The woods behind Graymist College always felt heavier than the rest of Ravenridge — older, quieter, like they remembered things people had long since buried.
Kael stood at the edge of the clearing, chest rising with quiet breath, arms loose at his sides. Across from him, Liora's silhouette moved through the mist like she belonged to it.
Her laugh came easily. "You're slowing down."
She was barefoot, grass between her toes, cheeks flushed from the sparring session they'd just finished — the kind of sparring that wasn't about winning. Not really.
Kael rolled one aching shoulder. "Maybe you're just too fast."
She grinned and stepped closer, cocky but curious. Her golden eyes caught the morning light and held it like fire. There was something untamed in the way she looked at him — something that always knocked his focus sideways.
"You've been off for weeks," she said. "I thought you were stronger than this."
Kael's jaw flexed. He wasn't weak. Not even close. But lately, being near her made his instincts hum too loud. His wolf, always silent beneath the surface, had started pacing like it knew something he didn't.
"Doesn't matter," he said quietly. "I'm still standing."
Liora gave a slow nod, her expression softening. "Yeah. You are."
There was something behind her voice. Something fragile, unspoken. He wondered if she felt it too — the tension, the shift in the air between them. Every time they trained alone, it got harder to ignore.
Before he could say anything else, a voice broke through the stillness.
"Training's over."
Kael turned — so did Liora.
Beta Storm.
Postured. Commanding. All sharp lines and unreadable scowls — the type of guy who always looked like he was standing in judgment. And most of the time, he was.
He walked into the clearing with the same confidence he wore during full-moon — the kind born of blood and birthright. Storm had been Kael's friendly rival once, back when things were simpler. Back before everything about Kael's bloodline became a problem nobody wanted to solve.
"You're getting sloppy," Storm said as he passed Kael, eyes fixed on Liora.
"She's better than you'll ever be," Kael replied, flat.
Storm smiled without humor. "You think this is a game?"
Kael didn't flinch. But something old and bitter settled in his gut. Storm always came for him — not just because of Liora, but because Kael wasn't one of them. Not truly. Not with his half-record past and rogue-blood mystery no one had the guts to explain.
Storm stepped in closer. His voice dropped. "She's not yours, Kael. She's never been. And if you keep orbiting her like some lost pup, you're gonna get crushed when the Alpha claims what's his."
Liora's voice cut through sharply. "Don't talk like I'm not standing right here."
Neither of them looked at her.
Storm gave Kael one final look — all venom wrapped in superiority — before turning. "Back to campus."
As Storm walked away, Kael caught the faintest scent of something beneath his Beta's arrogance—fear. Not of Kael. Of something worse. Then it was gone, and Storm was just another shadow in the trees.
Liora lingered, eyes locked with Kael's for a heartbeat too long. Then she followed.
Kael stood alone in the clearing, fists clenched at his sides.
His wolf growled low in his chest. Not in pain — in protest.
---
That night, Kael sat on the back steps behind the boys' dorms, hoodie over his head, listening to the hum of wind through the trees. His thoughts had been tangled all day — in Storm's words, in Liora's eyes.
He didn't hear her approach. But when she stepped around the edge of the building, he felt her before he saw her. His body tensed, instinct rising.
"Liora?"
She wore a hoodie, too. One that hung long over her shorts. She looked over her shoulder like she wasn't sure if she'd been followed.
"I needed air," she said quietly. "And you weren't answering your texts."
He stood, unsure of what to say.
"I meant what I said," she added, stepping closer. "I want to keep training with you."
He blinked. "Even after Storm's threat?"
She looked away, her voice dipping lower. "I don't care what Storm says. Or what the Alpha plans."
Kael stilled. "What do you mean, what the Alpha plans?"
Liora hesitated, then sat on the step beside him. Her fingers curled around the edge of her sleeves.
"My father was one of the oldest wolves in Ravenridge. A direct descendant of the Blackfang bloodline," she said. "Before he was killed."
Kael had heard the name. The Blackfangs were whispered about — rare, powerful, bloodlines touched by something ancient.
"And now," she continued, "the Alpha wants me as his Luna. Says it'll strengthen the pack. Secure our future."
Kael's pulse thudded in his ears. "Do you want that?"
She laughed once, hollow. "It doesn't matter what I want. My blood is valuable. That's what they see."
Her gaze turned away. "He doesn't want me. He wants what's in my blood. And you have no idea what that means."
She turned her head, meeting his eyes again. "But when I'm near you… it's the only time I don't feel like I'm being claimed by someone else's future."
The silence between them thickened. Kael could feel the bond tightening, like invisible threads pulling their chests closer, breath syncing without thought.
His voice came out low. "You should go before someone sees you."
Liora didn't move. "Tell me you don't feel it, and I will."
Kael looked at her — really looked. And in that moment, he couldn't lie.
"I feel it," he said. "I don't even know what it is. But I feel it every second you're near."
She stood, nodded once, and turned to go. But just before disappearing into the shadows, she looked over her shoulder.
"Same time tomorrow?"
He nodded.
She vanished into the night.
And Kael was left alone — his heart racing, his wolf stirring like it had finally remembered something it was never supposed to forget.
---
The locker clanged as Kael slammed it shut. Inside the gym, the air was thick with noise — sneakers on hardwood, whistles from coaches, laughter from cheerleaders gathering near the court.
And then he saw her.
Liora. Hair braided loosely down her back, sleeves rolled up, smile wide as she laughed with her friends. She didn't see him. Not yet. But Kael's wolf did — and it responded like a storm pulled taut behind skin.
He felt it in his chest. The tug. The ache. The pull.
Jason noticed. "Dude, you're staring again."
Kael didn't speak.
"I thought you hated basketball," Jason added.
Kael's voice was low but steady. "I'm trying out."
Jason stared. "You hate teams. You hate uniforms. You hate—wait. Wait. You like her?"
Kael didn't answer. He couldn't say it out loud — that this wasn't about the game. It was about standing tall. About being seen. About being close enough to protect her if things ever went wrong.
Jason stared. "Since when do you care about tryouts?"
Kael's gaze didn't leave Liora. "Since the pack started watching," he muttered to himself.
Their eyes met across the court.
Liora froze mid-laugh. Her gaze locked with his. And in that suspended moment, everything inside Kael went still.
She smiled. Not a polite smile. A real one. One that reached her eyes and stayed too long.
Jason practically choked. "That smile had… implications."
Kael's hand tightened around his locker handle. His blood buzzed with heat and something older. Something real.
He didn't know much about his bloodline.
But he knew this much:
Liora was his.
And the world would burn before he let anyone take her.