Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 28: Wolf In Sheep Clothing

"Blood clotting, or coagulation, is the process where blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a clot to help stop bleeding. The process is also known as Hemostasis, and the steps include: Vascular Spasm, Platelet Plug Formation, and the Coagulation Cascade..." The teacher droned on, oblivious to the fact that one student’s mind was worlds away.

Violet had always loved science, even found it fascinating. If there was one thing she was going to enjoy about Lunaris, it was their advanced courses and well-equipped laboratories. Currently, they were studying the comparative blood coagulation in human and werewolf physiology.

Yet, Violet had stopped taking notes on her Avax phone a while ago. And it was all because of the werewolf seated beside her.

Alaric Storm was still sleeping, and while it shouldn’t have concerned her, it still did. Not just because he was missing out on the lecture, but because his sheer handsomeness was distracting.

Violet couldn’t recall how many times she had been jotting down notes, only to turn and find herself staring at his face, her heart inexplicably picking up speed. Just like that, whatever the teacher was saying would slip right out of her mind.

Eventually, Violet gave up, deciding she’d study more when she returned to her dorm. Her attention now gravitated towards Alaric, and she found herself watching him sleep, which was pretty creepy on her part.

The teacher hadn’t paid Alaric Storm any attention, even when she’d noticed him, and Violet wondered if it was because he was a Cardinal Alpha or simply because she was used to seeing him sleeping in her classes. Or maybe it was both.

Why was Alaric sleeping in class, though? Did he just not care because he was the king of the school and could do whatever he wanted, or did he have a late night? Now that she looked closely, she swore she could see dark circles around his eyes. Was he not sleeping well?

In her quest to satisfy her curiosity, Violet didn’t realize how close she had gotten to him. She peered at him with deep fascination, like a child who had gotten a new toy and couldn’t wait to see how it worked.

They said Alaric was the quietest of all the Cardinal Alphas, and Violet could tell. There was just this innocence and tranquility about him that seemed to extend to her and soothe her nerves as well—if that even made sense.

face, and Violet’s eyes zeroed in on it, her hand already twitching to move it. She must really have a

Well, fuck it!

across his forehead, a

her with a bewildered expression

was at that moment that Violet realized his hand holding hers was gloved, and as she watched him with a startled expression, she saw what looked like a vein

cold anger. "I’ll suggest you keep your

looking ahead. For the rest of the lesson, whatever the teacher said

became apparent that Alaric Storm must have issues with his powers. That must be why he liked seclusion—so he wouldn’t hurt people—and yet she had eagerly tried to touch him. Yes, Violet had always known she had self-destructive tendencies, and it

weren’t supposed to be a curse. Had their moon goddess

about pairing with one’s seat partner to conduct an experiment synthesizing a comparison between human and werewolf coagulation times using carefully mixed

was on her

enough, the samples were passed around, with pairs working on their experiments already, while Violet was all by herself with Alaric having turned the other way to continue his sleep.

that werewolf blood tended to coagulate more rapidly, a trait evolved to handle high-energy activity and potential injuries in both their human and

in controlled settings to trigger and compare coagulation rates across species. When werewolf blood is exposed to it, it will

procedure slowly from her textbook since she hadn’t been paying attention in class. She reached for the ferrusene vial and worked

just as Violet was about to add the ferrusene, Alaric grabbed her hand, startling her. Before she could say a word, Alaric had already grabbed the vial, tipped it until some poured away, and then added it to the

did you do—" Violet started, but the scathing look he gave her was enough to make her shut up and focus