Obsession: A Rejected Mate Shifter Romance (The Mate Games #1)(70)

Biting back a smile, I glanced at my notes, blinking a few times as the words on my notebook rearranged themselves, my distinctly bubbly print transforming into a much more masculine scrawl.

Alek’s persistence suddenly made a lot more sense.

He’d just passed me a note. Or the Novasgardian equivalent.

My heart stuttered, and my insides turned to jelly as I scanned the words and the two little boxes at the bottom.

Will you go to the dance with me? Check one.





Instead of supplying me with two options, both boxes said YES! in all caps and enthusiastically underlined.

I couldn’t help myself. I giggled. It was ridiculous. And fucking adorable. And exactly what I needed.

“Miss Fallon? Something funny about the pixie genocide of the early 1800s?” Professor Moriarty snapped in his froggy voice. It matched his frog-like face.

“No, sir,” I said, blushing furiously.

Noah’s gaze dropped to my notebook, and he groaned softly. “Oh, come the fuck on, man. How old are you? We’re not in bloody primary school.”

Alek smirked at him over my head. “Old enough to recognize some things are always classic. Aren’t they, Sunny?”

“Classically stupid,” Noah muttered.

“It was sweet,” I corrected automatically, sending Noah’s brows flying upward.

“I see. So I guess it would be a waste of my time to ask you to attend the ball with me then?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

What had started off as an insanely sweet gesture had just turned into my personal torture session. How the hell was I supposed to choose between them? Whoever said having grown men fighting over them was sexy had never lived through the experience. I’d rather swallow a bag of nails than have to make this decision.

My brain knew what I needed to do, mostly thanks to Moira’s terrifying warning, but my heart was of an entirely different mind about the situation.

“Technically, I asked her first,” Alek pointed out, wrapping one of his big arms around my shoulders and tugging me close.

Fury rolled off Noah in waves, and he hadn’t stopped touching my arm since before this started. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound escaped. That only made his anger more palpable as he tried again and failed to respond.

“That’ll be enough from you, Mr. Blackthorne. In fact, I believe it would be best for all parties if you three remained silent and enjoyed my lecture since you seem so desperate to participate.” Professor Moriarty’s wicked smile contrasted with the dry tone of his voice. “The three of you can have your voices back once class is over.”

Snickers rippled through the class, one standing out over all the rest. My gaze landed on Kingston, sitting in the back row, legs spread like the royalty he was named for, a shit-eating grin across his lips.

Alek’s thick finger tapped on my notebook, drawing my attention back to his message. I snorted, despite my mortification at being so publicly called out by our professor. Before I could do anything, Noah took my pen and scratched out both boxes.

Huffing, I tore the paper out of the book and crumbled it before shoving it into my bag. Then I crossed my arms over my chest and stared straight ahead at our toad of a teacher, desperate to look at anyone but the two men who both wanted something from me.

I had two invitations from two beautiful men I wanted, but it had never been more clear to me that I had to make a choice. Anxiety curled in my belly, forming a cold pit that gnawed incessantly.

Which would keep us safe, and which would end the world? How could I know who was the right choice?





I couldn’t get out of the room fast enough when Professor Moriarty dismissed the class. I wanted my voice back. But more than that, I wanted the pressure of their gazes, and their expectation, off me. How could I choose one of them over the other?

Even if I knew I had to.

“Sunday, wait,” Noah called, following behind me.

I knew he could’ve been in front of me, blocking my path before I could even blink if he wanted. Still, he chased, his breath hot on the back of my neck. I was too frustrated to acknowledge him or Alek. I needed to breathe, to have some space to think.

“Leave me alone, Noah.”

“Never going to happen, dove. You’re mine, remember?”

“Mine,” Alek said. “She belongs to both of us—”

I whirled around, my hair flying. “Excuse me? Belongs?”

Alek’s eyes widened, the icy blue irises searing into my soul. “I . . . I don’t know where that came from.”

I narrowed my eyes but didn’t sense anything but raw honesty rolling off the Novasgardian. Just to be clear, though, I took a step forward, poking him in the chest. “Good, because I’m the only one that gets to decide who I’m in a committed relationship with, and last time I checked, Noah is the only one who fits that bill.”

Noah smirked, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “So it’s settled then. You’ll attend the ball at my side.”

I slapped his arm away. “No, it isn’t, because I’m not going.”

“What? You can’t just not go. This is part of our—”

“I can do whatever the fuck I want, Noah Blackthorne. How are they going to know if I’m faking being sick? Spoiler alert, they won’t.”