here. Watching. S

on that made Elara's wolf pace restlessly beneath her skin. Gideon's words still clung to her ears like smok

his presence like a weight pre

e molten silver. Even when he sat surrounded by his usual circle of Alpha heirs-the cream of wolf society with their perfect posture and preda

avy as a storm cloud gathering strength. She felt his eyes tracking her every movement, cataloguing her technique, her stamina, her mome

t his presence like heat against her back when he passed between the ancient tomes. His scent lingered in the air long

imply watched with the patience of a pred

riving her a

signed for the weak-wolf history stretching back millennia, dominance theory that dissected pack dynamics with surgical precision, military strategy adapted for supernatural warfare, c

ical precedent like her life depended on it. Because maybe it did. If she couldn't change her reputation

as her fortress, surrounded by towers of books that created a barrier between her and the rest of the world. The afternoon light filtered thr

sputes that blurred together into a pounding headache, she realized so

ey

ence. She blinked, lifting her head from pages of increasingly il

e'd run across campus to find her, his hazel eyes bright with genuine concern. Unlike the other high-ranking students who wore their

you're drowning

dark strands out of her face with ink-

rs-it invited attack from every direction. But something about Caleb's open expression, the way he lea

iting that put her frantic scrawl to shame. "I can help. Professor Halden's lectures are imposs

with strings attached, prices that weren't revealed until payment was due. But the relief th

nk y

features into something that could probably charm birds from tree

For the first time since arriving at this place, she felt the constant tension in her shoulders begin

en launched into a spot-on impression of Professor Blackthorne's pompous lecture style-complete with the man's tendency to gesture dramatically while expl

navigated. And normal was more precious than gold in a place wher

al couldn't last. N

wolf instinct she possessed screamed danger, hackles rising as her senses sharpened to combat readiness. Students througho

ressing against her ribs as if

e mate bond yanked tight in her chest, a

is storm-gray eyes had gone cold as winter ice, his expression carved from granite that might weather centuries with

hem-innocent study materials that might as well have been evidence of high treason from his reactio

rner of the library seemed

s he registered the threat be

tead, he addressed Elara directly, his voice pitched low enough that only supernatural

ed to

tightening them slowly. The mate bond pulsed between them, wounded but unbroken, car

care, each movement precise despite

him clearly unaccustomed to defiance from any so

sser wolves scrambling to obey without question. Her own wolf pressed against her consciou

ncompromising. She met his gaze steadily, pouring every ounce

n protective instincts flaring in response to the threat posed to

students throughout the library had abandoned all pretense of studying, books forgotten as they tracked the confronta

the electric pull of the bond dragging at her chest. It felt like hooks sunk deep in he

years of surviving in a world that didn't want her. "You made yourself clear, reme

y depths. Pain, perhaps. Regret. The ghost of what might have b

low, deliberate step closer, and the very air seemed to compress under the weight of his dominance. Power rolled off him

the advancing threat. The gesture was small but unmistakably protective-Beta

ced. Of cou

violence and bloodshed. When he spoke, his voice dropped to a guttural growl that se

way fro

her than stone grinding against stone. His wolf had pushed forward without permission, golden light flashing th

sending smaller books tumbling from their shelves. It carried the unmistakable weight of Alpha c

Students pressed back against the shelves, instinctiv

n't just Darius

lara as its own regardless of what the human hal

way fro