"Keep your guard up! This isn't a playground!" Coach Miller barked, pacing the dusty perimeter of the training field.

The air buzzed with restless energy. Wolves sparred in the dirt, low growls vibrating through the humid morning air.

I stood near the bleachers, clutching my water bottle. The sun beat down on my shoulders, but my skin felt like ice. The memory of my bedroom door opening last night—only for Kai to stand in the shadow, stare at me in agonizing silence, and walk away—still gnawed at my ribs.

I turned my head.

My eyes found him instantly.

A sharp squeeze clamped around my heart. I pressed a hand to my sternum, fighting a sudden wave of dizziness.

Across the dirt field, Kai froze mid-stance.

His sparring partner swung hard. Kai didn't even block. He took the brutal hit straight to the shoulder, his golden eyes locked entirely on me.

"Kai, watch your left!" someone shouted.

He ignored the warning. His boots dug into the dirt, shifting his weight. His muscles coiled tight. I saw the exact second his rigid control slipped. He took a heavy, forceful step toward me, his jaw set, looking ready to shove through the crowd of sweating teenagers just to shield me from the sun.

"Kai! You're bleeding!" A high-pitched voice shattered the moment.

Mia. The pack's reigning school beauty.

She darted across the field, throwing herself against his side. She linked her arm tightly through his, pressing her chest against his bicep.

"Let me see that," Mia cooed, reaching up to wipe a smudge of dirt from his cheek.

Kai blinked, the golden haze fading from his irises. He didn't push her away. He just let her hang off him, a perfectly posed picture of a future Alpha and his Luna.

My throat closed up.

A heavy, suffocating weight crushed my chest, stealing the oxygen straight from my lungs. I squeezed my eyes shut for a fraction of a second, trying to block out the sight of her hands on his skin.

"You look like you're about to pass out," a voice said beside me.

Ethan. A Beta from my homeroom. Messy blonde hair, kind eyes, and a relaxed posture that made him completely unthreatening.

"I'm fine," I rasped, forcing my gaze away from the couple across the field.

"You're gripping that bottle so hard the plastic is cracking," Ethan pointed out.

I loosened my fingers. "I just hate this class."

The whistle blew sharply. "Hit the showers!" Coach Miller yelled.

The crowd began to disperse. Mia still clung to Kai, whispering something in his ear that made his jaw flex.

I couldn't stand there and watch it anymore. The mate bond twisted like a serrated knife in my gut. If Kai wanted to parade his options in front of me, I refused to play the pathetic, rejected human weakling.

I stepped right into Ethan's personal space.

"Walk with me," I said.

Before he could answer, I looped my arm through his.

Ethan stiffened in surprise but quickly adjusted, offering a warm smile. "Sure. Where are we going?"

"Anywhere away from the meatheads," I said loudly.

We walked past the equipment shed, stepping directly into Kai's line of sight. I felt the exact second his gaze snapped back to me. The temperature in the courtyard plummeted instantly.

"You sure you want to use me as a shield?" Ethan murmured, leaning his head down. "Because your stepbrother looks like he wants to rip my throat out."

I laughed. I made sure the bright sound carried over the noise of the departing students. "Kai? He doesn't care what I do."

"His eyes are glowing, Lyra."

"Let them glow," I said, tilting my head up to smile directly at Ethan. "I prefer guys like you anyway."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Guys like me?"

"Normal. Grounded. Gentle," I projected my voice, knowing the enhanced hearing of the wolves around us would pick up every single syllable. "I don't have the patience for dominant Alpha types. They're arrogant, controlling, and completely unappealing."

A dead silence rippled through our section of the courtyard.

A few students stopped walking, glancing nervously between me and the future Alpha standing twenty feet away.

"Wow," Ethan chuckled nervously. "Tell us how you really feel."

"I just did," I replied, squeezing his arm affectionately. "Give me a quiet Beta over a chest-thumping Alpha any day. At least you know how to treat a person."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Mia drop her hand from Kai's arm.

Kai stood completely rigid. The air around him crackled with an icy, terrifying fury.

"Did you hear her?" a girl whispered nearby.

"She just insulted the Alpha bloodline," another muttered.

I ignored the whispers. I kept my smile fixed on Ethan, forcing my trembling legs to maintain a steady pace.

Behind us, a metal bench screeched violently against the concrete.

"Class is over, Kai," Mia's voice wavered. "We should go to the cafeteria."

"Go without me," Kai's voice sliced through the air. It was a low, guttural scrape that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I didn't turn around. I kept walking, letting Ethan guide me toward the main building.

The mate bond flared, sending a rush of foreign emotions straight into my chest.

It wasn't just anger.

It was a hollow, agonizing ache. A deep, bitter sourness that clawed at the edges of my mind. Loss. He felt a devastating sense of emptiness, and it bled through our fractured connection straight into me.

"You're shaking," Ethan noted quietly as we reached the heavy double doors.

"It's just the cold," I lied.

"It's eighty degrees out here, Lyra."

"Just keep walking, Ethan. Please."

We pushed through the doors, finally breaking the line of sight. The crushing pressure of Kai's stare vanished, leaving me completely drained.

I dropped Ethan's arm and leaned against the cool tile wall of the hallway.

"Thanks," I whispered, pressing a hand to my chest. My heart beat erratically, the stimulant from this morning wearing off fast.

"Anytime," Ethan said, watching me with genuine concern. "But you're playing a dangerous game. Alphas don't handle rejection well."

"He rejected me first," the words slipped out before I could stop them.

Ethan's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to ask a question, but a loud crash from the courtyard cut him off.

Someone had just hurled a metal trash can into the brick wall.

"I need to go to class," I said quickly, pushing myself off the wall.

"Lyra, wait," Ethan called out.

I didn't stop. I hurried down the empty corridor, desperate to put as much distance between me and Kai as possible.

My vision blurred at the edges. The dull ache in my organs flared into a sharp, stabbing pain.

I stumbled, catching myself on a row of blue lockers.

The metal rattled loudly under my weight.

I fumbled in my pocket for my pills, my fingers slick with cold sweat. Empty.

"Looking for these?" a dark voice asked from the end of the hall.

I snapped my head up.

Kai stood blocking the exit. He held my small plastic pill bottle in his large hand. It must have fallen out of my pocket on the field.

His golden eyes were gone, replaced by pitch-black voids.

Kai tossed the plastic bottle. It hit my chest and clattered to the tile floor.

"Take your medicine, Lyra," he sneered, his eyes pitch-black voids. "My father is hosting the entire pack tonight. Do not embarrass our family."

He turned and stalked down the corridor, leaving me trembling against the lockers.

Hours later, music swelled in the grand hall of the estate. Crystal chandeliers cast a harsh, unforgiving light over the evening banquet.

"Keep your distance from him," my mother whispered, pinching my arm hard enough to leave a mark. "The elders are watching."

She was right. Dozens of older wolves lined the edges of the room, their sharp gazes tracking every movement in the hall. They were looking for weakness. They were looking for any sign of a bond between the Alpha heir and his human stepsister.

"I brought you some punch," a gentle voice interrupted.

Ethan appeared beside me, offering a crystal glass. He wore a sharp gray suit, his relaxed posture a stark contrast to the rigid wolves around us.

"Thank you, Ethan," I managed, forcing the corners of my mouth up. I stayed glued to his side, letting his presence act as a shield.

An older man with a silver beard approached us. Elder Ryland.

"Beta Ethan," Ryland rumbled, his gaze shifting to evaluate me. "You make a surprisingly good pair. Grounded. Sensible."

"She is easy to be around, sir," Ethan replied, stepping closer to me.

I took a sip of the sweet liquid, but it tasted like dry ash. Every smile I faked felt like swallowed glass. My eyes betrayed me, darting across the crowded room against my own will.

Kai stood by the massive stone fireplace.

He was not alone.

Mia wore a skin-tight red dress that left nothing to the imagination. She laughed at something he said, tilting her head back. Kai wrapped a large hand around her waist, pulling her flush against his side.

A phantom blade sliced through my ribs.

"You are a fantastic dancer, Kai," Mia projected her voice, ensuring the surrounding wolves heard every syllable.

"You make it easy," Kai replied.

He did not look at her. His gaze cut straight through the crowd and locked entirely on me.

The dinner bell rang, sparing me from staring at them any longer.

Guests filed toward the massive oak dining table. I sat next to Ethan near the middle. Kai took the seat directly across from me. Mia slid into the chair beside him, instantly resting her head on his broad shoulder.

Kai did not push her off. He leaned into her touch, wrapping his arm around the back of her chair.

Every time he smiled at her, the rejected mate bond twisted in my gut, wringing the life out of my organs. The tearing sensation of our fractured destiny swept through my entire body. I gripped my napkin under the table, my knuckles turning stark white.

"Are you cold?" Ethan asked, noticing my shivering frame. He draped his suit jacket over my shoulders.

"I am fine," I lied smoothly.

Kai’s hand slammed onto the table. The silver cutlery rattled violently against the porcelain plates.

"Something wrong, Kai?" Richard asked from the head of the table, his tone thick with authority.

"Just a muscle cramp," Kai ground out. He picked up his wine glass, his eyes flashing a dangerous gold. "Ethan. You are very attentive tonight."

"Lyra deserves to be treated well, Alpha," Ethan answered evenly.

Kai laughed, a harsh, scraping sound that set my teeth on edge. He shifted his arm, pulling Mia even closer. "Loyalty is a rare trait. Some people just latch onto the nearest available option."

"At least Ethan is genuine," I shot back. My voice trembled, but I refused to lower my chin. "He does not have to put on a show to prove his worth."

Silence crashed over the table. The elders stopped eating.

Kai stared at me, the intensity of his gaze burning a hole through my defenses. Beneath the anger, a raw, undeniable agony swirled in his irises. He was hurting just as much as I was. We were drowning in a sea of intense love, yet we sat here using other people as weapons to stab each other.

"A show?" Kai whispered, the sound carrying easily to my ears.

He turned to Mia, cupping her cheek with his large hand. "Am I putting on a show, Mia?"

"Of course not," she giggled, leaning into his palm.

My lungs refused to expand.

The air in the dining room vanished. The bond screamed, tearing my soul into jagged pieces. I shoved my chair back. It screeched violently against the hardwood floor.

"Excuse me," I choked out.

I did not wait for my mother's scolding. I turned and ran.

I burst through the heavy glass patio doors.

Thunder cracked overhead, shaking the ground beneath my feet. A torrential downpour washed over the estate, instantly soaking my formal dress.

I ignored the cold. I ran past the manicured lawns and plunged straight into the dense woods of the back mountain.

Mud sucked at my shoes. Wet branches slapped my face, leaving stinging scratches across my cheeks.

My heart hammered an erratic, terrifying rhythm. The stimulant pills were useless against the physical toll of a rejected mate bond.

I tripped over an exposed root and crashed into the freezing mud.

My arms gave out. I dragged myself to the base of a massive oak tree and curled into a tight ball.

Tears mixed with the freezing rain. I sobbed silently, pressing both hands hard against my chest to keep my heart from fracturing entirely.

The rejection was literal poison. My human body was failing.

Snap.

A heavy boot crushed a branch in the darkness.

I forced my heavy eyelids open.

Through the thick sheets of rain, a tall figure stood motionless.

Kai.

He had completely abandoned Mia. He stood twelve meters away, his expensive suit soaked and clinging to his muscular frame. Water dripped from his dark hair, masking whatever expression he wore.

"Go away!" I screamed, my voice barely carrying over the storm.

He did not move.

He just stood there, staring at my pathetic, trembling form. His hands balled into tight fists at his sides. His chest heaved with ragged breaths.

"You made your choice!" I yelled, the pain boiling over into sheer fury. "Go back to her!"

Kai’s boots shifted in the mud, but he did not step forward.

He looked like a man standing on the edge of a cliff, desperate to jump but chained to the rock. Every fiber of his wolf demanded he close the gap and pull me from the dirt.

But his steps were too heavy. He remained rooted to the spot, torturing himself by watching me break.

A sudden, violent spasm ripped through my chest.

My vision flashed white.

I gasped, but no oxygen reached my lungs. A warm, metallic liquid bubbled up my throat. I coughed, spitting a dark splatter of blood onto the wet leaves.

Kai roared, a deafening, inhuman sound that tore through the thunder.

He finally lunged forward, but the world was already fading to black.