Chapter Five: Uncovered

His words filtered through the haze slowly, like she was hearing him from underwater.

Rayne’s throat went dry. “Why are you telling me this?”

Lucian’s eyes narrowed slightly, like he was asking himself the same thing.

“Because even though you're mysterious. You’re good,” he said finally. “And I don’t like blind spots. Kade and Xavier? They don’t play fair. Watch your back.”

Rayne nodded slowly, but she barely processed it.

She couldn’t stop staring.

At the water beading down his chest.

At the scar slashing across his left shoulder.

At the way his jaw flexed when he looked at her like that.

Like he saw everything she was trying to hide.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice suddenly softer, dipping into something unfamiliar.

Rayne snapped out of it just enough to force a nod. “Yeah. Fine. Just tired.”

Lucian didn’t move.

He was still standing too damn close, his scent overwhelming, his gaze impossible to break from. And that soft thread of concern in his voice? That made it worse.

Because it wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. And yet…

Her pulse thundered in her ears.

She shouldn’t be feeling this.

Not for him.

Not here.

Not now.

But her traitorous body wasn’t listening. Her skin tingled, her stomach flipped, and she couldn’t breathe with him this close.

She was in too deep already.

Lucian exhaled through his nose, gaze flicking over her face. “You’re hiding something, Valen.”

Her heart stopped.

He didn’t say it with suspicion. He said it like… he already knew.

And maybe, on some level, he did.

But before she could reply, he stepped back, gaze dark with something unreadable.

“Just… don’t be stupid,” he muttered. “You’ve survived this long. Don’t let them be the ones to break you.”

Rayne stared at him, chest rising and falling too fast.

“I’m not the one they should worry about,” she said, her voice quieter than she intended.

Lucian gave her a slow, sharp smile. “Good.”

He turned and walked to his bed, muscles shifting beneath his skin like coiled steel. He collapsed back onto the mattress without another word, grabbing a book off the side table like the conversation never happened.

Rayne stood frozen at the door.

Her body still trembled with heat she didn’t understand, her thoughts scattered.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to stay unnoticed. Detached.

But Lucian Wolfe wasn’t just a threat to her secret.

He was a threat to her control.

And if he kept getting this close…

How long could she survive it?

She decided to take a bath. After the day she had, she needed it.

A moment to breathe.

To heal. To think.

The stone bathroom was tucked in the back of the dorm wing, private enough for most recruits to drop their guard. Rayne moved quickly, locking the outer door behind her before stripping down and stepping into the wide, claw-footed tub. The Academy spared no expense in design, even if everything else was war-ready.

The water was hot, steam curling into the air, wrapping her like a second skin. She sank down with a soft sigh, letting her muscles unwind and her thoughts drift.

Lucian Wolfe.

She cursed softly under her breath.

He was everywhere.

In her head.

Under her skin.

Etched into the space behind her eyes like a tattoo she couldn’t scrub off.

She hadn't expected him to care. Or to warn her. And that… that made it worse.

Because his scent still lingered on her skin.

She could still feel the warmth of his breath against her face, the faintest graze of his fingers on her arm. That little spark of something she didn’t have a name for. Or maybe she did—and refused to admit it.

Rayne dragged her hand through the water, frustrated.

She couldn’t afford this.

Not him. Not feelings. Not distractions.

She was barely holding it together—walking a knife’s edge between being exposed and proving herself. Between survival and disaster.

So why did the memory of his smirk make her heart stutter?

A sudden voice cut through her haze.

“Valen, you in there?”

Rayne jolted upright, sloshing water over the edge of the tub. Footsteps. A heavy knock. She hadn’t heard anyone enter—hadn’t heard the door—

“Valen?”

Panic surged through her veins.

“Wait—don’t—!”

The door swung open.

And time stopped.

Jace Moren.

Broad-shouldered. Sharp-jawed. Another rising Alpha, known for his speed and smirk and his barely restrained rivalry with Kade. He froze in the doorway, the cocky grin on his lips dying instantly as his eyes widened in shock.

He was staring.

At her.

Not at Rei Valen.

Not at a fellow Alpha.

But at Rayne.

His gaze swept down her body—exposed, unmistakably female, chest half-submerged in the steaming bathwater—and back up to her face, stunned recognition flashing in his eyes.

She moved too late.

By the time she yanked the towel to her chest, the damage was already done.

“Moon above,” Jace breathed. “You’re—”

“Get out!” Rayne snapped, heart pounding loud in her ears.

But Jace didn’t move.

His expression shifted—not just shocked now. Calculating. Dangerous.

“You’re a girl.”

Rayne’s stomach twisted.

“Jace,” she warned.

But he wasn’t hearing her. He was seeing every implication. Every crack in the mask.

And then—he laughed, short and sharp, like the sound of a sword drawn from a sheath.

“No wonder you move the way you do. No wonder you fight like that.” His eyes gleamed. “Kade’s going to lose his damn mind when he finds out he got his ass handed to him by a girl.”

Rayne stood slowly, keeping the towel clutched to her chest, steam curling around her legs. “You won’t tell him.”

Jace raised a brow. “Won’t I?”

Her jaw clenched. “You say a word, and I’ll make sure you regret it.”

He looked her over again, expression unreadable.

“You’ve got balls, Valen. Or… maybe not.”

Rayne’s eyes narrowed.

“But I’ll admit,” Jace added, voice softening with something like curiosity, “I didn’t see this coming. You’re good. Better than most of the idiots out there. But this? This is suicidal.”

Rayne didn’t flinch. “I’ll take my chances.”

Jace tilted his head, studying her with renewed interest.

Then, to her shock, he nodded.

“I won’t tell,” he said.

Rayne blinked. “Why?”

A smirk pulled at his lips again, slower this time. “Because now I’m curious too. About what a girl like you is really doing in Blackmoon Academy.”

He stepped back, pausing in the doorway.

“Oh—and next time you want privacy?” He winked. “Lock the damn door.”

Then he was gone.

Rayne stood trembling in the water, steam rising around her like a shield she no longer had.

One person knew now. One person too many.

And if Kade found out?

If Lucian found out?

She wouldn’t just lose everything.

She’d be hunted for it.