The only reason I came to the Academy was to survive. Love was never in the plan.

The bus lurched to a stop, and I grabbed my duffel bag before the driver could give me that look. The one that said he knew exactly what I was: unwanted, tainted, the girl who shouldn't exist. I'd seen it enough times to recognize it in strangers.

Moonrise Academy rose in front of me like a fortress. Stone walls covered in ivy, iron gates that looked more like a prison than a school. Figures moved behind windows, shadows with glowing eyes. Wolves. Alphas, Betas, Omegas. Everyone here had a place, a rank, a purpose.

Everyone except me.

I adjusted the strap on my shoulder and walked through the gates. Every step felt heavy, like the ground itself wanted to reject me. Students stopped mid-conversation to stare. Some whispered. Others didn't bother hiding their disgust.

"Is that her?"

"The Bennett girl?"

"Heard her bloodline is cursed."

"No wolf. Can you imagine?"

I kept my eyes forward. Chin up. Back straight. My aunt Mara's voice echoed in my head: "Don't you dare show them weakness, Elara. They'll eat you alive."

The main courtyard opened up ahead, and that's when I saw them.

Alphas.

A group of them sparred in the center, shirtless and brutal. Muscles rippled under sweat-slicked skin. Claws extended, teeth bared. They moved like predators, every strike calculated, every dodge instinctual. The crowd around them cheered and shouted, placing bets on who would win.

I should have kept walking. Should have found the registrar's office and kept my head down. But something stopped me.

One of them stood taller than the rest. Broader shoulders. Dark hair that fell across his forehead in messy waves. He moved with a confidence that bordered on arrogance, blocking strikes like they were nothing, countering with precision that made the others stumble back.

Darius Fenrir.

I'd heard the name before I even arrived. The Alpha heir. Next in line to lead one of the most powerful packs in the territory. Engaged to my perfect, beautiful sister Janessa. The golden couple everyone worshiped.

And the boy who'd made my childhood hell.

He hadn't seen me yet. Good. I turned to leave before he could.

"Well, well. Look who finally showed up."

My stomach dropped.

I turned slowly. Darius stood at the edge of the training ring, arms crossed, sweat dripping down his chest. His eyes locked onto mine, and the world seemed to tilt for a second. Gold eyes. Piercing. Dangerous.

"Elara Bennett," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Didn't think you'd actually show your face here."

The crowd went silent. Every pair of eyes turned toward me.

I forced a smile that didn't reach my eyes. "Disappointed?"

"Surprised," he said, stepping closer. "Thought you'd be smart enough to stay away."

"Guess I'm full of surprises."

He stopped a few feet in front of me, towering over me by at least a head. His presence was suffocating, the kind that made lesser wolves submit without a word. But I wasn't a wolf. I had no rank. No instinct telling me to bow.

So I didn't.

His jaw tightened. "You don't belong here."

"That's not your call to make."

Someone in the crowd laughed. Darius's eyes flashed, and the laughter cut off immediately.

"Your family barely scrapes by," he continued, voice low and cruel. "You've got no wolf. No power. No lineage worth mentioning. What exactly do you think you're going to accomplish here?"

My hands clenched into fists. I'd heard it all before. From my pack. From my own family. But hearing it from him, in front of everyone, made my chest burn with something I refused to name.

"I'm here to learn," I said evenly. "Same as everyone else."

"You're here because the council felt sorry for you," he said. "Don't mistake pity for belonging."

The crowd murmured in agreement. A few girls giggled behind their hands.

I met his gaze and refused to look away. "And you're here because your daddy handed you a title you haven't earned yet. So maybe we're both pretending."

The courtyard went dead silent.

Darius's eyes darkened. His wolf surged beneath his skin, a ripple of power that made the air around us crackle. For a second, I thought he might actually hit me.

But then he smiled. Cold. Dangerous.

"You've got a mouth on you," he said. "Let's see how long that lasts."

He turned and walked back to the sparring ring. The crowd parted for him like water. The moment he was gone, the whispers started up again, louder this time.

"Did she really just talk back to him?"

"She's insane."

"He's going to destroy her."

I grabbed my bag and walked toward the dorms. My heart pounded in my chest, but I refused to let them see it. Refused to let him see it.

The dorm building was older than the main hall, with narrow hallways and creaky floors. My room was on the third floor, a small single with a window overlooking the forest. The bed was thin. The desk was scratched. But it was mine, and that was all that mattered.

I dropped my bag and sat on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

This was a mistake.

Coming here. Thinking I could survive in a place built for wolves when I didn't even have one. My eighteenth birthday had come and gone a week ago, and nothing had happened. No shift. No wolf. Just me, standing in front of a mirror, wondering what was wrong with me.

My phone buzzed.

Aunt Mara: How is it?

I typed back quickly. It's fine.

Aunt Mara: Liar.

I smiled despite myself. She knew me too well.

Aunt Mara: You belong there, Elara. Don't let anyone tell you different.

I wanted to believe her. I really did.

But belief didn't change the fact that I was the only student at Moonrise Academy without a wolf. The only one who didn't fit.

The only one Darius Fenrir would make sure stayed at the bottom.

I stood and walked to the window. The forest stretched out endlessly, dark and alive. Somewhere out there, wolves ran free, hunting, living, thriving.

And I was stuck here. Pretending.

A knock at the door startled me.

I crossed the room and opened it cautiously. A girl with auburn hair and kind eyes stood on the other side, holding a stack of papers.

"Elara Bennett?" she asked.

I nodded.

"I'm Celeste Lune. Student council. I'm supposed to give you your schedule and show you around campus."

"Thanks," I said, taking the papers.

Celeste hesitated. "I heard what happened in the courtyard."

"Word travels fast."

"It always does when it involves Darius." She lowered her voice. "For what it's worth, I think you were brave. Most people wouldn't have stood up to him like that."

"Brave or stupid?"

She smiled. "Little bit of both, maybe."

I almost laughed. "I'll take it."

Celeste showed me the dining hall, the library, the training grounds. The campus was massive, bigger than I'd expected, with buildings that dated back centuries. Wolves had history here. Bloodlines. Legacies.

And I had nothing.

By the time we finished the tour, the sun was setting. Students headed toward the dining hall in groups, laughing and shoving each other playfully. I followed Celeste inside, trying to ignore the stares.

The dining hall was loud. Long wooden tables stretched across the room, packed with students. Alphas sat at the front. Betas in the middle. Omegas near the back.

I didn't know where I fit.

Celeste led me to a table near the side, away from the main crowd. "This is where most of us sit. The ones who don't really fit the hierarchy."

I sat down, grateful for the distance.

Across the room, Darius sat at the head of the Alpha table, surrounded by his pack. They laughed at something he said, loud and confident. A girl with blonde hair sat next to him, leaning in close.

Not my sister. But someone who looked at him like she owned him.

Good. Let her have him.

I picked at my food, listening to Celeste talk about classes and professors. She was nice. Normal. The kind of person I could maybe be friends with if I didn't screw it up.

But then I felt it.

A pull.

Sharp and sudden, like someone had hooked a line around my chest and yanked.

I looked up, and my eyes locked with Darius's.

He was staring at me from across the room, his expression unreadable. The blonde girl next to him was still talking, but he wasn't listening. His entire focus was on me.

And then I felt it again. Stronger this time. A hum beneath my skin, low and insistent, like something inside me was waking up for the first time.

What the hell?

Darius stood abruptly, cutting off the blonde mid-sentence. He crossed the dining hall in long strides, and the crowd parted for him automatically.

He stopped in front of my table.

Celeste went quiet.

I looked up at him, confused and irritated. "What do you want?"

He didn't answer right away. His eyes scanned my face, searching for something I didn't understand.

And then I heard it.

A voice. Deep. Rough. Not spoken aloud, but inside my head.

"Mate."

My breath caught.

No.

No, no, no.

Darius's wolf growled in my mind, low and possessive and absolutely certain.

"Mate."

You must be mistaken. There's no way the Alpha heir is my mate.

The words screamed in my head, but I couldn't make my mouth work. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't think past the single word echoing in my skull like a death sentence.

Mate.

Darius's hand clamped around my wrist before I could process what was happening. He yanked me up from the table, his grip hard enough to bruise.

"Outside. Now."

Celeste started to stand. "Hey, wait—"

"Stay out of this," Darius snapped, and she sat back down like she'd been slapped.

He dragged me through the dining hall. Every head turned. Every conversation stopped. The blonde girl at the Alpha table looked furious, her perfectly glossed lips pressed into a thin line. Students whispered behind their hands, their eyes tracking us like we were the night's entertainment.

My feet stumbled to keep up with his pace. "Let go of me."

He didn't respond. Didn't even look back. Just hauled me out the doors and into the courtyard, away from the main pathways, toward the shadows near the training building.

When we were finally alone, he released me so suddenly I almost fell.

I caught myself against the stone wall, my wrist throbbing where his fingers had been. "What the hell is your problem?"

He turned on me, and the look on his face made my stomach drop. Rage. Pure, barely controlled rage.

"My problem?" His voice was low, dangerous. "My problem is that the universe just played the cruelest joke in existence."

I straightened, ignoring the tremor in my hands. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me." He stepped closer, and I could feel the heat radiating off him. His wolf was right there, just beneath the surface, fighting to break free. "You felt it too. I know you did."

I wanted to deny it. Wanted to tell him he was insane. But the pull was still there, thrumming beneath my skin, trying to drag me toward him like gravity.

"It's a mistake," I said, forcing the words out. "There's no way you're my mate."

"You think I want this?" He laughed, bitter and harsh. "You think I want to be tied to someone like you?"

The words hit like a physical blow.

"Someone like me," I repeated slowly.

"Weak," he said, ticking off each word like a list. "No wolf. No lineage. No power. You're barely more than a human, Elara. What kind of mate bond is that?"

My hands curled into fists. "I didn't ask for this."

"Neither did I." He dragged a hand through his hair, pacing like a caged animal. "Do you have any idea what this means? What people will say when they find out the future Alpha's mate is a wolfless nobody?"

"Then reject me," I shot back. "Break the bond. Walk away. I don't want you either."

He stopped pacing. Turned to face me. And for just a second, something flickered across his face. Something that looked almost like pain.

But then it was gone, replaced by that cold, cruel mask.

"You don't get it, do you?" he said quietly. "Rejection doesn't work that way. The bond doesn't just disappear because we want it to. It'll eat at both of us until we either accept it or one of us dies."

My breath caught. "You're lying."

"I wish I was."

Silence stretched between us. Somewhere in the distance, I could hear laughter from the dining hall. Normal students living normal lives while mine fell apart.

Inside me, something stirred.

It started as a whisper. A flutter. And then it grew, spreading through my chest like wildfire.

My wolf.

After eighteen years of silence, after a lifetime of being told I was broken, incomplete, wrong—she was finally here.

And she was furious.

She howled inside my mind, loud and desperate, reaching for the bond that connected us to Darius. Reaching for him like he was air and she was drowning.

Mate. Ours. Need him.

No.

I shoved her down, fighting against the instinct with everything I had. My pride screamed louder than she did, reminding me of every insult, every cruel word, every time I'd been told I wasn't enough.

I would not let this bond define me.

I would not let him define me.

"I don't care what the bond says," I told him, my voice steadier than I felt. "I don't want you. I don't need you. And I sure as hell won't beg for scraps of affection from someone who's spent his entire life making mine hell."

Darius's jaw tightened. "Careful, Elara."

"Or what? You'll reject me?" I stepped closer, meeting his glare head-on. "Do it. Save us both the trouble."

For a moment, I thought he might actually do it. Thought he might sever whatever twisted connection had formed between us and let me walk away.

But then I heard them.

Footsteps. Whispers.

I turned and saw shadows near the corner of the building. Students. At least three of them, peeking around the edge, watching us like we were a reality show.

"Is he really going to reject her?"

"She doesn't even have a wolf. This is insane."

"Janessa is going to lose her mind when she finds out."

Janessa.

My sister.

His fiancée.

God, I'd almost forgotten about her. Perfect, beautiful Janessa with her golden hair and her flawless wolf and her picture-perfect life. The girl who'd always been everything I wasn't.

And now I was her worst nightmare.

Darius must have heard the whispers too because his expression darkened even further. He grabbed my arm again, gentler this time but still firm, and leaned in close enough that only I could hear.

"Listen to me very carefully," he said, his breath warm against my ear. "You will not tell anyone about this bond. Not Celeste. Not your family. No one. Do you understand?"

I jerked away from him. "You don't get to give me orders."

"I'm trying to protect you," he hissed.

"From what? The truth?"

"From them." He gestured toward the students watching us. "From the pack. From every wolf who will see you as a weakness to exploit. You think it's bad now? Wait until they find out the future Alpha is bonded to someone who can't even shift."

His words cut deeper than I wanted to admit.

Because he was right.

I'd spent my entire life being the outcast. The disappointment. The girl who didn't belong. And now, instead of escaping that, I was tied to the one person who could make it a thousand times worse.

A memory surfaced, sharp and unwanted.

I was seven. My cousin had just shifted for the first time, and the whole family celebrated. My aunt threw a party. My uncle gave him a silver pendant shaped like a wolf. Everyone cheered.

And I stood in the corner, watching, wondering why I was broken.

That night, I'd made myself a promise. I would never depend on anyone. Never let someone else have power over me. I would survive on my own terms, even if it killed me.

I looked at Darius now, standing there with his perfect face and his perfect life, and felt that promise burn inside me all over again.

"I don't need your protection," I said coldly. "And I don't need you."

Something flickered in his eyes. Surprise, maybe. Or respect. I couldn't tell.

But then it was gone.

He stepped back, putting distance between us, and when he spoke again, his voice was ice.

"Good. Because I don't want you."

The bond screamed in protest. My wolf howled, clawing at my insides, begging me to stop him, to fix this, to make him stay.

But I stood there and watched him walk away.

The students scattered as he passed, disappearing into the shadows like they'd never been there. But I knew they'd spread the news. By morning, the entire Academy would know that Darius Fenrir had dragged me outside. They'd speculate. Gossip. Tear me apart piece by piece.

And there was nothing I could do to stop it.

I leaned against the wall, my legs suddenly too weak to hold me up. My wolf whimpered, hurt and confused, not understanding why I'd let our mate leave.

Because he's not ours, I told her silently. He never will be.

But even as I thought it, I could still feel him. The bond stretched between us like a tether, pulling tight every time he moved farther away.

Celeste found me a few minutes later.

"Elara?" She approached cautiously, like I might bolt. "Are you okay?"

I pushed off the wall and forced a smile. "I'm fine."

"You're a terrible liar."

"Good thing I'm not trying to convince you."

She studied me for a long moment, then sighed. "Whatever just happened with Darius... it's not your fault. He's always been a jerk."

"Yeah." My voice sounded hollow even to my own ears. "Always."

We walked back to the dorms in silence. Students stared as we passed, but I kept my head up, refusing to give them the satisfaction of seeing me break.

When we reached my door, Celeste hesitated.

"If you need anything—"

"I'm fine," I repeated. "Really."

She didn't look convinced, but she nodded and left.

I locked the door behind me and collapsed onto the bed. My wolf paced restlessly, whining, searching for the bond we'd just severed.

He doesn't want us, I told her. And we don't need him.

But the bond hummed beneath my skin, calling me a liar.

I stared at the ceiling, exhaustion pulling at my edges. Tomorrow, I'd have to face the whispers. The stares. The inevitable confrontation when Janessa found out.

Tomorrow, I'd have to pretend this didn't hurt.

But tonight, alone in the dark, I let myself feel it.

The rejection.

The loss.

The cruel twist of fate that gave me a wolf and a mate in the same breath, only to rip both away before I could even understand what they meant.

And somewhere across campus, I could feel him too. Darius. The bond stretched between us, thin but unbreakable, a constant reminder of what we both refused to accept.

He didn't want me.

And I would survive that.

I had to.

By morning, everyone knew the Alpha heir had rejected his mate.

I heard the whispers before I even opened my dorm room door. Low voices carried down the hallway, punctuated by giggles and gasps. My wolf stirred uneasily inside me, still raw from last night, still confused about why we'd let our mate walk away.

He's not our mate, I reminded her. He made that clear.

She whimpered in response.

I grabbed my bag and stepped into the corridor. The conversation three doors down cut off immediately. Two girls I didn't know stared at me, their eyes wide with poorly concealed shock.

"Morning," I said flatly.

They scattered like I'd growled at them.

Great. This was going to be a fantastic day.

The walk to the main building felt like running a gauntlet. Students lined the pathways, clustered in groups, all of them watching. Their voices followed me like a shadow.

"That's her."

"Can you believe it?"

"Pathetic."

"I heard she actually thought he'd accept her."

"Unwanted by her own mate. That's got to sting."

I kept my chin up and my eyes forward. My wolf wanted to snarl at them, to show teeth and make them back down. But I didn't have fangs yet. Didn't have claws. I was still learning how to even feel her presence without panicking.

So I walked. One foot in front of the other. Pretending their words didn't cut.

The courtyard was worse. More students. More stares. A group of Alphas near the fountain stopped mid-conversation to watch me pass. One of them, a guy with a scar across his jaw, whistled low.

"Rejected before she even shifted properly," he said loud enough for everyone to hear. "That's got to be a record."

His friends laughed.

My hands clenched around my bag straps. Keep walking. Don't react. Don't give them the satisfaction.

But my wolf snarled inside my head, furious and protective even if I wouldn't let her be.

I made it to the main entrance before I saw him.

Darius stood near the doors, surrounded by his usual crowd. The blonde from last night clung to his arm, all smiles and perfect hair. He looked completely unbothered, like last night hadn't happened at all.

Like I didn't exist.

The bond tugged painfully in my chest. My wolf whined, wanting to go to him, wanting to fix whatever was broken between us.

But I forced myself to turn away. Forced my feet to carry me past him without a word.

"Elara!"

I stopped. Turned.

Celeste jogged up to me, slightly out of breath. "Hey. I've been looking for you."

"Why?"

She fell into step beside me as I headed toward the academic building. "Because I figured you could use a friendly face after... you know."

"After everyone found out I'm the wolfless loser who got rejected by the Alpha heir?" I kept my voice neutral. "Yeah. Subtle, aren't they?"

"They're idiots." Celeste glanced over her shoulder, then lowered her voice. "For what it's worth, half of them are just jealous."

"Jealous of what? Being humiliated?"

"Jealous that Darius even noticed you in the first place." She shrugged. "Most of these girls have been throwing themselves at him for years. The fact that the bond chose you? That's got to drive them crazy."

I didn't know what to say to that. The bond hadn't chosen me. It had cursed me.

We climbed the stairs to the second floor where my first class was supposed to be. Students crowded the hallway, switching books at their lockers, laughing with friends. Normal Academy life.

Except everyone went quiet when they saw me.

The whispers started up again.

"Is that really her?"

"She doesn't even look like much."

"What did Darius see in her?"

"He didn't see anything. That's why he rejected her."

Celeste tensed beside me. "Ignore them."

"I am."

But it was harder than I wanted to admit. Every word felt like a tiny knife, slicing deeper than the last. I'd spent my whole life being invisible, being overlooked. Now I was the center of attention for all the wrong reasons.

We reached my classroom, and Celeste squeezed my shoulder. "You're stronger than this. Don't let them break you."

"I won't," I said.

But even as I said it, I wondered if I was lying.

The morning dragged. Every class was the same. Stares. Whispers. Professors who pretended not to notice but definitely did. I sat in the back, kept my head down, and counted the minutes until I could escape.

Lunch was going to be a nightmare.

I considered skipping it entirely, but my wolf was restless and hungry, and I needed to eat if I was going to survive the afternoon. So I made my way to the dining hall, bracing myself for round two.

The noise hit me first. Hundreds of voices echoing off the high ceilings, silverware clattering, chairs scraping. I grabbed a tray and loaded it with food I probably wouldn't eat, then scanned the room for somewhere safe to sit.

Celeste waved from a table near the windows. Alone, thank god.

I wove through the crowd, ignoring the looks, and dropped into the seat across from her.

"Survived the morning?" she asked.

"Barely."

She pushed a bottle of water toward me. "It'll get better. Give it a few days. They'll find someone else to talk about."

"Or Darius will do something else humiliating and they'll never shut up."

Celeste winced. "Fair point."

I picked at my food, not really tasting it. Across the room, I could see Darius at the Alpha table, the blonde still glued to his side. She laughed at something he said, touching his arm, leaning in close.

The bond twisted painfully.

My wolf growled.

"Stop looking at him," Celeste said gently.

"I'm not."

"You are. And it's only going to make it worse."

She was right. I forced my eyes away, focusing on my tray instead. But I could still feel him. The bond hummed between us like a live wire, impossible to ignore no matter how hard I tried.

"Strength is my only answer," I muttered.

"What?"

I looked up at Celeste. "Strength. That's all I've got. If I let this break me, I'll never survive here."

She studied me for a moment, then nodded. "Then don't let it break you."

"I don't plan to."

But even as I said it, I felt the weight of every stare, every whisper, every cruel word pressing down on me. How long could I keep pretending it didn't hurt?

After lunch, I had a free period. Most students used it to study or hang out in the common areas, but I needed air. Space. Somewhere I could breathe without feeling like the walls were closing in.

I headed outside, following a path that led away from the main buildings toward the forest edge. The campus backed up against miles of protected wilderness, and students were allowed to walk the perimeter trails as long as they didn't go too deep.

The trees provided cover. Shade. Privacy.

I found a bench near a small clearing and sat down, letting the quiet settle over me. My wolf stretched inside my mind, testing her boundaries, getting used to existing.

Can we run? she asked.

Not yet. We haven't shifted.

When?

I don't know.

She huffed, frustrated. I didn't blame her. I was frustrated too.

The sound of footsteps on gravel made me tense.

I turned, half expecting to see Celeste or some nosy student who'd followed me. But the figure emerging from the tree line wasn't someone I recognized.

He was tall. Broad-shouldered. Dark hair fell across his forehead in calculated disarray, and his smile was sharp enough to cut. He wore the Academy uniform, but something about the way he carried himself screamed danger.

My wolf perked up, wary.

He leaned against a pillar near the trail entrance, arms crossed, watching me with an intensity that made my skin prickle.

"You're Elara Bennett," he said. Not a question.

"And you are?"

His smile widened. "Gideon Wicke. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but I'm guessing you've had enough false pleasantries for one day."

I stood slowly, slinging my bag over my shoulder. "If you're here to gawk at the rejected mate, you're late. Everyone else already got their fill this morning."

"Actually, I'm here because I think you're interesting."

"Interesting." I repeated the word like it tasted bad. "Right."

He pushed off the pillar and walked closer. Not threatening, exactly, but deliberate. Like he knew exactly how much space to take up to make me notice.

"You stood up to Darius," he said. "Twice, from what I heard. Once in the courtyard when you first arrived, and again last night when he dragged you outside."

"Word travels fast."

"Always does when it involves the Alpha heir." Gideon stopped a few feet away, still smiling that sharp, dangerous smile. "Most people would have rolled over and shown their throat. But you didn't."

"Is there a point to this conversation?"

"Just making an observation." He tilted his head, studying me like I was a puzzle he wanted to solve. "You're not what I expected."

"And what did you expect?"

"Someone broken. Someone weak." His eyes glinted. "But you're not, are you? You're angry."

My wolf bristled. He was too perceptive. Too aware.

"I don't have time for this," I said, moving to walk past him.

He stepped into my path.

Not blocking me, exactly. Just... there. Close enough that I could smell the faint scent of pine and something darker. Close enough that my wolf sat up and paid attention.

"What if I told you," Gideon said softly, "that Darius isn't the only wolf at this Academy worth knowing?"

"I'd say I'm not interested in knowing any wolves right now."

"Not even one who could make him regret what he did to you?"

That made me pause.

Gideon's smile turned smug, like he knew he'd caught my interest. "Darius Fenrir thinks he's untouchable. The future Alpha. The golden boy. Everyone bows to him, scared of what he might do if they don't."

"And you're different?"

"I'm not scared of him." Gideon leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to something almost conspiratorial. "And I don't think you are either."

He was right. I wasn't scared of Darius. I was hurt. Angry. Humiliated.

But not scared.

Gideon straightened, his expression shifting to something almost friendly. "Look, I know you've had a rough couple of days. I'm not trying to add to that. I just think you could use an ally. Someone who isn't going to pity you or treat you like you're made of glass."

"And you're volunteering?"

"I'm offering."

I should have walked away. Should have told him to leave me alone and gone back to my dorm. But there was something about the way he looked at me. Like I was a person, not a mistake. Like I mattered.

It had been a long time since anyone looked at me that way.

Gideon extended his hand toward me, palm up. An invitation, not a demand.

"Walk with me, Elara," he said, his smirk softening into something almost genuine.

My wolf growled a warning.

But I looked at his hand, then at his face, and wondered if maybe, just maybe, he was exactly what I needed right now.

An ally.

Or a distraction.

Or something far more dangerous than I realized.