“I don’t think that really makes me feel better about not having gone there with him,” I admitted, and when she opened her mouth, I continued. “Look, what he and I were at one point doesn’t matter now.”

“Yes. It does.” She stopped twisting her hair. “As long as I knew Seth, he didn’t get involved seriously with anyone. Like, no one would’ve been under the misconception that it was serious if it wasn’t. Seth didn’t do relationships.”

Seth apparently still didn’t do relationships, and as jealous as I was when it came to Alex, she wasn’t the problem. She was in love with Aiden, but that didn’t mean Seth hadn’t harbored those kinds of feelings for her. It was obvious that he had.

And still did.

And I really did not want to be talking about this with her.

Scrubbing my temples, I tried to come up with a way to say that without being completely rude to the myth, the legend known as Alexandria Andros.

“You really don’t want to talk about Seth with me, do you?” she asked.

I glanced over at her, frowning. “Can you read minds?”

Alex tipped her head to the side and laughed. “Nope. But I feel you. I just want to say one thing. I hope that things aren’t really over between you two, because Seth . . .” She sat back, exhaling softly. “Seth is . . . he deserves some happiness.”

Tears immediately rushed my throat and burned the back of my eyes. I believed the same thing, but I wasn’t his source of happiness. I didn’t even know what I was to him, but it wasn’t that.

“I haven’t talked to him. He’s avoiding me. I’m not surprised,” she said, and then let go of her hair. The thick strands were slow to unwind. “Sorry. You don’t want to hear about that.”

I sort of, kind of wanted to hear about her and Seth and his avoidance, even though I didn’t, but I was a glutton for punishment, so I did.

“So.” She scooted forward, dropping her hands to her knees. “Apollo is your father, and he’s kind of like my great-great-great-times a million grandfather, so we’re kind of, like, related in a really weird, this shouldn’t happen in real life sort of way?”

I laughed, unable to help myself. “Yeah, something like that, I guess.”

Alex smoothed her palms over denim-clad knees. “So, Deacon and Luke were saying you had no idea what you were until Seth showed—”

An ear-piercingly shrill alarm sounded, silencing Alex. My head jerked up, and Alex was on her feet, her hand snaking around her back. A second later she held a dagger in her hand. I had no idea where she’d gotten it from. Thin air? A nifty hidden pouch? It didn’t matter, because I knew what the blaring horn meant.

The Covenant was under attack.

CHAPTER 16

Seth

Pacing the length of my room, I tried to work off the pent-up restlessness that was crawling through my system like an army of fire ants. I’d already run five miles, boxed with Solos, showered—rubbed one off in the shower while my mind conjured up a stream of things I’d done with Josie and things I’d never gotten the chance to—and I still couldn’t sit still.

Not when I wanted to be across the hall. Not when I wanted to go find Colin and remove his balls with a dull dagger, centimeter by fucking centimeter, because I knew he’d gone to breakfast with her this morning. Wasn’t the first time, but usually Deacon and Luke were with them, and that made it different.

And not when I knew Alex and Aiden were roaming this very dorm.

I could feel Alex.

She was a faint hum in the back of my subconscious, like a light far off in the distance, visible but not bright. It was nothing like it had been before, much more muted and a hell of a lot more tolerable. Thank the gods I couldn’t feel what she was feeling, because damn, I would need to give myself a lobotomy. Or she and Aiden weren’t currently screwing like an Olympian god after a dry spell and that was why I wasn’t feeling much. Gods, I hoped that wasn’t the case. If I started feeling what was going on with them, I was going to have to—

Sirens blasted, breaking the silence and spinning me around. The shrill sound was all too familiar, and I snapped into action. Vicious excitement replaced the restlessness, and I knew just how screwed up that was, but right then? Oh yeah, I could use a fight. Yesterday in the quad had been child’s play.

Grabbing the Glock loaded with titanium bullets, I hooked it into the holster and fit it around my thigh. I snatched the daggers off the dresser and headed out the door, not even bothering with grabbing a shirt.

I came to a complete stop as Josie’s door swung open.

What in the holy fuck were Alex and Josie doing together? For just a few seconds, the three of us were literally frozen, staring at each other as the sirens blared overhead.

And then Alex broke the silence.

“Really?” she said dryly, eyeing me with a smirk. “You’re going to fight with the awesomeness of your six-pack as a weapon?”

I arched a brow. “Yeah, you know, I was going to test out the whole abs of steel theory thing. The gun attached to my thigh and the daggers in my hands are just props. Mainly for show. Don’t want to take away from the gloriousness that is my body, though.”

Her smirk flipped into a grin. “Whatever.” She started forward. Up ahead, a tall figure stepped out in the hall, and light glinted off the titanium daggers in his hands. Aiden. Of course their room had to be close to mine.

Of. Course.

My gaze shot to Josie. “What do you think you’re doing?”

She was in the process of closing the door when she frowned. “I’m going to help—”