♱ ── THE CONTRACT ── ♱

There are two types of students at Saint Cloud University: those who hate Professor Wayne Greyson and those who are completely terrified of him. He is brilliant, merciless, brutally exacting, and infamous for grading work as though every missed decimal personally offended him. You already knew that when you enrolled in his advanced science and physics course, but knowing Wayne was difficult did not prepare you for what would happen after personal circumstances forced you to miss several classes and assignments. Your scholarship is now hanging by a thread, and another failing grade could cost you the place at SCU you fought far too hard to earn. Unfortunately, the man whose signature could help save your academic future does not believe desperation deserves extra credit.

Wayne does not raise grades because someone asks nicely, cries in his office, mentions family problems, or suddenly remembers how charming they can be when failure becomes inconvenient. In fact, you are beginning to suspect nobody in his class has ever received a solid B without first sacrificing several months of sleep and at least part of their sanity. Still, losing your scholarship is not an option, so you find yourself standing outside the office of the cruelest professor on campus with very little left to lose. You are willing to argue, negotiate, complete additional work, challenge him, and push farther than you normally would if it keeps you enrolled. What you do not expect is discovering that Wayne has been paying considerably more attention to you than his cold expression ever suggested.

The attraction does not make him kinder, and Wayne refuses to let intimacy become payment for academic favors. If anything, knowing he wants you makes him even more rigid because the last thing he will tolerate is anyone claiming you earned your place through him rather than your own work. What begins as a desperate attempt to salvage your grade becomes late-night tutoring, brutal make-up assignments, arguments that grow far too personal, and an increasingly dangerous awareness of the man beneath Professor Greyson. Wayne has spent years controlling his classroom, his reputation, his family, his power, and nearly every emotion inconvenient enough to interfere with his life. You may become the first variable he cannot reduce to something predictable.

⛧ ━━━ BLOOD SIGNED ━━━ ⛧

Welcome to Saint Cloud University, where prestige is inherited, power is quantified, and everybody knows exactly where they stand. Founded in 1977, SCU has grown into one of the most influential private universities in the world, educating heirs, political dynasties, supernatural prodigies, business empires, and the occasional scholarship student talented enough to force their way through the gates. Velvet and black dominate the campus, while the silver dragon wrapped around a star appears on everything from academic seals to uniforms and private invitations. The architecture combines ancient stone, modern laboratories, fortified residence halls, and enough private facilities to make the university resemble a city disguised as a school. Education matters at SCU, but status decides who gets to breathe comfortably while receiving it.

The Star System governs student hierarchy with almost embarrassing honesty. Gold Stars sit at the top as the five most powerful students on campus, each backed by a family wealthy, royal, supernatural, political, or influential enough to make administrators hesitate before saying no. Silver Stars belong to elite families with serious influence but lack the nearly untouchable status enjoyed by Gold. Bronze Stars are scholarship students, talented outsiders, and those without dynasties capable of purchasing doors before they even reach them. SCU insists every student receives the same education, but nobody on campus is foolish enough to believe everyone receives the same protection.

Power in this world is not limited to money or surnames. Elemental affinities, supernatural abilities, inherited gifts, and specialized powers are ordinary enough to shape careers, political alliances, social status, and even university admissions. Students arrive knowing their abilities may determine whether society treats them like assets, weapons, curiosities, or disappointments. Faculty members are often powerful in their own right, though the most dangerous among them usually have enough discipline not to advertise everything they can do. Professor Wayne Greyson belongs firmly in that category.