Chapter 13-Amrin
I paced the corridor outside Professor Kenna’s office the following afternoon, trying and failing to calm the riot of emotions still storming through me.
The western administrative tower of the Asgarheim Runevald Institute always felt oppressive.
Not in a bad way exactly.
Just ancient.
Like the stone itself was watching.
Tall arched windows overlooked the black cliffs surrounding the island realm while storm clouds churned endlessly beyond the sea below.
Enchanted lanterns floated along the corridor ceiling casting soft gold light across rune-carved walls and portraits of former Runevald professors who absolutely seemed to track students with their eyes.
The place smelled like old magic.
Dusty books.
Rain.
Burned herbs.
And beneath all of it—power.
Deep, old, terrifying power.
I hugged my satchel tighter against my side and resumed pacing.
Honestly, I should have gone back to class.
Or slept.
God knew I needed it.
After yesterday’s disaster in the corridor, my nerves still felt completely shredded.
Not because I regretted what happened.
No.
If I was being brutally honest with myself?
The memory of Sten appearing seemingly out of nowhere to defend me still made heat curl low in my stomach.
One second Gunner had been sneering in my face—his antagonism knowing no bounds.
The next?
My gorgeous terrifying celestial Monster had come flying from the shadows like wrath itself and punched the Werewolf so hard he nearly folded in half.
Objectively speaking, violence was bad.
Academically inappropriate.
Potentially alarming.
Unfortunately, my body had reacted to it in a deeply unhelpful manner.
Because there had been something intensely possessive about the way Sten stood in front of me afterward.
Protecting me.
Claiming space around me like it belonged to him.
Mine.
The dangerous little thought flashed through me again before I shoved it down immediately.
Nope.
Not touching that.
Definitely not unpacking why that made me want to climb him like a tree.
My face warmed instantly.
Shit.
I was pathetic.
And exhausted.
The insomnia was getting worse.
Much worse.
Even after last night.
Especially after last night.
Which also wasn’t helping my emotional stability.
Because apparently once Sten kissed me, my entire nervous system collectively decided sleep was optional now.
Instead, every night became endless hours of replaying his mouth on mine and wondering what exactly was happening between us.
Between us.
The phrase alone made my pulse jump.
I sighed heavily and pulled my phone from my satchel again, checking the reminder I’d finally entered earlier that morning.
Dr. Margot Childs—Spring Equinox Festival—2:30 PM.
Relief softened something tight in my chest at the sight of it.
Dr. Childs had known me since I was fourteen years old and I sat crying in an exam room because my sisters convinced me I was broken for getting my period later than everyone else.
I still remembered her handing me tissues while explaining gently that bodies developed differently and that nothing about me was wrong.
She’d been one of the only adults in my life who never treated me like a disappointment.
Which probably explained why I trusted her enough to admit lately something felt off.
Not bad exactly.
Just different.
My emotions felt too intense lately.
My body hypersensitive.
And the sleeplessness—fuck.
The sleeplessness felt almost supernatural now.
Especially after Sten.
Especially after the burning incident yesterday outside Professor Kenna’s office.
My stomach twisted remembering it.
One second I’d been admiring Sten like a lovesick idiot while waiting for him outside the disciplinary hearing.
The next?
Agony.
Heat exploding through my chest and lower belly while blue sparks erupted from my fingers like fireworks.
And then—bam!
It was over.
What was left were memories of the night before.
Sten walking me back to my room in the shadows.
His hand around mine.
His voice growling Luna, like the word meant something ancient and irreversible.
Heat flushed through me again.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
The office doors suddenly swung open, pulling me from my spiraling thoughts.
Gunner exited first.
The Werewolf looked pissed.
Good.
His bruised jaw had healed mostly overnight thanks to supernatural recovery, but faint yellow-green shadows still lingered beneath one eye.
Served him right.
He spotted me immediately and sneered.
“Well, well you’re just waiting for Blue Boy, aren’t you?”
I stiffened instantly.
Before I could respond, Gunner’s expression shifted slightly.
Like he remembered something unpleasant.
His eyes flicked nervously toward the office behind him.
Interesting.
Apparently Professor Kenna’s lecture yesterday had been memorable.
The Wolf muttered something under his breath and stormed past me toward the staircase.
Jerk.
The doors remained open behind him.
And then Sten stepped out.
My breath caught immediately.
Gods.
He looked unfair.
His dark hair fell messily around his face like he’d been dragging frustrated hands through it all afternoon.
The sleeves of his black thermal were shoved up his forearms revealing corded blue muscle dusted with faint glowing silver markings beneath the skin.
Paint and maybe dried plaster.
Probably from the repairs.
He looked tired.
Dangerous.
Beautiful.
Like some ancient cathedral gargoyle carved from moonlit marble and shadow.
Four horns curved from his head—two arching upward elegantly while the lower pair swept back tighter against his skull like a ram’s.
His glowing cerulean eyes remained lowered initially, focused on rolling his sleeves back down over powerful forearms.
Then he sensed me.
I saw it happen.
His body stilled instantly.
Slowly, Sten lifted his gaze toward mine.
And everything else disappeared.
The corridor.
The portraits.
The floating lanterns.
Gone.
It was just him and me.
Just those impossible glowing eyes and they were fixed entirely on mine.
Warmth unfurled low in my stomach so suddenly I nearly lost my balance.
The expression crossing his face wrecked me completely.
Relief.
Possessive relief.
Like seeing me physically eased something painful inside him.
“Luna,” he said softly.
My knees almost gave out.
No one should be allowed to say a nickname like that.
Not with that voice.
Not while looking at me like I was the first good thing that had happened to them in centuries.
“Hi,” I breathed.
Smooth.
Very cool.
Sten’s mouth twitched slightly.
He crossed the corridor toward me slowly, enormous body moving with predatory grace that somehow no longer frightened me at all.
If anything—I moved closer instinctively.
Like my body already knew where it belonged.
“You alright?” he asked.
The low roughness in his voice wrapped around my spine like warm velvet.
“Yeah, fine. I, uh, I just wanted to make sure you survived reconstruction duty.”
A soft snort escaped him.
“Barely.”
Gods.
I loved making him laugh.
Even tiny almost-laughs.
And I knew I should be angry with him—somewhere deep down I was still angry with him—but right then all I felt was relief. And maybe joy.
“You really destroyed half the hallway,” I added.
“No.” His eyes gleamed faintly. “We destroyed half the hallway.”
I blinked.
“We?”
“You were emotionally involved.”
I stared at him.
Then I burst out laughing.
Full on belly laughs.
Sten’s expression softened instantly at the sound.
Like hearing me happy physically affected him.
Dangerous.
Shit.
Why was everything about this so damn dangerous?
“You’re unbelievable,” I muttered.
“So I’ve been told.”
His tail slid slowly behind him, the dark cerulean appendage curling lazily through the air while we stood too close together in the empty corridor.
My gaze dropped automatically.
Big mistake.
Because suddenly I remembered exactly how that tail had wrapped around my waist when we kissed.
How it tightened possessively when his tongue licked into my mouth.
And heat flooded straight between my thighs.
Oh no.
Sten noticed instantly.
Of course he did.
Monster senses and all.
His glowing eyes darkened slowly while he tugged me to him, walking me backwards until I couldn’t go any further.
One massive hand braced casually against the wall beside my head.
Not trapping me.
Just close.
Close enough to make my pulse stutter.
“You’re thinking loud thoughts again, Luna.”
My mouth went dry.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Liar.”
The word purred from him.
Gods.
This was it.
I was going to die.
Probably from sexual tension.
Professor Kenna cleared her throat loudly from inside the office.
We sprang apart instantly.
Well.
I sprang.
Sten barely moved.
The professor stood framed in the doorway watching us both with cool, unreadable green eyes.
Rune-light flickered softly behind her, illuminating the sharp lines of her face and the silver threaded through her dark hair.
For one strange moment, she looked less like the head of a graduate Institute and more like one of the ancient beings whispered about in old realm legends.
A woman who had seen too much.
Survived too much.
Known too many Monsters.
“I trust,” she said dryly, gaze sliding over the damaged corridor behind us, “that no further structural damage will occur in my halls today.”
Heat flooded my face instantly.
The shattered enchanted glass.
The cracked stone.
The lingering scorch marks from rogue magic.
Gods.
Meanwhile, beside me, Sten looked entirely unapologetic.
Huge.
Relaxed.
Dangerous.
One broad shoulder leaned casually against the wall as though he hadn’t tried to rip a Werewolf apart less than twenty-four hours earlier.
“No promises,” he murmured under his breath.
Professor Kenna’s eyes narrowed immediately.
Not irritated.
Warning.
The distinction mattered.
I felt it.
Sten felt it too.
Something in the air tightened sharply between them.
Ancient power recognizing ancient power.