But that was the problem. He was too much. Too loud. Too forward. Too everything.
‘Being mated to someone like Reyes would be my personal hell. The kind you get locked into and the Moon laughs watching.’
‘Worse than being a breeder?’ Summer asked dryly.
I flinched.
Low blow.
Obviously not,’ I muttered. “But do you really think we could handle him stuck to our side all day, every day?”
Summer paused. “Fair point.”
‘I don’t even find him attractive in that way… I mean, he’s good looking and all but… just not my type… at all!,’ I added for good measure.
Summer rolled her eyes. ‘You never find anyone attractive. You’re like a one-woman iceberg.’
I didn’t argue. It was true.
Maybe it was fear. Maybe trauma. Maybe some deep, broken part of me that refused to let anyone in. I didn’t know. I just knew I wasn’t the kind of person who looked at someone and felt butterflies or fireworks or any of the crap they put in books.
There was only strategy. Survival. Sharp edges and escape plans.
Reyes cleared his throat, pulling me back to the present.
I blinked. “Sorry. Zoned out.”
“No problem,” he said cheerfully. “I figured you were reliving some tragic moment or plotting my death. Either way, I respect the dedication.”
He was smiling again. Like everything was a game.
“Just thinking,” I said.
“Dangerous habit.”
“Not for me.”
He laughed. Again.
How did he laugh so much?
What had his life been like that he could afford to laugh so easily?
I wanted to hate him for it. For the ease he has. For the sun in his voice. But I couldn’t-not fully. There was something about him that refused to be hated, even when I wanted to.
Which made him more dangerous than anyone else I’d met.
“I like the way your mind works,” Reyes said after a beat.
I gave him a look. “You haven’t seen my mind work.”
“No, but I’ve seen your face while it does. You’re very expressive. It’s like watching a chessboard light up.”
Was that supposed to be a compliment?
I turned away. “Maybe stop watching, then.”
“You keep saying things like that,” he said, not offended in the slightest, “but I think you like that I notice.”
I didn’t answer.
Mostly because I wasn’t sure if he was wrong.
Not completely, anyway.
The Academy loomed like a fortress carved into the woods. Stone walls, iron gates, and watchtowers. It wasn’t Hogwarts or some ivy-covered school where dreams were made. This was where legacies were broken. Where power was shaped and sharpened like blades. Where failure wasn’t an option-because it meant death.
The SUV slowed at the front checkpoint.
Reyes looked out the window and whistled low. “Looks like summer camp for psychos.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I stared through the glass at the gates that separated this place from the world I used to know. My heart thudded once-heavy. Final.
This was it.
No going back.
The driver handed over our documents, nodded once, and the gates creaked open.
Welcome to hell.
We were dropped off at the central building, where a sleek, suited Beta, at least he smelled like one, with a clipboard gave us our schedules, room assignments, and a lengthy list of rules that included things like no unauthorized challenges, no-fighting out of the training field, and absolutely no shifting.
Reyes raised an eyebrow at that last one. “What about lunch breaks?”
But I exhaled, the last one was a blessing for me. In wolf form everybody would know that I was a female and a golden wolf.
Which meant… trouble.
The Beta did not laugh.
I didn’t either.
The Academy didn’t tolerate stupidity-or weakness.
We were split into dorm wings randomly. No exceptions. Everything was designed to reinforce alliances between packs, forge new friendly relationships and strengthen our kingdom.
Luckily-or unluckily-I was placed in the second wing.
Reyes, of course, was thrilled.
“Room 215,” he read, grinning. “Bet you’re next door.”
“214,” I muttered.
Of course.
We climbed the stairs together, Reyes dragging his obnoxious designer bag like it was a trophy. The hallway smelled like testosterone and pine-scented cleaning products. I kept my head down, ignoring the eyes that followed us-mostly him.
Some of them landed on me, lingering.
Too long.
Too curious.
I pulled my hoodie tighter, instinctively checking that my pendant was still in place beneath the collar.
Still masking. Still safe.
No one knew.
Yet.
Reyes unlocked his room with a key card and threw the door open with a flourish.
“Home sweet home!” he said. “Guess I lucked out with the window view. You get to hear me snore through the wall.”
“Do you ever stop talking?” I asked.
He paused. “Nope.”
And then, infuriatingly, smiled at me again.
Like this was just the beginning of a bromance.
I stared at him for a long moment. His ridiculous grin. His ridiculous confidence. His ridiculous everything.
And felt a twist of something in my chest.
Not attraction.
Not curiosity.
Just a question, rising slowly in my mind.
What if he really meant it?
What if he did want to be my friend?
What would that even look like?
Was that… allowed?
I shook the thought off before it could bloom.
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