I wasn't able to run away very far. I had a class coming up, so in the end, I only bolted away from Mordecai's cruelty.

I doubled back to head to class. I cut it a little close, but I was able to get to class on time.

I sat through the lectures, participated in the clinical part of the class, and even nailed the labs somehow.

When it was done, I walked around the campus until I found my favorite nook to eat lunch.

My favorite nook was in the smallest library, which almost no one entered. The books inside were the oldest on campus, so there were small, private rooms for reading.

The smell of old books invigorated me even when my stuffy nose prevented the smells from being registered by my brain. I found a great deal of peace inside the dark, winding halls.

The building was air-controlled, with the hardest worker purifiers, dehumidifiers, and more. The reading rooms were turned up a few more notches because they were supposed to be used to handle delicate books and scrolls. However, I opted to study my books while eating or drinking tea.

The rooms themselves were different, with various tables, chairs, and decorations.

My favorite room was the forest-themed room called Woodland Sanctuary. It had green walls and bookshelves lined with leaves. I always felt refreshed when I closed the door and breathed its purified air.

Today, I sat at the table and pulled out several things from my space. It was only a short time until I had a full-blown afternoon tea set up.

As I held the first cup to my face, the wafting heat of my teacup comforted me greatly.

I had managed to pull through countless times before now, and I knew I could do it again. I didn't know if Leo was really Adam; it didn't matter right now. I had finals to study for, and the last thing I needed was a distraction.

Unfortunately, that new distraction appeared at the door as if my thoughts summoned conflict.

My mouth dropped to the floor as Leo stood in the doorframe. His strong, incredible scent crossed the distance to grace my nose. I closed my mouth but could not do anything else as our eyes met.

"Dolyn."

When Leo said my name, it snapped me out of my daze.

"Leo," I said with a dry mouth. I set down my cup and eyed the door behind him. Under my purview, he closed the door. Before I could say anything, he strode across the tiny room as if misreading my eye movement. He sat down at the table as his golden orbs scanned and devoured the sight of me.

I felt like running. I felt like screaming. I felt like crying, and worst of all, I wanted to kiss him. I was swamped with a cacophony of desires that conflicted with each other.

"You're hard to find." He said as our eyes stayed glued to each other.

"I only come on campus for class," I said with a slight shrug as I attempted to keep my tone casual.

"About the night before..." Leo said.

"It was a mistake," I said before he could complete that thought. "You remind me of my ex, and I overreacted because I was drunk. I would never do something like that normally."

"You weren't drunk," Leo said. His arms snaked across the table to grab my wrist. I felt my heart jump into my throat as he rubbed his fingers over my rings. "And it wasn't a mistake."

I meant to snatch my hand away and push away from the table to flee. I meant to get away from the room that he managed to suck all of the air out of. I planned to do all of that to make sure I escaped.

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And yet, instead of any of those things, I somehow found myself in his arms. Our lips became fastened to each other as our hands groped and attacked the other's clothing.

The way he aggressively marked my skin was strangely tender. His impossible, strong arms encased me and covered me with my favorite scent.

The table with my tea set was cleared off without spilling a drop. I must have slipped everything into my space...or he was Adam and had his abilities even in this form.

I turned off my brain so that our union could be completed.

I woke up at the Liz Hotel.

It wasn't in the suite that I'd been renting since my father's disappearance. This room was much nicer than the one I paid tooth and nail for every month. The dark blue sheets covered up my nakedness, but shame still swamped me as I tried to recall how I ended up here.

The darkly lit room's furniture showed ageless class. That didn't match the new-age modern sleek that the Liz Hotel repeatedly promoted. But it was definitely the Liz Hotel. The Liz logo was emblazoned in enough places that I could figure it out quickly.

The dark blue curtains blocked off the windows and prevented me from seeing the world outside them. The only decent light came from the bathroom, where the sound of a shower could be heard. The clock on the nearby nightstand told me it should be night...

I slept with someone other than Adam. Leo had to be Adam, I thought, because everything pointed toward it...he had to be just like me but using another form to live another life.

But how? How could Adam be here under the guise of Leo?

His abilities granted him God-tiered spacial control, but could he truly use that to ascend realities?

Mordecai's cruel words danced into my ears, and my dismay grew.

I forgot one crucial thing—my family's magic and how that would have affected Adam.

Could Adam get over the brainwashing of his world being wiped and reset?

I recalled the memory my feverish dream brought out and sighed. It was possible but highly improbable. My body hadn't thoroughly cooled, so that may be why he could thwart it before...

I got off the bed but stopped moving when I heard the shower turn off.

I didn't think twice. I wrapped the sheet around me, and I bolted out the door. Instead of a hotel hallway I could recognize, I found only an elevator.

There was only one button, L, for what I assumed was the lobby. I entered it and pushed the button marked L.

Wait a damn second, just how rich is Leo Lone? I found myself in what looked like a secret lobby. It was similar to what my father had done with our penthouse.

I scurried into the darkest corner I could find without a camera and slipped into my Hideaway home. Showering and changing my clothing took longer than I would have liked.

For some stupid, senseless reason, I was reluctant to erase the combined scent of Leo and myself.

I knew better, but it smelled like Adam himself had imprinted his scent all over me.

I jutted out my chin and resolutely wiped my body clean. I took my time in my bathrobe as I went over my clothing options. I wanted to be sneaky, and anything that would draw attention was out of the question. I opted for dark blue jeans and a simple hoodie.

When I left my space, the first person I saw was, of course, Leo. He was leaving the elevator and didn't break stride or look around. He walked past the desk with the receptionist, who batted her eyes at him. Bodyguards joined him, whom I hadn't seen before.

I watched them leave, and I stalled only until I saw the receptionist take a bathroom break. Then I made a run for it.

I thought I'd done a decent job of taming my hair and cleaning myself up. But when I returned home to the suite, Wyatt eyed me with a huge grin at my expense.

"Oh, la la la." He sang.

I flushed, and my eyes darted to the mirror to see if my reflection had betrayed me.

I looked normal, so maybe my expression gave me away.

"Oh, nothing," I said, scowling at him as I moved to walk past him.

"I'm proud of you for going out and having fun," Wyatt said with an even more giant grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said.

Wyatt's stupidly quick hand pulled off my hoodie and poked at a hickey Leo had left behind.

The giant oaf didn't have to say anything. I flushed hot red and quickly covered my skin up. "I...I..." I stumbled around my words as I attempted to find any excuse to cover up what happened.

"You got over Adam," Wyatt said with a grin.

Those words erased any humor the situation brought out in me.

"Never," I said. "I can't see myself ever getting over him. This was..."

"A physical distraction," Wyatt said. My expression must have twisted into something scary because his smile disappeared. "It's more than OK for you to have physical distractions. In fact, it's downright mandatory for immortals. Give yourself grace. You've more than earned that."

I wanted to say a thousand things, but I opted for silence. It didn't feel OK to connect with Leo; it felt natural. And that, more than anything, made this feel wrong.

The only excuse I could cling to was that he had to be Adam. But if he was truly Adam, then why hadn't he said anything to me? Our interactions were too special not to be deciphered. I even called him Adam when I first saw him.

Of course, my rings would have shown him who I was. I wore Adam's engagement ring and my space ring. Adam would recognize both of these on sight, but he said nothing.

That meant Leo must be part of some test or fuckery on Mordecai's part.

I was being tested, and I had failed yet again.