Lex’s POV
“What a nerd.”
I let out a low whistle, eyes glued to the university’s topper list tacked on the bulletin board. First place, again—and the name beside it was practically glowing in gold: Joy Stone.
Rowland, my best friend and Beta, chuckled beside me. “She’s not a nerd, Lex. Trust me—she’s anything but.”
I raised an eyebrow, still staring. “You trying to say she slept her way to those scores? Because that list looks like she bribed the Moon Goddess herself.”
Rowland snorted. “Nope. That girl’s a myth and a nightmare wrapped in a killer smile. Smart as hell, sassier than sin, and rumor has it, she runs the underground party scene like a damn queen.”
“So… a virgin genius party girl with a black belt in attitude?” I smirked. “Sounds fake.”
“She wears a purity ring like it’s armor, Lex. Nobody touches her unless she lets them—and no one ever has,” he replied, scratching the back of his neck. “She’s the real deal. Straight-A’s. All classes. No shortcuts.”
I turned to him, intrigued. “Human or wolf?”
Rowland nodded. “She reeks of human.”
Wrong. I’d soon learn how dead wrong that was.
I chuckled darkly. “Well, let’s see how long she stays on top. Because by the end of this year, I’ll have my name right above hers.”
I paused, flashing him a wicked grin. “On the list, that is.”
Rowland rolled his eyes. “Yeah, just make sure she’s not under you in every other way too.”
He ducked when I smacked the back of his head.
“Where do I get my schedule?” I asked, distracted by the sudden shift in the air. My enhanced senses caught it immediately—lust thick and tangible, oozing from every corner of the hallway. Dozens of eyes undressed me on the spot.
Typical.
Being the Alpha heir of the Water Moon Pack had its perks. Being hot as sin was just one of them. The rest? All instincts. All trouble.
My wolf growled in my head. “You’re shameless.”
I laughed. You’re the one drooling over every scent of arousal.
“We should wait for our mate,” he muttered for the thousandth time.
Wait in celibacy? In this body? Dream on.
Rowland grimaced. “I am not tagging along while you soak up the hormonal fog clouding the hallways. That’s the Dean’s office—go, do your sexy Alpha thing on your own.”
Then the bastard literally kicked my ass and ran like I was contagious.
“I hate him,” I muttered.
“Same,” my wolf echoed.
I straightened my shoulders and pushed open the Dean’s door… and came face-to-face with a man who looked like an angry mop.
“What the actual fuck do you want?” he snapped, eyes barely visible beneath dripping, ramen-like strands of hair.
The temptation to laugh nearly killed me. But I didn’t want to get expelled on day one—or worse, get roasted by my father, the Alpha King—so I bit the inside of my cheek until it hurt.
“World peace?” I offered sweetly.
The glare he shot me could’ve incinerated a rogue.
“Say that again and you’ll find your peace scrubbing the detention room walls—alone,” he growled. “Now. What. Do. You. Want?”
Damn. Someone needed a Xanax and a hug.
“I’m the new transfer, sir, and—HOLY SHIT! WATCH OUT!”
Too late.
With a hiss and a splat, a pipe that looked suspiciously like a microphone exploded, drenching the Dean in foul-smelling gutter water.
He looked like a boiled raccoon.
His roar shook the windows. “I SWEAR TO THE MOON, JOY STONE, IF I FIND PROOF YOU DID THIS, I’LL—”
Wait.
Joy Stone?
The Joy Stone?
My eyes widened.
The nerd… is a prankster?
Now things were getting interesting.
