Chapter 81

Silvia I slumped lower in my seat at the back of UNC's lecture hall, trying to make myself as small as possible. My fingers clutched my pen so tightly my knuckles had turned white, yet I couldn't focus on a single note Professor Anthony was speaking. The black dots and lines on the board swam before my eyes, merging into meaningless patterns as my mind raced with everything but music theory. The weight of someone's stare burned into the back of my neck. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Alpha Wade Lawson had deliberately chosen the seat directly behind me today. I tried to focus on Professor Anthony's lecture, but the words flowed around me like water around a stone. My notebook remained mostly blank, save for a few meaningless doodles in the margins. Buzz! My phone vibrated in my pocket—once, twice, three times in quick succession. I ignored it, assuming it was Alpha Sherman trying to contact me again. The memory of his face this morning, twisted with some emotion I cou