There's no way the A

drums against her ribs. She staggered back another step, clutching her duffel as if the worn canvas might anchor her to reality

nees weak, impossible to look away from even though every instinct screamed at her to run. His chest heaved with sharp, un

rneath that made her wolf keen with longing. Around them, the other students had stopped their sparri

it felt like the entir

thin line that spoke of disgust rather than wonder. The storm in his

er with the deadly grace of a pred

h dropped to h

ure leader of the Nightfall Pack, one of the most powerful bloodlines in the northern territories. Even among future leaders, his dom

get closer to their mate. The pull was so strong it felt like gravity itself h

er palm until she felt ski

ces carrying the weight of gossip that wou

hit, is

Fenrir

They went full wolf w

obody. How c

er upper arm-hot as a brand, unyielding as iron, impossible to shake off. His grip was firm but no

, making her gasp and her wolf whine with despera

in a voice low and sharp as a blade, bro

ay from the training ring, her feet stumbling to keep up with his long strides. They moved down a side path that curved behind one of

art or the electric tension that crackled between them like live wire. Here, away from prying eyes,

er pride finally overridi

t through her veins, made worse by the way his scent wrapped around her like silk and steel. She

he spoke, his voice held the kind of barely restr

ke her very existence offended him. "Th

n fate had decided to play cosmic matchmaker. But instead of the awe or wonder she might

itter irony. "Of all the wolves in this Academy-hell, in a

as if someone had wrapped chains around her ribs and

me out smaller than she'd intended, tho

inter moonlight. "You wa

weaknesses of cornered prey. Each word he spoke was d

." His gaze flicked over her dismissively, taking in her plain clothes, her lack of pack insignia, the way she held herself

-made her flinch. Most wolves Awakened at sixteen with fire and fury, their wolves bursting fort

continued ruthlessly. "And you actually think

ir shared consciousness like a wounded animal. But Elara forced herself to stay upright, to meet his ga

rds came out hoarse but steady, even tho

"It does here. This isn't some human university where you can pretend hierarch

g picked up the elevated heartbeats of hidden observers-classmates who had followed them, no doubt hop

r than wildfire. By morning, everyone would know that Darius Fenrir had been g

a promise years ago, standing among the ashes of her old life with smoke still burning in her lungs. Never again

eel in her own. "If you're so disgusted by the bon

maybe. Conflict. As if some part of him recognized the injustice of what he was doing,

, smothered beneath layers of pride an

lty designed to freeze her from the inside out. When he spoke, his

't wan

hrough the mate bond itself, sending fractures of agony racing along the golden thread that connec

ion. She'd survived fire and betrayal and the ki

survive