"The wolf within me roared, stronger than I had ever felt."
The adrenaline crash hit an hour after the fight.
I was back in my dorm. Changed into comfortable clothes. Trying to eat something because Celeste insisted I needed fuel after that kind of physical exertion.
But my hands wouldn't stop shaking.
Not from fear. Not from exhaustion. From something else entirely.
Through the bond, I felt Darius. Still wound tight. Still processing what had happened in the courtyard. His wolf pacing restlessly inside him.
I'd won. Proven myself. Done exactly what we'd needed.
So why did everything feel wrong?
A knock at my door. I knew who it was before I opened it.
Darius stood there. Still in his training clothes. Hair disheveled like he'd been running his hands through it. Eyes intense. Burning.
"Can I come in?"
I stepped aside. He entered. The door closed behind him, and suddenly the room felt too small. The air too thick.
