Fated to the Triplet Alphas-Chapter 20: Changing Room

**************

Chapter 20

~Jade’s POV~

I left the training grounds with my muscles still buzzing, sweat cooling against my skin as the adrenaline from the duel slowly ebbed.

I didn’t bother searching for Isa. I just needed to get this over with. With every step I took, the message replayed in my mind.

Report to Prof. Halden’s office immediately.

Immediate usually meant trouble. My first thought was Troy.

The realisation came with a faint tightening in my chest. I hadn’t seen him since the previous day. Not after training or even at lunch break in the cafeteria.

He wasn’t even lingering at the edges of the courtyard like he usually did. For someone who always managed to appear when I least wanted company, his absence felt... noticeable.

And unsettling.

I quickened my pace as I made my way toward the faculty wing. Professor Halden wasn’t the kind of man to summon students without reason. He was precise, methodical, and every word he spoke carried intent.

Which meant whatever this was about, it mattered.

The door to his office stood closed when I arrived. I paused, then knocked once.

There was no answer.

I frowned slightly and tried again, this time opening the door a crack. The room was empty. The scent of citrus and cedarwood assaulted my nostrils. His desk was neat, chair pushed in, no sign he’d been there recently.

I stepped fully inside, scanning the space just in case I’d missed something.

Nothing.

"That’s strange," I murmured under my breath.

Professor Halden wasn’t late. Ever.

I checked the time, then leaned back against the wall near the door, arms folding loosely over my chest. Maybe he’d been called away at the last minute. It wouldn’t hurt to wait a few minutes.

I waited for fifteen minutes, and there was no sign of him. I had Chemistry class and couldn’t afford missing more than I already have during these past weeks.

Soon, the silence began to feel intentional, like I wasn’t meant to be there at all.

A prickle of unease crept up my spine. I straightened, pushing off the wall and glancing down the corridor once more. Still empty.

If he wanted to see me, he would have been here.

With a small shake of my head, I stepped out and pulled the door closed behind me. Training sweat clung to my skin, and the thought of changing into something clean suddenly felt far more urgent.

I headed toward the locker rooms.

The corridor outside the bathrooms was empty; most students had already gone to the next class. While a few still lingered at the training grounds. I slowed as I reached the entrance, my instincts flaring faintly, nothing dangerous, just that familiar awareness I’d learned to trust.

The girls’ bathroom door was closed for cleaning.

I frowned, and without questioning anything, I headed upstairs to use the staff’s changing room. Upon getting there, the women’s bathroom was slightly ajar.

Inside, the air was humid from recent showers. I shrugged. I guessed a few students couldn’t use the usual bathroom.

The faint scent of soap filled the space. I moved toward the sinks, catching my reflection in the mirror as I turned on the tap.

My hair was pulled back loosely, a few strands escaping to cling to my damp neck. My cheeks were flushed, eyes still bright from the fight.

I pulled off my top and pouch, placing them on the bench. My body had dark, bruised marks from my fight with Silvie.

I hooked my hands around the waistband of my leggings and pulled them down, stopping at my ankle when I caught sight of a bruise on my hip.

I let out a sigh, allowing my gaze drift up to my stomach. My muscles were toned, though I did not have abs, but my stomach was as flat as it could get.

I barely recognised the girl staring back at me. I was stronger, sharper and somehow... A whistling sound echoed behind me, followed by footsteps.

I stiffened, instinctively straightening as I turned... and froze.

Xander stood just inside the doorway. For a split second, neither of us moved.

His fitted black sleeveless shirt clung to his torso, darkened slightly with sweat, outlining muscle and strength without effort.

His presence filled the room in a way that made the air feel tense. His gaze flicked briefly to the sign on the door behind him, then back to me.

I swallowed and tried to cover myself with my hands. "What are you doing here?" Xavier’s brows creased. Seeing as he didn’t budge, I pointed out. "This is the women’s bathroom."

"I noticed," he replied calmly.

Something about the way his eyes lingered made heat coil in my stomach despite myself.

"Then you should leave."

But he didn’t. Instead, Xander bridged the gap between us. "Actually, it is the men’s changing room."

"What?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

He heaved a sigh. "I figured you did not realise that, thanks to this..." he lifted his hand, and in it was a tag, used to indicate female restrooms.

"How...?"

"It was loosely placed. I was going to adjust it when it came off... Seems someone set this up intentionally."

I shook my head, not ready to believe what he said. "You must be mistaken. How am I sure you weren’t the one who..."

"Who what, Jade?" he cut in before I could say the stupid words about to fall off my lips. "Do you think I need to play such tricks on you to get you in my bed or..."

The way he said that, and the way his eyes took in my body from head to toe, irrespective of my lousy attempt to shield myself, suddenly made me feel seen and exposed all at once.

"I am not here to seduce you," I snapped, even though it did nothing to stop the heat crawling up my neck. "You walked in on me."

Xander’s lips twitched faintly, like he was enjoying this far too much. "You were already undressing before I stepped inside."

"That is because I thought this was the women’s changing room."

"And yet," he said mildly, "here we are."

Heat rushed up my neck as I instinctively crossed my arms tighter over my chest. My leggings were pooled around my ankles, my top and waist pouch sitting forgotten on the bench behind me.

The sports bra covered what it should, hiding my birthmark like always, but that did nothing to ease the sudden vulnerability curling low in my stomach.

I bent quickly and yanked my leggings up in one smooth motion, my hands shaking slightly as I dragged them over my hips. I did not bother fixing the waistband properly. I just needed to be covered and out of here.

My heart was pounding too hard to think straight, and only later did I realize he was still watching me.

"Please turn around," I said tightly. "This is obviously a misunderstanding."

Xander did not move.

I felt it instead, that heavy, deliberate stillness behind me. "Jade," he said quietly.

I turned halfway despite myself. "What?"

His gaze flicked over me once, restrained this time, before lifting to my eyes.

"You know exactly what you’re doing," he went on. "You’re standing there half-naked in front of me and pretending this is still about restrooms."

His gaze dropped again, and I hated the way my breath stuttered. Xander took one step closer.

I didn’t move, even though every instinct in my body screamed at me to back away.

I reached for my top from the bench, but before my fingers touched it, Xander’s hand closed around my wrist firmly enough to stop me.

My breath caught as he pulled me back toward him, my back brushing his chest.

"Don’t." His voice was suddenly tight and barely controlled. "Don’t turn away from me when you’re standing there looking like that and telling me you don’t feel anything."

My pulse thundered. "I didn’t ask you to look," I whispered.

His grip tightened for half a second. Then loosened, before he released me completely, stepping back as if he’d just realized what he was doing.

A muscle jumped in his jaw.

"This is exactly what I mean," he said hoarsely, "you keep putting yourself in situations like this with me and then acting like it’s all accidental."

I turned slowly to face him again. Something dark flickered through his eyes.

Before I could come up with another retort, a sharp whistle echoed from the hallway outside, and both of us froze.