The night settled over campus like a warning.
Streetlights flickered.
Wind hissed between buildings.
And Anabeth felt it — that same heavy presence she'd felt before.
Someone was watching her again.
Rafael walked beside her, one hand loosely around hers, but the energy coming off him was anything but calm. His shoulders were stiff, jaw tight, gaze sweeping every shadow like he expected something to leap out of the dark.
He was trying not to show it, but he was furious.
Not at her.
At everything around her.
The rain had stopped, but Rafael's mood stayed stormy.
They reached a quiet pathway behind the science building — deserted, lit by a single dying lamp. Rafael stopped walking and pulled her gently against the wall, shielding her with his body.
"Don't move," he whispered.
"What—?"
His hand slipped to her waist, but not with desire — with protection. His eyes scanned the rooftops, the corners, the trees. He was listening.
Waiting.
Ready.
"Rafael… you're scaring me," she breathed.
He pressed a finger to her lips.
"You should be scared," he murmured. "Someone followed you again."
Her pulse tripped.
"How do you know?"
"Because Cassian tracked him," Rafael said, jaw tight. "Whoever it is slipped away before Cassian could catch him. But he was close. Too close."
A chill ran through her.
Rafael felt her tremble and stepped closer, arms bracing on either side of her, caging her in — not trapping her, but protecting her like a living shield.
"You're not safe here," he said. "Not without me."
And then his voice shifted — softer, but darker, the kind of softness that only shows up when someone is barely holding their emotions together.
"I don't like you walking alone," he murmured. "I hate when I'm not with you."
"You can't be with me all the time," she whispered.
His eyes said yes I can.
His body said I want to be.
And his tone said something much more dangerous:
"I don't share."
Before she could react, a familiar voice echoed down the path.
"Rafael."
Cassian.
Rafael stiffened instantly.
Cassian approached, hands in his pockets, always calm, always unbothered — except tonight, something in his expression was tighter. His eyes moved over Anabeth as if checking she had all her limbs. Only after he confirmed she was unharmed did his attention flick to Rafael.
"We have a problem," Cassian said.
Rafael didn't move away from her. If anything, he stood even closer, making it absolutely clear whose body he was protecting… and who she belonged to.
Cassian noticed.
His jaw clenched.
"What now?" Rafael snapped.
"Movement on the eastern dorms. Someone matching the same build as the stalker. Tall. Hooded."
Anabeth sucked in a breath.
Rafael's hands curled unconsciously around her waist.
"Did he see her?" Rafael demanded.
"No," Cassian said. "But he was looking for her."
The night tightened around them.
Rafael's breath left him in one slow, trembling exhale — the kind someone releases only when they're holding back anger sharp enough to cut steel.
Then he looked down at Anabeth.
"Do you understand why I worry?" he said softly.
She nodded.
But his eyes didn't soften.
They burned.
Cassian took a step forward. Too close. Too comfortable.
And Rafael moved instantly — body shifting, blocking Cassian's line of sight to her, like instinct.
Cassian raised a brow. "Relax. I'm just doing my job."
"You're standing too close," Rafael said.
Anabeth's breath hitched.
Not because Rafael sounded angry — but because he sounded jealous.
So jealous he couldn't hide it.
Not from her.
Not from Cassian.
Not from the air itself.
Cassian's eyes flicked to Anabeth, then back to Rafael.
"She's shaken," he said. "Let her breathe."
"I am letting her breathe," Rafael hissed back. "I'm the reason she's breathing."
The tension between them vibrated like electricity.
Cassian was unreadable… until he shifted his gaze to Anabeth again, softer this time, his voice lowering.
"Are you okay?" he asked her directly.
Rafael's entire body went rigid.
He looked like he might actually punch Cassian if she answered wrong.
Anabeth swallowed. "I… I'm fine."
Cassian studied her. "You don't look fine."
Rafael stepped forward, chest brushing hers protectively.
"She said she's fine," he growled.
Cassian met his eyes, slow and deliberate.
"You're suffocating her."
Rafael's temper snapped.
"I'm protecting her," he snarled. "Because you failed to catch the bastard who keeps stalking her!"
Cassian didn't move, didn't flinch — but the muscle in his jaw ticked.
"And you think clinging to her in the dark will make her safer?" he said.
Rafael grabbed Cassian's collar.
Cassian didn't even blink.
Anabeth gasped, reaching out instinctively, but Rafael's hand was trembling — with anger, fear, and something deeper.
"Don't talk like you know what she needs," Rafael said through his teeth. "I know her. You don't."
Cassian's voice dropped to a dangerous calm.
"Then why does she keep looking at me when she's scared?"
Silence hit like lightning.
Rafael turned his head slightly.
His gaze landed on her.
"Is that true?" he whispered.
His voice was broken. Hurt. Possessive.
She stared at him, heart pounding. "Rafael… I look at both of you. You're both here for me. Of course I look."
Rafael's jealousy darkened — but so did his guilt.
He slowly released Cassian, chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.
Cassian straightened his collar, expression unreadable.
"She needs rest," Cassian said. "And security."
Rafael looked at her again — softer this time, but no less intense.
"You're staying with me tonight," he said quietly.
Anabeth blinked. "Rafael—"
"It's not a request."
Cassian cut in. "It's the safest option."
Rafael shot him a glare. "I don't need you to agree with me."
But Cassian ignored the attitude and looked at her instead.
"Go with him," Cassian said gently. "You'll be safer there."
And for the first time ever, Cassian's voice carried something that sounded like emotion.
Something that made Rafael's eyes narrow dangerously.
Anabeth was caught between two storms — one burning, one cold — and both ready to fight for her.
Rafael would kill for her.
Cassian would protect her even from Rafael's jealousy.
And somewhere in the shadows…
Someone else watched.
Someone who wanted her for a much darker reason.