Pheromonal: One Night With the Alpha novel Chapter 126

Chapter 126: Thornhaven Residences

School might not be as terrible as I thought.

Every professor Penelope drags me to seems to have the same assumption. Rich kid playing around.

They have zero expectations out of me.

Thank God, because I had zero expectation of being a serious student when I agreed to come here. I mean, I wanted to learn to not kill anyone, but I definitely wasn’t planning on devoting the next few years of my life to this...

The marble-floored lobby of Thornhaven Residences gleams under crystal chandeliers. My heels click against the polished surface as I follow Penelope to a private elevator tucked away in an alcove.

"This can’t be student housing."

"It’s not. At least not the regular kind." Penelope waves a keycard at the panel. "Top floor is all ours."

"Thirty-two floors of what exactly?"

"Faculty apartments, visiting dignitaries, special cases like us." The doors slide open with a soft chime. "Welcome to our new home away from home."

I step inside, arms laden with course materials. "So this is why every professor thinks we’re trust fund babies killing time between shopping sprees."

"Probably has something to do with it." Penelope leans against the mirrored wall. "Logan’s friends don’t seem to do anything halfway."

"That’s what worries me." The elevator glides upward without a sound. "The kind of pull it takes to arrange all this..."

"Better not to think about it too hard."

I shift the stack of papers threatening to spill from my grip. "Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who has to catch up on..." I peek at the topmost syllabus. "Theoretical Applications of Crystalline Matrices."

"Did you forget? I’m in the same class. But there are video tutorials online."

"For magic? Somehow I doubt—"

Penelope rummages in her bag and produces a hot pink index card with a flourish. "Ta-da! The answer to all your academic prayers."

I squint at the web address scrawled in her looping handwriting. "What’s this?"

"Study site all the kids use. Has everything—practice tests, study guides, video explanations for magical application. It’s amazing how much of magic is really just paper theory. I’d think practical application tests would be more the norm."

"The kids?" I stare at her. "Pippa, exactly how much time have you spent hanging out with actual children lately?"

Her cheeks flush to match the notecard. "More than I care to admit."

The elevator chimes our arrival at the thirty-second floor.

The elevator doors open to a sight that steals my breath. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame the city skyline, bathing the space in natural light. A grand living area spreads before us, all clean lines and modern furniture in shades of cream and silver.

Like a massive upgrade to Penelope’s apartment. Another place I’m going to have to try not to spill wine on the carpet.

I love it. Way better than the strange hospital rooms I’ve been in lately.

"Someone’s going to have to drag me out of here kicking and screaming when this is over."

"That’s the spirit." Penelope dumps her bag on a pristine white sofa. "And you know I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t love you."

"Love me? Or love playing teacher’s pet?" I arch an eyebrow at her. "Because you seem pretty cozy with the whole school scene."

A hand clamps over my mouth, stifling my startled scream. I tense, ready to fight, when the lights flicker back to life.

"Shh, it’s me."

I spin around, my heart still racing but not from fear. The not-a-panther shifter steps back, his arms up to show I’m safe, until he can lean against the door.

"Nice place. Very... secure."

I’m not even sure how to talk to this man. I still don’t understand how he fits into this entire situation. And now, day one of being here, he’s broken into my apartment. "You seem well-informed about my whereabouts."

"You’ve been rather difficult to get to." His tone drips with dry humor. "Between the Moons, the Conclave’s watchdogs, and your wolf’s protective detail, I had to get creative."

"Breaking and entering is creative? I thought that was your default."

"I prefer to think of it as making a social call." He pushes off the wall, casually sauntering around the room as if he was invited here. "Though I must say, the wards around this place are impressive. Almost kept me out. You should be safe here." freeweɓnovel~cѳm

"Safe?" My eyes narrow. "You got in."

I still don’t know if this man is friend or foe. Perhaps, like the Conclave, he’s just political. Neither good nor bad. He’s tried to save my life once, set me up for murder once, and was the first person to give me any information at all.

Anyone against the dragons, though, can’t be that bad. They’re the worst of all.

"I’m a special case." He opens a dresser drawer, but closes it almost immediately. "Sorry. Looks to be your undergarments."

At least he’s polite, I guess.

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