Bedded by the Headmaster

Ch11: Found

Susie

The corridor was deserted when Susie left the bathroom, padding across the faded carpet wearing a bathrobe. There was still an hour before anyone else would be up, and she needed that time to process everything that had just happened with Arken. She couldn't believe he'd bitten her like that without warning. It was surprising, and it had broken the tentative trust she'd extended him. Now, she was left to pick up the pieces.

Dawn had arrived, and she had to use the precious hours she had before the school day began to dig deep and find a way to compose herself.

I have to be strong, and not just for my sake.

As a pack leader and second-year student, she couldn't afford to be weak, not when she had people to protect.

She paused outside her room's closed door and took a deep breath.

Please let him be gone.

Bracing herself, she entered. The bedroom was empty. Arken was gone. She sighed in relief.

Good.

Susie shut the door behind her and began to towel dry her hair. She felt a thousand times better after her shower. The hot water beating over her back had helped calm the anxiety that had racked her body. It had soothed her muscles until the shock of Arken's sudden attack was a distant echo in her mind. Now, all she wanted to do was curl up in her warm bed and sleep.

There was no point going back to bed, however. School would be starting soon. Thankfully, it was a Monday, and her mornings were always easy. She had a double period of her favourite subject, Literature, and she had an essay dissecting her favourite play's themes she needed to write.

It was just what she needed to put the events with Arken out of her mind.

"Chin up, Susie," she told her reflection. "Today is a new day."

Her smile slipped as she noticed the bite marks on her neck—two red pinpricks beneath her jaw. It was stark evidence that the headmaster's visit hadn't simply been a bad dream.

She brushed her damp hair across to cover it, but she was now keenly aware of the way the marks stung.

Hopefully, she would not see Arken again for a while. She needed time to forget that he'd been here, in her room. In her bed. Inside her.

Susie shuddered.

Don't think about it.

Don't think about him.

She batted the thought away, but it was difficult not to think about Arken when his scent still filled the room. The musty smell of sex, which hung in the air, was laced with citrus, and though it was not an unpleasant smell, she had never wished for a window more than she did right now so she could air out the room.

She froze in the middle of brushing her hair when a knock sounded on her door.

No, don't tell me he's back, she groaned internally.

The knock came again.

"Susie?"

Susie frowned and opened the door. "Molly?"

The slight, mousy-haired woman stared at her with large, fearful eyes. She was wearing trousers, boots, and a thin woollen jumper, the sleeves of which she was fidgeting with. Her hair was pulled above her head in a neat bun, and a few delicate hairs had escaped, grazing her thin brows and amber eyes. A hint of pink tinged her pale cheeks, as if she'd been exercising, and Susie could smell fresh dirt on her boots, revealing that the wolf had just been outside.