Adrian had been trained to feel nothing.

  Every word from his father, Alpha Luca, had hammered the same lesson into him: pain was weakness, love was destruction, attachment was failure.

  From the moment he could walk, every mistake, every lapse in control, was met with harsh correction-brutal training meant to forge him into a leader capable of surviving-and dominating-anything.

  "You must endure everything, Adrian," his father had said one morning in the office, pacing in the cold light streaming through the windows. "The pack survives because its Alpha feels no pain. You will feel nothing. You will let nothing distract you. You will lead, or the pack dies."

  Adrian had obeyed. He had learned to endure, to dominate, to shut down any trace of weakness. By seventeen, his mind and body obeyed him like soldiers in line. Feelings were irrelevant. Attachments were fatal. Distractions were punishable.

  It was around that time his father summoned him while Adrian managed the pack's daily affairs. The Alpha's gaze was sharp, his words sharper.

  "You've handled the Night Fang well," his father said, voice low and cutting. "But you are not finished. You are not ready to be Alpha alone. You will go... among the humans."

  Adrian froze. "Humans?" His disbelief was thick in his voice. "Are you sending me away? Away from my people after everything I've done?"

  Alpha Luca eyes did not waver. "Yes. You will enroll at Ravencrest University. There, you will learn to move among them. To manage their fragile lives, their weaknesses, their businesses. You will understand them so that you may control them. You will not be distracted, and you will not fail. This is the only way you will survive."

  Adrian had hated the idea. Humans were weak. Fragile bodies, fragile minds, fragile morals. They were creatures to be observed, tolerated at best, dominated at worst. The thought of spending years immersed in their frailty made his skin crawl.

  But he obeyed, as he always did.

  When the day finally came, he arrived at Ravencrest not alone, but with Kel, his closest friend and beta; Darius, his cousin-reckless and irritating, a constant test of patience; and a few other pack members.

  The junior courses were grueling, but his focus never wavered. Two years of study, strategy, observation passed in silence. He ignored the chatter of students, their petty social games, their meaningless crushes. Relationships were useless. Women were distractions, tools to satisfy hunger and nothing more.

  Now, in his senior year, Adrian's reputation at Ravencrest was unassailable. Calm. Controlled. Cold. Every decision, every movement, every glance served a purpose.

  That morning, he prowled among the trees in the school courtyard-a dense forest surrounding the university, off-limits to humans, where wolves held their freedom. Here he could run, release tension, and let Ragnar his wolf stretch his senses.

  A flicker of gold caught his attention. A human girl. Her presence should have meant nothing. Yet Ragnar stiffened beneath him, sensing what Adrian could not name.

  There is something... the wolf murmured. Different. Not like the others.

  Adrian shook it off. "She's human," he said aloud, dismissing it. "Weak. Irrelevant. Don't waste attention."

  But Ragnar nudged again, insistent, frustrated.

  Adrian exhaled, shut his wolf down, and turned toward the field for practice.

  Hours later, in the cafeteria, he confronted Darius-who had used his wolf-enhanced speed during a football drill, forbidden and dangerous if humans noticed.

  Adrian's grey eyes, sharp and burning with controlled anger, found his cousin immediately.

  "I'm not going to repeat myself," he said, voice low, dangerous. "Next time, I won't be this polite."

  Darius muttered under his breath, but Adrian didn't respond. His gaze flicked past him, scanning the room-then locked on her. Blue-green eyes, quiet, almost hidden under her hoodie, yet sharp enough to pull at something deep inside him.

  He frowned slightly and tore his gaze away, though the memory of those eyes lingered at the edge of his mind. He straightened, shoulders back, and walked toward the cafeteria doors, each step deliberate, radiating authority.

  Ragnar stirred beneath his skin

  But Adrian ignored it. Though deep beneath the surface, something had awakened. Something ancient. Something insistent. Ragnar growled softly, sensing it too.

Adrian didn't wait.

  He cut down the corridor outside the field with long, purposeful strides. The echo of boots and careless laughter bounced off the walls, fading with every step.

  Darius followed in silence, his pace measured, his expression unreadable.

  His wolf wasn't.

  It prowled beneath his skin, alert and restless, reacting to the rigid set of Adrian's shoulders. This wasn't just about the drill. Darius had known that the moment Adrian's gaze had locked onto him from across the field-cold, assessing, already condemning.

  They reached the boys' locker room.

  It was nearly empty now. A few open lockers yawned like broken teeth, the air thick with the sharp scent of sweat, metal, and detergent. Fluorescent lights flickered overhead, buzzing faintly.

  Adrian stepped inside and shut the door.

  The click echoed louder than it should have.

  "You used your wolf,"

  Adrian said, wasting no time.

  Darius dropped his bag onto the nearest bench and exhaled slowly. "I used my speed."

  Adrian turned on him.

  "You used more than you were allowed," he snapped. "On a human field. In front of humans."

  "I won the drill," Darius replied.

  "That's not the point."

  Darius's eyes narrowed slightly. "Then what is?"

  Adrian closed the distance between them, Alpha pressure rolling off him in controlled waves. The lockers rattled softly, metal shivering in response.

  "That rule exists because exposure kills," Adrian said. "One mistake. One human who notices too much. That's all it takes."

  "And stagnation kills too," Darius said evenly. He didn't step back. "You trained us to survive among them-not to shrink. I chose a moment where excellence wouldn't look unnatural."

  "You assumed-"

  "I observed," Darius cut in, voice firm. "No cameras. No outsiders. Just boys desperate to believe in talent. Humans explain what they see in ways that make them comfortable."

  Silence stretched between them.

  Adrian exhaled sharply and turned away, dragging a hand through his hair.

  "Funny thing though," he said, softer now.

  "You talk about control," Darius went on, his tone casual, almost bored, "but in the cafeteria-"

  He paused deliberately.

  "You forgot it."

  Adrian turned slowly. "What do you mean, I forgot it?"

  Darius tilted his head slightly. "That girl."

  Adrian's jaw tightened at once.

  "The one in the oversized hoodie," Darius continued, unhurried. "Golden hair. Human."

  "That has nothing to do with this," Adrian said.

  "Doesn't it?" Darius asked. "Because I've never seen you lose awareness. Not once."

  His wolf stirred uneasily, sensing the shift.

  "You warn me about being noticed," Darius went on quietly. "About risk. But the way you stared at that girl-"

  He paused.

  "You weren't just curious. You were hesitant. Almost afraid. And it made me wonder... since when does our fearless Alpha feel curiosity-let alone fear-toward a human?"

  The words landed cleanly.

  The locker room felt smaller.

  Adrian's voice dropped, low and dangerous. "You're crossing a line, Darius."

  "I'm pointing at one," Darius replied calmly. "If we're measuring danger, we should be honest about where it comes from."

  A beat passed.

  "You think my choice was reckless," Darius said. "I think it was controlled. Intentional. Yours wasn't."

  Silence crashed down between them.

  For the first time, Adrian didn't immediately respond.

  Because deep down he knew that Darius was right about one thing.

  That girl had pulled his focus in a way no one ever had.

  And that was a risk Adrian hadn't calculated. Hadn't prepared for.

  "Next time," Adrian said at last, voice ice-cold, "you speak about my attention, you'll regret it."

  Darius inclined his head-not apologetic.

  Knowing.

  Adrian yanked the door open and walked out.

  Behind him, Darius stayed where he was, a faint smirk lifting the corner of his lips.

  Because for the first time, Adrian wasn't guarding the pack from humans-

  He was guarding himself from one.

The hallway outside the locker room felt too quiet.

Adrian walked without seeing where he was going. His boots struck the polished floor in slow, heavy steps, but his mind wasn't on the corridor, the academy, or the pack.

It was on Darius's words.

Adrian clenched his jaw.

Darius had been many things in at the time they'd trained together, defiant, observant, occasionally insufferable but rarely wrong. That was the problem.

And today... the boy had seen too much.

Adrian pushed open the side door that led to the training wing. Cold evening air rushed in, carrying the faint scent of pine and damp earth from the forest that bordered the academy grounds.

He welcomed it.

Anything to clear his head.

He walked toward the edge of the field . The grass rustled under his boots as the distant noise of students slowly dissolved into silence.

Only then did he stop.

His hands slid into his pockets as he stared across the quiet field

Was he right? Was l reckless?

The questions settled in his chest like stones.

For many years Adrian had trained so hard to make sure nothing  would distract him from his duties or break his focus.

Yet in the cafeteria earlier that day, when he'd looked up and seen her siting there...staring right back at him

Everything had paused.

The chatter of students.

The movement of the room.

Even his own breathing.

Adrian exhaled slowly.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered under his breath.

You're thinking about her again.

The voice was deep and rough, like distant thunder rolling through his bones.

Adrian closed his eyes.

"Stay out of this, Ragnar."

You felt it too, Ragnar said.

Adrian's jaw tightened. "She's human."

He said it quickly, firmly, as if the words alone could end the conversation.

Ragnar didn't sound convinced.

Are you sure?

Adrian's jaw tightened.

"I saw her. I smelled nothing unusual. No wolf. No power. Nothing." His voice hardened. "She is human."

And if she isn't?

Adrian opened his eyes slowly, irritation flashing across his face.

"That's impossible."

Ragnar shifted restlessly beneath his skin.

Is it?

Adrian looked out toward the dark line of trees.

"I've spent years learning control," he said quietly. "Years making sure nothing,no one could distract me."

His hands curled slightly into fists.

"And today some random human girl is sitting in the cafeteria, and somehow we end up staring at each other across the room while I stand there like I've completely lost my mind."

The frustration in his voice was impossible to hide mind

  "That doesn't make sense."

His wolf was quiet for a moment.

Then the it spoke again.

What if she's the one?

The words hit harder than Adrian expected.

His shoulders stiffened.

"No."

The answer came immediately.

Ragnar didn't back down.

Human or not... what if she is the one?

Adrian turned away from the field, pacing once across the grass.

"Even if she were," he said sharply, "you know exactly what that means."

Ragnar fell silent.

"And you know what we would have to do."

A low growl vibrated through Adrian's chest.

You would send her away.

"Yes."

Adrian didn't hesitate.

"If she is the one-human or not-then she cannot stay here."

His voice dropped, colder now.

"l would reject her and she would have to leave the academy."

You would push away your own mate.

"I would protect her."

The words came out harder than he intended.

Ragnar's anger flared instantly.

Protect her? By keeping her away from us?

Adrian stopped pacing.

"You know what is at stake here Ragnar." he said quietly.

The words carried a weight Ragnar understood too well.

The memory rose in Adrian's mind like a shadow.

His father's cold and furious voice.

A mate will not be your salvation, Adrian. She will be your destruction.

Adrian swallowed slowly.

"I won't risk that," he said.

Ragnar's presence shifted, restless and unhappy.

You don't even know if it's real.

Adrian let out a quiet, humorless chuckle.

"Real?" he repeated softly.

His gaze drifted across the empty field, but he wasn't really seeing it anymore.

"Ever since I was a child, that's all I ever heard the pack whisper about."

His jaw tightened slightly.

"They called me the cursed Alpha...the one cursed for love."

He exhaled slowly.

"So tell me, Ragnar... what more do I need to know?"

Ragnar stayed silent this time, understanding too well the burden Adrian had carried since he was a child.

Adrian stared at the academy building for a long moment.

Then his expression hardened.

If that girl truly is the one... then he would make sure she left this place.

Even if it meant breaking something inside him.