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Five thousand Cede notes.

Violet stared at the crisp stack of bills, her fingers carefully tracing over the smooth paper like it was her firstborn child.

Even after deducting expenses, paying for refreshments, compensating helpers — the ones who allowed her to —, and ensuring everything was squared away, she was left with a very impressive sum.

For the average Lunaris student, five thousand Cede was pocket change. But for her, a scholarship student who had learned the art of stretching every coin, this was a small fortune. It would last her through the semester if she spent it wisely.

But then again, Lunaris was a vampire, sucking wealth from its students like a starved beast. Everything in the school was costly, its prices hiked all thanks to the privileged ones who were willing to pay at whatever price offered.

Violet wasn’t worried, though. If today had taught her anything, it was that she had ways of making money. Lunaris was a bleeding gold mine, and she had every intention of striking it rich again.

Her gaze traveled toward the small, green-furred menace snoozing soundly on her bed, blissfully unaware of the next financial endeavor she was already planning.

It would take some serious convincing to pull him into another stunt like this. She had caught him off guard this time, there was no way he’d fall for it twice.

Or would he?

Violet smirked. If she could charge the elite students a ridiculous sum just to hold Kitten Roman, then she could surely convince the cat himself.

She just needed to find the right leverage.

Of course, there was no way Violet could have pulled it off without her roommates and was grateful for their help. Ivy and Lila were both from well-to-do families and didn’t need her money, but not Daisy.

Violet had insisted on paying her for her time but she wouldn’t accept it. She had even tried slipping some Cede notes into Daisy’s bag when she wasn’t looking, only for the girl to return it with a stern, unimpressed stare.

"It’s your money. You worked hard for it," Daisy had said, leaving no room for argument.

Of course, Violet was touched. But she wasn’t stingy either. One way or another, she would find a way to repay her. All of them.

Violet’s train of thought was interrupted by Lila, who had been keeping a watchful eye on her like a hawk tracking its prey.

"That’s the third yawn now," She noted.

"She’s probably exhausted," Daisy chimed in, stretching her arms above her head. "That was a grueling three-hour event."

Violet exhaled deeply, stretching her own limbs as another yawn—the fourth one now—forced its way out. Now that the adrenaline of her business empire was fading, the sheer exhaustion was beginning to creep up on her, making her limbs feel heavy.

"You’re right, I’m dead tired," Violet admitted.

"Then sleep," Daisy said matter-of-factly. "The cardinal alphas party until morning. You’re going to need all the strength you can get."

Ivy checked her watch. "It’s only seven. The party doesn’t really kick off until eleven. We’ll be back by ten to get ready. That should give you enough time to rest."

"Thanks," Violet murmured, already looking forward to a blissful, undisturbed nap—

"Wait," she blinked, narrowing her eyes at Ivy’s choice of words. "Did you just say we? As in, you three? Are you guys going somewhere?"

And the shift in energy was instant.

Ivy looked at Daisy. Daisy looked at Lila. The silent conversation between them lasted mere seconds, but Violet caught it all.

Oh. They were hiding something from her.

Lila was the one who finally caved, gnawing on her bottom lip before hesitantly confessing, "Dion has this mini-party happening before the main one. And, um... he kind of invited you too?"

Violet arched her brow. Kind of?

"But," Lila continued quickly, "he didn’t want any drama with the cardinal alphas. Especially Asher. You know how he is about other guys around you. Dion just didn’t want trouble. Please, don’t be mad at us."

Violet sighed, rubbing her temple where a headache was forming.

"I’m not mad," she said flatly, her lips pressing into a thin line. "I’m just mad that a certain asshole still has a say in my social life."

There was nothing but silence as they waited for her final judgement.

"But," she sighed, waving them off, "even if I wanted to go and cause problems, I’m way too tired. You guys go have fun."

Lila’s face lit up, and before Violet could even react, she was suddenly wrapped in a suffocating hug.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Lila squealed.

Violet blinked. The hell?

Her old self would have never let anyone touch her like this. But Lunaris Academy had transformed her into someone who accepted these things now. Violet didn’t know whether to be happy about that.

"Okay, okay," She grumbled, peeling Lila off her. "Now go before I change my mind."

The trio didn’t waste a second. Within minutes, the dorm was emptied, leaving only Violet and the exhausted kitten sprawled out on her bed.

Violet stared at the tiny creature sprawled on her bed.

Why hadn’t he transformed back yet? Then again, Roman had been doing this for years. He’d shift back when he was ready.

Violet changed into her pajamas in the bathroom because there was no way in hell she was risking that with Roman in the room, cat form or not.

Normally, she would have worn something sexier for sleep but she couldn’t mislead or give Roman Draven ideas. She wasn’t into the man whore. Not at all.

Once Roman was back to his human form, this unholy alliance would be over, and she’d go back to hating his smug ass in peace.

Satisfied with that thought, she crawled into bed, keeping a reasonable distance between herself and the sleeping cat. She was determined to stay on her side.

But the longer Violet stared at the adorable creature, the harder it was to resist the urge to touch him.

Fuck it.

With a resigned sigh, Violet scooted closer, wrapping an arm around Kitten Roman before pulling the blanket over them both.

He was so warm. So snuggly.

For a brief moment, she wished he was just a cat. One that she could keep at her side forever.

With that thought, Violet’s eyelids grew heavy, and she fell into a deep, contented sleep.

One hour later.

Roman groaned as his body stretched, the sensation of bones shifting and muscles expanding sending a shiver through him. In seconds, his cat form melted away, giving way to the strong, human physique he was used to.

As his consciousness returned, so did the warmth, and the soft sensation of something—or rather, someone—pressed against him.

Roman cracked open his eyes and the first thing he realized was..... Oh... he was snuggled against a woman’s body.

Instinctively, his lips curled into a smirk. Now this is how a man should wake up.

But then he looked up and that smirk died.

It was Violet Purple.

Roman groaned in sheer disappointment. What a waste of a perfectly good moment.

It wasn’t uncommon for women to sneak into his bed. Hell, at this point, it was practically tradition. But this? This was an unfortunate twist of fate. Not only was she Alaric’s girlfriend, but if Violet woke up right now and saw them like this, she’d probably gut him.

Roman was about to carefully extract himself from the situation when he caught a scent that shouldn’t be here.

He stiffened and turned. And there he was. Sitting casually on the chair near the window, watching them with that knowing gaze.

"Hello, Roman," the intruder drawled lazily.

Fuck the fucker. What was he doing here?

"You’ve had quite a day, haven’t you?"