Chapter 4: _ Darien

For a long moment, neither Heidi nor Darien speaks. Then: "...Do you know where you’ve barged into?" His voice is deep. It’s the kind of bass tone that can make a girl’s cheek flush. And did it have such an effect on Heidi? You bet. Heidi’s lips part. "I—I didn’t mean to..." She suddenly can’t form words or thoughts, and somehow, it was evoked by his presence. The boy tilts his head, blazer still in hand. "You’re not a staff member. And not one of the old bloodlines. You’re one of the new ones, right? One of the... blessed?" He says the word like he doesn’t quite believe in it. Why is he acting like he doesn’t know her? Who could forget the girl he and his jerky brothers had just bullied two hours ago? Or perhaps, could she be so forgettable? Heidi wonders as her whole body tenses and her chest heaves. "I was running," she says hoarsely. "I-I didn’t mean to come in here. I—I... swear." He narrows his eyes. "Well, congratulations, you’ve just run into the Alphas’ private study room. The one off-limits to everyone." Heidi’s skin pales. How can she get in so much trouble on her very first day? She grimaces, feeling her stomach heating up in tension. "This is your study room?" "Mine, and my brothers’. You’re currently standing next to Darien Bellamy’s chair, which I don’t usually share with eavesdropping freshmen." Heidi nibbles on her bottom lip, vigorously shaking her head. "I wasn’t eavesdropping on you." "So you were eavesdropping on someone." Damn it. He sets the blazer down, finally standing. He’s tall. Too tall. His hair is ruffled like he just ran a hand through it a dozen times. His expression is hard to read. However, the slight arch in his eyebrows tells Heidi he’s peculiarly curious... ... curious about her. Oh, no. She hates that he’s... beautiful. In a real, annoying, forbidden kind of way. "You’re bleeding," he points out, frowning. Heidi immediately covers her elbow. "I fell." "Someone hit you." ’Yeah, how about your asshole brother did?’ Heidi inwardly scoffs, but knows she dares not articulate her thoughts if she still loves to breathe. "Why do you care?" she snaps defensively instead. Darien pauses, and then he smiles. It was a surprise one. It wasn’t the cruel or arrogant one that Heidi may have expected of him. "I guess I don’t." He moves closer. Heidi’s heart jackhammers. She backs up until she bumps the door. "I wasn’t trying to snoop," she whispers. "Yeah. But you did. And whatever you heard was bad enough to send you sprinting into the Alphas’ den." He’s right in front of her now. Heidi holds her breath as she turns scarlet. His eyes flick down to her face, remaining there for half a second. That was... way too long a stare than she can handle. And that’s when she feels it; the heat crawling between her legs. She feels her panties dampening as though she... SHE IS WET! WHAT THE HECK?! She bats her eyelids, unable to believe herself. How could she even remotely feel anything—n, not to mention sensual, towards this scary douchebag?! "You’re scared," he suddenly let out, jolting her senses back into their place. She sniffs. "No kidding." He steps back, sighs, and walks over to the bookshelf, running a hand through his hair. "Look. I’m not going to eat you." "Comforting." "But my brothers... wouldn’t be so lenient." His brothers? His brothers?! Oh, please, no, no, no! She asks without thinking: "What... will they do to me?" "If Morgan saw you in here, he’d have pinned you to the wall first and asked questions later. Amias? He might’ve just watched and decided later whether to help... or join." Heidi swallows. "Are they coming?" "No. They’re out dealing with academy things." "What kind of academy things?" Heidi finds herself asking. Darien smirks. "Wouldn’t you like to know." Ugh, maybe not. "Seriously," he says, more gently now, "you need to be careful. This place? It’s not a school. It’s a gauntlet... a test. We’re all rats in a pit, and the Moon Goddess just threw in fire." She stares at him and, for some reason, something deep within her gives her a little nudge to confide in him. Perhaps, he could protect her from the trafficked students. She might be new here, but she’s read enough to know that werewolves tend to pick up on scents. Those students, although they haven’t seen her face, might have imprinted her scent in their minds. They will spot her amidst a hundred students if they do as much as to sniff. She looks at Darien, who is busy romanticizing the book in his hand. What else does she have to lose? She’s dead either way. Hence, "There are students," she begins, voice shaking, "planning to sell off Omegas. Like me." Darien goes still. Heidi watches his jaw tighten. "You sure?" "I heard it. I saw their faces." He walks over slowly, until they’re inches apart again. "Say nothing to anyone. Not unless you want to be on their list." W-what? That’s it? Her voice trembles. "So you believe me?" His eyes bore into hers. "Unfortunately, I do." A moment passes in silence. Then, softer: "What’s your name?" He asks. "Heidi." Now, that’s... unexpected. Darien blinks. "Seriously?" She nods. He rubs his chin, bemused. "The Moon-Blessed girl’s name is Heidi. Someone upstairs has a twisted sense of humor." She wants to smile, but she doesn’t. "Why" "Well, you share the same name as Amias’s mother." Her jaw drops. For some reason, Heidi hasn’t read to that extent. "Oh," is all she can let out. Darien glances at the door, then back at her. "You can stay here a few minutes until the coast is clear." He... he is offering to shelter her? Protect her? Heidi doesn’t understand. She’s but a lowly omega. She shouldn’t mean anything to him. Darien is supposed to snap her neck the moment she trespasses into his territory. But now, he’s even offering to let her stay? For some reason, that makes the butterflies in her stomach flutter. "Thanks," she says. "You’ll owe me." She narrows her eyes. "Owe you what?" Darien’s smirk returns, lazy and maddening. "Haven’t decided yet." Oh, no.