CHAPTER 4: ROOMMATES?
HARPER'S POV
I can't wait. I can't risk it.
The second someone calls him off the platform, some urgent message or something about the Alpha, I am gone.
I shove through the crowd, ignoring the stares, the gasps, the muttered "Did you see that?" as I pass.
I don't care. I can't care even though I know the pain is going well.
My body is shaking and every nerve is on fire. The potion is fading too fast. Way too fast. I can feel my own scent leaking through like smoke from a crack in a door. Thick. Unmistakable.
This shouldn't have happened. The witch told me it was supposed to last a week, five days at most.
This is just the third day, damn it!
Why is this happening?!!!
I race back to the barracks, taking back paths and cutting across training fields, hoping no one follows, hoping no one smells me.
My hands are trembling by the time I reach my door and I can't even begin to understand how I get it open but I slam it shut hard behind me, twist the lock, double check it, once, twice.
The moment I am alone, I drop to my knees pull my box from under the bed, and rip the vial from my satchel.
Please still be good. Please still work.
It's really a good thing that my roommate hasn't arrived.
I unstopper it with shaking fingers and down it in one gulp. The taste hits like fire and ash and something sour underneath. My stomach heaves, but I force it down.
"Come on, come on, come on," I whisper to myself. "Kick in. Hurry."
It won't be instant. It never is. It is a fucking gradual process.
There is a delay. A gap. A dangerous few minutes where everything about me, everything I have worked to hide, is exposed and I can't help but string my eyes, hoping no one is coming this way. My scent is way too unique to ignore
I pull off my outer cloak. The lining is damp. Soaked through with sweat and scent.
Shit. That is not good.
I throw it in the bottom of my trunk and slam it shut. No time to burn it. I just need to contain it. I shove other clothes on top of it, hoping the layers help, praying it.is enough.
But I can smell it already. Her.
My wolf. My scent.
It is leaking off my skin, clinging to my sheets, curling in the corners of the room like fog.
No, no, no.
I strip out of the rest of my clothes, grab my towel, and bolt for the bathroom. I turn on the water as hot as it goes and jump in, scrubbing hard, like I can peel the scent off my skin if I just scrub fast enough.
"Come on, come on," I whisper under my breath. "Work faster. Please."
Steam fills the room. My heartbeat won't slow down. I can't tell if the potion is kicking in or if I am just panicking too hard to notice.
This wasn't how this was supposed to go.'
Then I hear it.
The click of the door. The creak of floorboards.
Someone is here.
No one should have been able to unlock my door except…. Fuck!
My roommate.
I freeze mid-scrub. My hand is halfway to my hair.
No. No, no, no. Not now. Why now?!
Is the goddess trying to punish me or someone?!!
Please don't be him. Please don't be anyone.
I hold my breath.
Footsteps. Slow. Heavy.
I shut the water off and pressed myself against the wall, dripping and tense. I listen, trying to pick up on breathing, movement, anything.
A soft thud. A drawer opens.
They'll be inside the room.
Shit. Shit, shit.
I wrap myself in the towel as quietly as I can and stand behind the door. I don't dare move. The mirror's fogged up, but I can still see my own eyes wide with panic.
What if he can smell me?
I still don't even know who I am bunking with. I haven't had a full conversation with anyone since arriving.
What if they can all smell me?
What if they already do?
The silence stretches too long. I hear the sound of cloth rustling. A bag is being set down. Another drawer opening.
They are unpacking.
This is real.
They are here.
I clutch the edge of the sink, nails digging into the porcelain. I can't come out. I can't risk it. If the potion hasn't kicked in yet—
And judging by the flutter in my wolf's chest, it hasn't, I'm not safe.
Every second that ticks by is agony. My hair drips onto the floor. My legs are starting to ache from standing frozen.
And all I can think is this can't be happening.
I breathe through my nose.
Still strong. Still me. Not masked yet.
Shit.
I crouch, grab the edge of the counter, and wait.
Every sound feels like a threat.
Every footstep, every drawer creak.
Time slows to a crawl.
Then… silence.
For too long.
I don't know what they're doing.
Then I hear the mattress shift. Springs creak.
Whoever it is, they are sitting. Lying down maybe.
Now might be my only chance.
I press my ear to the bathroom door. No footsteps.
I inch it open. Just a crack.
I peek.
There. On the other bed.
A figure. Back turned. Hood tossed on the desk.
He is lying down, one arm draped over his face.
Looks like he just got back and crashed.
I don't get a full view. Don't want to. I can't risk him seeing me like this. Not until the potion's fully in.
I close the door again and lock it.
My heartbeat won't stop racing.
I don't know how long I'll have to wait, but I'm not leaving until I can't smell myself anymore.
And even then, I might not sleep at all tonight.
Because now I know I've got a roommate.
And if I slip up even once…
I'm dead.