Territory
SCARLETT
Kaiden turned in his seat and looked right at me, a small, crooked smile on his full lips.
Dammit. Why was I noticing his full lips?
Nope. No. It meant nothing. Anyone would notice. He was just… there.
When he finally looked away, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
What were the chances he’d end up in the same class as me? It was insane.
Then I felt it again—three burning stares drilling into the side of my face. I didn’t need to look to know who they were. My skin prickled like it always did when they watched me. I took a slow, steadying breath.
Big mistake.
Their pheromones slammed into me all at once, lighting a fire low in my belly, making me ache in places I didn’t want to think about.
I shivered hard, thighs pressing together under the desk. Heat flooded me, sudden and unstoppable. Slick soaked my panties, sliding warm between my legs. My nipples tightened against my bra, aching.
Oh God.
This wasn’t allowed.
They were pumping pheromones like animals in rut, and the whole class had to smell it—had to smell me reacting.
I was drenched in their scent, and my body was answering like I’d already surrendered.
Kaiden’s voice cut through the haze, calm and clear.
“Can you tone it down?”
The room went dead silent.
Even the girl who’d been standing to answer the professor’s question froze mid-sentence.
Kaiden was staring straight at the Triumvirate, polite smile still in place, but his eyes were sharp.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” he continued, voice smooth as glass, “but this class is full of Omegas. Flooding the room with pheromones like that isn’t just breaking school rules—it’s putting their well-being, their sanity, in jeopardy.
Some of us would like to learn without being driven into heat.”
Gasps rippled through the room.
My mouth fell open.
You didn’t talk to the Triumvirate like that.
Ever.
I risked a glance behind me.
Rhys was leaning back, head tilted, that same lazy fascinated smirk on his face like he was watching an ant try to move a mountain and found it adorable.
Kane’s expression was pure murder. His knuckles whitened on the desk, claws lengthening just enough to scrape wood, looking like he wanted to vault the desk and rip Kaiden’s throat out with his teeth.
Saint’s expression was ice cold, empty, terrifying. One visible eye fixed on Kaiden like he was already dead.
Kane’s voice came out cool, dark, dripping venom.
“Careful,” he said, every word a threat. “You’re talking to Alphas that could end you before you blink. And you’re doing it over an Omega who’s already dripping for us.”
Kaiden’s jaw ticked, but his smile didn’t falter.
Kane stood slowly, chair scraping back.
The entire class surged to their feet, scrambling toward the front like a tide fleeing a shark.
Rhys rose too, hand on Kane’s shoulder. “Let him be.”
Kaiden’s eyes glinted. “Smart. Listen to your daddy.”
Kane’s head snapped toward him, a snarl building.
Rhys’s smirk widened, fascinated. “It seems the little boy does want a daddy.”
Kane stepped forward until he loomed over my desk. He turned to me, ignoring everyone else.
I shrank back, heart in my throat.
He leaned down, face inches from mine, hand cupping my jaw, thumb brushing my lip.
Then he kissed me.
Hard. Possessive. In front of the entire class.
His tongue swept in, claiming my mouth, tasting my gasp. His hand slid to the back of my neck, holding me exactly where he wanted.
When he pulled back, my lips were swollen, my breath gone.
He turned to Kaiden, eyes glowing black.
“She’s ours,” he growled, the voice of a pure animal, his wolf coming to the surface. “Stay away. Or I’ll kill you.”
Kaiden’s smile finally slipped, something dark flashing in his eyes.
“I’d like to see you try.”
The air crackled.
The professor’s voice cracked like a whip through the silence.
“Mr. Whitlock. Mr. Black. Sit. Down.”
No one moved.
Kane’s hand was still wrapped around my neck, thumb stroking slow circles over my pulse like he owned it. His eyes were locked on Kaiden, black and feral.
Rhys’s smirk hadn’t faded. Saint hadn’t blinked.
The professor tried again, louder. “This is a classroom, not a fighting pit. Take it outside if you must, but I will not have disruptions in my lecture.”
Kane’s fingers tightened just enough to make me gasp then loosened. But he didn’t let go.
I couldn’t breathe with his hand there. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t sit here one more second with every eye in the room on me, with my lips still tingling from his kiss and my body screaming for things I wasn’t ready to name.
I shot to my feet.
“Take your hand off my neck,” I said, voice shaking but loud enough for the whole room to hear.
Kane’s eyes flicked to me, surprised. For a second, something almost like hurt flashed in them.
Then his fingers slid away.
I grabbed my bag, heart pounding so hard I felt it in my throat. “I…I need to be excused.”
The professor sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Fine. Go. Everyone else, sit.”
I didn’t wait to see if they obeyed.
I bolted.
Out the door, down the hall, shoes squeaking on the tiles. Whispers followed me like smoke, but I didn’t stop until I shoved into the nearest girls’ bathroom and locked the door behind me.
I stumbled into the farthest stall, slammed it shut, and dropped onto the closed toilet lid.
My hands were shaking.
I touched my lips.
They still burned where Kane had kissed me. Rough. Claiming. Branding me in front of the entire class.
And the worst part?
It had felt good.
Too good.
I was soaked.
Worse than ever before. Slick had drenched my panties, sliding warm down my inner thighs. My whole body throbbed, aching, empty.
My heat wasn’t due for two weeks. I knew my cycle. I tracked it religiously.
So why did I feel like this?
Against every ounce of better judgment, I spread my legs.
My fingers trembled as I hooked them into my panties and pulled them down.
The fabric was ruined, completely soaked, clinging, slick glistening on my thighs.
I stared, chest heaving.
Then, before I could stop myself, I slid two fingers through the mess, brushing my clit.
A moan tore out of me, loud in the empty bathroom.
I bit my lip hard, but it was too late.
My head fell back against the wall as I circled my clit, slow at first, then faster. Kane’s kiss replayed in my mind, his tongue, his taste, the way he’d growled “ours.”
Rhys’s smirk. Saint’s silent stare.
All three of them watching me like I was already theirs.
My hips rocked into my hand. Slick coated my fingers, dripping onto the seat.
I was so close.
So embarrassingly close.
Just from a kiss.
Just from their scents.
Just from the way they looked at me like they wanted to devour me whole.
I came with a choked cry, thighs clamping around my hand, body shaking as wave after wave crashed through me.
When it finally faded, I sat there panting, fingers still buried inside me, tears pricking my eyes.
What the hell was happening to me?