CHAPTER FOUR

Adrian rode with calm stance rather than raw aggression, every shift of his weight smooth and controlled.

She couldn't look away from him for even a moment. It's almost like he was riding that inside of her heart.

The afternoon sun caught the dark brown waves of his hair as he leaned low into a curve, and when he briefly flipped up his helmet visor, the girls sitting three rows down from Nessa shrieked.

Talia burst out laughing. “Look at them losing their minds.”

Nessa offered a faint smile but kept quiet, mostly because her own heart was racing far too fast.

She would never dare scream out loud or hold up a banner like the noble girls. That would be drawing attention to herself and asking for an early grave.

The track run finished in a massive wave of applause as Zane crossed the line first, with Adrian right on his rear tire.

As the engines died, the main event began: the Rugby exhibition.

This was what Bournemouth students truly worshipped.

The athletes stepped onto the pitch in dark, heavy training gear, and the mood in the stadium instantly shifted from excitement to pure awe.

The exhibition match was brutal, fast, and intensely physical, a showcase of pure shifter strength and momentum.

Zane played with a lethal edge, hitting the defensive line like a violent force of nature.

The audience roared every time he drove through a tackle, but Nessa’s eyes kept drifting back to Adrian.

He played differently. There was immense power in every play he made, but it was coupled with absolute control.

He moved with tactical focus instead of rage. And when he executed a textbook tackle and secured the ball, the crowd cheered wildly.

As if sensing her eyes on him, Adrian paused on the field and looked up.

His gaze swept the bleachers, locking directly onto hers across the expanse of the stadium, and Nessa’s breath caught in her throat.

For one impossible second, the deafening noise of the stadium faded into total quiet.

Then Adrian offered a subtle, soft smile, an easy, warm expression that sent a sudden flutter straight through her chest.

Nessa snapped her head away so fast she nearly strained her neck.

Talia smirked right beside her. “Oh, my Goddess.”

Nessa stared intently at her own shoes. “What?”

“You like him.”

“I do not,” she denied instantly.

Talia laughed softly. “You absolutely do.”

"I...don't..."

"Why are you denying it, your cheeks are so red right now."

Nessa swallowed turning away from Talia to avoid this conversation. And Talia chuckled next to her. "You really do like him."

The showcase concluded with a final roar of approval from the stands, and students began spilling out of the exits in animated groups.

“That,” Talia declared, slinging an arm over Nessa's shoulder, “was the best opening day we’ve had in years.”

Nessa smiled, and for the first time since waking up, she almost believed it.

Talia drove them straight to her family's residence after school wrapped up.

The Knox house was warm and chaotic in a way the Rowan estate had never been.

The second they crossed the threshold, Talia’s mother called out from the kitchen area.

“Girls! You’re back!”

Her father stepped into the entryway with a wide smile.

“Nessa! Wonderful to see you, kiddo.”

Nessa smiled shyly, bowing her head politely. Being greeted warmly was a feeling she was still trying to get used to.

Talia’s older brother, Marcus, leaned against the doorframe, grinning the second his eyes landed on her.

“Well, if it isn’t my sister’s ridiculously pretty best friend.”

Talia groaned loudly. “Marcus, shut up.”

Marcus smirked. “I’m just saying, if Nessa ever gets tired of your loudness, I’m available.”

Talia grabbed a throw pillow from the settee and launched it at his head. “In your dreams!”

Nessa let out a soft laugh. Inside Talia’s house, the heavy knot in her chest always loosened.

She spoke more, smiled without checking over her shoulder, and found a rare sense of peace.

The Knoxes were one of the few families in Bournemouth who didn't treat her existence like a disease.

Perhaps it was common among Black Wolves who didn't care for court politics, they didn't obsess over bloodlines as long as their household was stable and prosperous.

They didn't spend their lives hungering for the throne, nor did they try to climb over others to get there. They were content.

Though, despite coming from a Black Wolf family where she was treated differently because of what she was, the Knox were totally different.

If only Nessa didn't have to carry the constant weight of her own status.

She wished she could move through the academy grounds with the same easy confidence Talia had.

But how could she, when she had no wolf to claim and mixed blood running through her veins? Talia didn't have to fear the academy hierarchies because she was whole.

They hurried upstairs to Talia’s room, tossing their satchels into the corner.

Talia flopped dramatically across the bed. “Party tonight.”

Nessa froze in the middle of the room. “You’re serious?”

“Of course I’m serious.”

“Talia...”

“No excuses, Ness. You already agreed earlier.”

Nessa hesitated. The terrifying truth was that a small, quiet part of her wanted to go, to feel normal for a few hours, to do something reckless like everyone else.

But another part knew... if she got caught in the wrong place, it could destroy whatever quiet life she had left.

Her stepmother wouldn't care if she vanished into thin air. If trouble found her, she would have to save herself or drown alone. But then...

“Fine,” Nessa whispered.

Talia squealed, hopping off the bed, and that was all it took for the next hour to blur into a whirlwind of steam, makeup, and changing clothes.

Talia slipped into a fitted emerald dress. Nessa wore a simple, elegant black dress that Talia practically forced over her head.

Her dark brown hair, laced with silver waves, cascaded loosely over her shoulders. When she stepped in front of the full-length mirror, she hardly recognized the girl looking back at her.

“You look incredible, Ness,” Talia said genuinely.

Before they could slip out the front door, Talia’s mother intercepted them at the bottom of the stairs, her arms crossed with a firm expression.

“No parties tonight, girls.”

Talia groaned loudly. “Mom, come on!”

“No, both of you need to study!"

Talia spent the next twenty minutes asking, begging, negotiating, and promising to achieve top marks across all their classes this session, but nothing worked.

They were hooped up in the room for over an hour inside the room, Talia grumbling, pacing the room while Nessa watched her.

All of a sudden, Talia leaned against her bedroom doorframe with a mischievous grin spreading across her face.

“We’re slipping out through the window.”

Nessa stared at her in utter disbelief. “You’re completely insane.”