As always, he looks perfectly put together. Intimidating in a way that draws attention the second he enters a room.
He’s noticeably taller than Julian, broader too, and the size difference only makes Hunter appear even more imposing.
His eyes stay fixed on Julian’s hand around my arm, and the look on his face sends a chill down my spine.
He looks genuinely dangerous.
Julian releases me, though his eyes narrow the second they shift towards Hunter.
Damn it.
Maybe he’ll just assume Hunter is a professor stepping in because a student looks uncomfortable.
“I think you should stay out of this,” Julian says evenly, though the anger in his eyes betrays him instantly.
“Step aside,” Mr Wardgrave says coolly. “And don’t waste my time. Class already started.”
The atmosphere between them turns ugly within seconds.
I notice Mr Wardgrave repeatedly clenching and unclenching his hand at his side, yet outwardly he looks entirely unaffected.
If anything, he looks bored.
I glance towards Julian, suddenly desperate to get the two of them away from each other before this turns into something worse.
“I’ll find you after class,” I say quietly.
His jaw tightens as his eyes move between me and Hunter, and panic twists inside me at the thought that he might know about us.
Though there’s barely anything to know in the first place… right?
“You’d better,” he finally says before he turns and walks away.
Silence hangs between us for a brief second.
“Like fuck you will,” Hunter says beside me.
I turn towards him with a frown.
“Just don’t get involved in this,” I say firmly. “And stay away from me. I mean it.”
I turn to head towards the classroom.
But before I can step inside, his hand closes around my arm, and he pulls me back.
Pain shoots through me instantly.
“Ah—”
Hunter immediately loosens his grip.
Unlike Julian’s, his touch is careful. Gentle even.
But the bruise already forming beneath my sleeve still throbs from where Julian held me too tightly.
Hunter’s eyes darken the second they drop to my arm.
“He bloody hurt you.”
