The Staged Betrayal and an Alpha's Return

Consciousness came back to me in disorienting waves. My head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, my thoughts fragmented and blurry. I tried to open my eyes, but even that small movement sent pain shooting through my skull.

Where was I?

The last thing I remembered was sitting in Rowan's dorm room. We'd been working on our project. He'd offered me coffee, and it had tasted strange, but I'd been too polite to say anything.

I forced my heavy eyelids open, blinking against the harsh afternoon light streaming through unfamiliar curtains. As my vision cleared, panic surged through me. This wasn't my room. The walls were decorated with basketball posters. Rowan's room.

I tried to sit up, but my limbs felt impossibly heavy. When I finally managed to push myself upright, the blanket covering me fell away, and horror washed over me. I wasn't wearing my clothes. Instead, I had on an oversized t-shirt that definitely wasn't mine. The scent told me immediately—it was Rowan's.