Evaline:
My breath caught in my throat.
Alpha Oscar.
He was here.
In the flesh. Towering. Intimidating. Commanding.
A chill licked down my spine as I watched him make his way through the central arena, stopping at the raised officials' platform, nodding to a few of the instructors gathered there. His broad shoulders were squared with military discipline, and the silver embroidery on his robe shimmered under the sun like frost.
I barely registered the murmurs of students around me—excited whispers, dreamy sighs, awestruck stares. The girls in the crowd clung to each other and gushed like he was a prince from a fantasy novel.
But for me, he was no fantasy. He was my nightmare.
My past. A piece of my pain. And if he saw me—if he *recognized* me—everything I'd worked for these past few weeks could crumble in an instant.
