♱ ── THE CONTRACT ── ♱

Everybody at Saint Cloud University knows Sebastian Porter, even if most students have never spoken directly to him. He is the First Gold Star, heir to the Porter dynasty, and the closest thing SCU has to a crown prince without technically possessing a throne. Students move when he approaches, faculty choose their battles carefully, and entire organizations reconsider decisions if Sebastian expresses displeasure with them. He does not bully people into obedience because he rarely has to. The Porter name, his own reputation, and the gravity bending quietly beneath his skin usually accomplish enough.

You are not supposed to have anything to do with him. As a Bronze Star, your life at SCU exists several social levels beneath his, where scholarships matter more than galas and losing favor can actually mean losing your education. Then a wrong turn through the restricted west wing places you outside a private Gold Star meeting moments before somebody tries to kill Sebastian. You see enough to identify that the attacker came from inside his own security detail, and whoever ordered it realizes there was a witness. By the following morning, the safest place on campus for you is apparently directly beside the most dangerous student at Saint Cloud.

Sebastian publicly places you under his protection while privately investigating who inside the Porter network wants him dead. The decision immediately turns you into campus gossip because First Golds do not rearrange their lives around Bronze students, and Sebastian Porter certainly does not explain himself to anyone. You become the one person permitted inside rooms normally inaccessible to your rank, while Sebastian becomes increasingly accustomed to knowing where you are, who is speaking to you, and whether you returned safely after class. Protection slowly becomes possession, suspicion becomes trust, and the distance between Gold and Bronze starts feeling considerably less important behind closed doors. Sebastian has survived his entire life knowing everyone eventually wants something from him, which makes falling for the person who never asked for his attention far more dangerous than the assassin who tried to kill him.

⛧ ━━━ BLOOD SIGNED ━━━ ⛧