rose to his full length. His long hair was tied at the nape of his neck, and he was taller than most men, and the muscles of his arms and back moved like waves, fluid and masculine.
Theo found herself staring, longer than she intended to, forgetting to breathe.
He picked up his shirt, threw it over his shoulders lazily and began walking out.
Not sparing her a glance. Like he didn't care that she was there.
She watched his movements, her wolf trying to absorb every detail. As he moved, she caught a whiff of his scent and it slammed into her like a blow she wasn't ready for.
Her wolf's hackles rose instantly, a low growl erupting from Seraphina's throat. She first inhaled rain-soaked earth after a storm, and beneath it was the sharp smell of charred smoke.
And then, an ever darker note. Something metallic like blood.
It's the kind of scent that threatened to pull her in, warning her to stay away at the same time.
"Oh God...," She murmured, trying to catch her breath.
The boy paused in his steps, standing where the sun reached, and she froze alongside him.
Then, he turned his head a bit to glance back at her hiding spot. Their eyes met, and it felt as if she had been thrown into a furnace and left to burn. His eyes were so dark they were almost black, and with the sun touching it...faint sparks of orange-red flared within them.
He was glaring.
Hard.
She thought of what to do, but before she could think of anything else, he walked away, leaving her alone in the greenhouse.
"The hell was that?" She mumbled as she stood up, wondering who he was.
After dusting herself more, she also left the Greenhouse to go and retrieve her luggage, and give a little visit to the Commandant.
When she walked in this time, the blue-eyed man wasn't present.
The commandant looked up at her, giving her a thorough once-over. Then, he picked up something from under the desk and placed it on top. It was a well-wrapped piece of clothing, two items, and a small jotter.
"Your Robe, Room key, Tag, and your schedule. You may leave,"
She stared down at the items, picked them up and left quietly
Due to her three-hour hide-and-seek all over the school, she knew the way to the Eastern dormitory.
As she walked through, many eyes followed her like a hawk. She could feel their glares, their preying eyes waiting for the perfect time to strike, and it was a bit overwhelming.
No one had been able to find her during the stipulated time, and they were mad.
Theodore smirked, proud of herself.
In a short while, she was standing in front of her room.
It was on the second floor, and there was a guy leaning on the railing directly in front of the room, staring at nothing in particular. As she approached the door, his attention turned to her.
"What are you doing?" He questioned, narrowing his eyes at her.
She inserted her key, "Who are you?!"
A grin tugged at his lips, and his brown eyes swept over her, "Are you...are you the new guy that arrived today?"
She sighed in aggravation, then ignored him and continued turning the key.
He chuckled, "I wouldn't do that if I were you,"
She didn't answer.
"Wait, are you supposed to be his roommate?" He laughed even harder, clearly amused by whatever it was, "Oh, this is gonna be fun,"
The door clicked, and she pulled out the key, grabbing the doorknob.
"I would go back to the Commandant's Office and humbly request for a room change right now if I were you. You do not want to -"
"No, thank you," She cut him off the next instant, and pushed the door open.
Theodora blinked at the sheer size of the room. It was incredibly spacious, lined with shelves, sturdy furniture and two massive beds.
Before the happiness could kick in completely, she was hit with the scent that filled the room.
One she was still having trouble forgetting about.
She turned to one of the beds. The one closest to the door.
A figure was lying there, shirtless as she remembered. His body stretched on the bed carelessly, scars and tattoos carving across his chest and arm.
His long dark hair was still tied back, and he was still radiating that... menacing quality.
Her stomach dropped. Was he...her roommate?!
But now she could see his face. He was kind of a brutal beauty, as though he had been carved from something utterly merciless.
Definitely those men parents would warn their kids to stay away from. Someone her mum would have warned her to keep away from.
Then, his eyes opened.
He looked at her again, fixing her in place with that dark gaze that was on fire.
His lips moved, and a word fell out, "Out!"
The depth of it made her eyes spin, and what brought her back was the heavy threat in his tone.
He was commanding her, staring like she was supposed to bow or something and sprint out of the room.
That was never going to happen.
Her spine straightened, and steel laced her voice when she replied, "You'll have to do better than one word if you want me gone,"
His eyes flared at her words, and with a lazy sort of menace, he pushed himself upright and pulled up to his full length. Every inch of him screamed dominance.
"You've got guts," He said with a low voice, like it was being dragged across fire. Then, he took a step towards her, arrogance and dangerous swirling in his eyes, "Most people can't even hold my stare, and you think you can talk back at me?"
Theo lifted her chin, keeping her cool on the outside, "I don't give a fuck about that. I was assigned to this room, and I'm not leaving. Not today, not until I graduate,"
This time, he took two more steps and had covered the distance between them. His legs made no noise, and her breath caught softly as he stared down at her, threatening to burn her with his gaze.
A few strands of hair had fallen across his face, casting dark shadows over them. And now that he was standing so close, she could not only feel the heat radiating off him like a furnace, but...he also seemed familiar.
Have they...met before?
"You're in my space, Hellcat. My walls, my room, my bed," He said, raising a fist and slamming it into the walls right next to her ears.
She didn't even flinch.
"And when I say you should get out...,"
In a swift movement, he grabbed her shirt and yanked her off balance. She stumbled and caught herself almost immediately, but he was already moving again.
With one shove, he pushed her backwards, and her body collided with the door. He twisted the handle, pulled it open and hurled her and her luggage out into the hallway with a brutal push.
Then, he slammed the door shut behind her.
"That brat!" She spat, an eye twitching.
Someone burst into laughter in front of her, "I told you, didn't I?"
She looked up to see the brown eyed boy. He was laughing so hard tears formed in his eyes, and then he ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair, "That just made my day," He added.
"Well, I'm glad someone's happy," She groaned.
"Zeke would never share his space with anyone. EVER. I told you to go back and request a room change, didn't I? Or...," He gave her a quick once over, "Would you like to come over to my dorm and take a quick shower. You stink,"
Theodore thought he was weird. They were basically strangers and he was speaking so freely with her, even inviting her to his dorm to take a shower?
"I'm Good," She replied, leaning on the wall right next to the door.
She still had her key and could try again. But it doesn't seem like there was any reasoning with the guy in there.
"So... You gonna stay there till what? A miracle happens and Zeke suddenly changes his mind and lets you in?"
"That wouldn't be so bad," She murmured.
"It's never happening either. You sure you don't wanna come over and have a shower?" He kept his eyes on her.
Then, she noticed something weird about his gaze. He was staring at her in some sort of way. His gaze was soft, and was that... desire?
She quickly gripped her bag, "I'm good," And then she was off.
She headed out of the Eastern dorm and soon arrived at the Northern dorm. She recalled that Eric had told her his room number earlier today, and went straight there.
She touched the doorknob and turned it open, surprised to find it unlocked.
The sight that met her eyes... completely crushed her heart.
Eric was standing there, gripping the chin of another boy and their lips were... entangled.