I shook that thought out of my head.
Safe. She needed to be safe first.
Then… Then we could see if there was a spark.
Chapter 16
Flora
“And that is all for this evening—now, don’t forget…” the professor droned on as everyone packed their books, excited to get home for the day.
As much as I didn’t want to, walking home was inevitable. Ever since my space had been invaded, I’d been on edge. Spencer was a pain in my ass, but I honestly didn’t believe he would harm me.
If he was right, someone else was following me. Even though I was dubious, that little voice in the back of my mind wouldn’t stop nagging. What if I really was in danger?
I had a late-night tutoring session at the library, so the walk home was going to be extra late. There was always the option to give tutoring lessons in my own apartment, but considering several of my students were male, I didn’t want to do that. The idea of a random man in my space gave me the heebie-jeebies.
The library was safe—or, at least, it had security cameras.
My classroom was only a five-minute walk from the library, and despite the late hour and dark night, there were plenty of streetlights to illuminate my path. Heading straight to thelibrary, I didn’t even stop to grab a coffee. I wanted to get the evening over with and get home to the safety of my nest.
Connor, my student, was a sweet guy. He was a second year, who desperately wanted to be a teacher, but he was struggling with some of the mathematics requirements. There were a few credits he was short of, but he was determined to make it work.
There was no way I could cancel on him just because I was feeling out of sorts, so I trudged to the library. We often studied on the first floor, where silence wasn’t expected. There were several large circular tables in the space, so people could work collaboratively.
Connor was already there, reading through one of his textbooks. When he saw me approach, his face broke into a smile, and he waved eagerly. “Hey, Flora, Sorry to have you out so late.”
“Not at all,” I replied, waving off his concern. “It’s only eight.” I took the seat opposite him and started pulling out a few of my own notebooks.
Connor looked like he didn’t believe me. “I wouldn’t feel happy if some random guy was keeping Lucy out this late.”
“Well, that’s because Lucy is spoiled rotten and the center of your world,” I pointed out.
Connor might have been young, but he and his pack were already bonded with an omega and were blissfully happy. Lucy was also studying to be a teacher. He had told me about her several times, always excited.
Maybe one of the reasons I liked him so much was that he was clearly obsessed with another woman. He had never flirted with me or even given me so much as a suggestive glance. In fact, he had only ever been protective. I had no doubt he was going to make a good teacher.
“How did you do on the last test?” I asked.
“Shockingly well,” he admitted, pulling two cans of soda out of his bag and placing one in front of me.
“Thank you,” I said with a smile. He had taken to bringing caffeinated beverages to our study sessions.
“It’s the least I could do.”
As we started looking over the formulas Connor needed to work on, a thought occurred to me.
“Kind of feel free to tell me to buzz off if I’m being nosy, but why do you always bring cans?” I asked. “I’m not being ungrateful, but all the places around here tend to sell bottles of soda.”
He looked up from his textbook. “Oh, Lucy told me to do that,” he said. “She said soda cans are better for women, and they’re harder to tamper with. So, if I’m giving a drink to a woman, it’s safer than giving her a bottle.”
“I’d never thought about it that way,” I replied, staring at the beverage in front of me.
“Honestly, I hate that she even had to think about things like that. Anyway, it’s no big deal for me to stop by the store on the way to campus and grab cans instead of buying bottles here.” He paused. “Anyway, I’ve really been struggling with page six.” He turned his textbook around to show me the problems.
“Oh, you can easily do this. Let me just run you through them,” I said happily.
The next hour and a half passed with ease. I was so distracted that I didn’t even notice the students milling around us.
