The morning at the university presented an almost innocent atmosphere. From one side of the garden to the other, groups could be seen lying on the grass sharing anecdotes while others watched them pretending to study. Selena walked among them, clutching a brown folder in both hands and pressed against her chest. Her hair, as usual, was tied back, hanging down her back. Another night when she wasn't awake enough to start the day.

"Are you going to poetry class?" asked someone walking beside her.

It was Sergio, also a first-semester student. He always wore a smile, his red backpack torn in a corner. A calm, easygoing guy who didn't cause any problems, and that morning he decided to walk a few steps beside her.

"Yes," he replied. "And you?"

"I have music class. See you later in the cafeteria? I'd like to treat you to dessert."

Selena was about to decline the offer, but she saw Adrián standing a few feet away, staring at her. This made her very nervous.

"I accept, see you there," she replied to Sergio. And she changed course, taking a shortcut to the Humanities building.

During class, she felt the weight of stares, both when she left the classroom and during the line to buy coffee. It wasn't her imagination; something physical confirmed it: she felt the chill on her neck.

Lunchtime arrived, and the cafeteria was jammed with people. Selena managed to sit at a table that had just vacated, next to the wall facing the door. And to avoid feeling uncomfortable, she started making a to-do list: homework, calling her mom, shopping. Just then, a tray appeared on her table without her having ordered anything: tea, a sandwich, and a chocolate chip cookie.

"It's already paid for," Luciano stated, as he sat down in the chair opposite her. "Consider it a courtesy to make amends. My brother called me out for being mean to you the other night at the party."

"I didn't ask for anything," Selena replied as she pushed the tray aside.

"I didn't ask for you to show up here either. You seem so..." She gestured with her hand. "Interesting."

With subtlety and elegance, she moved, showing off her body as she took off her jacket. Her perfume mingled with Selena's. A delicious, soft contrast, and Luciano also noticed her sweet scent because he smiled as he inhaled.

"Don't be afraid, this isn't the time I bite pretty girls."

"Luciano," Elías quietly came to Selena's rescue. He was holding several books and a glass of water. He nodded and asked her permission to sit down. "May I?"

"No," she replied, feeling overwhelmed by both of them. Then she changed her mind. "Yes, of course. Excuse me."

Elías sat down next to her, placing the books on his lap so as not to clutter the table.

"Did you come to see how she chews?" she asked jokingly.

"I want lunch," Elias replied seriously.

Only minutes passed before Adrian appeared. He didn't sit down, but rather stood to set limits for his brothers.

"You have class in five minutes. Go, Adrian," Luciano ordered without looking at him.

"I have lunch now," he said, baring his teeth as he bit into half of the sandwich.

Selena swallowed, annoyed at the constant awkwardness.

"I push the tray to the center, rejecting the gesture, and answered.

"I don't need bodyguards. I can take care of myself," she said firmly but without raising her voice.

"You're hurting me," Luciano mocked. "Don't worry, that's not why we're here," Elias clarified gently.

Selena raised her eyebrows.

"Tell me why, I want to know."

Adrian intervened before Luciano.

"Because everything looks so good during the day, but campus isn't the safe place it seems."

"They think that way because they're used to running into three people; I've always walked alone. I'm not afraid of anything."

Luciano smiled as Elías bowed his head. Adrián tensed, struggling with what he felt.

"Please don't get involved."

Selena stood up, annoyed, and grabbed her notebook to leave.

"Enough of telling me what to do."

She moved so quickly that she left the three of them wondering what to say.

In the Sociology hallway, Sergio handed her two coffees and cookies.

"Here, let's share this before we go to class."

Sergio's simplicity touched Selena, who knew he had good intentions.

"Thank you," she took the cup. And she apologized for not waiting for him in the cafeteria.

"Don't worry, the Blackwells cause such discomfort among the students."

Selena laughed at the well-aimed comment. They really liked to draw attention to themselves in the worst possible way.

Behind the glass, Selena could see one of the dark-haired men spying on her.

"Shall I walk you to the library?" Sergio offered.

"Yes, please," he replied. And they walked together.

Up the stairs, exactly two flights separated her from Adrián, who, leaning on the railing, followed them with his eyes. One of her brothers, Luciano, leaned against her side.

"Does she like that human?"

"Shut up, that's enough," Adrian insisted without even turning in his direction.

"You like that woman; she's just accepted your reality. You're doing exactly what you hate: denying your destiny."

"Don't tell me how to do things," he growled.

Elias arrived when the discussion was over to report.

"It smells like iron in the Engineering building."

The three of them looked at each other in silence. The smell came from another pack: iron, rancid oil, and rage.

"Watch the perimeter," Adrian ordered.

"Gladly," Luciano smiled.

"I'll be in the library," Elias clarified.

Adrian hadn't asked him to watch Selena; there was no need. It was a silent language.

Shadows fell under the trees. In the library, everyone occupied a cubicle; Selena was in her usual one. Sergio was next to her.

"If I bother you, tell me and I'll leave," he warned politely.

"You're not bothering me," she replied, smiling. Sergio's energy was light.

He turned on his laptop without looking at it, his gaze drifting beyond the window. When he returned his gaze to the table, he found Elías at a nearby table. He noticed he had a book open, but he wasn't reading or even looking at it.

A message on his phone: "Are you going to the writing workshop today?" It was Daniela.

Selena answered yes.

"Excuse me for interrupting, do you have a highlighter I could borrow?" Sergio asked.

She searched in the highlighter case and found a yellow one.

"It doesn't paint much; see if it helps," she clarified, "it's worn out."

A voice behind her repeated.

"I told you not to get mixed up," Adrian repeated gently.

The librarian scolded them for distracting the students.

"I'm not doing anything, I'm studying," he said to Adrián, as he handed the highlighter to Sergio.

"With that guy?"

"He's my classmate," he retorted. "Can't I?"

Luciano appeared, butting in, as usual, inopportune, and Elías shook his head, annoyed. Sergio shook himself uncomfortably.

"I'd better go, Selena. I don't want to cause you any trouble," Sergio said.

Adrián fixed his eyes on the young man and showed his fangs for the first time. Without another word, Sergio left, barely able to say goodbye.

"I'll write to you later," he muttered.

"Don't go, wait."

He didn't reply, but instead trotted off.

"What a coward," Luciano declared.

"Stop causing trouble, don't you see this isn't the place?" Elías complained, bringing his mouth close to Luciano's face.

Shame was evident on Selena's face, for being in the middle of a sibling fight she didn't think she had started. Plus, she was making a fool of herself with the library staff who watched her calmly arrive and depart daily.

"Why are you watching me? You're making me tired," she said, addressing the three of them. "I don't need you to watch over me or give me advice. You don't even know what I really need."

"What do you want or what do you need?"

She was speechless until she found the words.

"Study in peace, nothing more. With whomever I choose."

Luciano cleared his throat mockingly.

He gave them his worst look and gathered his things to leave.

"Leave me alone, we belong in very different worlds."

When Selena stepped out onto the patio, she felt a chill; the air was very cold and smelled of iron. Although it didn't matter much to her.

The skin on his arms prickled beneath his jacket, a bad feeling creeping in his throat. He ignored it and crossed the garden toward the writing studio.

"Did you smell it? It's that smell again," Elías said.

"I felt it, it's coming from outside," Adrián affirmed.

"Yes, I recognized it too."

"Let it not be tonight, and certainly not near her."

Luciano whistled softly, as if calling a dog.

The campus was preparing for another night while Selena would return to the woods after sleeping.

And someone she hadn't yet met had set their sights on her.

The writing workshop ended late, and when Selena left, the campus revealed a different side of itself. The light from the streetlights was insufficient, and the sound of dry leaves blown against the asphalt by the wind made a terrifying noise. Selena adjusted the straps of her backpack and put it on her back as she looked for the shortest route to the dorm, skirting the edge of the Engineering building. The air felt colder and thicker.

Halfway there, that strange smell reached her again. She had smelled it before: iron and rancid oil, a combination unpleasant to her senses, making her neck prickle and alert.

She took out her phone, and it was dead.

"Just the thing," she murmured, quickly putting it in her pocket.

She quickened her pace. Behind her, she heard heavy footsteps. Selena turned the corner and saw the door to her destination at the end of the hallway. There were less than a hundred meters left; she was very close.

"Hello," said a voice. Where are you going so fast?

When she turned around, she realized they were three men dressed in black, with leather jackets and hoods. One of them wore a leather bracelet with a crescent-shaped metal plate on his wrist. They weren't students; at least, they didn't look like one. She'd never seen them on campus before.

"Go away, I don't want any trouble," Selena said, without stopping.

"Nor do we," one said, showing his teeth as he smiled. "We want to talk to you."

He crossed in front of her, blocking her way. He smelled of iron and a cave. Selena took a step back. The third made a strange noise with his mouth.

"I like the way you smell, it's sweet. Vanilla," he assured her, moving closer.

At that moment, Selena remembered Adrian's warnings; she thought of him at that moment more than ever. She wanted to scream his name, and she did so in her heart, without using her voice.

The man in front of her grabbed her wrist; he wasn't rough, he just immobilized her. Selena jerked back, pushing off with her heels digging into the floor to free herself. Her face showed anger, and when she was about to scream, the air changed temperature.

A growl, low at first, broke the silence of the night.

"Let her go," he ordered.

Selena was surprised to see that it was Luciano who stepped out of the shadows as if he had been there for a long time. This time he wasn't smiling; his mouth was tense. Further back, to her right, walked Elías, who approached Selena. Behind them, a golden flash lit up the scene.

Adrian.

The one holding Selena didn't let go; he just laughed.

"Look, it's the rich kids," he commented mockingly. "The princes have come to your defense."

Luciano bowed his head, his light eyes changing color and brightness; they no longer seemed human.

"We're not princes, and if you don't let go, you'll regret it," Luciano said softly.

"We're evenly matched, three against three," the man with the crescent-moon bracelet calculated, tilting his neck.

Everything happened at once.

Luciano attacked first, so fast that the moment he pryed the attacker's fingers apart and twisted his wrist was lost. The man let out a scream. Elias lifted the second man, slamming him against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. The third, the one with the bracelet, launched himself at Adrian.

When he collided with Adrian, it sounded like metal hitting stone. The Alpha's golden eyes flared. He didn't roar; there was no need to. He pushed him away with a sharp shove that threw him more than two meters. The attacker rolled and, as soon as he could, tried to get up, his breath escaping between his nonhuman teeth.

"Watch out!" Elias warned, without looking at him. That warning was for all three of them.

Selena, shocked, pressed herself against the wall, moving away. Without blinking. The scene of the fight left her incredulous: the brightness in the Blackwells' eyes, their enormous bodies, and the speed with which they moved.

Luciano dodged a punch and returned a chokehold that nearly broke his arm. He looked over his shoulder at Selena, as if asking her to wait and see the end.

The crescent-shaped man attacked again, faster this time. Adrian waited until he got close enough; he had his measure. When he finally crossed the distance, Adrian grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and slammed him mercilessly to the ground. There was no spectacle because he was so fast that the man was afraid. The blazing golden eyes remained on his, waiting to see if he wanted another beating.

"Don't come back here," said the Alpha. This is my campus, don't go near her.

The man with the half-moon spat to the side, leaving a smell of iron.

"She's not yours," he dared to reply. "She smells like..."

Elías didn't let him finish his sentence. He silenced him by pressing his knee against his sternum. Luciano released his, who limped off, cursing. The third was already running away.

"They're leaving," Elías said.

"They're leaving," Adrián confirmed, without taking his eyes off the man closest to him.

For a second, everyone was silent. The wind blew icy. The light failed on one of the lampposts. The two remaining ones stood up and fled.

There was silence.

Selena looked down. Her hands were shaking; she tried to put them in her pockets, but the clothes she was wearing were plain, without pockets, so she put them behind her back.

"Are you okay?" Elías asked, in a soft voice.

Selena nodded.

"I think so," she said. "I'm just having trouble breathing."

Luciano ran his hand through his hair and went back to being his usual pedant.

"You picked a bad night to be out for a walk," he commented, trying to be funny.

Adrián remained serious; he had a scratch on his face. His eyes, however, were no longer burning. They were golden again, but human.

"We'll take you. Don't go on alone," he said calmly.

"I can do it alone, I'm very close," Selena answered without thinking.

"You won't walk alone today," Adrian replied, and no one else dared to argue with him.

The four of them walked the few remaining meters to the residence hall door. No one spoke. Upon arriving, Elias pressed the button, and when the doorbell rang, he looked at Selena with his usual calm.

"If you smell iron again, don't walk down that hallway," he indicated. "There are more people in the other building."

Selena nodded. She felt fine, took a deep breath, and admitted that they had helped her a lot.

"Thank you," she murmured.

Luciano, leaning against the doorframe, leaned toward her.

"That's what we're here for."

"No," Adrian intervened, without looking at him, but making it clear for everyone, that's what I'm here for."

The door opened, and Selena held it with her hand. She hesitated before entering, daring to ask.

"What were they?"

Luciano opened his mouth to answer, and Elías closed it with a gesture. Adrián answered.

"People who don't belong here," he affirmed. "And who won't return."

He didn't satisfy Selena's doubt, but he didn't lie to her either. Her hand hurt where that man had squeezed it, but she didn't mention it.

"Good night," he said, and went inside.

Selena climbed the stairs, feeling heavier than usual. She leaned against the wall on the landing and allowed herself to tremble for a moment; she wanted to shake off the fear before entering her room.

Outside, Adrián stared at the closed door. Elías followed the men's trail, his eyes glancing toward the darkest part of the area.

"They had a mark," Adrián confirmed.

"A bitten half-moon, they'll come back," Elías pointed out.

"Not with her," Adrián repeated.

At that moment, her eyes lit up again. That night, when Selena finally managed to fall asleep, the forest awaited her with the moon and the cold air. In the distance, a branch cracked, and the three white wolves appeared, no longer hiding, among the trees. One looked at her, another pawed the ground, and the third remained distant, alert.

Selena touched her wrist where it hurt. The air smelled of rain and vanilla.

Now she knew the danger was real.